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GENEALOGICAL  AND  FAMILY  HISTORY   ■■Hi 


OF 


The  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  Valleys 

PENNSYLVANIA 


UNDER  THE  EDITORIAL  SUPERVISION  OF 

REV.  HORACE  EDWIN  HAYDEN,  M.  A. 

Corresponding  Secretary  and  Librarian,  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
Wilkes-Barre,   Penn. ,  and  Member  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 

HON.  ALFRED  HAND,  M.  A. 

SCRANTON 

Member  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 

JOHN  W.  JORDAN,  LL.D. 
Of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania 


"Knowledge  of  kindred  and  the  genealogies  of  the  ancient  families  deserveth  ths  highest  praise.  Herein  con- 
sisted a  part  of  the  knowledge  of  a  man's  own  self.  It  is  a  great  spur  to  virtue  to  look  back  on  the  worth  of  our 
line." — Lord  Bacon. 

"  There  is  no  heroic  poem  in  the  world  hut  is  at  the  bottom  the  life  of  a  man." — Sir  Walter  Scott. 


V 


OLUME 


ILLUSTRATED 
The  Lewis  Publishing  Company 

New  York       Chicago 
1906 


FOR  USE  IN  LIBRARY  ONLY 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Lyrasis  Members  and  Sloan  Foundation 


http://www.archive.org/details/genealogicalfami01hayd 


INTRODUCTORY 


HE  history  of  the  Wyoming  Valley, — civil,  political  and  military) — has  been  written  by 
various  authors  and  at  various  times,  each  succeeding  writer  adding  a  new  chapter  of 
annals,  or  treating  his  subject  from  a  different  viewpoint.  Such  history,  however,  splen- 
did narrative  that  it  is,  is  principally  concerned  with  what  has  been  accomplished  by  the 
people  in  a  mass,  and  takes  little  note  of  individuals,  except  those  so  pre-eminent  as  leaders  as  to 
come  under  the  full  glare  of  fame. 

Hence  it  follows  that  genealogical  and  familv  memoirs  are  of  peculiar  importance,  including 
as  the_\  do,  the  personal  annals  of  those  who  make  heroes  and  heroism  possible — those  who  have 
marched  in  the  ranks  of  progress,  bearing  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day — portraying  the  spirit 
which  actuated  them,  and  holding  up  their  effort  for  an  example  to  those  who  come  afterward. 
As  was  written  by  Martineau:  '  To  have  forefathers  renowned  for  honorable  deeds,  to  belong  by 
nature  to  those  who  have  bravely  borne  their  part  in  life  and  refreshed  the  world  with  mighty 
thoughts  and  healthy  admiration,  is  a  privilege  which  it  were  mean  and  self-willed  to  despise.  It 
is  a  security  given  for  us  of  old,  which  it  were  false-hearted  not  to  redeem;  and  in  virtues  bred  of 
a  noble  stock,  mellowed  as  they  are  by  reverence,  there  is  often  a  grace  and  ripeness  wanting  to 
self-made  and  brand-new  excellence.  Of  like  value  to  a  people  are  heroic  national  traditions, 
giving  them  a  determined  character  to  sustain  among  the  tribes  of  men,  making  them  familiar  with 
images  of  great  and  strenuous  life,  and  kindling  them  with  faith  in  glorious  possibilities." 

The  Valley  of  Wyoming  affords  a  peculiarly  interesting  field  for  a  study  of  family  traits,  in- 
dividual character  and  personal  achievements.  To  its  soil  came  a  sturdy  people — men,  and  women) 
too, — of  brawn  and  brain  and  conscience,  their  hearts  fervent  in  reverence  of  God  and  love  for 
religious  and  political  liberty.  They  came  up  out  of  great  tribulations,  traversing  an  unbroken 
wilderness  to  make  homes  where  were  savages,  and  to  conquer  primeval  nature.  These  pioneers 
builded  better  than  they  knew. 

"For  good  is  not  a  shapely  mass  of  stone, 

Hewn  by  man's  hand  and  worked  by  him  alone. 

It  is  a  seed  God  suffers  him  to  sow — 

Others  will  reap,   and  when  the  harvests  grow, 

He  giveth  increase  through  all  coming  years, 

And  lets  men  reap  in  joy  seed  that  was  sown  in  tears.'' 

Simple  and  clean  in  their  lives,  as1  were  these  early  settlers,  the  homes  which  the}-  builded 
were  humble,  but  they  were  the  seat  of  all  the  virtues  that  constitute  ideal  manhood  and  woman- 


Vl 


INTRODUCTORY 


hood.  The  courage,  fortitude  and  activity  displayed  by  these  hardy  pioneers  was  most  remark- 
able, and,  when  the  struggle  for  national  independence  came,  the  sons  and  daughters  of  their 
illustrious  sires  were  not  wanting  in  patriotism  and  devotion,  freely  sacrificing  comfort,  life  and 
property,  that  they  might  bequeath  to  the  generations  that  should  follow  them  a  free  liberal 
government     of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people." 

How  fearful  was  that  sacrifice  is  told  in  a  narrative  known  to  all  readers  of  English  literature 
the  wide  world  over.  The  testimony  of  historians  and  travelers  concurs  in  describing  the  infant 
colony  as  one  of  the  happiest  spots  of  human  existence,  for  the  innocent  and  hospitable  manners 
of  the  inhabitants,  the  natural  beauties  of  the  country,  the  luxuriant  fertility  of  its  soil,  and  the 
balminess  of  its  climate.  In  an  evil  hour  the  union  of  British  and  savage  Indian  arms  converted 
this  earthly  paradise  into  a  frightful  waste.  Early  in  the  summer  of  1778  the  people  of  the  Wy- 
oming Valley  became  aware  of  the  approach  of  a  party  of  Indians  and  Tories,  and  at  once  appealed 
to  Congress  for  assistance,  but  no  help  came.  The  able-bodied  men  were  with  the  patriot  arm}-, 
and  the  executive  council  had  no  force  of  men  at  its  command.  In  this  emergency — there  always 
was  a  man  for  every  em  rgency  during  the  Revolutionary  war — Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  who  was 
at  home  on  leave  of  absence,  and  Colonel  Denison,  gathered  a  force  of  about  three  hundred  vol- 
unteer recruits  and  prepared  to  meet  the  assault.  In  the  meantime  the  families  of  the  settlement 
had  sought  protection  at  Forty-Fort,  which  had  been  built  by  the  Connecticut  claimants  several 
years  before.  On  July  3rd  the  attack  was  made,  and  was  resisted  with  gallantry  and  determina- 
tion, despite  the  fact  that  the  defenders  were  outnumbered  three  to  one.      But  at  length  the  heroic 

little  band  was  forced  back,  and  its  retreat  turned 
into  an  utter  rout,  while  the  Indians  fell  upon  them 
with  tomahawk  and  knife,  and  cut  right  and  left 
until  only  about  fifty  of  the  entire  number  escaped. 
This  dreadful  affair  was  made  the  theme  of  what 
has  come  to  be  recognized  as  a  classic  of  verse — 
Campbell's  touching  "Gertrude  of  Wyoming,' 
which  won  the  commendation  of  the  great  British 
reviewer,  Jeffrey,  and  a  glowing  tribute  from  our 
own  Washington  Irving. 

These  founders  of  the  olden  time  gave  a  preg- 
nant interpretation  to  the  words  of  Bishop  Berk- 
ley; "Westward  the  course'  of  empire  takes  its 
way,"  for  from  them  came  an  overflow  which  was 
destined  to  continue  until  it  reached  the  far-off  Pa- 
cific— men  and  women  to  carry  forth  and  perpet- 
uate that  plain,  sturdy,  personal  character  of  man- 
hood and  womanhood  for  which  the  Wyoming  Val- 
ley people  have  gained  a  large  degree  of  renown. 
Wherever  they  planted  their  homes,  there  the 
church  and  the  school  house  are  found  as  monu- 
ments of  their  personality.  Nor  is  this  all,  they 
prided  themselves  in  thrift,  and  the  reward  that 
comes  as  the  fruit  of  honest  toil  and  endeavor,  and 
wherever  placed,  have  proved  a  power  for  ideal 
citizenship  and  good  government,  for  that  right- 
eousness which  exalteth  a  nation. 


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INTRODUCTORY  vii 


In  each  generation  and  at  every  stage  of  progress,  the  people   of   the  Wyoming    Valley  have 

had  the  service  of  men  of  the    loftiest    character    and   highest    capability,    in    arms,   in  the  arts  of 

peace,  in  statesmanship,  in  affairs  and  in  letters.      It  is  to  connect  the  active   progressive  men  of 

the  present  generation  with  their  illustrious  ancestry,  that  the  present   volumes  were  undertaken, 

in  the  conviction  that 

"  It  is  indeed  a  blessing  when  the  virtues 

Of  noble  races  are  hereditary, 

And  do  derive  themselves  from  imitation 

Of  virtuous  ancestors." 

The  honorable  ancestry  which  belongs  to  the  people  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  is  a  noble  herit- 
age, and  the  story  of  its  achievements  is  a  sacred  trust  committed  to  its  descendants,  upon  whom 
devolves  the  perpetuation  of  their  record.  History  is  constantly  making,  and  that  of  yesterday 
and  to-day  is  as  important  in  its  place  as  that  of  the  centuries  past.  Throughout  the  country  are 
those  who  are  memorialized  in  these  pages,  through  whose  sagacity,  determination  and  philan- 
thropy, states  and  communities  have  been  benefited  in  material  ways,  and  in  religious,  educational 
and  political  affairs — in  all  that  stands  for  progress  and  improvement. 

It  was  the  consensus  of  opinion  of  leading  men  in  the  Wyoming  Valley-men  well  informed, 
and  loyal  to  the  memories  of  the  past,  who  were  consulted  with  reference  to  the  matter — that  the 
editorial  supervision  of  the  Rev-  Horace  Edwin  Hayden,  M.  A.,  and  Hon.  Alfred  Hand,  in  the 
collection  and  preparation  of  the  material  for  the  pages  of  the  present  work,  would  ensure  the 
best  results  attainable  in  these  deeply  interesting  channels,  and  to  both  the  publishers  acknowl- 
edge their  appreciation  and  gratitude.  Of  first  interest  and  importance  are  the  labors  of  Mr. 
Hayden,  widely  known  for  his  long  and  active  identification  with  some  of  the  principal  historical 
and  patriotic  societies  of  the  country,  his  unflagging  industry  in  the  pursuit  of  information  drawn 
at  first  hands  from  court  and  church  archives  and  family  records,  and  that  ample  experience  in 
their  digestion  for  practical  use  which  has  afforded  him  wide  pre-eminence.  His  work  has  been 
performed  with  conscientious  thoroughness,  and  the  first  volume  is  in  larger  degree  his  own,  com- 
prising the  writing  or  laborious  revision  of  a  great  mass  of  genealogical  matter,  after  the  methodi- 
cal arrangement  which  has  ever  characterized  his  efforts  along  genealogical  lines.  It  must  be  es- 
pecially noticed  that  Mr.  Hayden  has  declined  to  receive  any  compensation  from  the  publishers 
for  his  labors.  As  a  matter  of  necessity,  with  such  a  great  quantity  of  material  in  hand,  the 
labor  of  writing  necessarily  devolves  upon  various  writers,  of  various  degrees  of  ability,  and  with 
varying  standards.  Hence,  in  justice  to  Mr.  Hayden,  the  publishers  desire  to  say  that  they  have 
deemed  it  advisable  to  identify  his  work  with  his  initials,  "H.  E.  H."  At  the  same  time  it  is  to 
be  said,  in  line  with  the  foregoing,  that  this  identification  does  not  necessarily  make  him  respon- 
sible for  the  mere  diction  of  the  personal  portion  of  these  narratives,  his  responsibility  terminating 
with  the  approval  of  the  genealogical  matter,  except  in  some  cases  where  his  intimate  personal 
acquaintance  made  him  the  only  proper  biographer  of  the  individual.  At  the  same  time  he  has 
afforded  his  aid  in  the  general  supervision  of  other  matter  contained  herein.  For  all  else  the  publish- 
ers have  observed  the  utmost  care.  If,  in  instances,  a  narrative  should  be  found  incomplete  or  faulty 
the  shortcoming  is  ascribable  to  the  paucity  of  data  furnished,  many  families  being  without  exact 
records  in  their  family  line-  In  all  cases  the  sketch  has  been  submitted  to  the  subject  or  his  rep" 
resentative,  for  correction,  and  upon  him,  in  case  of  error,  must  rest  the  ultimate  responsibility. 
The  arrangement  of  sketches  necessarily  devolved  upon  the  publishers. 

The  chief  of  the  office  editorial  staff  would  do  an  injury  to  his  own  sensibilities  did  he  not 
express  his  personal  pleasure  in  the  association  with  Mr.  Haj'den  which  his  tasks  have  brought 
him — an  association  which,  beginning  in   appreciation  and  admiration  for  distinguished  ability  as 


viii  INTRODUCTORY 


an  annalist  and  genealogist,  has  broadened  into  a  genuine  personal  regard.  His  relations  with 
Judge  Alfred  Hand  have  also  been  most  pleasant.  In  slight  appreciation  of  the  services  of  both 
these  gentlemen,  the  publishers  present  their  portraits  in  the  work. 

It  is  believed  that  the  present  work  will  prove  a  real  addition  to  the  mass  of  literature  con- 
cerning the  people  of  the  historic  Wyoming  Valley,  and  that,  without  it,  much  valuable  informa- 
tion contained  therein  would  be  irretrievably  lost,  owing  to  the  passing  away  of  many  custodians 
of  family  records,  and  the  consequent  disappearance  of  such  material. 


THE  PUBLISHERS. 


WYOMING  HISTORICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 


N  the  preparation  of  this  work,  "Genealogical  and  Family  History  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley,"  the  publishers  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  visit  the  rooms  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society.  Familiar  as  they  are  with  the  leading  societies  in  the 
country  which  have  for  their  purpose  the  preservation"  of  historical,  antiquarian  and  gene- 
alogical material,  they  have  been  deeply  impressed  with  the  unique  collections  of  the  institution  at 
Wilkes-Barre.  Of  the  geological  specimens,  those  belonging  to  the  coal  measures  they  have  never 
seen  equalled  in  number  or  beauty.  In  the  field  of  genealogy,  also,  the  Society  occupies  a  most  prom- 
inent place,  and  in  its  particular  line — that  relating  to  the  peopling  of  the  Wyoming  Valley — is  the 
only  absolute  authority  in  the  land.  The  vast  importance  of  the  Society  fully  warrants  the  repro- 
duction  here  of  the  following  admirable   account  taken   from   Mines  and   Minerals,  of  Scranton  : 

A  LOCAL  HISTORICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY. 

It  does  not  appear  to  be  fully  realized  by  those  who  are  interested  in  coal,  or  in  the  geological 
riches  of  the  northeastern  section  of  Pennsylvania,  that  there  exists  in  this  section  one  of  the  most 
active  and  well  provided  Geological  Societies  in  the  country.  We  refer  to  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society  at  Wilkes-Barre,  whose  membership  represents  the  three  counties  once 
forming  that  of  Luzerne,  i.  e.,  Luzerne,  Lackawanna  and  Wyoming.  This  Society,  with  its  library 
of  sixteen  thousand  volumes  and  pamphlets,  and  its  collections  of  forty  thousand  specimens,  is  daily 
open  ro  the  public,  more  especially  to  the  geological  and  historical  students  of  this  section. 

This  Society  was  established  in  1858 — forty-eight  years  ago.  Its  home  is  in  a  handsome  building 
erected  by  the  trustees  of  the  Osterhout  Free  Library  of  Wilkes-Barre,  in  the  rear  of  the  building 
occupied  by  the  Free  Library.  The  Historical  Society  is  a  legatee  of  the  Osterhout  will,  and  is  by 
that  will  provided  with  permanent  and  free  quarters  in  this  handsome  building.  Its  Library,  almost 
entirely  different  from  that  of  the  Osterhout  Library,  contains  fourteen  thousand  books  and  pam- 
phlets on  American  History  and  Genealogy  alone,  and  two  thousand  on  American  Geology.  Few 
of  its  books  are  duplicated  in  the  Osterhout  Free  Library  or  in  the  Albright  Library  of  Scranton. 
Its  building  of  three  stories  contains  a  splendid  Indian  collection,  mainly  local  specimens  from  Wy- 
oming Valley,  numbering  about  twenty-five  thousand.  Its  geological  collections  contain  the  fine 
Lacoe  collection  of  nearly  five  thousand  Paleozoic  fossils;  the  Scharar  collection  of  nearly  one 
thousand  Paleozoic  fossils  from  the  outcropping  of  the  limestone  at  Mill  Creek,  Wilkes-Barre; 
three  thousand  mineralogical  specimens  arranged  and  labelled,  and  now  being  catalogued  by  card; 
and  about  three  thousand  fine  specimens  of  the  anthracite  coal  flora,  numbering  two  hundred  types, 
arranged  by  the  late  curator,  R.  D.  Lacoe,  and  classified  by  him  and  Processor  Leo  Lesquereaux. 
This  large  treasure  of  geological  matter  is  made  practical  to  the  public,  especially  to  schools  and 
students,  by  a  carefully  arranged  case  containing  representative  specimens  showing  the  "Crust  of 
the  Earth,"  from  the  Azoic,  or  Archaean  age,  to  the  Cenozoic  age.  This  case  is  the  combined  re- 
sult of  the  efforts  of  Drs.  Ingham  and  Wright,  R.  D.  Lacoe,  and  the  present  curator  of  Paleontology, 


WYOMING  HISTORICAL  AND  GEOLOGICAL  SOCIETY 


Professor  J.  L.  Welter,  of  the    Wilkes-Barre    High  School,  and  is,  as  far  as  known,  the  only  such 
exhibition  in  this  State. 


Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 


This  Society  is  supported  by  its  membership,  limited  to  the  three  counties  of  Luzerne,  Lacka- 
wanna and  Wyoming,  numbering  three  hundred  and  fifty,  including  one  hundred  and  thirty-three 
life  members.  The  endowment  of  the  society  is  over  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  carefully  in- 
vested in  local  securities.  Its  permanency  is  thus  secured,  and,  while  it  seeks  members,  whose  dues 
are  five  dollars  per  annum,  and  makes  a  full  return  in  its  valuable  annual  volume  of  proceedings  and 
papers — its  rooms,  library  and  cabinets  are  open  to  the  pubUc  free  every  day  in  the  week,  from  10 
a.  m.  to  5  p.  m.,  and  accessible  to  students  from  outside  of  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  on  due  notice 
by  telephone,  at  any  hour  in  the  day. 

The  Society  is  not  a  Wilkes-Barre  institution,  but  belongs  to  the  section  for  which  it  was  es- 
tablished. Its  publications,  numbering  nine  volumes  and  twenty-five  pamphlet  titles,  are  known 
throughout  the  scientific  world,  for  the  Society  exchanges  with  nearly  all  the  Scientific  and  Histori- 
cal Societies  in  the  country.  Its  library  contains  also  all  the  publications  of  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, and  it  endeavors  to  add  to  its  books  any  title  necessary  for  its  members  and  readers  when 
possible. 


Forty-Fort,    1770-1778 

(From    the    cut   originally    used   in    Pearce's    "Annals  of    Luzerne    County." 
Loaned   by    the  Wyoming    Historical  and    Geological   Society.) 


Forty-Fort  so  named  by  the  first  Connecticut  settlers  in  Wyoming  Valley  who  came  there  17G9,  built  the  fort  1770, 
rebuilt  it  1777,  and  occupied  it  at  the  time  of  the  Massacre  of  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778.  It  was  surrendered  to  the  British 
and  Indians,  July  4,  1778.  The  town  of  Forty-Fort  now  occupies  the  spot  where  the  Fort  was  built.  Engraved  for  this 
work  by  permission  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 


INDEX 


VOL.  I 


PAGE 

Abbott    Family    325,  409 

Abbott,   Edwin  W    ,411 

Abbott,   John    .  ,.,   326 

Abbott,   Robert    M ...328 

Ahlborn,    Frederick    C......  283 

Alexander    Family 219 

Alexander.    William    M....  221 

Allen,   William   C 492 

Allen,    Fred    M 291 

Altmiller,  Justus   E 480 

Altmiller,    Justus    461 

Ansart    Family    158 

Ansart,    Felix     160 

Ansley,   Joseph .   556 

Ashley    Family    ,   265 

Ashley,    Herbert    H 267 

Atherton    Family    ,  103 

Ayars    Family    206 

Ayars,    David    P ,206 

Ayars,    Charles    E 207 

Baldwin,    Griffin    L 259 

Baur,    Gustav    Adolph 237 

Baur,    Robert    235 

Batterton,    John    H 550 

Batterton,  John   L 550 

Beaumont    Family    146 

Beaumont,    Eugene    B 149 

Beaumont,    John    C 148 

Bedford    Family    114 

Bedford,   George    R 115 

Behee,    John     391 

Beisel,    Reuben 532 

Bell,    John    Calvin 302 

Bennet,    John     408 

Bennett    Family  ,  (Ziba)  ...     79 

Bennett    Family    255 

Bennett-Polen    Families...   420 

Bennett,    George    S 82 

Bennett,    R.    Nelson 83 

Bennett   Stephen   B 257 

Bennett.    Ziba 79 

Billings,    William    P.......   303 

Birkbeck,    Thomas    J 239 

Birkbeck,   Joseph    237 

Blackman.    Elisha    414 

Bogert    Family    374 

Bogert,    Edward    F 379 

Bogert,    Joseph    K 375 


Bogert,    Jacob    W 379 

Brodhead    Family    199 

Brodhead,   Albert   G 203 

Brodhead,    Daniel    D 202 

Brodhead,    Henry    C 203 

Brodhead,    Robert    P 205 

Brodhun.    Bonefacius    H...   462 

Brooks    Family    225 

Brooks,    Allen    C 227 

Brown,    George    W 493 

Brown,    Samuel    L 278 

Brownscombe,   H.  Watson.   368 

Buckman,    Ernest   U 309 

Bunting    Family    329 

Bunting,    Douglas    330 

Butler  Family   47,  240 

Butler,    Frank    D 240 

Bugler,    George    H 54 

Butler    Lord     51 

Butler,    William   J '240 

Butler,    Zebulon    4S 

Carhart.    Phineas    M 425 

Carpenter    Family    344 

Carpenter,   Benjamin   G....   345 
Carpenter,    Edmund    N....   346 

Carpenter.   Virgil   M 434 

Carpenter,    Walter    S 346 

Casterlin,    Walter    S 272 

Catlin    Family    339 

Catlin,    Sterling    R 340 

Chamberlin.    Charles    H....  497 

Cist   Family    121 

Clank,    George    A 303 

Cock    Family    121 

Colvin,    John    D 490 

Connor,  Thomas   R 29s 

Conyngham    Family    9 

Conyngham,   Col.    Chas.   M.     13 

Conyngham,    John    N 10 

Conyngham,    William    L...      12 
Coolbaugh,    Johnson    R....   245 

Coolbaugh,    Moses    516 

Coolbaugh,    William    O 234 

Cooper,   A.   J 515 

.  Coray,    Elisha    A 426 

Corss    Family    187 

Corss,    Frederick    189 

Coughlin,    James    M 276 

Is 


PAGE 

Courtright,    Burton    469 

Courtright.    Harrie    B 296 

Cutler,    Reuben    B 505 

Dana,    Charles    B 390 

Darling    Family     Ill 

Darling,   Thomas    113 

Dawidowski,   Joseph    478 

Dean,   Willis   L 251 

Denison    Family    151 

Denison,    Charles    154 

Denison,   John   W 554 

Denniston,    John    532 

Derr    Family    313 

Derr,    Andrew    F 315 

Derr,   Henry  H 314 

Dickover    Family    300 

Dickover,   George   T 302 

Dickover,  William    301 

Dickson.    Allen    H 89 

Dilley    Family    478 

Dilley,    Butler    480 

Dilley,    Oscar    H 479 

Dodge,    D.    Stewart 79 

Dorrance   Family    =8 

Dorrance,    Benjamin    61 

Dorrance,   Charles    61 

Dorrance,    J.    Ford 63 

Dougherty,    C.    B 164 

Douglas    Family    210 

Douglas,    Francis     213 

Elliott,    Charles    P 150 

Engle,    Calvin    P 468 

Engle.   Stephen    D 459 

Engle,    Sylvester    529 

Eno,   William  G 5°S 

Farnham    Family    122 

Farnham,  Alexander   125 

Fell    Family    M1 

Fell.    Alexander    G 343 

Ferguson.    Marjr    H 429 

Ferris    Family    27 

Ferris.    Geofge    S 28 

Ferris,    Wayman    520 

Flick,    Liddon 548 

Ford,    Thomas     .  .  .v 531 

Foster    Family     .  .  .  v 192 


\ 


. 


XIV 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Foster,    Charles    D 193 

Fritz,    James    M 241 

Geidner,    William    H 504 

Goff,    Simeon    D 224 

Goff,   Warren    F 140 

Goff,   William    S 141 

Gore    Family    416 

Gore,    Daniel    418 

Gore,    Jane    418 

Goulding,    William    A 517 

Graeme,   Joseph   W 545 

Green,    James    D 421 

Griffith,   Andrew   J 362 

Griffith,    Jemima    S 362 

Griffith,  William   361 

Gross,    L.    Horace 548 

Hahn    Family     304 

Harm,    Byron    G 305 

Hakes    Family     223 

Hakes,    Harry    224 

Hall,   William   W 5U 

Halsey    Family    29 

Halsey,    Gaius    L 30 

Hancock    Family    346 

Hancock.    Elisha    A 551 

Hancock,    William    J 348 

Harding   Family    19 

Harding,    John    S 22 

Harding,    Stephen    20 

Harmon,   Solomon    533 

Hartwell.   Ira    E 297 

Harvey    Family     161 

Harvey,    William    J 163 

Hayden    Family    133 

Hayden,   Horace  H 136 

Hayden,    Horace    E 138 

Hillman    Family    126 

Hillman,   Arthur   129 

Hillman.    Henry    B 128 

Hodge    Family    69 

Hodge    Francis    B 72 

Hollenback    Family     121 

Hollenback,    George    M....   357 

Hollenback,   John    W 359 

Hollenback,    Matthias     ....   355 

Honeywell    Family    437 

Honeywell,    Clinton    D....   439 

Honeywell,    Hiram    M 439 

Honeywell.   William   J 438 

Hopper.    Frank    P 423 

Hoyt    Family    I 

Hoyt,  Gov.  Henry  M r 

Hoyt,    Henry    M 7 

Hunlock    Family    227 

Hunlock,    Andrew    228 

Hunt,   Anna    M 268 

Hunt,    Charles    P 544 

Hunt.    Susan    C 268 

Hunt.   Thomas    P 268 

Ingham    Family    331 

Ingham,    William    V 332 


PAGE 

Jenkins    Family    253 

Jenkins,    John    J 244 

Jenkins,    John    S 255 

Jennings,    William    N 545 

Johnson    Family    64 

Johnson,   Frederick  C 69 

Johnson.    Wesley    N 524 

Jones,    Henry    L 72 

Jordan,    Niram    P 288 

Kasper,  John    485 

Kidder,    Calvin    P 389 

Kidder,    Clarence    P 388 

Kirkendall    Family     316 

Kirkendall,    Fred    C 319' 

Kirkendall,    George    W....   317 

Kirkendall,    Ira    M 317 

Kirkendall.    William    P....   318 

Kulp    Family    194 

Kulp,   George   B 196 

Kulp,  Harry  E 198 

La    Barre.    Isaac   E 507 

Lacoe,    Ralph   D 436 

Laing,   James    G 474 

Langford,    Joseph     483 

Laning   Family    213 

Laning,   Augustus    C 214 

Laning,    John     215 

Larned    Family    263 

Larned,    Frank   W 265 

Lathrop   Family    189 

Lathrop,    William   A 191 

Laycock  Family    441 

Laycock,    Adam    C 442 

Laycock.   Charles  W 442 

Leach,    George   W 512 

Leavenworth    Family    323 

Leavenworth,    Franklin    J..   324 
Leavenworth,    Woodward..   325 

Lee,    Conrad    475 

Lee,    George    476 

Lees,    Henry    468 

Levan   Family    222 

Levan,    Louis    E 223 

Lewis,    George    C 215 

Lewis,    George    N 472 

Lewis,    Joshua    S 470 

Long,    Isaac     435 

Longshore    Family    401 

Longshore,    William    R....  402 

Loop.    Edward    S 495 

Loveland    Family    106 

Loveland,    George    109 

Lubrecht,    Louis    G 518 

Macfarlane  Family 395 

Macfarlane,    Thomas    P....   395 

Mackin,    Charles    E 469 

Mackin,   Dennis  A 506 

Marcy    Family     442, 

Marcy,    Joseph   W 444 

Marks   Family    445 

Marks,    Clinton    H 447 

Martin,    Thomas    R 307 


PAGE 

Mebane    Family    447 

Mebane,    David    C 453 

Meyers,    Elmer    L 237 

Miller,  Jerome  G 275 

Miller,    Willis    H 481 

Miner    Family    go 

Miner,    Asher    95 

Miner,    Charles    96 

Miner,    Charles    A 94 

Miner,    Charles    H 96 

Miner,    Sidney    R 96 

Morgan    Family    521 

Morgan,   Jesse   T 523 

Morris,   James    L 142 

Murray,    Charles    F 336 

Murdoch    Family    243 

Murdoch,    Robert    243 

Myers    Family    231 

Myers,    Frederick    B 494 

Myers,    Lawrence     232 

McCIintock    Family    119 

McClintock,    Andrew    H 120 

McCIintock,   Andrew  T....    119 

McCollum.    David    0 308 

McLean    Family    178 

McLean,    George    R 182 

McLean,    William    S 181 

Naugle,    William    A 533 

Nelson,    Reuben    82 

Nesbitt   Family    155 

Nesbitt,    Abram    157 

Nesbitt,    Harrison    439 

Ninth    Regiment    Infantry.   166 
Norris,  Esther  D 336 

Oliver,   Paul   A 418 

Overpeck,   Andrew  C '527 

Overpeck,   Boyd   H 527 

Paine,    Lewis    C 542 

Paine,  Miss   Priscilla  Lee..  543 

Palmer,    Henry    W 143 

Palmer,    Richard    501 

Parrish   Family   115 

Parrish,    Charles    117 

Parrish,    Frederick   B ir8 

Parsons    Family    385 

Parsons,    Calvin    386 

Parsons,    Oliver    A 387 

Patterson  Family  559 

Patterson,    Chester    572 

Patterson,    David    W 574 

Patterson,  Joseph  E 577 

Payne    Family    176 

Payne,   Hubbard   B 177 

Perrin,    Gurdin    477 

Pettebone   Family    457 

Pettebone,  Noah 4S0 

Pettebone,    Payne    88 

Pettibone-Dickson    Families. 87 

Pettebone,    Jacob    S 458 

Pettibone,    Noah    523 

Pfouts,    George    S 403 

Phelps    Family    75 


^10 


INDEX 


xv 


PAGE 

Phelps.    Francis    A 78 

Phelps,    John    C 78 

Phelps.    William    G 78 

Phelps,   Ziba    Bennett 79 

Pierce,    James    B 525 

Plumb,    Henry    B 412 

Pollock,    John    P 294 

Powell    Family    221 

Price,    Charles    H 270 

Raeder,    John    W 287 

Raeder,    William    L 284 

Ramsey,    Patrick   J 555 

Ransom    Family    465 

Ransom.    Charles    C 467 

Reichard,    George    N 281 

Reichard,    S.    Warren 548 

Reichard,    William    H 454 

Reinhardt,   William    524 

Reiter,    Charles    D 305 

Reynolds    Family    31 

Reynolds,    Dorrance    45 

Reynolds,    Benjamin    45 

Reynolds,    George    M 40 

Reynolds,   John    B 46 

Reynolds,    Sheldon     43 

Reynolds,    William    C 36 

Rice.    Charles    E 23 

Ricketts,    Robert    B 42 

Roberts.    Jacob.    Jr 555 

Rockafellow,  Frederick  V.  .  456 

Roderick.   James    E 519 

Roderick.    Edward    R 293 

Rogers,    Lewis    L 396 

Rogers,    Sarah    C 398 

Ross    Family    100 

Rutter    Family    319 

Rutter.   James    M 321 

Rutter,    Nathaniel    B 322 

Salzman,    Marcus 300 

Sax.   John    363 

Saxe.    William    R 363 

.Schwartz.    Frederick    558 

Seely,    Philip    H 464 

Sharpe.    Richard    54 

Sharps,  John   528 

Shaver    Family    510 


PAGE 

Shaver,    Ira    D 472 

Shaver,    Isaac    N 511 

Sheeder,    Vincent    B 530 

Shoemaker    Family    333 

Shoemaker,    Archie    C 369 

Shoemaker,   Elijah    334 

Shoemaker,   Ira    R 366 

Shoemaker,  Jacob  1 365 

Shoemaker,    Lazarus    D....  335 

Shoemaker,    Levi    1 336 

Slocum    Family     392 

Slocum,    William    G 395 

Smith,    Abijah    371 

Smith,    Amos    Y 553 

Smith,    Harradon   S 359 

Smith,    George   C 215 

Smith,    John    B 371 

Snow,    John    C 473 

Spayd,    Charles    W 298 

Sprague,    E.    Russell    250 

Sprague,    Levi    L 249 

Speicher,    Jacob     511 

Stark.    David   S 538 

Stark.    Joseph    M 400 

Stark,  S.  Judson   257 

Stearns    Family    83 

Stearns,    Irving   A 84 

Stearns,    Lazarus    D 85 

Sterling    Family    348 

Sterling,    Addison    A 351 

Sterling,    Daniel    T 349 

Streater.    Harry    P 487 

Strong    Family    129 

Strong,    Theodore    132 

Sturdevant    Family     534 

Sturdevant,   John    537 

Sturdevant,   Samuel    534 

Sturdevant,    Samuel    H....  535 

Sturdevant.    Samuel    B 537 

Sturdevant,    Sinton    H 233 

Sturdevant,    Thomas    K....  538 

Sturdevant,   William    H....  537 

Sutherland    Family    427 

Sutherland,    Walter    C 428 

Sutton    Family    208 

Sutton.   James    210 

Swetland,    William    R 88 

Szedvidis,    Michael    482 


PAGE 

Taylor,    Lewis    H 309 

Thomas,    Isaac    M 104 

Tompkins,    Alva    488 

Torbert.    John    K 502 

Townend    Family 486 

Townend,    Hugh    C 487 

Townsend,    Sampson     432 

Tripp    Family    430 

Tripp,    Edwin    M 432 

Troutman,    George    H 338 

Troxell    Family    398 

Troxell,    Ephraim     399 

Turner,    William    J.    M 484 

Van    Campen,    Abraham..  476 

Van    Horn,    Alexander    H..  289 

Van    Scoy,    Henry    Y 367 

Vaughn,  Stephen  B 405 

Wadhams    Family    171 

Wadhams,   Raymond   L.  .  .  .  175 

Waller    Family    182 

Waller,    Levi    E 186 

Weiss    Family    121 

Welles,    Theodore    L 355 

Welles    Family    351 

Welles,    Henry    H 354 

Wetherbee.    Benedict    J....  292 

Wheaton    Family    24 

Wheaton,    Frank    W 26 

Wheaton,  Thomas  J 25 

Wilcox,    Daniel    D 428 

Wilde,    Charles    L 474 

Williamson,   James    P 370 

Woodward  Family   14 

Woodward,    George    W....  15 

Woodward,    John    B 19 

Woodward,   Stanley    17 

Wright    Family    380 

Wright,    George    R 384 

Weight,    Harrison 382 

Wright,    Hendrick    B 382 

Wright,   Jacob    R 382 

Wright,  Thomas   A 274 

Wyoming   Seminary    247 

Yeager,    Harvey    373 

Yeager,   John    B 233 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS 


HOYT  FAMILY.  Simon  Hoyt,  the  first  of 
the  name  in  this  country,  came  from  England  to 
Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  September,  1628,  with 
Governor  Endicott,  and  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  seven  different  towns.  He  was  of  the  party 
who  traveled  through  the  woods  to  explore  and 
settle  Charlestown.  In  1636  he  was  among  the 
founders  of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  and  deacon 
of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker's  church. 

Daniel  Hoyt,  sixth  in  descent  from  Simon 
Hoyt,  was  born  in  Danbury,  Fairfield  county, 
Connecticut,  May  2,  1756.  He  came  from  Dan- 
bury  with  his  wife  Anna  (Gunn)  and  seven  chil- 
dren, and  settled  in  Kingston,  Luzerne  count}', 
Pennsylvania,  in  1794.  In  his  later  life  he  was 
known  throughout  the  Wyoming  valley  as  "Dea- 
con" Hoyt,  having  been  a  deacon  in  the  first 
Presbyterian  congregation,  organized  in  Kings- 
ton in  1819.     He  died  there  in  1824. 

Ziba  Hoyt,  the  sixth  child  of  Daniel,  was  born 
September  8,  1788,  at  Danbury,  Connecticut,  and 
accompanied  his  father  to  Wyoming.  At  the 
opening  of  the  war  of  1812  Ziba  Hoyt  was  sec- 
ond lieutenant  of  the  Wyoming  Volunteers  Mat- 
ross  Artillery  Company,  organized  in  Kingston 
township  in  April,  18 10,  under  the  captaincy  of 
Henry  Buckingham,  The  company  left  Kings- 
ton on  April  13,  1813,  thirty-one  strong,  and 
embarked  on  a  raft  (which  was  being  floated  to 
market)  on  the  Susquehanna  river,  at  the  mouth 
of  Shupp's  creek.  They  debarked  at  Danville, 
Pennsylvania,  whence  they  marched  by  way  of 
Lewistown  and  Bedford  through  Fayette  county, 
recruiting  as  they  went,  and  May  5  arrived  at 
1 


Erie,  Pennsylvania,  ninety-five  strong.  The  com- 
pany was  attached  to  Colonel  R.  Hill's  regiment 
of  Pennsylvania  militia,  and  soon  afterwards 
Ziba  Hoyt  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant.  In 
the  cannonading  at  Presque  Isle  Harbor  the  com- 
pany did  effective  service.  In  the  battle  of  the 
Thames  the  "Matross,"  in  the  absence  of  CapT 
tain  Thomas,  who  was  in  command  of  the  guard 
at  Detroit,  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Hoyt, 
and  acquitted  itself  with  credit.  After  fifteen 
months  of  active  duty  the  company  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service  and  sent  home.  Ziba 
Hoyt  was  a  man  of  unusual  abilities.  He  was 
well  known  throughout  the  Wyoming  valley  as 
a  man  of  purity  and  integrity  of  character,  and 
was  for  many  years  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  He  married  Nancy  Hurlbut. 
January  23,  1815,  and  died  at  Kingston,  Decem- 
ber 23,  1853,  being  survived  by  his  wife  and  four 
children.  '  H.  E.  H. 

GOVERNOR  HENRY  MARTYN  HOYT, 
fifth  child  of  Ziba  and  Nancy  (Hurlbut)  Hoyt, 
born  in  Kingston,  June  8,  1830,  worked  on  his 
father's  farm  untilthe  age  of  fourteen  years,  when 
he  entered  the  old  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  in 
charge  of  Professor  Owens  and  John  W.Sterling. 
He  attended  the  academy  but  a  short  time  and 
then  entered  the  Wyoming  Seminary  at  Kings- 
ton, where  he  studied  until  the  summer  of  1846. 
In  the  autumn  of  that  year  he  entered  the  sopho- 
more class  of  Lafayette  College,  Easton,  Penn- 
sylvania. In  September,  1848,  the  president  of 
the  college,  Dr.  George  Junkin,  tendered  his 
resignation.    He  was  very  popular  with  the  stud- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


ents,  and  as  it  was  known  that  his  resignation 
was  occasioned  by  personal  differences  with  cer- 
tain members  of  the  board  of  trustees,  a  large 
number  of  the  students,  his  admirers  and  sympa- 
thizers, left  Lafayette  with  him  and  entered  at 
Union,  Williams,  Washington  and  other  colleges. 
Young  Hoyt,  then  eighteen  years  of  age,  was 
among  those  who  "went  out"  with  the  Doctor. 
Entering  the  senior  class  of  Williams  College, 
Massachusetts,  he  was  graduated  the  next  year 
(1849)  a  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  in  1852  received 
his  Master's  degree.  Within  two  or  three  months 
after  his  graduation  Mr.  Hoyt  took  charge  of  a 
school  in  Towanda,  Bradford  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  taught  there  until  the  autumn  of  1850, 
when  he  went  to  the  Wyoming  Seminary  at 
Kingston  as  professor  of  mathematics. 

In  April,  185 1,  Mr.  Hoyt  registered  as  a 
student-at-law  with  the  Hon.  George  W.  Wood- 
ward, who  had  just  returned  to  practice  at 
Wilkes-Barre  from  the  fourth  judicial  district 
of  Pennsylvania,  of  which  he  had  been  president 
judge  for  ten  years.  In  May,  1852,  Judge  Wood- 
ward was  appointed  by  Governor  Bigler  a  judge 
of  the  supreme  court,  and  Mr.  Hoyt  continued 
his  law  studies  with  Warren  J.  Woodward,  Esq., 
at  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Luzerne  county,  April  4,  1853,  and  in  the 
following  October  went  on  a  prospecting  tour 
through  the  southwest.  At  Memphis,  Tennessee, 
then  a  town  of  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  he  se- 
cured employment  as  a  teacher,  and  remained 
there  until  the  summer  of  1854,  when  he  returned 
north  and  opened  an  office  in  Wilkes-Barre  and 
began  to  practice  law.  In  1855  he  was  the  candi- 
date of  the  Whig  and  Know-nothing  parties  for 
district  attorney  of  Luzerne  county,  but  was 
defeated  by  a  small  majority  by  S.  S.  Winchester, 
Esq.,  the  Democratic  candidate.  In  1856  he  took 
an  active  part  in  the  Fremont  campaign. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war 
he  was  captain  of  the  Wyoming  Light  Dra- 
goons of  Wilkes-Barre,  having  been  elected  to 
the  position  in  September,  1858.  The  Union 
cause  found  no  more  ready  supporter  than  Cap- 
tain Hoyt,  and  he  was  very  active  in  raising  the 
Fifty-second  Regiment,   Pennsylvania  Volunteer 


Infantry.  In  August,  1861,  it  was  organized  at 
Camp  Curtin,  Harrisburg,  John  C.  Dodge,  Jr., 
being  commissioned  colonel ;  Henry  M.  Hoyt, 
lieutenant-colonel  (commissioned  August  14, 
1861),  and  John  Butler  Conyngham.  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  major.  November  8,  1861,  the  regiment 
preceeded  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  it  was 
engaged  in  drill  and  guard  duty,  and  while  here 
Colonel  Hoyt  was  detailed  for  duty  on  an  ex- 
amining board,  this  giving  him  opportunity  to 
diligently  study  works  on  tactics,  engineering, 
fortifications  and  on  the  various  requirements 
of  a  soldier.  March  28,  1862,  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  the  field,  and  was  assigned  to  the 
First  Brigade  (commanded  by  Gen.  Henry 
M.  Naglee),  Third  Division.  Fourth  Army 
Corps,  and  participated  in  the  siege  of  York- 
town.  The  regiment  took  part  in  the  reconnaiss- 
ance from  Bottom's  Bridge  to  Seven  Pines  in 
advance  of  the  whole  army,  and  Lieutenant  Col- 
onel Hoyt  commanded  the  party  which  con- 
structed the  bridges  across  the  Chickahominy 
-  river.  The  regiment  was  engaged  in  the  battle 
of  Fair  Oaks  on  May  31,  and  lost  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  killed  and  wounded,  and  four 
prisoners.  When  the  battle  opened  Colonel  Hoyt 
rendered  signal  service  by  communicating  to 
General  Sumner  the  exact  position  of  the  Union 
troops,  joining  Sumner's  column  as  it  moved  to 
the  support  of  Heintzelman  in  that  battle,  and 
fighting  under  him  to  the  end.  While  the  battle 
at  Gaines'  Mill  was  in  progress  the  Fifty-second, 
with  other  regiments,  was  guarding  the  bridges 
across  the  Chickahominy,  the  men  often  standing 
waist-deep  in  the  water  of  the  swamp.  (  At  the 
close  of  the  Peninsular  campaign  the  Fifty-sec- 
ond went  into  camp  at  Yorktown,  where  it  oc- 
cupied the  fortifications  and  drilled  in  heavy  ar- 
tillery tactics. 

In  December,  1862,  the  regiment  was  detailed 
to  accompany  the  gunboat  "Monitor"  on  an  ex- 
pedition under  sealed  orders.  The  "Monitor-' 
was  lost  in  a  storm,  and  the  vessel  carrying  the 
Fifty-second  regiment  put  in  at  Newberne, 
North  Carolina.  In  the  latter  part  of  January, 
1863,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Port  Royal, 
South   Carolina.     Later   it  was   engaged   in  the 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


siege  of  Fort  Wagner,  the  first  serious  obstacle 
to  the  reduction  of  Charleston.  The  operations 
were  laborious  and  were  conducted  under  a  ter- 
rible fire  of  the  enemy  and  the  more  wasting 
effects  of  the  summer's  heat.  For  forty  days 
the  work  was  pushed.  When  all  was  ready,  a 
hundred  heavy  guns  opened  upon  Fort  Wagner, 
and  the  troops  were  held  in  readiness  to  assault. 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Hoyt  was  assigned  to  lead 
the  charge  against  Fort  Gregg,  but  before  the 
time  for  the  movement  came  the  enemy  evacuated 
and  the  stronghold  fell  without  a  blow.  During 
the  operations  against  Fort  Wagner  the  Fifty- 
second  suffered  severely,  but  there  is  no  exact 
record  of  its  casualties.  In  December,  1863, 
many  of  the  men  in  the  regiment  re-enlisted  and 
were  granted  a  veteran  furlough.  When  they 
returned  to  the  front  the  regiment  was  recruited 
to  the  maximum,  and  newly  armed  and  equipped. 
Colonel  Dodge  having  resigned,  November  5, 
1863,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Hoyt  was  promoted  to 
colonel  on  January  9,  1864,  and  Major  Conyng- 
ham  was  promoted  to  lieutenant  colonel.  The 
regiment  remained  at  Hilton  Head,  South  Caro- 
lina, until  May,  1864.  In  June,  1864,  a  plan  was 
devised  to  capture  Charleston  by  surprising  the 
garrison  guarding  its  approaches.  The  attempt 
was  made  on  the  night  of  July  3,  1864,  Colonel 
Hoyt  commanding  the  detachment  designated  to 
attack  Fort  Johnston,  the  approach  to  which  was 
by  water,  through  channels  narrow  and  difficult. 
The  pilot  of  the  boat  conveying  this  command 
utterly  failed  in  his  duty,  through  ignorance  or 
treachery,  whereupon  Colonel  Hoyt,  who  had 
fully  determined  to  carry  out  if  possible  the 
orders  that  had  been  given  him,  undertook  the 
guidance  of  the  boat  and  triumphantly  cleared  the 
bar.  But,  precious  time  having  been  lost,  the 
boat  was  discovered  as  it  approached  the  fort, 
and  a  heavy  fire  was  opened  by  the  enemy.  Col- 
onel Hoyt's  supports  failed  to  follow  (although 
of  this  he  was  ignorant),  and  he  landed  with  only 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  men,  his  whole  im- 
mediate force.  Rushing  boldly  forward  they 
charged  and  captured  a  two-gun  battery.  The 
heavy  guns  of  Fort  Johnston,  two  hundred  yards 
beyond,    were   beginning    to    open    their    hoarse 


throats,  while  the  intervals  were  filled  with  the 
sharp  rattle  of  musketry.  No  signs  of  wavering 
was  seen  in  the  intrepid  band  led  by  Colonel  Hoyt, 
as  it  moved  steadily  forward.  Crossing  tfie 
parapet  of  the  fort,  the  men  struggled  to  the  crest, 
face  to  face  with  the  foe,  and  began  to  leap  into 
the  fort,  when  the  astounding  and  mortifving 
fact  was  discovered  that  they  were  unsupported. 
The  whole  garrison  was  now  alive  and  swarming 
upon  all  sides  ;  it  was  plain  that  a  further  struggle 
would  be  useless,  and  the  detachment  surrendered 
as  prisoners  of  war.  The  skill  and  daring  dis- 
played by  Colonel  Hoyt  and  his  men  extorted  the 
highest  praise  from  friend  and  foe.  Colonel 
Hoyt,  with  other  Union  officers,  was  sent  to  Ma-' 
con,  Georgia,  and  subsequently  to  Charleston. 
While  enroute  from  Macon  to  Charleston,  he 
and  four  other  officers  leaped  from  the  cars  and 
undertook  to  make  their  way  to  the  Union  fleet. 
After  several  days  and  nights  of  efforts  for  lib- 
erty they  were  recaptured  by  the  Confederates 
by  the  aid  of  bloodhounds.  Later,  Colonel  Hoyt 
and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Conyngham  were  of  the 
fifty  officers  who  at  Charleston  were  placed  in 
confinement  under  the  fire  of  the  LTnion  batteries 
on  Morris  Island.  In  August,  1864.  having  been 
released  from  confinement  and  exchanged  as  a 
prisoner,  Colonel  Hoyt  returned  to  his  regiment 
at  Morris  Island.  He  was  honorable  discharged 
from  the  military  service  November  5,  1864,  and, 
returning  to  Wilkes-Barre  soon  afterwards,  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was 
brevetted  brigadier-general  of  volunteers  March 
13,  1865,  for  meritorious  conduct  while  in  ser- 
vice. 

In  1866  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  public  schools,  and  for  several 
years  was  a  very  active  and  useful  member  of 
the  board.  By  an  act  of  the  Pennsvlvania  legis- 
lature, June  27,  1867,  provision  was  made  for  an 
additional  law  judge  for  Luzerne  county.  The 
act  was  approved  by  Governor  Geary,  who  on 
the  5th  of  July  appointed  General  Hoyt  to  the 
judgeship,  to  serve  until  the  next  election.  He 
took  the  seat  August  1.  and  presided  at  the  term 
of  argument  court  then  held.  A  couple  of  months 
later  he  received  the  nomination  of  the  Republi- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


can  party  for  this  office,  but  at  the  election  in 
October  he  was,  although  running  largely  ahead 
of  his  ticket,  defeated  by  the  Democratic  candi- 
date, Gen.  E.  L.  Dana,  who  took  his  seat  on  the 
bench  December  2,  1867,  for  a  ten  years  term.  At 
that  time  Luzerne  county  was  strongly  Democrat- 
ic. In  May,  1868,  General  Hoyt  was  a  delegate 
to  the  Republican  national  convention  at  Chicago 
which  nominated  General  Grant  for  president. 
In  March,  1869,  he  became  a  candidate  for  the 
office  of  United  States  collector  of  internal  rev- 
enue for  the  twelfth  district  of  Pennsylvania, 
comprising  the  counties  of  Luzerne  and  Sus- 
quehanna. Gideon  W.  Palmer,  of  Abington,  and 
John  B.  Smith,  of  Kingston,  were  also  seeking 
the  appointment,  and  it  was  published  that  the 
latter  had  made  a  proposal  to  Commissioner  De-  ( 
lano,  the  head  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Bureau, 
to  the  effect  that  he  would,  if  appointed  collector, 
give  the  proceeds  of  the  salary  and  percentage 
of  the  office  to  the  Wilkes-Barre  Home  for 
Friendless  Children.  Notwithstanding  this  lib- 
eral and  novel  proposition,  President  Grant 
named  Major  Palmer  for  the  office,  and  sent  the 
nomination  to  the  senate,  then  in  extra  session, 
April  2d.  The  further  history  of  this  contest 
was  narrated  by  a  Washington  correspondent  of 
that  day  as  follows : 

"Harry  (Hoyt),  feeling  that  his  honor  was 
in  the  balance,  started  for  this  city.  Great  was 
his  surprise  upon  his  arrival  to  find  one  of  the 
strongest  political  combinations  of  the  Keystone 
State  in  league  against  him.  He  almost  despaired 
of  a  successful  encounter,  but,  knowing  'success 
to  be  a  duty,'  he  rushed  into  the  conflict,  and  in 
forty-eight  hours  after  his  arrival  had  Mr. 
Palmer's  name  withdrawn.  The  second  day  of 
the  executive  session  of  the  senate  found  his 
own    name    before    that   body    for    confirmation. 

Your  correspondent,,  in  conversation  with  one 
of  Mr.  Palmer's  friends  on  the  evening  of  the  day 
that  Hoyt's  name  had  gone  to  the  senate,  was 
told  that  the  General's  name  would  be  withdrawn 
on  the  next  day,  and  a  powerful  influence  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  President  and  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  to  that  end,  but  the  General 
was  master  of  the  situation,  and  in  a  masterly 
way  thwarted  their  every  purpose.  The  day  fol- 
lowing: closed  with  his  confirmation.     Neverthe- 


less, the  opposition  despaired  not  yet,  but  made 
a  great  effort  in  the  senate  to  bring  about  a  re- 
consideration by  resorting  to  all  kinds  of  politi- 
cal artifice,  but  were  again  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment, and  yesterday  (April  18th)  the  defeated 
head  of  the  combination  left  the  city,  but  before 
doing  so  met  his  successful  competitor,  and,  by 
an  expression  of  his  congratulation,  buried  the 
hatchet  of  this,  one  of  the  warmest  competitions 
for  government  patronage. 

There  is  not  a  man  from  Luzerne  in  the  city 
who  has  not  srjme  complimentary  word  for  Gen- 
eral Hoyt,  not  alone  because  of  his  success,  but 
because  of  the  skill  and  determined  pertinacity 
of  manner  he  has  evinced  in  manipulating  his 
case,  and  in  such  a  gentlemanly,  evenhanded  way, 
disdaining  to  resort  to  artifice  or  misrepresenta- 
tion. That  he  will  fill  the  place  so  acceptably 
filled  by  his  able  and  gentlemanly  predecessor, 
needs  no  words  for  us  to  assert." 

General  Hoyt  performed  the  duties  of  this 
office  until  1873,  when  he  resigned.  In  1875, 
having  been  appointed  chairman  of  the  Repub- 
lican state  (Pennsylvania)  committee,  he  con- 
ducted the  campaign  of  that  and  the  succeeding 
year  with  very  great  success. 

In  1878  General  Hoyt  was  nominated  by  the 
Republican  party  for  the  office  of  governor  of 
Pennsylvania.  It  was  at  a  time  of  great  excite- 
ment in  the  state  over  the  question  of  the  resump- 
tion of  specie  payments.  Many  believed  that  no 
one  could  be  elected  on  an  unqualified  hard-money 
platform,  but  General  Hoyt,  scorning  all  subter- 
fuges, sounded  the  keynote  of  the  campaign  by 
the  following  declaration  :  "Professing  to  be  an 
honest  man,  and  the  candidate  of  an  honest  party, 
I  believe  in  honest  money."  In  November  fol- 
lowing General  Hoyt  was  elected,  defeating  his 
competitor,  Andrew  H.  Dill,  by  a  large  majority. 
He  was  inaugurated  with  imposing  ceremonies 
at  Harrisburg,  January  14.  1879,  the  oath  of  of- 
fice being  administered  to  him  by  Hon.  Warren 
J.  Woodward,  his  former  instructor  in  the  law, 
then  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  state. 
Governor  Hoyt's  term  was  for  four  years,  he 
being  the  first  governor  under  the  Constitution  of 
1873  to  serve  for  that  period.  During  his  in- 
cumbency of  the  office  no  extraordinary  occasion 
was  presented  for  a  display  of  executive  ability, 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


but  his  whole  administration  was  a  marked  and 
successful  one.  He  filled  the  position  of  chief 
magistrate  with  energy,  ability  and  independence. 

In  1883  and  1884  he  was  one  of  the  vice-presi- 
dents 01  the  National  Prison  Association  of  the 
United  States,  of  which  the  Hon.  R.  B.  Hayes, 
former  president  of  the  United  States,  was  presi- 
dent. This  association  was  reorganized  in  1883, 
and  from  that  time  to  the  present  has  been  doing 
valuable  work.  It  has  been  the  direct  cause  of 
improvements  in  several  of  the  larger  prisons  of 
the  land,  and,  by  the  moral  force  exerted  through 
its  conferences  and  publications,  has  done  much 
towards  mitigating  the  abuses  in  the  southern 
prisons,  the  atrocities  in  the  "convict  camps," 
and  the  outrageous  methods  which  prevailed  in 
many  of  our  northern  jails.  A  very  important 
feature  of  its  work  is  with  reference  to  discharged 
convicts  or  ex-prisoners.  How  utterly  and  com- 
pletely desolate,  solitary  and  forlorn  the  man  is 
who  has  been  released  from  prison  and  means 
to  reform,  God  and  the  man  himself  alone  know  ; 
Ids  old  comrades  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  him  ; 
he  can  have  no  companionship  with  honest  men 
until  he  has  proved  himself  worthy  of  it.  He  is 
an  object  of  suspicion  and  he  knows  that  he  is. 
Honest  labor  refuses  him  a  place  because  of  his 
disgrace  and  shame.  If  it  is  an  inclement  sea- 
son, he  must  meet  the  bitterest  cold  with  a  crushed 
soul ;  the  very  chill  of  his  body  and  his  hunger 
have  a  tendency  to  drive  him  back  to  his  old 
life,  which  is  always  invitingly  open  to  him.  If 
•ever  a  man  needs  help,  he  needs  it.  The  Prison 
Association  has  every  facility  for  helping  such 
men,  and  it  does  help  hundreds  of  them  every 
year. 

In  1884  Governor  Hoyt  became  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Public  Charities  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  held  the  office  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
National  Conference  of  Charities,  and  Correction 
Is  an  organization  that  deals  with  the  treatment  of 
the  delinquent,  dependent  and  defective  classes, 
and  studies  the  causes  and  remedies  of  crime, 
pauperism  and  dependency.  From  its  beginning 
in  1874  it  has  never  endeavored  to  carry  out  any 
policy,  but  has  relied  for  its  influence  solely  upon 
free  discussion  of  these  problems  and  the  publica- 


tion of  its  discussions.  It  has  exercised  a  large  in- 
fluence in  the  promotion  of  important  reforms  in 
the  treatment  and  care  of  the  insane,  the  care  of 
dependent  and  defective  children,  juvenile  ref- 
ormation and  prison  reform.  Upon  the  occasion 
of  its  twelfth  annual  meeting  at  Washington,  D. 
C,  in  June,  1885,  Governor  Hoyt  read  a  lengthy 
paper  which  received  the  closest  attention  and 
drew  forth  the  most  favorable  comments  of  the 
conference. 

During  his  gubernatorial  term  Governor  Hoyt 
received,  in  1881,  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  from  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1882  the  same 
degree  was  conferred  upon  him  by  Lafayette  Col- 
lege. From  the  latter  college  he  had  also  re- 
ceived in  1865  the  degree  of  A.  M.,  ad  eundem. 

Upon  his  retirement  from  office  in  January, 
1883,  Governor  Hoyt  took  up  his  residence  in 
Philadelphia,  where  he  opened  a  law  office  and 
resumed  his  work.  He  soon  enjoyed  a  lucrative 
and  extensive  practice,  and  was  also  general  man- 
ager and  chief  attorney  for  Pennsylvania  of  the 
Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  of  the  United 
States.  In  1890  he  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  continued  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion until  prostrated  by  ill  health. 

Governor  Hoyt  was  often  called  upon  to  de- 
liver addresses  before  literary,  scientific  and  other 
bodies  in  Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere.  In  June, 
1866,  there  was  a  reunion  at  Stamford,  Connecti- 
cut, of  the  members  of  the  Hoyt  family,  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  of  them  being  present. 
One  of  the  most  pleasing  of  the  addresses  de- 
livered was  that  by  General  Hoyt.  November 
10,  1879,  Governor  Hoyt  read  before  the  His- 
torical Society  of  Pennsylvania  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  invited  guests,  a  paper  entitled  "Brief  of 
a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  the  County 
of  Luzerne :  a  Syllabus  of  the  Controversy  be- 
tween Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania."  In  Sep- 
tember, 1880,  the  Second  General  Council  of  the 
Presbyterian  Alliance  assembled  in  Philadelphia, 
and  there  were  present  delegates  from  nearly  all 
the  reformed  churches  throughout  the  world 
which  adhere  to  Presbyterian  forms  and  doc- 
trines. Many  of  these  delegates  were  men  of 
great    ability    and    reputation    as    scholars    and 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


teachers.  Governor  Hoyt,  as  chief  executive  of 
the  commonwealth  within  the  borders  of  which 
the  council  had  assembled,  delivered  an  address 
of  welcome  which  attracted  very  considerable 
attention,  and  applause  from  those  who  heard 
it  or  read  it.  "Without  doubt,"  says  Gen. 
Henry  W.  Palmer,  "his  discussion  upon  that  oc- 
casion was  both  unexpected  and  astonishing. 
The  grave  and  reverend  members,  versed  in  all 
the  doctrine  and  dogma  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  were  amazed  at  the  learning  of  the 
speaker  in  his  treatment  of  abstruse  theological 
questions  which  are  outside  the  investigation  of 
laymen  and  only  understood  by  those  bred  and 
educated  in  the  schools  of  the  church.  No  one 
who  heard  him  doubted  the  intellectual  force  of 
p  the  lawyer  who  could  stand  before  the  wisest 
men  of  that  church,  which  is  celebrated  for  the 
dialectic  skill  of  its  preachers,  and  speak  to  them 
of  the  doctrines  which,  since  the  days  of  Calvin 
and  Knox,  have  furnished  food  for  complex  and 
learned  discussions.  It  was  an  illustration  of  the 
many-sided  character  of  Governor  Hoyt*s  men- 
tal cultivation,  and  of  the  great  intellect  now  gone 
out  into  the  great  unexplored  and  unknown 
mystery  beyond  the  grave.  -— 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  armorv  of  the 
First  Regiment  of  Infantry,  National  Guard  of 
Pennsylvania,  was  laid  in  Philadelphia  with  Ma- 
sonic ceremonies,  April  19,  1882,  and  Governor 
Hoyt  delivered  the  oration  on  the  occasion.  The 
one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  was  celebrated  with 
great  eclat  in  Philadelphia  on  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist's Day,  June  24,  1882.  The  grand  lodge,  ac- 
companied by  seventy-six  subordinate  lodges, 
paraded  through  the  principal  streets  of  Phila- 
delphia to  the  Academy  of  Music,  where  an  ap- 
propriate program  of  ceremonies  was  carried  out, 
the  chief  feature  of  which  were  addresses  by 
prominent  members  of  the  craft.  Governor  Hoyt 
delivered  an  address  on  "Masonry  and  its  Rela- 
tions to  the  Outer  World."  At  the  commence- 
ment exercises  of  Williams  College,  Massachu- 
setts, in  July,  1883,  Governor  Hoyt  delivered  an 
eloquent  address  on  "The  duties  which  men  of 


education  owe  to  their  times,  and  how  those  duties 
may  be  most  successfully  accomplished."  Jn 
December,  1884,  he  delivered  an  address  before 
the  students  of  Swarthmore  College,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  the  subject  of  "Protection,  or  Defensive 
Duties."  In  July,  1885,  he,  with  thirteen  other 
graduates  of  Williams  College,  sent  to  the  trus- 
i  tees  of  the  college  a  protest  against  the  manner 
in  which  the  doctrine  of  free  trade  was  being 
taught  to  the  students  of  Williams  by  Professor 
Perry,  and  also  objecting  to  having  the  Cobden 
Club  prize  awarded  at  the  college.  As  a  result 
the  trustees  appointed  a  committee  to  consider 
the  advisability  of  having  a  course  of  "protec- 
tive" lectures  delivered.  Professor  Perry,  of 
Williams  College,  shared  with  Professor  Sum- 
mer, of  Yale,  the  distinction  of  being  the  most 
prominent  of  the  educators  who  were  endeavor- 
ing to  instill  into  the  minds  of  American  colleg- 
ians British  free  trade  doctrines.  In  the  fall  of 
1885  the  students  of  Williams  invited  Governor 
Hoyt  to  deliver  an  address  to  them  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Protection.  He  delivered  the  address 
early  in  February,  1886,  and  forcibly  presented 
his  ideas  with  reference  to  protective  tariffs. 
Earlv  in  1886  Messrs.  D.  Appleton  &  Company, 
of  New  York,  published  an  octavo  book  of  four 
hundred  and  thirty-five  pages,  written  by  Gover- 
nor Hoyt,  and  entitled  "Protection  versus  Free 
Trade ;  the  Scientific  Validity  and  Economic 
Operation  of  Defensive  Duties  in  the  United 
States."  Although  written  in  the  intervals  of 
business  engagements,  this  book  was  clearly  the 
result  of  a  thorough  and  impartial  investigation 
of  the  science  of  political  economy  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  protective  tariff.  The  book  has  had  a 
wide  circulation  among  scientific  men  and  stud- 
ents, and  has  attracted  considerable  comment. 
A  second  edition  was  published  in  1888.  During 
the  presidential  campaign  of  1888  Governor  Hoyt 
was  general  secretary  and  manager  of  the  Ameri- 
can Protective  Tariff  League,  with  headquarters 
in  New  York  city.  Very  important  services  in 
behalf  of  the  Republican  party  were  rendered  by 
the  League,  and  particularly  by  Governor  Hoyt 
— service  which  aided  greatly  in  electing  Presi- 
dent Harrison. 


r 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


For  many  years  Governor  Hoyt  was  a  di- 
rector of  the  Wyoming  National  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre ;  and  a  member  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Law 
and  Library  Association,  and  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  of  which  he 
had  been  one  of  the  organizers  in  September, 
1858.  For  ten  or  more  of  the  last  years  of  his 
life  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  Williams  College. 

Governor  Hoyt  was  initiated  into  Lodge  No. 
61,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  December  27, 
1854.  He  was  secretary  in  1859-65,  junior 
warden  in  i860,  and  senior  warden  in  1861.  In 
December,  1861,  he  was  elected  worshipful  mas- 
ter. On  St.  John's  Day  all  of  the  officers  of 
the  lodge  were  installed  except  Brother  Hoyt, 
who  was  absent  with  his  regiment  in  the  army. 
He  did  not  attend  any  of  the  meetings  of  the 
lodge  during  the  year  until  December  1,  1862, 
when  he  presided  as  worshipful  master  at  the 
annual  election  of  officers.  He  was  elected  an 
honorary  member  of  the  lodge  September  15, 
1875.  In  December,  1882,  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  on  correspondence  of  the 
grand  lodge  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  marked 
in  Shekinah  R.  A.  Chapter,  No.  182,  May  6, 
1856,  and  was  exalted  to  the  royal  arch  degree 
June  9,  1857.  He  was  scribe  in  1859,  king  in 
i860,  and  high  priest  in  1861,  1868  and  1869. 
In  1870,  1871  and  1872  he  was  district  deputy 
grand  high  priest  of  the  district  composed  of 
Luzerne,  Pike,  Monroe  and  Wayne  counties, 
Pennsylvania.  September  4,  1872,  the  officers 
of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Pennsyl- 
vania made  a  visitation  to  Shekinah  Chapter. 
Many  of  the  Royal  Arch  Masons,  representing 
various  chapters  in  Companion  Hoyt's  district, 
were  present  on  this  occasion,  and  in  the  course 
of  their  work  they  adopted  the  following  testi- 
monials :  "Resolved.  That  we,  the  representa- 
tives and  members  of  the  several  Chapters  under 
the  supervision  of  the  Hon.  H.  M.  Hoyt,  D.  D. 
G.  H.  P.,  take  this  occasion  to  express  our  appre- 
ciation of  the  zeal  and  ability  shown  by  him  in 
giving  to  us  the  true  work  of  the  H.  R.  A.  Chap- 
ter of  Pennsylvania,  as  exemplified  by  its  Grand 
Officers  this   evening;   and   in   infusing  into  the 


several  Chapters  deep  interest  in  the  work — the 
results  of  which  are  shown  by  the  assemblage 
this  evening  of  the  largest  number  of  Royal  Arch 
Masons  ever  convened  in  Luzerne  County." 
Brother  Hoyt  received  all  the  degrees  of  Temp- 
lar Masonry,  and  was  admitted  to  membership 
April  21,  1868,  in  Packer  Commandery.  No.  23, 
at  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania.  He  withdrew 
from  the  commandery  November  21,  1871,  in- 
tending to  connect  himself  with  Dieu  le  Veut 
Commandery,  No.  45,  then  just  constituted  at 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  a  member  of  Enoch 
Lodge  of  Perfection  at  Bloomsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, having  received  the  first  fourteen  degrees 
of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Rite  in  that  lodge 
July  16,  1868. 

Governor  Hoyt  was  married  at  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania,  September  25,  1855,  to  Mary  E. 
Loveland,  born  at  Kingston,  April  20,  1833, 
daughter  of  Elijah  Loveland  (born  February  6, 
1788,  died  February  3,  1846)  and  Matilda  Buck- 
ingham (born  April  26,  1793,  died  March  24, 
1853,  his  wife.  Elijah  Loveland,  who  removed 
to  Kingston  from  Norwich,  Vermont,  in  1812, 
was  fifth  in  descent  from  Thomas  Loveland,  of 
Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  who  was  made  a  free- 
man in  1670.  Mrs.  Loveland  was  descended 
from  Rev.  Thomas  Buckingham,  of  New  Haven 
and  Branford,  Connecticut,  one  of  the  founders 
of  Yale  College.  Mrs.  Hoyt  died  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  September  30,  1890,  and  was  survived  by 
her  husband,  one  son  and  two  daughters. 

HENRY  MARTYN  HOYT,  eldest  of  the 
three  children  of  Governor  Hoyt  and  wife, 
was  born  at  Wilkes-Barre,  December  5, 
1856.  He  was  graduated  from  Yale  College 
a  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1878.  He  became  a 
student-at-law  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Wayne 
McVeagh,  Philadelphia,  and  also  attended  the 
regular  course  of  lectures  in  the  law  department 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  receiving  in 
1881  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  Having  been  admitted 
to  the  Philadelphia  bar  in  June,  1881,  he  removed 
to  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  practiced 
law  for  a  time,  later  (1883)  going  to  New  York 
City  to  accept  the  position  of  assistant  cashier  in 
the   United   States    National    Bank.      In    March, 


8 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


1886,  he  became  treasurer  of  the  Investment 
Company  of  Philadelphia,  and  held  that  office 
until  September,  1890.  when  he  became  president 
of  the  company.  He  resigned  in  June,  1894,  and 
returned  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Phila- 
delphia. In  1897  he  was  appointed  assistant  at- 
torney general  of  the  United  States  by  Presi- 
dent McKinley,  and  in  1903  was  appointed  solici- 
tor general  by  President  Roosevelt,  which  posi- 
tion he  now  (1905)  holds.  January  31,  1883,  he 
married  Anne  McMichael,  a  daughter  of  Morton 
McMichael,  Jr.,  and  granddaughter  of  the  late 
Hon.  Morton  McMichael,  who  was  for  many 
years  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  North  Amer- 
ican, Philadelphia,  some  time  mayor  of  that  citv 
and  for  a  long  time  closely  and  eminently  identi- 
fied with  its  affairs  in  war  and  peace.  Solicitor 
General  and  Mrs.  Hoyt  have  five  children,  two 
sons  and  three  daughters. 

Governor  Hoyt's  two  other  surviving  chil- 
ren  are  daughters,  Miss  Maude  Buckingham 
Hoyt  and  Miss  Helen  Strong  Hoyt.  Miss  Hoyt, 
since  her  father's  death,  has  lived  and  traveled 
much  abroad  and  is  now  residing  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  Miss  Helen  Hoyt  entered  and  in  due 
course  graduated  from  Bryn  Mawr  College, 
after  her  father  died,  and  is  now  an  instructor 
in  English  in  that  institution. 

Governor  Hoyt  died  at  his  home  on  South 
Franklin  street,  Wilkes-Barre,  Thursday,  De- 
cember 1,  1892,  after  an  illness  of  several  months. 
His  funeral  took  place  from  the  First  Presbyter- 
ian church  on  the  following  Saturday,  and  "was 
one  of  the  most  impressive  held  in  Wilkes-Barre 
in  many  a  day." 

From  the  year  1861  to  1891  Henry  M.  Hoyt 
was  a  busy  man,  for  within  the  last  three  de- 
cades of  his  life  he  found  times  and  opportunities 
to  win  sufficient  celebrity  to  make  the  fame  of 
two  or  three  different  men.  He  was  a  soldier 
with  a  brilliant  record,  a  political  leader  of  much 
shrewdness,  a  governor  who  displayed  high  ad- 
ministrative ability,  a  lawyer  learned  and  skilled 
and,  beyond  all  these,  a  student  and  teacher  in 
the  domains  of  sociology  and  economics.  Under 
all   circumstances   he   was   a  leader,   not  merely 


followed  and  obeyed,  but  implicitly  trusted  and 
sincerely  loved.  Shrewd  in  speech,  sagacious  in 
counsel,  resolute  in  action,  tireless  in  the  pat- 
ience of  his  labor,  and  unfaltering  in  loyalty  to 
what  he  thought  his  duty,  he  succeeded  where 
most  men  would  have  failed.  As  a  fearless  de- 
clarer of  his  opinions,  and  the  soul  of  honor,  he 
was  hated  by  the  hack  politicians,  and  it  was  his 
enemies  largely  that  gave  him  his  hosts  of  friends. 
'"A  Marciful  Providence  fashioned  us  holler," 
says  the  poet,  "O'  purpose  that  we  might  our 
princerpuls  swaller ;"  but  Henry  M.  Hoyt  never 
"swallowed"  his.  Strong  and  positive  as  he  was 
in  the  announcement  of  his  principles  and  opin- 
ions, not  one  element  of  bitterness  was  in  them. 
However  he  differed  from  many  earnest  men 
who  assailed  him,  in  a  manner  vehement  and  not 
always  removed  from  acerbity,  he  had  only  kind- 
liness and  charity  for  his  assailants.  Selfishness, 
meanness  and  ignobility  were  unknown  to  him. 
His  generosity  was  of  the  sort  which  instanta- 
neously forgives  everything  vanquished.  If  his 
opponents  found  him,  as  they  said,  "hard-headed 
and  tough  skinned,"  he  was  soft-hearted  and 
sensitive  enough  toward  his  friends  and  all  the 
poor  and  oppressed.  Strong  as  were  his  political 
convictions  and  his  partisan  loyalty,  his  friend- 
ships and  personal  attachments  were  stronger 
still. 

"Of  his  unselfishness,  of  his  kindness,  of  his 
fidelity  and  of  his  generositv.to  others.  I  would 
speak.  I  personally  know  young  men  never  had 
a  more  appreciative  or  more  helpful  friend  than 
Henry  M.  Hoyt.  There  are  scores  of  them 
throughout  the  commonwealth,  who,  while  join- 
ing with  the  public  in  proclaiming  him  a  distin- 
guished lawyer,  a  brave  soldier,  a  broad  and  inde- 
pendent statesman,  a  true  patriot,  and  one  of  the 
greatest  thinkers  that  this  commonwealth  has 
ever  produced,  will  ever  remember  that  he  was 
their  generous  and  helpful  friend."  Thus  spoke 
Judge  Charles  E.  Rice  at  the  memorial  meeting 
held  by  the  Luzerne  bar  on  the  day  of  Governor 
Hoyt's  funeral,  and  the  writer  of  these  lines, 
basing  his  judgment  upon  his  own  personal 
knowledge  of  and    experiences    with    Governor 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Hoyt  for  more  than  a  dozen  years,  can  and  does 
sincerely  and  earnestly  affirm  Judge  Rice's  tri- 
bute. 

(This  sketch  borrows  largely  from  ''History 
of  Wilkes-Barre  Lodge.  No.  61,  F.  and  A.  M.," 
by  O.  J.  Harvey,  Esq.,  bv  permission  of  the 
author.)  H.  E.  H. 

I 

CO'NYNGHAM  FAMILY.1  Rt.  Rev.  Will- 
iam Conyngham,  D.  D.,  born  1512-13,  Bishop  of 
Argyll,  Scotland,  1539-58,  was  a  3-ounger  son  of 
William  Conyngham,  fourth  earl  of  Glencairn 
in  the  peerage  of  Scotland.  This  William  Cony- 
ngham was  educated  for  the  church,  matriculated, 
University  of  St.  Andrew's,  1532;  made  por- 
vost  Trinity  College,  Edinburgh,  1538,  and  raised 
to  the  see  of  Argyle  by  James  V,  February  1. 

1539- 

The  Very  Rev.  Alexander  Conyngham,  M. 
A.,  was  the  grandson  of  Dr.  William  Conyng- 
ham, Bishop  of  Argyle,  in  Scotland.  In  1616 
he  was  naturalized  as  an  English  subject;  was 
the  first  Protestant  minister  of  Inver  and  Kelly- 
mard,  county  Donegal,  1611;  ordained  Prebend 
of  Inver  161 1,  and  that  of  Kellymard  same  year; 
vacated  Kellymard  1622,  and  Inver  1630,  both  in 
the  Cathedral  of  Raphoe,  on  succeeding  to  the 
Deanery  of  Raphoe  by  patent  of  April  27  ;  in- 
stalled June  22,  1630,  when  Dean  Adair  was  con- 
secrated Bishop  of  Killaloe,  1629-30.  He  was 
Tjorn  circa  1580 :  died  September  3,  1660. 

Alexander  Conyngham,  Dean  of  Raphoe,  is 
credited  by  Burke  with  having  had  twenty-seven 
sons  and  daughters,  four  of  the  sons  reaching 
manhood ;  Alexander  died  during  the  life  of  his 
father;  George  of  Killenlesseragh.  Esq.,  died 
without  male  issue  ;  Sir  Albert,  who  was  knighted, 
and  whose  grandson  became  Marquis  Conyng- 
ham, of  Mount  Charles ;  and  William,  of  Bally- 
davit,  Esq. 

George  Conyngham  of  Killenlesseragh,  county 
Longford,  by  will  dated  May  5,  1684,  proved 
November  25,  1684,  devised  lands  to  his  brother 


1.  Written  and  compiled  from  Rev.  Horace  E. 
Hayden's  "Conyngham  Reminiscences,"  and  from  vari- 
ous other  writings  by  the  same  author. 


William  of  Ballydavit,  to  his  nephew  Alexander 
of  Aighan,  and  his  brother  Andrew  ;  and  names 
his  brother  Sir  Albert  Conyngham.  William 
Conyngham  of  Ballydavit,  county  Donegal,  bv 
will,  October  8,  1700,  entails  on  his  nephew  Alex- 
ander of  Aighan  all  his  land  in  county  Donegal, 
with  bequests  to  others  of  the  family.  Alexander 
Conyngham  of  Aighan,  gentleman,  bv  will,  De- 
cember 2~,  1 70 1,  entails  lands  on  his  eldest  son, 
Richard  Conyngham  of  Dublin,  merchant,  and 
on  Richard's  male  heir,  in  default  of  which  to 
his  second  son  Andrew,  and  on  his  male  heir,  in 
default  of  which  to  said  Richard's  right  heir. 
These  very  lands  (Conyngham  Reminiscenses,  p. 
185)  thus  limited  on  Richard's  right  heirs  are 
found  in  1721  in  possession  of  Captain  David 
Conyngham  of  Ballyherrin  and  Letterkenny,  the 
son  of  Alexander  Conyngham,  of  Rosguil,  Ire- 
land, whose  will  (March  21,  1778)  conveyed  the 
estate  to  his  son  David  Hayfield  Conyngham, 
whose  eldest  son,  Redmond  Conyngham,  of  Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania,  by  law  would  have  inher- 
ited it,  but  at  whose  instance  his  father  broke  the 
entail,  disposing  of  the  estate  for  $150,000. 

Alexander  Conyngham  of  Rosguil,  county 
Donegal,  had  among  his  ten  children:  1.  Rev. 
William,  Rector  of  Letterkenny,  died  1782,  at 
ninety-one.  2.  Captain  David  of  Ballyherrin  and 
Letterkenny.  3.  Adam  of  Cranford,  died  1729, 
father  of  Captain  John  Conyngham,  who  served 
with  Braddock,  when  he  was  defeated  by  the 
Indians,  1755.  4.  Alexander,  who  died  without 
issue,  leaving  his  estate  to  his  nephews.  5.  An- 
drew. 

Captain  David  Conyngham,  of  Ballyherrin 
and  Letterkennv,  Ireland,  had  by  his  wife  Kath- 
erine  O'Hanlon,  daughter  of  Redmond  O'Han- 
lon,  one  of  the  Royal  Standard  Bearers  of  Ire- 
land, dispossessed  by  Cromwell:  1.  Redmond, 
of  Letterkenny,  and  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 
2.  Isabella,,  married  David  Stewart.  3.  Mary, 
married  Rev.  Thomas  Plunkett.  and  had  William 
Conyngham,  lord  chancellor  of  Ireland,  Baron 
Plunkett  and  Captain  David  Plunkett,  of  the 
American  army,  1776-83.  4.  Alexander,  died 
in  Philadelphia,  October  14,  1748.  5.  Hannah, 
married  Rev.  Oliver  MacCausland,  rector  of  Fin- 


io 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


langen,  Ireland.  6.  Catherine,  married  Colonel 
Sir  David  Ross,  of  Ireland.  7.  Isabella  Han- 
Ion.  8.  Martha  A.  9.  Margaret.  10.  Lydia. 
11.     Elizabeth,  all  of  whom  died  single. 

Redmond  Conyngham,  Esq.,  born  in  Letter- 
kenny,  Ireland,  1719,  died  there  January  17, 
17S4;  married,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  Jan- 
uary 13,  1849,  Martha  Ellis,  born  Philadelphia, 
February  13,  1731  ;  died  Derry,  Ireland,  April 
15,  1768;  daughter  of  Robert  Ellis,1  Esq.,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  Catherine,  his  wife.  They  had 
five  sons  and  seven  daughters.  Redmond  Conyng- 
ham  came  to  Philadelphia  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  was  a  member  of  the  mercantile  firm 
of  John  Maynard  Nesbitt  &  Co.  He  returned  to 
Ireland  in  1766.  In  1775  his  son,  David  Hay- 
field  Conyngham,  took  his  place  in  the  firm,  which 
under  the  name  of  J.  M.  Nesbitt  &  Company  and 
Conyngham  &  Nesbitt  very  materially  aided  the 
cause  of  the  colonies,  doubtless  saving  Washing- 
ton's army  at  Valley  Forge  by  its  liberal  dona- 
tion of  five  thousand  pounds  of  pork  at  one  period 
or  dire  need. 

David  Hayfield  Conyngham,  born  in  Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania,  March  21,  1750,  died 
March  3,  1834;  married,  Whitemars'h,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  4,  1779,  Mary  West,  born  1758, 
died  August  29,  1820:  daughter  of  William 
West,  a  prominent  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  and 
his  wife,  Mary  Hodge,  daughter  of  William 
Hodge,  Jr.,  and  wife  Eleanor  Wormley  (Hodge 
Family).     Their  children: 

1.  William,  born  September  13,  1780,  died 
September  20,  1780. 

2.  Redmond,  born  September  19,  1781  ;  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Yates,  daughter  of  Hon.  Jasper 
Yates  of  Pennsylvania. 

3.  Mary  Martha,  born  August  18,  1783; 
died  February  16,  1792. 

4.  Catherine,   born   August   29,    1786;   died 


1.  Robert  Ellis,  merchant  and  iron  founder,  was 
prominent  in  early  Philadelphia  history ;  member  of  the 
common  council,  October  3,  1722-24;  member  of  Dur- 
ham Iron  Co.,  Bucks  county,  1727;  grand  juryman, 
Philadelphia,  Oct.  1734;  member  Christ  Church  and 
vestryman,  1719-^0.  1722-27,  1735;  justice  of  Bucks 
county,  Dec.   17,  1745,  and  June  30,  1749. 


Towanda,  Pennsylvania,  May  14,  1839 ;  married 
October  2,  1806,  Ralph  Peters,  son  of  Hon.  Rich- 
ard Peters,  of  Pennsylvania. 

5.  William,  born  July  7,  1788;  died  March 
11,  1789. 

6.  Hannah,  born  January  6,  1790;  died  1869. 

7.  Mary,  born  February  11,  1793;  died  June 
27,  1895. 

8.  David,  born  February  6,  1795 ;  died  Sep- 
tember i,  1853. 

9.  Elizabeth  Isabella,  born  May  6,  1797. 

10.  John  Nesbitt,  born  December  17,  1798; 
died  Februarv  23,  1871  ;  married  December  12, 
1823,  Ruth  Ann  Butler,  daughter  of  Gen.  Lord 
Butler,  born  January  11,  1801 ;  died  July  3, 
1879.     (See  Butler  Family.) 

HON  JOHN  NESBITT  CONYNGHAM. 
LL.  D.,  youngest  child  of  David  Hayfield  and 
Mary  (West)  Conyngham,  born  Philadelphia, 
December  17,  1798,  was  educated  there,  gradu- 
ating at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  A.  B., 
1817,  A.  M.,  1820,  receiving  the  honorary  degree 
of  LL.  D.  from  his  alma  mater  1866.  He  studied 
law  under  the  personal  direction  of  Hon.  Joseph 
B.  Ingersoll,  of  Philadelphia  county.  He  re- 
moved to  Wilkes-Barre  early  in  1820,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Luzerne  county  bar  April  3  of 
that  year.  After  a  few  years  of  practice  he  was 
appointed  (April,  1841)  president  judge  of  the 
Luzerne  common  pleas,  and  for  thirty  years  filled 
the  judicial  office  with  a  dignity  and  intelligence 
which  was  characteristic  of  the  man  throughout 
the  period  of  his  long  life.  He  was  first  com- 
missioned judge  of  the  common  pleas  in  1839  in 
the  Bradford  and  Susquehanna  districts,  and  by 
an  exchange  with  Judge  Jessup  in  1841  he  as- 
sumed the  judicial  office  in  Luzerne  county;  and 
upon  the  occasion  of  his  resignation  in  1870. 
many  learned  men  in  the  law  were  invited  to  be 
participants  at  the  banquet  given  in  his  honor. 
On  that  occasion  Justice  Sharswood  said :  "To 
unsuspected  purity  of  purpose  he  has  joined  the 
greatest  fidelity  and  the  most  eminent  legal  learn- 
ing and  ability."  Chief  Justice  Thompson  wrote : 
"To  a  faithful  and  'able  judge,  such  as  yours  has 
been,  the  tribute  of  respect  you  propose  on  his 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


ii 


retirement  is  graceful  and  proper;  and  in  this 
instance  will  sincerely  mark  the  respect  the  bar 
must  feel  towards  one  on  whom  devotion  to 
duty  and  justice  in  discharging  it,  was  to  all 
most  distinctly  apparent."  Chief  Justice  Wood- 
ward said :  "No  tribute  to  a  public  servant  was 
ever  better  deserved  than  that  which  you  pro- 
pose to  tender  to  Judge  Conyngham.  He  has 
executed  for  a  long  time  and  with  great  fidelity 
one  of  the  most  difficult  and  responsible  offices 
in  the  government."  *  *  *  "And  to  official 
fidelity,  Judge  Conyngham  has  added  the  sanc- 
tion of  a  good  life,"  etc.  And  Chief  Justice  Ag- 
new  remarked :  "I  cannot  forbear  adding  my 
testimony  to  that  of  others,  of  the  high  character 
Judge  Conyngham  has  always  borne  as  a  man  and 
as  a  jurist." 

In  Wilkes-Barre  Judge  Conyngham  was  al- 
ways deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  St. 
Stephen's  Church,  of  which  he  was  a  communi- 
cant ;  he  was  elected  vestryman  in  1812  ;  was  dele- 
gated to  a  special  convention  in  Philadelphia  in 
1844,  to  consider  the  expediency  of  electing  an 
assistant  bishop  in  the  diocese ;  subsequently  he 
was  a  delegate  to  every  general  convention  ex- 
cept one ;  and  he  always  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  influential  members  of  every  dio- 
cesan convention.  "As  a  deputy  he  was  never 
absent  from  his  post,  ever  punctual  to  every  ap- 
pointment, and  always  ready  to  sacrifice  all  per- 
sonal considerations  to  his  onerous  duties."  In 
1868  he  was  elected  president  of  the  American 
Church  Missionary  Society,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant organizations  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church,  including  in  its  membership  and  officialty 
clergymen  and  laymen  from  nearly  every  diocese. 

"In  early  life  he  was  warmly  interested  in 
state  and  national  politics  and,  though  invariably 
decided  and  inflexible  in  his  attitude,  he  was  re- 
spected and  admired  even  by  his  opponents."  In 
1840  he  represented  Luzerne  county  in  the  legis- 
lature. From  1824  to  1838  he  was  one  of  the 
trustees  of  Wilkes-Barre  Academy.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  president  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Tract  Society,  of  the  Luzerne  County 
Bible  Society,  and  of  the  American  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society ;  was  vice-president  of  the  Amer- 


ican Sunday  School  Union,  and  of  an  institution 
for  deaf  mutes  in  Philadelphia.  From  May, 
1827,  to  May,  1828,  and  from  May,  1834,  to 
May,  1837,  he  was  burgess  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
in  1849-50  he  was  president  of  the  borough  coun- 
cil. He  was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  direc- 
tors of  the  Wyoming  Bank,  organized  November, 
1829 ;  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Wyom-' 
ing  Historical  and  Geological  Society  from  1858 
to   1871,  vice-president   1866-67,  president   1869. 

Judge  Conyngham's  death  was  the  result  of 
an  accident.  On  his  way  to  Texas  in  February, 
1 87 1,  to  bring  home  his  invalid  son  (Colonel  John 
Butler  Conyngham)  he  fell  on  the  railroad  track 
at  Magnolia,  Mississippi,  and  was  so  crushed 
under  the  wheels  of  a  passenger  car  that  he  died 
within  two  hours  after.  His  last  words  were : 
"I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth."  The  Co- 
nyngham School  on  St.  Clement's  street,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  was  named  in  honor  of  Judge  Conyng- 
ham. 

Judge  Conyngham  married,  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  December  17,  1823,  Ruth  Ann 
Butler,  born  January  n,  1801,  died,  July  3,  1879, 
seventh  child  of  General  Lord  and  Mary  (Pierce) 
Butler,  the  eldest  son  of  Colonel  Zebulon  and 
Ann  (Lord)  Butler  of  Lyme,  Connecticut,  and 
Wilkes-Barre.  Colonel  Butler  was  the  military 
commander  of  Wyoming  as  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Twenty-fourth  Connecticut  regiment,  a 
soldier  from  his  youth,  rising  from  ensign  of  the 
colonial  forces  to  be  colonel  of  the  First  Connecti- 
cut regiment  of  the  Continental  line,  which  rank 
he  held  when  the  Revolutionary  war  ended.  He 
commanded  the  American  forces  at  the  battle  of 
Wyoming,  July  3,  1778,  and  was  so  identified 
with  that  section  that  Miner,  the  historian,  has 
truly  said :  "The  life  of  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler 
is  the  history  of  Wyoming."  He  was  the  per- 
sonal friend  of  Washington,  who  reposed  great 
confidence  in  him.  He  was  the  son  of  John  and 
Hannah  (Perkins)  Butler,  and  grandson  of 
Lieutenant  William  and  Mary  (Ingalls)  Butler, 
of  Ipswich,  Mass.  His  was  a  distinguished  an- 
cestrv,  of  which  his  posterity  have  reason  to  be 
proud.  John  Nesbitt  and  Ruth  Ann  (Butler) 
Convnarham  had : 


12 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


i.  David  Conyngham,  born  June  17,  1826; 
died  April,  1834. 

2.  Colonel  John  Butler  Conyngham,  U.  S. 
A.,  born  September  29,  1827;  died  single,  May 
27,  1871  ;  entered  Yale  College  1842;  graduated 
A.  B.  1846.  Was  a  founder  of  the  Delta  Kappa 
Epsilon  fraternity  of  Yale ;  studied  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Luzerne  county  bar  August  6, 
1849;  began  law  practice  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
1852;  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  1856;  in  1861 
"he  enlisted  for  three  months'  service  in  the  civil 
war  as  second  lieutenant,  Company  C,  Eighth 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  promoted  major  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  1861,  and  lieu- 
tenant-colonel January  9,  1864;  taken  prisoner 
July  4,  1864;  released  and  promoted  colonel, 
June  3,  1865 ;  appointed  captain  Thirty-eighth 
United  States  Infantry,  and  in  1871  was  bre- 
vetted  lieutenant-colonel  United  States  army  for 
gallant  services  in  the  field.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolo- 
gical Society  in  Wilkes-Barre,  February  n,  1858, 
and  was  an  active  member  until  his  death.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  61,  F.  and  A. 
M.,  and  Shekinah  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  182. 

3.  William  Lord  Conyngham,  born  Novem- 
ber 21,  1829.     See  below. 

4.  Thomas  Dyer  Conyngham,  born  Decem- 
ber 11,  1831  ;  died  New  York,  November  6, 
1904 ;  married  June  6,  1850,  Harriet  Michler. 
Mr.  Conyngham  graduated  A.  B.  Yale  College, 
1850.  Was  New  York  superintendent  Hazard 
Wire  Rope  Works,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  had, 
John  Nesbitt,  died  young;  Mary,  married  No- 
vember, 1892,  George  Frieze  Redmond,  of  New 
York;  Edith,  married  January  15,  1896,  John 
Marsh,  and  had  Hampton  Conyngham  Marsh, 
"born  October  11,  1901. 

5.  Mary  Conyngham,  married  June  21, 
1864,  Charles  Parrish  of  Wilkes-Barre.  (See 
Parrish  Family). 

6.  Anna  Maria  Conyngham,  married 
Right  Rev.  William  Bacon  Stevens,  DD. 
LL.  D.,  Bishop  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
Diocese  of  Pennsylvania,  1862-87 ;  born  July 
13,  1815;  died  June  11,  1887.  (See  Batterson's 
■"Sketch    Book,    American    Episcopate").     He 


had  by  this  his  second  marriage :  Anna  Con- 
yngham, married  Louis  Krumbharr,  of  Phil- 
adelphia, and  had  George  Douglass  Krumb- 
harr, born  January,  1904;  John  Conyngham, 
married  Margaretta  Hutchinson,  and  had 
Dorothy  Willing  Stevens. 

7.  Charles  Miner  Conyngham,  born  July 
6,  1840.    See  below. 

WILLIAM  LORD  CONYNGHAM,  third 
son  of  Hon.  John  Nesbitt  and  Ruth  Ann  (Butler) 
Conyngham,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, November  21,  1829,  married  December 
6,  1864,  Olivia  Hillard,  daughter  of  Oliver 
Burr  and  Harriet  A.  (Roberts)  Hillard  of 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  for  many  years 
a  coal  operator  in  the  firms  of  Parrish  and  Con- 
yngham, coal  operators,  and  Conyngham  & 
Paine,  commission  merchants.  For  thirty-six 
years  he  was  associated  with  Joseph  Stickney 
in  Wilkes-Barre  and  New  York  as  Conyng- 
ham &  Company  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Stick- 
ney and  Conyngham,  of  New  York  and  Bos- 
ton; J.  Hilles  &  Co.,  Baltimore;  James  Boyd 
&  Co.,  Philadelphia  and  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  Boyd,  Stickney  &  Co.,  Chicago  and 
St.  Louis,  agents  for  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company's  anthracite  coal,  north,  south, 
east  and  west.  Mr.  Conyngham  has  also  been 
largely  associated  with  the  business  life  of 
the  Wyoming  Valley  in  many  ways.  He  has 
long  been  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society,  since,  was 
vice-president  1881,  and  a  life  member  since 
1884. 

Mrs.  William  L.  Conyngham  descends  from 
Capt.  David  Hilliard  (original  form  of  name 
Hillard)  of  Little  Compton,  Rhode  Island, 
son  of  William  of  same  place,  1650 ;  from  Jo- 
seph Hilliard  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  and  his  wife 
Freelove  Miner,  great-grand-daughter  of 
Lieut.  Thomas  Miner,  of  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts, 1630,  and  Stonington,  Connecticut,  dep- 
uty to  the  general  court  of  Connecticut,  and 
prominent  in  church  and  colony.  His  son, 
Captain    Ephraim    Miner,    ensign,    captain,    jus- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


13 


tice,  and  for  years  deputy  of  the  general  court, 
and  his  wife,  Hannah  Avery,  daughter  of 
Captain  James  Avery,  who  was  equally  prom- 
inent in  the  colony,  were  the  grandparents  of 
Freelove  Miner,  who  was  the  only  daughter 
of  Lieut.  James  Miner,  of  New  London,  and 
his  wife  Abigail  Eldridge,  daughter  of  Capt. 
Daniel  Eldridge.  Joseph  Hilliard  of  Norwich 
was  the  father  of  Lieut.  Joseph  Hilliard  of  Kil- 
lingworth,  Conn.,  who  served  in  the  Revolution- 
ary army  and  was  the  father  of  Oliver  Hillard, 
born  October,  1773,  married  Philadelphia, 
May,  1800,  Ann  Eliza  Crawford  and  settled  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  as  a  shipping  mer- 
chant. He  was  the  father  of  Oliver  Burr  Hil- 
lard, of  Wilkes-Barre,  for  many  years  prom- 
inent in  mercantile  circles  here.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
W.  L.  Conyngham  had  three  children  : 

1.  John  Nesbitt  Conyngham,  married  April 
18,  1895,  Bertha  Robinson,  daughter  of  John 
Robinson  of  New  York  City.  Mr.  Conyng- 
ham was  educated  at  Yale  College,  taking  a 
course  in  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School.  Has 
been  long  associated  with  his  father  in  the 
coal  trade ;  was  president  West  End  Coal 
Company  and  Mocanauqua  Coal  Company.  He 
is  director  Anthracite  Savings  Bank ;  president 
Buttonwood  Coal  Company,  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  Tioga  Coal  Company,  New  York ;  director 
Staples  Coal  Company,  Massachusetts; 
Worcester  Coal  Company,  Massachusetts ; 
Parrish  Coal  Company,  New  York ;  and  Red 
Ash  Coal  Company,  New  York ;  vice-presi- 
dent Muskegon  County  Traction  and  Light 
Company,  of  Michigan ;  president  Luzerne 
County  Humane  Association,  and  the  United 
Charities  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  director  and  treas- 
urer Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital ;  member 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
Westmoreland  Club,  Wyoming  Country  Club, 
etc.,  etc. 

2.  William  Hillard  Conyngham,  married 
February  17,  1897,  Mae  Turner,  born  Febru- 
ary 28,  1869,  died  February  22,  1902,  daughter 
of  Hon.  Samuel  G.  Turner  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
She  was  a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  His- 


torical and  Geological  Society,  and  member 
of  the  Wyoming  Country  Club ;  a  devout  and 
faithful  member  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  un- 
iversally loved  in  life  and  mourned  in  death. 
Mr.  Conyngham  graduated  Bachelor  of  Phil- 


osophy, Yale  College,  1 


He  is  a  member 


Wilkes-Barre  Board  of  Trade,  director  First 
National  Bank,  Red  Ash  Coal  Company,  and 
head  of  Pennsylvania  Supply  Company,  and 
member  Westmoreland  Club  and  Wyoming  Val- 
ley Country  Club. 

3.  Ruth  Butler  Conyngham,  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

COLONEL  CHARLES  MINER  CO- 
NYNGHAM, U.  S.  V.,  1861-66,  fifth  son  of 
Hon.  John  N.  and  Ruth  Ann  (Butler)  Conyng- 
ham, born  July  6,  1840,  died  September  6,  1894; 
was  educated  at  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Academy,  Philadelphia,  and  Trinity  College, 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  where  he  graduated  A. 
B.,  1859,  A.  M.,  1862;  admitted  to  Luzerne 
county  bar  August  18,  1862,  but  never  practiced. 
He  was  commissioned  captain  Company  A,  One 
Hundred  Forty-third  Pennsylvania  Volunteer 
Infantry,  August  26,  1862 ;  promoted  major 
June  2,  1863 ;  wounded  at  Spottsylvania 
Court  House,  May  12,  1864;  discharged  for 
disabilities  July  26,  1864;  merchant,  coal  miner 
and  operator;  president  West  End  Coal  Com- 
pany; member  of  Parrish,  Phillips  &  Co.,  coal 
firm,  New  York  City,  and  Henry  Matthews  & 
Co.,  coal  firm,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania ; 
president  Wilkes-Barre  Board  of  Trade  and 
Luzerne  Countv  Humane  Association ;  direc- 
tor Hazard  Manufacturing  Company  and 
Parrish  Coal  Company;  head  of  firm  of  Con- 
yngham, Schrage  &  Company;  inspector-gen- 
eral N.  G.  P.  under  Governor  Hoyt;  commun- 
icant and  junior  warden  St.  Stephen's  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  church,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  one 
of  its  deputies  to  the  convention  of  the  church ; 
member  executive  committee  Luzerne  County 
Bible  Society;  of  Lodge  61  F.  and  A.  M.,  of 
Wilkes-Barre ;  of  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United 
States ;  of  Society  of  the  Potomac ;  of  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  and  of  Wyoming  His- 


14 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


torical  and  Geological  Society  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Colonel  Conyngham,  in  all  that  makes 
true  nobility  of  manhood,  was  the  peer  of  any 
man  in  Pennsylvania.  He  married  February 
9,  1864,  Helen  Hunter  Turner,  daughter  of 
William  Walcott  Turner,  Ph.  D.,  of  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  who  graduated  Yale,  A.  B.,  1819; 
A.  M.,  Yale  and  Princeton  182 1  ;  Ph.  D.,  Na- 
tional Deaf  Mute  College,  Washington,  D.  C, 
1870;  author  of  "The  School  Dictionary," 
etc.,  etc.  Mrs.  Conyngham  descends  from 
Capt.  Nathaniel  Turner,  of  Connecticut,  who 
served  in  the  Pequot  war  with  gallantry  1637; 
from  Roger  Ailing,  the  first  treasurer  of  Con- 
necticut; from  Lieut.  Zaccheus  Peaslee,  an 
original  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati, William  Brewster,  of  the  "May- 
flower," the  founder  of  Plymouth  col- 
ony, etc.,  etc.  Mrs.  Conyngham  is  a  member  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Society-  Colonial  Dames. 
Colonel  and  Mrs.  Conyngham  had : 

1.  Helen  Conyngham,  married  Charles 
Ailing  Gifford,  architect  of  Newark,  New  Jer- 
sey. They  have  five  children :  Alice  Conyng- 
ham ;  Charles  Conyngham ;  John  Archer ;  Her- 
bert Carman,  died  infant;  Donald  Stanton. 

2.  Alice  Conyngham,  member  Pennsyl- 
vania Society  Colonial  Dames. 

3.  Charles  Turner  Conyngham,  died 
young. 

4.  Herbert  Conyngham,  graduated  Ph.  B. 
Yale  University,  1895.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
the  Westmoreland  Club,  and  the  Wyoming 
Valley  Country  Club.  H.  E.  H. 

WOODWARD  FAMILY.  The  pioneer  of 
the  Woodward  family  in  Pennsylvania  was  Enos 
Woodward,  who  settled  in  what  was  now  is  Pike 
county  about  the  year  1775.  The  pioneer  of  the 
family  in  America  was  Richard  Woodward,  the 
immigrant,  who  sailed  from  Ipswich,  England, 
April  10,  1634,  in  the  "Elizabeth,"  (William 
Andrews,  master),  with  his  wife  Rose  and  his 
sons  George  and  John.  Richard  was  admitted 
freeman   September  2,   1635,  and  his  name  ap- 


pears on  the  earliest  list  of  proprietors  of  the 
plantation  of  Watertown.  He  afterward  ac- 
quired considerable  tracts  of  land,  amounting  in 
all  to  about  350  acres,  and  by  purchase  in  1640 
also  became  possessed  of  a  mill  propertv  in  Bos- 
ton. He  lived  in  Cambridge  in  1660.  He  died 
February  16,  1664-5,  and  his  estate  was  admin- 
istered by  his  sons.  His  wife  Rose  died  Octo- 
ber 6,  1662,  and  in  1663  he  married  Ann  Gates, 
born  1603,  widow_  of  Stephen  Gates  of  Cam- 
bridge.    She  died  in  Stow,  February  5,  1683. 

From  this  ancestral  head  the  line  of  descent 
follows  to  George  (2),  John  (3),  Richard  (4), 
Amos  (5),  the  latter  the  father  of  Enos  (6).  the 
pioneer.  Amos,  of  Canterbury,  Connecticut, 
married,  May  6,  1725,  Hannah  Meacham,  who 
bore  him  Enos  and  seven  other  children.  Amos 
died  January  29,  1753,  aged  fifty-one  years,  and 
his  wife  Hannah  died  December    17,    1752. 

Enos  Woodward  was  born  January  31,  1725- 
6,  and  married  December  26,  1750,  Mary  Ben- 
nett. About  1775  he  removed  from  Connecti- 
cut and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  wilderness  reg- 
ion of  the  Wallenpaupack,  in  what  now  is  Pike 
county,  Pennsylvania.  His  settlement  was  made 
during  the  early  days  of  the  Revolution,  and  the 
locality  in  which  he  lived  was  without  protection 
against  the  attacks  of  the  Indian  allies  of  the 
British.  He  was  harrassed  and  repeatedly 
driven  away  during  the  war,  but  later  returned 
to  his  lands  and  there  reared  •  his  family,  died, 
and  was  buried.  His  wife  survived  him  many 
years,  dying  about  1817,  and  was  buried  at 
Cherry  Ridge,  in  Wayne  county,  a  few  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  Paupach  settlement.  Children  of 
Enos  and  Mary  (Bennett)  Woodward:  1.  Will- 
iam, born  July  14.  1752.  2.  Enos,  born  April 
5,  1754;  married  March  2,  1781 :  died  August 
26,    1802.     3.     Hannah;   born    March    5.    1756; 

married  December  12,   1777,  Beach, 

and  settled  in  Ohio.  4.  Asahel,  born  January 
20,  died  March  26,  1758.  5.  Sarah,  born  Jan- 
uary 29,  1759;  died  November  18,  1760.  6. 
Mary  (twin)  born  Januarv  29,  1759:  married 
(first)  December  28,  1780,  Matthew  Clark,  and 
(second)     King.     7.     Silas,    born 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


January  17,  1761  ;  died  March  25,  1764.  8. 
Asahel,  born  April  25,  1763 ;  married  October 
6,  1787.  9.  Silas,  born  May  10,  1765;  married 
May  12,  1793;  died  in  Wayne  county.  10. 
Abishai  (7),  see  forward.  11.  John,  born  Oc- 
tober 30,  1769;  married  March  21,  1797.  12. 
Ebenezer,  born  May  13,  1772;  married  Septem- 
ber 9,  1797. 

William  Woodward^  eldest  son  of  Enos  and 
Mary  (Bennett)  Woodward,  was  born  July  14, 
1752,  died  in  Kentucky,  February  13,  1807;  mar- 
ried (first)  December  10,  1772,  Zilpah  Maynard, 
who  died  prior  to  1790.  He  married  (second) 
March  22,  1791,  Elizabeth  Snodgrass,  of  Lancas- 
ter county,  Pennsylvania.  He  moved  to  Mason 
county,  Kentucky.  He  had  by  his  second  wife 
among  others,  the  Rev.  Enos  Woodward,  born 
April  4,  1792,  married  in  Mason  county,  Ken- 
tucky, October  11,  1810,  Sarah  Murphy,  born  in 
Frederick  county,  Maryland,  August  19,  1791, 
died  in  Pittsburg,  June  6,  1841.  Mr.  Woodward 
entered  the  ministry  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  was  ordained  deacon  August  4,  1839, 
and  priest  1840.  He  was  rector  of  St.  An- 
drew's and  St.  Mary's  Churches,  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  of  Christ  Church,  Browns- 
ville, Pennsylvania,  1841-45.  They  had  ten 
children,  of  whom  Ann  Elizabeth,  born  in  Wash- 
ington, Kentucky,  August  26,  1829,  married  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  November  6,  1852, 
Franklin  J.  Leavenworth.  (See  Leavenworth 
Family). 

Abishai  Woodward  (7),  son  of  Enos  and 
Hannah  Woodward,  and  of  the  seventh  genera- 
tion of  descendants  of  Richard  (1),  was  born 
January  10,  1768;  married  in  Paupach,  October 
6,  1789,  Lucretia  Kimball.  A  few  years  after 
marriage,  having  lost  his  left  hand,  the  result  of 
an  accident,  he  abandoned  farm  work  and  fitted 
himself  for  teaching.  He/  settled  in  Bethany, 
Wayne  county,  and  held  successively  the  offices 
of  constable,  deputy  sheriff,  justice  of  the  peace, 
high  sheriff,  and  associate  judge.  He  died  on 
his  farm  near  Bethany,  November  27,  1829,  and 
was  buried  in  the  graveyard  at  that  place.  His 
widow  died  April  2,  1842,  at  Le  Raysville,  Brad- 


ford county,  where  she  was  then  living  with  her 
daughter  Harriett.  The  children  of  Abishai  and 
Lucretia  Woodward,  of  Luzerne  county,  were : 
1.  Jesse,  married  Zulima  Cook,  and  was 
drowned  in  1818.  2.  Sarah,  who  married,  De- 
cember 9,  1810,  Isaac  Dimmick,  and  died  Feb- 
ruary 5,  182 1.  3.  John  K,  surveyor,  drafts- 
man and  mathematician,  married  December  1, 
1816,  Mary  Kellogg;  he  died  1825.  They  had  a 
son,  Hon.  Warren  Jay  Woodward,  born  Septem- 
ber 24,  1819,  died  September  23.  1879,  who  was 
president  judge  of  the  judicial  dis- 
trict, president  judge  of  Bucks  county  1861-74, 
and  of  the  supreme  court  1824-79.  He  married 
a  daughter  of  Judge  David  Scott,  president  judge 
of  the  eleventh  district.  4.  Rosalinda,  married 
January  30,  1817,  Nathan  Kellogg.  5.  Olive, 
died  March  29,  1822.  6.  Dency,  died  1821. 
7.  Nathaniel  Aspinwall,  born  April  10,  1836, 
died  at  Ft.  Wayne,  Iowa.  8.  George  Washing- 
ton. 9.  Lucretia,  died  October  14,  1814.  10. 
Harriet,  born  July  27,  1819 ;  married  George  H. 
Little,  and  died  April  22,  1842.  H.  E.  H. 

HON.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  WOOD- 
WARD, a  descendant  in  the  eighth  genera- 
tion of  Richard  Woodward,  the  ancestor  of 
the  family  in  America,  a  grandson  of  Enos 
Woodward,  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  eighth  child  of  Abishai  Woodward 
and  his  wife  Lucretia  Kimball,  was  born  in 
Bethany,  Pennsylvania,  March  26,  1809,  and 
died  in  Rome,  Italy,  May  10,  1875.  He  sailed 
for  Europe  from  Philadelphia  in  October,  1874, 
to  join  his  daughter  Lydia  C,  accompanied  by 
Mrs.  Woodward  and  her  niece.  A  few  days  be- 
fore his  death  a  letter  was  received  from  Judge 
Woodward  designating  the  following  month  of 
August  as  the  time  of  his  return  home.  At  its 
date  he  was  in  good  health ;  in  fact,  he  had  never 
complained  of  any  ailment    during    his    absence. 

When  Judge  Woodward  was  born,  his  father 
was  sheriff  of  Wayne  county,  and  subsequently 
became  associate  judge,  an  office  he  held  until 
his  death  in  1829.  As  is  seen  from  earlier  par- 
agraphs, the  family  had  settled  in  Pennsylvania 


10 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


before  the  Revolution.  The  two  grandfathers 
of  Judge  Woodward  formed  a  part  of  the  col- 
ony from  Connecticut  which  contemporaneously 
with  the  emigration  to  Wyoming  had  occupied 
in  the  year  1774,  the  valley  of  the  Wallenpau- 
pack. which  forms  the  boundary  between  the 
counties  of  Wayne  and  Pike.  After  the  battle 
and  massacre  of  Wyoming  the  colonists  were 
driven  from  their  homes  by  the  Tories  and  In- 
dians. The  women  and  children  were  able  to 
find  shelter  and  food  in  Orange  and  Dutchess 
counties,  in  Xew  York  state,  while  most  of  the 
men  of  the  colony  enlisted  in  the  Revolutionary 
army,  and  generally  in  different  regiments  of 
the  Connecticut  line.  Captain  Jacob  Kimble, 
maternal  grandfather  of  Judge  Woodward,  com- 
manded a  company  in  the  Connecticut  line 
throughout  the  war.  In  1783  the  survivors  of 
the  settlers  returned  to  the  valley  of  the  Wal- 
lenpaupack.  and  began  that  career  of  toil  and 
hardship  which  in  that  day  was  always  incident 
to  frontier  life.  The  colony  soon  became  pros- 
perous, and  soon  began  to  send  out  into  the  world 
large  numbers  of  hardy,  vigorous,  and  unflinch- 
ing men.  From  the  rugged  character  of  the 
country  in  which  the}'  were  reared,  and  the 
habits  of  self-reliance  which  their  isolation  in- 
duced, the  colonists  of  the  Wallenpaupack  have 
always  been  distinguished  for  a  peculiar  physical 
and  mental  energy.  Indeed,  with  the  blood  of 
the  Wallenpaupack.  Judge  Woodward  had  in- 
herited the  unbending  courage,  the  resolute  will. 
the  clear,  concentrated  power,  and  the  outspoken 
and  open  contempt  for  baseness  and  base  men. 
which  has  always  characterized  the  pioneers 
from  whom  he  was  descended. 

Judge  Woodward  was  educated  at  Geneva 
Seminary,  and  Hobart  College.  Geneva.  Xew 
York.  From  there  he  was  transferred  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  Academy,  then  under  charge  of  Dr.  Orton. 
He  read  law  with  Thomas  Fuller,  of  Wayne 
county,  and  with  Hon.  Garrick  Mallerv,  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
August  3.  1830.  and  married.  September  10.  1832. 
Sarah  Elizabeth,  only  daughter  of  George  W. 
Trott,  M.  D.     In  1836  he  was  elected  a  delegate 


to  reform  the  constitution  of  the  state.  In  1841 
he  was  appointed  president  judge  of  the  fourth 
judicial  district,  composed  of  the  counties  of  Mif- 
flin, Huntingdon,  Centre,  Clearfield  and  Clinton. 
In  1844  he  was  the  caucus  nominee  of  the  Demo- 
cratic members  of  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania 
for  the  office  of  senator  in  congress,  but  was  de- 
feated in  the  election  by  Simon  Cameron,  the  can- 
didate of  the  Whigs  and  of  a  faction  representing 
the  Native  American  party.  In  1845  ne  was  aP~ 
pointed  by  President  Polk  justice  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  Cnited  States,  but  his  confirmation 
was  defeated  in  the  senate.  In  1852  Governor  Big- 
ler  appointed  him  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  following  fall  he  was 
elected  for  a  full  term  of  fifteen  years.  In  1863 
Judge  Woodward  became  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  governor  against  Andrew  G.  Curtin.  but 
was  defeated  by  a  majority  of  15,000  votes,  Lu- 
zerne county  giving  a  majority  of  2.786  in  his 
favor.  For  four  years  prior  to  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  office  on  the  supreme  bench  he  acted 
as  chief  justice,  by  virtue  of  the  seniority  of  his 
commission.  In  1867  and  186S  he  was  elected 
to  represent  the  twelfth  district  in  the  fortieth 
and  forty-first  congresses.  In  1873  he  was 
elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket  delegate-at-large 
to  the  last  constitutional  convention.  He  was  a 
man  of  commanding  personal  appearance,  over 
six  feet  high,  and  built  in  proportion.  On  the 
bench  he  was  the  very  personification  of  noble 
dignity,  but  always  courteous  and  mindful  of 
the  rights  of  others.  He  was  deeply  versed  in 
legal  lore,  was  eminently  a  just  and  upright 
judge,  and  an  earnest  and  sincere  christian  gen- 
tleman. He  was  for  years  a  communicant  of 
St.  Stephen's  Church,  and  a  vestryman. 

George    Washington     and     Sarah     Elizabeth 
Woodward  had  nine  children : 

1.     Stanley    (9),  born   August  29,    1833.  of 
whom  later. 

2.  General  George  Abisha,  born  January  4. 
1835,  of  Washington.  D.  C.  commissioned  cap- 
tain Second  Pennsylvania  Reserves.  U.  S.  V., 
May  27.  1861  :  major  April  2,  1862 :  lieutenant- 
colonel,  February  20.  1863 :  major  Veteran  Re- 


<^£>£^y    ^V/^vV, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


n 


serve  Corps,  August  24,  1863 ;  lieutenant-colo- 
nel September  25,  1863 ;  colonel  December  4, 
1863.  Honorably  mustered  out  of  United  States 
service  July  20,  1866.  Commissioned  lieutenant- 
colonel  U.  S.  A.,  Forty-fifth  Infantry,  July  28, 
1866;  transferred  to  Fourteenth  Infantry,  March 
5,  1869 ;  colonel  Fifteenth  Infantry,  January  IO, 
1876;  retired  March  20,  1879.  Brevetted  colo- 
nel March  2,  1867,  for  gallant  and  meritorious 
service  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania ; 
brevetted  brigadier-general  1904.  He  married 
Miss  Chittenden,  and  had  Henry  and  Elizabeth. 

3.  Ellen  May,  born  June  26,  1836,  died  Jan- 
uary 19,  1850.  See  '"'Memoirs  of  Ellen  May 
Woodward,"  by  Rev.  George  D.  Miles,  M.  A., 
rector  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  portrait ;  pp.  175 ;  Philadelphia, 
1850.  ' 

4.  Elizabeth,  born  January  2,  1838 ;  married 
Ebcn  Greenough  Scott,  A.  B.  Yale,  1858,  M.  A. 
1863.     Member  Luzerne  county  bar,  and  author. 

5.  Lydia    Chapman,    born    January,     1840; 

died  ;  married  Colonel  Elisha    Atherton 

Hancock,  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Perkins) 
Hancock,  of  Wyoming  Valley,  where  he  was 
born  and  reared.  Colonel  Hancock  served  in 
the  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  U.  S.  V.,  1861-65 ; 
mustered  into  service  as  first  lieutenant  Company 
H,  Ninth  cavalry,  Ninety-second  Regiment,  Oc- 
tober 29,  1861,  for  three  years;  promoted  cap- 
tain Company  B  same  regiment,  May  23,  1863, 
and  major  January  11,  1865;  severely  wounded 
at  Averysboro,  North  Carolina,  March  16,  1865, 
losing  a  leg;  mustered  out  with  his  company 
July  18,  1865  ;  appointed  on  staff  of  Governor 
Henry  M.  Hoyt,  of  Pennsylvania,  as  colonel, 
1879-83.  .  Residence,  Philadelphia.  (Sketch 
elsewhere). 

6.  William  Wilberforce,  born  December  8, 
1842 ;  deceased. 

7.  James  Kimball,  born  September  24,  1844 : 
graduated  A.  B.,  Kenyon  College,  1865 ; 
died  unmarried  August  16,  1887. 

8.  Mary  Harriet,  born  March  1,  1849;  mar- 
ried James  Pryor  Williamson,  cashier  Wilkes- 
Barre  Deposit  and   Savings    Bank.     They    had 

2 


James  Pryor,  and  Harriet,  who  married  David 
Crowell  Percival,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and 
had  Elizabeth. 

9.  Charles  F.,  born  February  12,  1852,  of 
Lawrenceville,  Pennsylvania;  married  Ada 
Knox,  daughter  of  Judge  Knox,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. H.  E.  H. 

HON.  STANLEY  WOODWARD,  the  eld- 
est child  of  Judge  George  Washington  Wood- 
ward and  his  wife,  Sarah  Elizabeth  Trott,  was  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Luzerne  county  bar. 
To  the  legal  profession  of  all  this  central  north- 
ern region  of  Pennsylvania,  Stanley  Woodward 
was  best  known  as  Judge  Woodward,  for  he  had 
been  of  their  number  almost  half  a  century,  and 
held  the  magisterial  office  of  additional  law  judge 
and  president  judge  from  1879  until  his  retire- 
ment from  its  duties  a  few  years  ago.  From 
1857  to  l&79  he  was  a  known  factor  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  fire  department  circles,  and  advanced 
through  various  grades  of  election  and  selection 
from  the  "drag"  and  "brake"  to  the  responsible 
duties  of  chief  engineer  of  the  department,  and 
the  remarkable  degree  of  efficiency  which  the 
Wilkes-Barre  fire  department  early  attained  was 
in  a  good  measure  due  to  the  efforts  of  "Chief 
Woodward."  In  the  capacity  of  assistant  and 
later  chief  engineer,  Mr.  Woodward  served 
twenty  years,  and  when  his  services  ended,  in 
1879,  he  acquired  a  new  title — that  of  "Judge," 
by  virtue  of  his  appointment  to  judicial  office. 

During  the  war  of  1861-65  Judge  Woodward 
acquired  a  military  title,  that  of  captain  of  Corn- 
pan}'  H,  Third  Regiment  Pennsylvania  volun- 
teer militia,  whose  service  Governor  Curtin  in 
1862  deemed  necessary  for  the  defense  of  the 
state  when  its  southern  border  was  threatened 
with  confederate  invasion.  In  the  next  year 
(1863)  Captain  Woodward  commanded  Com- 
pany A,  Forty-fifth  regiment  Pennsylvania  vol- 
unteer militia  in  the  famous  Gettysburg  cam- 
paign, and  was  in  service  at  the  front  for  three 
months.  In  one  of  the  frequent  emergency  calls 
for  troops  during  the  years  1862  and  1863,  Cap- 
tain Woodward  raised  a  company  of  volunteers 
in  a  single  niafht. 


i8 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Judge  Stanley  Woodward  was  born  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  August  29,  1833.  His  early  edu- 
cation was  acquired  in  the  public  schools.  He 
prepared  for  college  at  the  Episcopal  High 
School  of  Virginia,  near  Alexandria,  and  also  at 
the  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  where  his  in- 
structor in  Latin  and  Greek  was  Professor 
(afterward  Governor)  Henry  Martyn  Hoyt,  and 
from  whom,  a  stanch  republican.  Judge  Wood- 
ward, a  firm  democrat,  received  his  'first  judicial 
commission  in  1879.  From  the  seminary  he  en- 
tered Yale  College,  when,  as  Kulp  says,  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  particularly  in  'the  literary 
and  forensic  departments  of  the  college  course, 
this  fact  being  marked  by  his  winning  several 
prizes  for  excellence  in  English  composition,  and 
by  his  election  at  the  hands  of  his  classmates  as 
editor  of  the  "Yale  Literary  Magazine,"  the  old- 
est college  magazine  in  the  United  States.  He 
also  was  a  member  of  the  "Skull  and  Bones  So- 
ciety,"' an  exclusive  Yale  fraternity,  and  of  which 
also,  his  son,  John  Butler  Woodward,  was  sub- 
sequently a  member. 

Judge  Woodward  graduated  from  Yale  A.  B. 
in  1855.  During  his  senior  year  he  began  the 
studv  of  law  in  Xew  Haven,  and  afterward  con- 
tinued it  in  the  office  of  his  cousin,  Hon.  Warren 
J.  Woodward,  later  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Lu- 
zerne county  bar  August  4.  1856,  and  at  once 
succeeded  to  the  practice  of  his  cousin,  who  then 
had  entered  upon  his  judicial  duties.  "From 
the  time  of  his  admission,"  says  Kulp,  "until  his 
appointment  to  the  bench  by  his  former  instruc- 
tor and  lifelong  friend,  Judge  Woodward  en- 
joyed a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  having  been 
for  most  of  the  time  counsel  for  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  &  Western  Railroad  Company,  the 
Lackawanna  &  Bloomsburg  Railroad  Company, 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company,  and 
the  Central  Railroad  of  Xew  Jersey.'' 

Judge  Woodward's  service  upon  the  bench 
was  in  all  respects  creditable  to  himself  and  his 
constitutents.  and  entirely  satisfactory  to  the 
bar.  His  course  was  always  characterized  by 
fairness  and  impartiality,  and  in  his  rulings  the 


considerations  which  sometimes  swav  the  judi- 
cial mind  had  no  weight  with  him.  Hi>  mind  by 
inheritance  and  acquirement  was  judicial,  and  in 
whatever  capacity  he  was  called  upon  to  act 
it  was  his  policy  to  discourage  rather  than  to 
promote  litigation.  All  this  and  more  is  said  of 
him  by  his  fellowmen  and  associates  of  the  bar. 
In  the  political  history  of  the  state  in  which 
he  had  always  lived,  Judge  Woodward  had  long 
been  known  as  an  active  factor.  On  all  the  lead- 
ing questions  of  the  dav  he  entertained  clear  and 
well  settled  convictions,  and  was  perfectly  frank 
in  the  expression  of  his  opinions.  His  fortunes 
had  been  cast  with  the  Democratic  part}',  and 
he  had  shared  with  that  party  its  triumphs  and 
defeats.  In  1865  he  was  a  candidate  for  the 
state  senate,  but  was  defeated  at  the  polls  by 
Hon.  Lazarus  Denison  Shoemaker.  In  1872  he 
was  the  nominee  of  his  party  for  congress,  but 
again  was  beaten  by  his  Republican  opponent, 
Mr.  Shoemaker.  In  1879  Governor  Hoyt  ap- 
pointed him  additional  law  judge  of  Luzerne  to 
fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
Judge  Garrick  Mallery  Harding.  In  Xovemben 
1880,  he  was  elected  to  the  same  office,  and  at  the 
end  of  his  first  term  was  re-elected,  serving  in 
that  capacity  more  than  twenty  years.  When 
he  retired  from  office  it  was  to  return  to  the 
practice  he  had  not  entirely  abandoned,  and  to 
the  care  of  his  personal  interests  and  properties. 
He  became  senior  member  of  the  law  firm  of 
Woodward,  Darling  &  Woodward,  composed  of 
Judge  Woodward,  his  son  John  Butler  Wood- 
ward, and  Thomas  Darling.  (See  Darling). 
Judge  Stanley  Woodward  was  one  of  the  four 
founders  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society.  February  11.  1858.  the  others  be- 
ing Colonel  John  Butler  Conyngham.  Hon. 
Henry  Martyn  Hoyt,  and  Captain  James  P.  Den- 
nis. He  had  been  a  member  of  the  society  for 
forty-six  years,  was  vice-president  in  1894.  and 
filled  the  office  of  president  annually  from  1895 
until  his  death.  He  was  a  member  of  Lodge  Xo. 
61,  F.  and  V.  M..  and  of  the  Westmoreland  Club, 
and  the  Wyoming  Valley  Country  Club.  He  mar- 
ried. June  3.  1857,  Sarah  Richards  Butler,  daugh- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


!9 


ter  of  Colonel  John  Lord  Butler,  granddaughter 
of  General  Lord  Butler,  and  great-granddaughter 
of  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  of  the  Continental 
Line,  1775- 1783,  who  commanded  the  American 
forces  at  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778.  Her  great- 
grandfather on  her  mother's  side  was  Captain 
Samuel  Richards,  of  the  Continental  Line,  1775- 
81,  member  of  the  Connecticut  Society  of  the 
Cincinnati.  (See  Butler  Family).  Judge  and 
Mrs.  Stanley  Woodward  had  three  children : 

1.     Ellen    May,    born    May  27,     1858;    died 
May,  i860. 

2.  John  Butler,  born  April  3,  1861  ;  grad- 
uated A.  B.  Yale  University,  1883  ;  admitted  to 
the  Luzerne  county  bar  September  7,  1885.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Woodward, 
Darling  &  Woodward.  He  married,  June  6, 
1888,  Marion,  daughter  of  Thaddeus  S.  and 
Esther  (Reynolds)  Hillard.  Children:  John 
Butler,  Marion  Hillard,   Stanley  Hillard. 

3.  George  Stanley,  M.  D.  born  June  22, 
1863;  graduated  A.  B.  Yale,  1887,  Ph.  B.  1888; 
M.  D.  University  of  Pennsylvania,  1891.  Mar- 
ried October  9,  1894,  Gertrude,  daughter  of 
Henry  Howard  Houston,  of  Chestnut  Hill,  Phil- 
adelphia. Children :  Henry  Howard  Houston. 
George,   Stanley,  Charles  Henry. 

Judge  Woodward  died,  deeply  regretted, 
March  29,  1906.  H.  E.  H. 

HARDING  FAMILY.  Among  the  early 
planters  of  New  England  were  the  ancestors  of 
the  Hardings.  Of  the  dates  of  their  embark- 
ation or  arrival  in  America  no  record  can  be 
found,  but  circumstances  indicate  that  it  was  in 
1623.  Captain  Robert  Gorges,  "late  from  the 
Venetian  wars,"  son  of  Sir  Fernando  Gorges,  of 
Redlinch,  Somersetshire,  England,  having  re- 
ceived from  the  council  of  New  England  the  ap- 
pointment of  general  governor  of  the  whole  coun- 
try and  the  grant  of  a  tract  four  miles  wide  on 
Massachusetts  bay  and  extending  thirty  miles 
into  the  interior,  arrived  August  23,  1623,  with 
a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England  and 
"sundrie  passengers  and  families,  intending  there 
to  begin  a  plantation,"  that  being  the  "place  he 


had  resolved  to  make  his  residence."  Sir  Robert 
Gorges,  his  near  kinsman,  if  not  himself,  had 
■married  Mary  Harding,  daughter  and  heir  of 
William  Harding,  and  whichever  was  her  hus- 
band we  may  reasonably  suppose  that  some  of 
Lady  Harding's  relations  would  have  accom- 
panied him.  If  she  was  his  wife  and  attended 
him,  the  Hardings  probably  were .  her  brothers. 
He  pitched  upon  Wessagussett,  already  aban- 
doned by  Weston's  people,  and  now  Weymouth 
Landing,  partly  in  Braintree.  Here  were  seated 
the  most  ancient  Hardings  of  New  England, 
where  our  record  begins,  and  here  for  half  a  cen- 
tury was  the  geographical  center  of  the  race. 
(Gen.  Reg.  of  Desc.  of  Sev.  Anc.  Puritans,  by- 
Rev.  Abner  Morse.) 

There  were  several  of  these  Hardings  at  the 
time  indicated,  and  their  names  were  variously 
rendered,  such  as  Harding,  Harnden,  Haraden, 
and  Hardy,  yet  all  of  the  same  ancestral  head, 
and  all,  remote  descendants  of  Hardin,  a  name 
extremely  early  in  Europe,  doubtless  of  Gothic 
origin,  and  known  to  have  existed  in  German)', 
Scandinavia,  and  Britain  previous  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  feudal  system  and  the  erection  of 
permanent  castles,  and  many  centuries  before  the 
adoption  of  surnames  and  the  formation  of  the 
dialects  of  northern  Europe.  Hardin  was  a  com- 
mon name  in  England,  A.  D.,  1086 ;  for  at  that 
time  "Doomsbook,"  in  vulgar  Latin,  reports  Har- 
dinus,  Hardine,  Hardincus,  Hardineus  filius 
Elnodi,  Hardingus,  and  Hardingus  filius  Alnodi, 
as  proprietors  or  '  assignees  of  lands.  In  the 
eleventh  century  Hardin  became  a  surname  in 
circumstances  evincive  of  distinction,  if  not  of 
noble  rank ;  and  from  some  of  these  the  modern 
Hardings,  Harndens,  and  Harradons  of  New 
England  probably  have  sprung,  but  claims  to  any 
distinct  line  of  descent  is  rendered  doubtful  by 
the  fall  and  confusion  of  families  that  ensued ; 
and  records  of  so  remote  a  period  are  out  of  the 
question  (Ibid).  The  authority  quoted  from 
mentions  no  less  than  thirteen  representatives  of 
the  surname  previously  noted,  and  fourth  among 
them  is  recorded  the  name  of  Stephen  Harding, 
the  founder  of  the  family  whose  branch  came  to 


20 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


dwell  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  in  Pennsylvania 
something  more  than  a  century  and  a  quarter 
ago. 

Stephen  Harding  is  first  mentioned  in  early 
records  in  1669  as  a  blacksmith  of  Providence, 
in  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island.  Family  tradition 
traces  him  back  to  Massachusetts,  and  he  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  son  of  John  and  the 
brother  of  Abraham  Harding;  and  that  he  fol- 
lowed the  colony  from  Weymouth  to  Rehoboth, 
and  to  have  first  settled  in  the  Baptist  part  of  the 
town  which  became  Swanzey,  and  afterward  in 
Rhode  Island,  where  he  was  an  original  grantee, 
in  whose  right  and  name  he  and  his  heirs  drew 
many  lots.  In  1669  he  purchased  the  right  of 
commoning  in  Providence,  on  the  east  side  of 
Naqunkeake,  and  in  1710-11  had  his  deed  rec- 
orded, when  he  or  another  for  him  probably 
completed  the  settlement  of  his  estate.  Subse- 
quently he  made  a  disposition  of  his  lands  among 
his  children,  each  according  to  his  needs.  The 
second  son  of  Stephen  was  named  Stephen,  and 
he  died  a  widower  previous  to  1680 ;  there  was 
another  son  Stephen,  who  was  born  after  1680, 
or  who  adopted  that  name  after  the  death  of  his 
elder  brother,  who  is  mentioned  hereinafter. 

Captain  Stephen  Harding  acquired  consider- 
able lands  in  Providence  and  subsequently  sold 
them,  removing  thence  to  Warwick.  In  early 
life  he  was  a  tanner  and  currier,  and  before 
leaving  Rhode  Island  had  probably  built  and 
sailed  his  own  vessel,  hence  his  title  "Captain" 
Stephen.  He  was  in  middle  life  a  man  of  wealth, 
and  his  acquaintances  and  transactions  seem  to 
have  been  with  the  first  persons  in  the  colonies. 
Captain  Stephen  Harding  was  a  man  of  conse- 
quence and  substance  in  Warwick  (then  in  Xew 
London,  now  Waterford,  Connecticut),  and  he 
engaged  in  commerce,  sailing  from  Xew  London 
until,  sustaining  losses  at  sea,  he  returned  to  his 
early  occupation  and  died  upon  his  farm.  The 
name  of  his  wife  is  unknown,  but  he  was  the 
father  of  five  sons,  all  of  whom,  save  one,  left  the 
parental  acres  and  helped  to  colonize  other  sec- 
tions of  the  country.     There  were  John,   Abra- 


ham, Stephen  (3),  Thomas  (3),  and  Israel  Hard- 
ing. 

Captain  Stephen  Harding  (3),  son  of  Captain 
Stephen  (2),  settled  first  in  Colchester,  Connec- 
ticut, 1747,  where  his  children  were  born.  He 
removed  thence  to  the  Wyoming  Valley  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1774,  settled  in  what  now  is 
Exeter,  Luzerne  county,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Susquehanna,  and  died  October  11,  1789,  aged 
sixty-six.  He  commanded  at  Jenkins  Fort1  at 
the  time  of  the  Wyoming  massacre,  where  two  of 
his  sons — Benjamin  and  Stukley — were  ruth- 
lessly slain.  He  married  Amy  Gardner,  by 
whom  he  had  nine  sons  and  three  daughters. 
The  sons  were : 

1.  Stephen,  born  about  1749;  died  at  Exe- 
ter, 1816. 

2.  Thomas,  born  about   1751  ;  died   1813. 

3.  Benjamin,  born  1753 ;  killed  with  his 
brother  by  the  Indians,  June  30,   1778. 

4.  Stukley,  born  1755;  killed  with  his 
brother  bv  the  Indians. 


1.  "At  Fort  Jenkins,  the  uppermost  in  the  valley, 
and  only  a  mile  above  Wintermoot's,  there  were 
gathered  the  families  of  the  old  patriot,  John  Jen- 
kins, Esq.,  the  Hardings  and  Gardiners,  distinguished 
for  zeal,  with  others.  Not  apprised  of  the  contiguity 
of  the  savages,  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  June. 
Benjamin  Harding,  Stukley  Harding,  John  Harding, 
a  boy,  James  Hadsell,  James  Hadsell,  Jr.,  Daniel  Wel- 
ler,  John  Gardiner  and  Daniel  Carr,  eight  in  all,  took 
their  arms  and  went  up  about  three  miles  into  Exeter, 
to  their  labor.  Towards  evening,  at  an  hour  when 
aid  could  not  be  expected,  they  were  attacked.  That 
they  fought  bravely  was  admitted  by  the  enemy.  Wel- 
ler,  Gardiner  and  Carr  were  taken  prisoners.  James 
Hadsell  and  his  son  James,  Benjamin  and  Stukley 
Harding,  were  killed.  John  Harding,  the  boy,  threw 
himself  into  the  river,  and  lay  under  the  willows,  his 
mouth  just  above  the  surface.  He  heard  with  anguish 
the  dying  groans  of  his  friends.  Knowing  he  was  near, 
the  Indians  searched  carefully  for  him.  At  one  time 
they  were  so  close  that  he  could  have  touched  them. 
The  bodies  of  Benjamin  and  Stukley  Harding  were 
found  after  the  massacre,  taken  down  to  the  fort,  now 
West  Pittston,  and  buried  near  the  fort,  in  what  later 
became  known  as  the  Jenkins  Cemetery.  In  after  years 
their  brother,  Elisha  Harding,  Esq.,  raised  them  a 
monument  with  this  inscription,  'Sweet  be  the  sleep 
of   those  who  prefer  Death  to   Slavery."  " — Miner. 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


21 


5.  Israel,  born  about  1756;  died  about  1835 
or  36. 

6.  Micajah,  Captain,  born  1761 ;  died  1845. 

7.  Elisha,  born  1763;  died  1839. 

8.  John,  born  about  1765;  died  1826;  mar- 
ried Affa  Baldwin  Jenkins. 

9.  William,  born  about   1767;  died   1825. 
Thomas   Harding    (3),    the    fourth     son    of 

Captain  Stephen  Harding  (2),  of  Warwick  and 
younger  brother  of  Captain  Stephen  Harding 
(3),  the  Wyoming  pioneer  and  patriot,  was  born 
May  16,  1727,  and  died  February  20,  1804.  He 
married,  March  29,  1745,  Mary  Richards,  daugh- 
ter of  Jeremiah  and  Mary  Richards,  of  Water- 
ford,  Connecticut,  where  they  lived  and  died. 
They  had  nine  children,  of  whom  the  fifth,  James 
Harding  (4),  born  March  11,  1762,  died  No- 
vember 5,  1835.  He  married  his  cousin.  Chris- 
tian Richards,  settled  first  at  Waterford  but  re- 
moved in  1807  to  Exeter,  Pennsylvania,  where 
this  branch  of  the  family  became  established  for 
many  years.  They  had  seven  children,  of  whom 
Nancy,  the  eldest,  married  Isaac  Harding  (5) 
son  of  John  (4),  and  grandson  of  Captain 
Stephen  Harding  (3).  A  son,  Daniel  Harding 
(5),  was  long  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Exeter 
township,  and  was  prominent  in  the  early  de- 
velopment of  Luzerne  county,  being  at  one  time 
its   county  treasurer. 

John  Harding  (4),  the  eighth  son  of  Captain 
Stephen  Harding  and  Amy  Gardner  Harding, 
was  born  at  Exeter  in  1765,  and  died  in  1826. 
He  married  Affa  Baldwin,  widow  of  Benjamin 
Jenkins.  They  had  seven  children :  John,  Isaac, 
George,  Hiram,  who  removed  to  Lee  county,  Il- 
linois ;  Harry,  Affa  and  Celinda. 

Isaac  Harding  (5),  the  second  son  of  John 
Harding  (4),  and  his  wife  Affa  Baldwin,  mar- 
ried Nancy  Harding  (5),  the  daughter  of  James 
Harding  (4),  and  his  wife  Christian  Richards. 
Isaac  removed  in  1846  to  Pawpaw  Grove,  Lee 
county,  Illinois,  and  subsequently  was  elected  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  county  court  there.  They 
had  four  children,  Lestor,  Nancy,  Garrick  M., 
and  Isaac,  all  of  whom,  except  Garrick  M.,  moved 
to  the  west  and  settled  there. 


Garrick  Mallery  Harding  (6),  son  of  Isaac 
and  Nancy  Harding,  was  born  in  Exeter, 
Luzerne  county,  July  12,  1827,  and  died  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  May  19,  1904.  He  was  educated 
at  Franklin  Academy,  Susquehanna  county, 
Madison  Academy,  at  Waverly,  and  in  Dickinson 
College,  Carlisle,  where  he  graduated  in  the  class 
of  1848.  He  at  once  began  the  study  of  law  in 
the  office  of  Henry  Mills  Fuller,  and  in  1850  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  Luzerne 
county.  From  that  time  to  1856  he  practiced  in 
partnership  with  Mr.  Fuller,  and  two  years  later, 
1858,  was  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket  dis- 
trict attorney  of  Luzerne  county.  At  the  end  of 
his  term  he  resumed  practice,  and  in  1865  formed 
a  law  partnership  with  Henry  W.  Palmer,  a 
former  student  in  his  office,  who  later  became  at- 
torney general  of  Pennsylvania  under  Governor 
Hoyt,  and  subsequently  the  member  of  congress 
from  Luzerne  county  for  three  consecutive  terms. 
This  partnership  was  continued  until  1870,  when 
Mr.  Harding  was  appointed  by  Governor  Geary 
president  judge  of  the  eleventh  judicial  district, 
then  including  both  the  counties  of  Luzerne  and 
Lackawanna,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
resignation  of  the  Hon.  John  Nesbitt  Conyng- 
ham,  LL.  D.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  was  the 
Republican  nominee  for  the  same  office  and  was 
elected  for  a  full  term,  defeating  his  Democratic 
opponent,  Hon.  George  W.  Woodward,  by  a  ma- 
jority of  2365  votes.  In  speaking  of  Judge 
Harding's  qualities  as  a  judicial  officer,  Kulp 
says :  "On  the  bench  Judge  Harding  displayed 
those  active  qualities  which  had  been  a  distin- 
guishing feature  of  his  life,  and  the  promptness 
with  which  he  dispatched  business,  the  constant 
attention  he  gave  to  the  duties  demanded,  the 
fearless  methods  that  he  employed,  all  linked 
with  an  integrity  of  purpose  that  was  undeviat- 
ing,  gained  for  him  the  highest  respect  of  the 
bar,  and  the  wide  plaudits  of  the  people." 

In  the  latter  part  of  1879,  after  nearly  ten 
years  of  arduous  service,  Judge  Harding  resigned 
his  seat  on  the  bench,  and  returned  to  his  private 
practice.  He  was  afterward  a  faithful  worker 
in  the  ranks  of  the  profession  until  within  the 


22 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


last  few  years,  when  he  gradually  withdrew 
from  the  office  to  pass  the  remaining  years  of  his 
life  in  comfortable  retirement.  "In  private  life," 
says  Kulp,  "'Judge  Harding  is  generous  and 
charitable ;  devoted  to  his  family  and  his  books ; 
a  faithful  friend  and  an  outspoken  opponent,  a 
worthy  representative  of  those  meH  whose  stout 
hearts  and  arms  made  the  valley  of  Wyoming 
classical  ground,  and  whose  vigor  of  body  and 
mind,  force  of  character,  and  native  integrity 
still  bloom  and  flourish  among  their  children." 
The  regard  in  which  Judge  Harding  was  held 
by  his  associates,  and  in  the  community  in  which 
he  lived,  was  fittingly  epitomized  in  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  bar  meeting  held  in  his  honor : 

"Resolved,  That  the  death  of  Hon.  Garrick 
"Mallery  Harding,  who  was  at  one  time  presi- 
dent judge  of  the  several  courts  of  Luzerne 
"county,  removes  from  this  bar  and  community 
"a  man  of  unusual  ability  and  of  marked  promi- 
"nence  in  his  profession. 

"Judge  Harding  was  a  descendant  of  those 
"New  England  men  of  might  and  renown  who 
"endured  the  privations  and  perils  .of  pioneer  life 
"upon  an  exposed  frontier,  and  the  awful  danger 
"of  massacre  by  merciless  Indian  savages.  He 
"inherited  a  vigorous  constitution  and  great  in- 
"tellectual  ability. 

"He  was  distinguished  as  an  advocate  by 
"gifts  of  eloquence  and  power  that  rendered  his 
"forensic  efforts  memorable  in  our  annals.  His 
"judicial  opinions  gave  evidence  of  great  indus- 
try and  research  in  their  preparation,  and  of 
"discriminating  discernment  and  understanding 
"of  sound  legal  principles.  They  were  also'  char- 
acterized by  clearness  and  strength  and  beauty 
"of  style  which  rendered  them  conspicuous  as 
"literary  productions. 

"His  generosity  to  young  men,  his  ever  ready 
"counsel  and  aid  to  any  who  applied  to  him  for 
"assistance,  his  genial  friendliness  to  all  with 
"whom  he  came  in  contact,  endeared  him  to  his 
"fellows,  and  will  long  be  remembered  among 
"the  traditions  of  the  Bar  by  generations  who 
"will  succeed  us  after  we  shall  sleep  with  the 
"dead." 


Judge  Harding  married,  October  12,  1852, 
Maria  Mills  Slosson,  daughter  of  John  W.  Slos- 
son  and  his  wife,  Hannah  Mills,  of  Kent,  Litch- 
field county,  Connecticut,  who  died  January  24, 
1867.     They  had  four  children : 

Harriet  Fuller  Harding,  born  August  27, 
1853;  married,  October  21,  1875,  William  W. 
Curtin,  only  son  of  Andrew  Gregg  Curtin,  the 
war  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  1861-1867.  They 
reside  in  Philadelphia  and  have  two  children, 
Marion,  marrie'd,  June  16,  T904,  James  D.  Win- 
sor,  Jr.,  and  Katherine  Irvine  Curtin. 

John  Slosson  Harding,  born  August  29, 
1859. 

Henry  Mills  Harding,  born  July  16,  1862. 

Garrick  M.  Harding,  Jr.,  born  December  3, 
1865;  died  February  10,  1874. 

John  Slosson  Harding  (7),  son  of  Garrick 
Mallery  Harding  and  his  wife,  Maria  M.  Slosson, 
was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  August  29,  1859.  He 
was  educated  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  public  schools 
and  at  St.  Paul's  School,  Concord,  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  he  fitted  for  college ;  entered  the 
academic  department  of  Yale  College  in  1876, 
and  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  the 
class  of  1880.  He  read  law  with  his  father  and 
under  the  direction  of  John  McGahren,  Esq., 
and  was  admitted  to  the  courts  of  Luzerne  county 
November  21,  1882,  and  to  the  supreme  court  of 
Pennsylvania,  April  21,  1886.  He  served  as 
the  assistant  district  attorney  of  Luzerne  county 
under  both  John  McGahren,  Esq.,  and  James  L. 
Lenahan,  Esq.,  and  was  for  three  years  one  of 
the  board  of  examiners  of  candidates  for  admis- 
sion to  the  bar  of  Luzerne  county. 

Outside  of  his  profession  he  has  taken  an  ac- 
tive interest  in  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, having  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Ninth 
Regiment  in  April,  1884,  and  served  contin- 
uously in  the  building  up  of  the  regiment,  as  cor- 
poral, sergeant,  sergeant  major  and  adjutant,  un- 
til the  expiration  of  his  commission  as  a  major 
of  the  regiment,  in  November,  1899,  when  he  de- 
clined a  tendered  re-election  and  was  placed  on 
the  roll  of  retired  officers.  He  served  with  his 
regiment     at     Chickamauga     and     Lexington, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


23 


through  the  Spanish- American  war,  having  been 
enrolled  as  a  volunteer  April  27,  1898,  mustered 
into  the  service  of  the  United  States  May  11, 
1898,  as  major,  Ninth  Pennsylvania  Infantry 
Volunteers,  to  serve  two  years,  and  honorably 
discharged  from  the  service  August  26,  1898,  at 
Lexington,  Kentucky,  on  tender  of  his  resigna- 
tion after  peace  with  Spain  had  been  declared, 
and  the  necessity  of  his  return  to  civil  life  and 
the  practice  of  his  profession  had  become  urgent. 

He  married,  January  25,  1899,  Mary  B. 
Brown,  daughter  of  Edgar  A.  Brown  and  his 
wife,  Elizabeth  Whitman,  born  in  Napa  Valley, 
California,  but  all  of  whose  ancestors  were  ori- 
ginally from  New  England.  They  have  two 
children,  Elizabeth  Wheeler  Harding,  born  June 
26,  1900,  and  John  Slosson  Harding,  Jr.,  born 
January  27,  1905. 

Henry  Mills  Harding  (7),  the  second  son  of 
Garrick  M.  Harding  and  Maria  Mills  Slosson, 
was  born  at  Wilkes-Barre,  July  16,  1862,  was 
educated  at  the  public  schools  and  the  Hillman 
Academy  in  Wilkes-Barre  until  he  entered  the 
class  of  1886  at  Yale  College.  On  account  of 
failing  health,  and  because  of  the  necessity  of 
active  out-of-door  life,  he  abandoned  his  college 
course  before  completing  his  first  year,  and  de- 
voted himself  to  active  business,  first  as  general 
salesman  with  Ahlborn  &  Company,  and  since 
1898  with  the  Hazard  Manufacturing  Company 
of  W'ilkes-Barre,  where  he  is  now  actively  en- 
gaged as  an  assistant  to  the  general  manager. 

He  married,  (1)  October  23,  1889,  Annie 
Leavenworth,  daughter  of  Frank  J.  Leavenworth 
and  Anna  Woodward,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  who  died 
on  August  29,  1890.  He  married  (2),  January 
25,  1905,  Adelia  Russell  Sharpe,  daughter  of 
William  Sharpe,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

H.  E.  H. 

CHARLES  EDMUND  RICE,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  is  a  descendant  of  an  old  and  honored 
Connecticut  family  from  which  sprang  the  New 
York  branch  of  which  he  is  a  representative. 

His  great-grandfather  was  a  teacher  in  Wal- 
lingford  and  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  for  forty 


years  prior  to  the  Revolution.  His  grandfather, 
Moses  Rice,  was  a  native  of  Wallingford.  In 
early  years  he  removed  to  Salisbury,  Herkimer 
county,  New  York,  where  he  resided  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  His  wife  was  Roxana 
Cook,  daughter  of  Atwater  Cook,  who  was  a 
descendant  of  Henry  Cook,  a  native  of  Kent, 
England,  who  was  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts, 
before  1640.  His  son  Samuel  went  to  Walling- 
ford with  the  first  planters  in  1670.  Mrs  Rice 
was  born  in  Salisbury,  New  York,  September 
2S-  l777>  and  died  September  15,  1852.  Hon. 
Atwater  Cook,  of  Salisbury,  prominent  in  his 
day  in  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  and  who 
represented  the  county  in  the  state  legislature  in 
183 1  and  1839,  was  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Rice. 
Thomas  Arnold  Rice,  father  of  Charles  E.  Rice, 
after  his  marriage  removed  to  Fairfield,  where 
he  became  a  leading  man,  serving  for  many 
years  as  trustee  of  Fairfield  Academy  and  the 
Fairfield  Medical  College.  His  wife  was  Vienna 
Carr,  daughter  of  Eleazer  and  Hannah  Carr. 
The  Carrs  were  natives  of  Salisbury,  and  came 
originally  from  New  England. 

Charles  Edmund  Rice  was  born  in  Fairfield, 
Herkimer  county,  New  York,  September  15, 
1846.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  Fairfield 
Academy,  a  famous  old  institution  which  was 
incorporated  in  1803,  and  was  during  the  first 
fifteen  years  of  its  existence  the  only  academical 
institution  of  its  grade  in  central  or  western 
New  York.  After  leaving  the  academy  Mr.  Rice 
entered  Hamilton  College,  at  Clinton,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1867.  He  afterward 
taught  for  one  year  in  the  Bloomsburg  (Penn- 
sylvania) Literary  Institute,  meanwhile  reading 
law  under  the  preceptorship  of  John  G.  Freeze, 
Esq.,  of  that  place.  In  1868-69  he  attended  the 
Albany  Law  Schodl,  graduating  in  the  latter 
year,  and  was  at  once  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  state.  He  then  located  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  which  has  since 
been  the  place  of  his  residence,  and,  entering  the 
office  of  his  relative,  Lyman  Hakes,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  Luzerne  county,  February 
21,  1870.    He  was  soon  well  established  in  prac- 


24 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


•tice.  A  Republican  in  politics,  he  was  made  the 
candidate  of  his  party  for  the  judgeship  of  the 
Orphans'  court  in  1874,  but  was  defeated  by 
Judge  Daniel  L.  Rhone.  In  1876  he  was  nom- 
inated for  the  district  attorneyship,  and  was 
elected  over  P.  J.  O'Hanlon,  Democrat,  by  a 
majority  of  over  2000,  despite  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Tilden,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  president, 
received  in  the  same  county  the  large  plurality 
of  nearly  four  thousand.  In  1879  he  was  the 
Republican  candidate  for  judge  of  the  common 
■pleas  court  of  Luzerne  county  and  was  elected. 
Upon  his  accession  to  the  bench  he  became  pres- 
ident judge,  by  virtue  of  seniority  of  commis- 
sion, and  upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  was 
re-elected  to  the  same  position,  which  he  held 
until  June  28,  1895,  when  he  was  appointed  and 
commissioned  president  judge  of  the  newly 
created  superior  court  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  by  Lafayette 
College  in  1895.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he 
was  elected  for  the  full  term  of  ten  years  from 
the  first  Monday  of  January,  1896.  In  religion 
Judge  Rice  is  a  Presbyterian,  and  was  one  of  the 
charter  trustees  of  the  Memorial  Church,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  but  is  now  connected  with  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  city.  The 
"Letters  and  Other  Writings"  of  his  brother, 
Lieut.  Adam  Clarke  Rice,  of  the  One  Hundred 
•and  Twenty-first  Regiment  New  York  Volun- 
teers, who  died  while  in  the  service  of  his  coun- 
try during  the  Civil  war,  were  compiled  and 
edited  by  Judge  Rice  in  1864  and  printed  for  cir- 
culation among  the  family  and  friends  of  the 
-fallen  soldier. 

Judge  Rice  was  married  December  18,  1873, 
to  Maria  Mills  Fuller,  daughter  of  the  late  Henry 
M.  Fuller,  long  a  distinguished  member  of  the 
Luzerne  county  bar.  Of  this  marriage  were 
born  three  children :  Charles  Edmund,  October 
8.  1874:  Henry  Fuller,  August  13.  1876.  de- 
ceased; and  Philip  Sydney,  June  22,  1878. 

H.  E.  H. 

WHEATON  FAMILY.  The  Ballon  gen- 
ealogy-, in  noting  the  marriage  of  Sarah  Ballou 
and  Moses  Wheaton,  says  that  this  Moses  prob- 


ably was  a  descendant  of  the  Wheatons  of 
Rehoboth,  Massachusetts.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
Moses  Wheaton,  who  married  Sarah  Ballou, 
was  a  descendant  of  Robert  Wheaton,  the  im- 
migrant ancestor  of  the  Wheaton  family  in 
America,  who  came  from  England  in  1636  and 
joined  the  colony  of  planters  at  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts, then  being  about  thirty  years  old.  He 
married  there  Alice  Bowen,  who  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Richard  Bowen,  and  in  1645  removed 
with  his  family"  to  Rehoboth,  and  died  there, 
1696. 

Moses  Wheaton,  of  Richmond,  New  Hamp- 
shire, a  descendant  of  Robert  Wheaton,  of  Sa- 
lem and  Rehoboth,  is  recognized  as  the  progen- 
itor of  the  Wheaton-Ballou  families  who  in 
later  years  and  generations  have  been  important 
factors  in  public  life,  in  the  professions,  and  in 
the  varied  activities  of  business  life  in  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  have  lived  and  of  which 
they  have  been  a  part.  Recollections  of  Moses 
Wheaton  and  his  immediate  ancestors  are 
meagre.  He  married  in  Richmond,  New  Hamp- 
shire, October  14,  1781,  Sarah  Ballou,  born  Scit- 
uate,  Rhode  Island,  May  4,  1763,  died  October  15. 
1824.  Sarah  Ballou  was  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Ma- 
turin  and  Lydia  Harris  Ballou.  Rev.  Maturin  Bal- 
lou was  in  early  life  a  farmer  and  mechanic,  and 
in  1752,  at  the  age  of  thirty  years,  began  preach- 
ing, an  expounder  of  the  gospel  under  Baptist 
doctrines,  a  faithful  follower  of  John  Calvin,  al- 
though among  his  near  and  remote  generations 
were  able  exponents  of  the  doctrine  of  L  niver- 
salism.  Rev.  Maturin  Ballou  was  a  son  of  Peter 
Ballou,  of  Providence,  who  was  son  of  Peter 
Ballou,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  (and  Re- 
becca Esten),  who  was  son  of  John  Ballou  of 
Providence  (and  Hannah  Garrett),  who  was  son 
of  Maturin  Ballou  (and  Hannah  Piki,  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  and  Catherine  Piki),  one  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  Providence  plantations  in  the 
colony  of  Rhode  Island,  a  follower  of  the  for- 
tunes of  Roger  Williams,  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  compact,  and  one  of  the  principal  personages 
of  the  Providence  settlement.  This  Maturin  had 
six  children ;  and  his  son  John,  and  Hannah,  had 
six  children;  and  his  son   Peter,   and  Rebecca, 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


25 


had  eleven  children ;  and  his  son,  Rev.  Maturin, 
and  Lydia,  had  eleven  children,  of  whom  Sarah 
who  married  Moses  Wheaton,  was  the  eighth 
child  and  fourth  daughter.  Moses  Wheaton  died 
in  Richmond,  New  Hampshire,  January  3,  1815. 
He  had  thirteen  children,  whose  names  are  re- 
corded in  Richmond :  Job,  Charles,  Maturin, 
Sarah,  Moses  Ballou,  of  whom  later ;  Silas,  Asa, 
Ira,  Lydia  Piatt,  Betsey  Dixon,  Lemira  Faxon, 
Jesse,  and  James. 

Moses  Ballou  Wheaton,  fourth  son  of  Moses 
and  Sarah  (Ballou)  Wheaton,  was  born  Rich- 
mond, New  Hampshire,  September  9,  1790,  died 
Jackson,  Pennsylvania*  December  9,  i860 ;  mar- 
ried November  26,  1812,  Mary  Aldrich,  born 
Richmond,  New  Hampshire,  September  24,  1794, 
died  Jackson,  Pennsylvania,  February  20,  1875, 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Aldrich  and  wife  Cleopatra 
Ransdell.  Moses  originally  had  no  middle  name, 
being  called  "Moses  junior,"  but  under  an  act  of 
the  legislature  he  was  permitted  to  adopt  the 
middle  name  of  Ballou..  hence  was  afterward 
known  as  Moses  Ballou  Wheaton.  He  is  be- 
lieved to  have  removed  from  Richmond,  New 
Hampshire,  to  Pennsylvania  soon  after  marriage, 
at  least  before  18 15,  and  settled  in  Jackson, 
where  he  was  a  farmer  and  cooper.  "He  inher- 
ited good  physique  and  mental  stamina  from  his 
ancestors  on  both  sides ;  and  so  did  his  wife. 
They  reared  their  large  family  well,  and  left  a 
good  memory."  (Ballou  Genealogy.)  Their  chil- 
dren were : 

1.  Julia  Ann,  born  (probably  Richmond, 
New  Hampshire,  reared  in  Jackson,  Pennsyl- 
vania), June  28,  1813;  married  June  8,  1836, 
Horace  Aldrich,  and  had  five  children. 

2.  Laura  Ann,  born  November  25,  1814 ; 
died  April  9,  1878;  married  December  22,  1835, 
Emory  Larabee,  and  had  six  children. 

3.  Mary  Elvira,  born  October  7,  1816;  died 
December  22,  1885;  married  (first)  May  11, 
1844,  Parley  Potter;  married  (second)  January 
16,  1849,  Chauncey  Lamb ;  no  children  by  either 
marriage. 

4.  Fostina  Loanza,  born  August  25,  1818; 
married  November  26,  1842,  Merrick  T.  Whit- 
ney, and  had  five  children. 


5.  Lydia  Maria,  born  December  30;  1819 ; 
married  September  9,  1838,  Elias  Bryant,  and 
had  seven  children. 

6.  Washington  Warren,  born  Jackson, 
sylvania,  March  9,  1823;  married  (first)  October 
New  York ;  married  January  6,  1850,  Elizabeth 
Bowen.  Dr.  W.  W.  Wheaton  was  for  many 
years  a  physician,  practicing  chiefly  in  Bingham- 
ton,  New  York;. he  also  was  a  breeder  of  fine 
Jersey  cattle,  and  did  much  to  promote  a  better 
grade  of  dairy  cattle  in  Broome  county. 

7.  William  Windsor,  born  Jackson,  Penn- 
sylvania, March  9,  1823;  married  (first)  October 
28,  1846,  Cassandana  Ruth  Wheaton,  his  cousin, 
daughter  of  Ira  Wheaton  and  wife  Barbara 
Ballou;  married  (second)  May  1,  1873,  Juliette 
Card ;  three  children,  by  first  marriage ;  two  by 
second.  William  W.  Wheaton  was  a  practicing 
physician,  a  graduate  of  the  Rochester  (New 
York)  Eclectic  Medical  College.  He  was  a  sur- 
geon of  renown  and  a  practical  dentist  in  connec- 
tion with  his  other  professional  accomplishments. 
His  life  was  passed  chiefly  in  the  vicinity  of  Jack- 
son, Pennsylvania. 

8.  Almeda  Eliza,  born  December  17,  1824; 
married  (first)  May  20,  1848,  Henry  Benson; 
married  (second)  February  28,  1857,  Henry  P. 
Crary. 

9.  Thomas  Jefferson,  born  March  29,  1826, 
of  whom  later. 

10.  Cleopatra  Pauline,  born ;  died  April 

30,  1845- 

11.  Catherine  Melissa,  born  June  15,  1830; 
married  December,  1852,  Velosco  Whitney,  and 
had  three  children. 

12.  Nancy  Ann,  born  July  5,  1832;  married 
January  1,  1853,  William  Holmes,  and  had  five 
children. 

13.  Sarah  Jane,  died  July  23,  1838. 

14.  Lemira  Albina,  born  September  15, 
1837 ;  married  June  24,  i860,  Stephen  Jenkins. 
No  children. 

Dr.  Thomas  Jefferson  Wheaton,  ninth  child 
of  Moses  Ballou  and  Mary  (Aldrich)  Wheaton, 
was  born  in  Jackson,  Pennsylvania,  March  29, 
1826.  He  attended  the  district  schools  of  his 
neighborhood,  and  Harford  Academy,  an  insti- 


26 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


tution  of  considerable  reputation  in  its  day,  then 
under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Lyman  Richardson,  a 
distinguished    educator.      He    studied    medicine 
with  his  brother,  Dr.  W.  W.  Wheaton,  attended 
lectures  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  Roch- 
ester,  New  York,   and  practiced  medicine  from 
1849    to    1858    in    Bradford    and    Susquehanna 
counties,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  Binghamton,  New 
York.    During  the  war  of  1861-65  ne  was  on  rne 
iron-clad  monitor  "Dictator."  After  1858  he  prac- 
ticed dentistry  in  Binghamton  until  his  removal 
to  Wilkes-Barre   in   1873,  and  in  the  latter  city 
until    his    retirement    from    active    professional 
work,  about  thirty  years  ago.    He  married,  April 
10,    185 1,    Maria   T.   Woodruff,    who   was   born 
June  6,  1 83 1,  a  daughter  of  Lewis  H.  Woodruff, 
who  was  born  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  February 
25,  1798,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  June 
25,  1875,  and  n's  w^e  Almena  Hutchinson,  whom 
he  married  March  21,  1830.    About  1805  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  Lisle,  Broome  county, 
New  York,  and  was  educated  at  Hamilton  Col- 
lege.    Soon  after  marriage  he  removed  to  Dim- 
ock,    Pennsylvania,    where   for   more   than   forty 
years  he  was  an  enterprising  and  leading  citizen. 
He    built   the    first    academy   in   the   town,    was 
largely  instrumental  in  securing  a  house  of  wor- 
ship for  the  Presbyterian  society  there,  donating 
land  for  that  purpose,  and  in  many  ways  contrib- 
uting to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  place. 
The  Woodruff  ancestor  of  this  branch  of  the  fam- 
ily   was    Matthew    Woodruff,    of   Hartford    and 
Farmington,   Connecticut,   and   one   of   the  pro- 
prietors of  the  latter  town  in  1640,  freeman  1657, 
and  died   1682.     He  had  a  son   Matthew,  born 
Farmington,  1640,  died  November  7,  1732,  who 

had  a  son  John,  died  ,  one  of  whose  sons 

was  Samuel,  whose  wife  was  Anna  Judd.  This 
Samuel  had  a  son,  Deacon  Samuel  Woodruff,  of 
Litchfield,  1723-72,  whose  wife  was  Anne  Net- 
tleton.  Their  son  Andrew  Woodruff,  born  1759, 
died  Livonia,  New  York,  March  27,  1847,  mar- 
ried Miranda  Orton;  and  their  son  was  Lewis 
H.  Woodruff,  whose  daughter  Maria  T.  mar- 
ried Thomas  Jefferson  Wheaton  and  had : 

1.     Florence  E.,  born  March   19,   1852,  died 
August  17,  1854. 


2.  Frank  Woodruff,  born  August  27,  1855, 
of  whom  later. 

3.  Jessie  E.,  born  May  23,  1858,  married 
(first)  October  21,  1879,  Samuel  K.  Rhoads, 
died  May  23,  1882;  married  (second)  Henry  H. 
Sherman ;  two  children  by  first  marriage,  three 
by  second  marriage. 

4.  Kittie  A.,  born  December  2,  1866;  mar- 
ried February  10,  1886,  William  S.  Kelly,  and 
lives  in  Wilkes-Barre;  four  children. 

Hon.     Frank     Woodruff     Wheaton,     second 
child  and  only  son  of  Dr.  Thomas  J.  and  Maria 
T.    (Woodruff)   Wheaton,  was  born  in  the  then 
village  of  Binghamton,   New  York,  August  27, 
1855.     His  elementary  education  was  acquired  in 
the  public  schools,  and  also  in  the  Binghamton 
Central  High  School,  where  he  graduated,  1873. 
He  prepared  for  college  at  the  Hopkins  Gram- 
mar   School,    New   Haven,    Connecticut,   and   in 
Binghamton,  New  York,  under  the  tutorship  of 
Rev.  E.   S.   Frisbie,  a  noted  educator,  graduate 
of  Amherst  College,  and  for  many  years  presi- 
dent of  Wells  College,  Aurora,  New  York.     He 
entered  Yale  College  and  graduated  Bachelor  of 
Arts,  1877.    Returning  from  college  to  his  home, 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  Judge  Wheaton  at 
once  began  a  course  of  law  study  in  the  office  of 
E.  P.  and  J.  V.  Darling.     He  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  Luzerne  county,   September  2,   1879. 
Soon  after  he  came  to  the  bar  Judge  Wheaton 
was    law    partner    with    Daniel    S.    Bennet,    and 
after    his    death,    in    1885,    with    John    Vaughn 
Darling,    one    of    his    former    legal    preceptors. 
When  Mr.  Darling  died,  Judge  Wheaton  became 
senior  partner  in  the  law  firm  of  Wheaton,  Dar- 
ling &  Woodward,   1892-1901.     The  legislature 
at  its  session  in  1901  created  an  additional  law 
judgeship  in  Luzerne  county,  and  in  pursuance 
of  the  provisions  of  the  act  Governor  Stone  ap- 
pointed Judge  Wheaton  its  first  incumbent,  and 
at  the  next  general  election  in  November  follow- 
ing he  was  elected  without  opposition  to  the  same 
office  for  a  full  term  of  ten  years  from  January 
1,    1902.      It    can    hardly    be    said    that    Judge 
Wheaton  sought  this  judicial  preferment,  for  he 
was  senior  member  of  one  of  the  strongest  and 
most  successful  law  firms  in  northeastern  Penn- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


27 


sylvania,  but  he  yielded  to  the  expressed  wishes 
of  his  professional  associates,  almost  without  dis- 
tinction of  party,  accepted  Governor  Stone's  tem- 
porary appointment,  and  the  subsequent  nomin- 
ation of  the  Republican  convention  as  its  can- 
didate at  the  next  ensuing  election ;  and,  if  the 
frank  expression  of  the  Luzerne  bar  can  be  taken 
as  an  index  of  the  public  mind,  there  has  been 
no  regret  in  any  quarter  that  Judge  Wheaton 
was  elevated  to  a  judicial  office  in  1901. 

Judge  Wheaton  is  a  Republican.  For  three 
years  he  sat  in  the  city  council,  but  was  elected 
to  that  office  as  a  citizen,  and  not  with  reference 
to  party  affiliations.  He  became  a  known  quan- 
tity in  general  politics,  state  and  local,  about 
1897,  though  not  for  the  ultimate  purpose  of  self- 
advancement  and  interest.  He  was  permanent 
chairman  of  the  Republican  State  convention  that 
nominated  Governor  Stone,  and  was  county 
chairman  for  Luzerne  in  1900.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  So- 
ciety. Judge  Wheaton  married,  May  16,  1878, 
L.  Maria  Covell,  of  Binghamton,  New  York,  born 
in  Tolland,  Connecticut,  and  of  old  New  Eng- 
land stock.    They  have  no  children. 

H.  E.  H. 

FERRIS  FAMILY.  It  is  claimed  that  the 
English  branches  of  the  Ferris  family  were  from 
Leicestershire,  and  were  descended  from  the 
house  of  Ferriers,  Ferrerr,  Ferreis,  or  Ferris,  the 
first  member  of  which  in  England  was  Henry  de 
Feriers,  the  son  of  Guelchelme,  master  of  the 
horse  of  the  Duke  of  Normandy,  who  obtained 
of  the  conqueror  large  grants  of  land  in  Staf- 
fordshire, Derbyshire,  and  Leicestershire.  It  is 
said  that  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  battle  of 
Hastings,  having  invaded  England  with  the  Con- 
queror. From  Guelchelme  de  Feriers  and  Will- 
iam de  Ferers,  Earl  of  Derby,  descends  the  Fer- 
rers of  Groby,  who  bore  for  their  paternal  coat 
of  arms  "gu  seven  mascles  or,  a  canton  erm," 
while  their  Westchester  descendants  carried 
"gu  a  fleur-de-lis,  or  a  canton  erm  with  a  cres- 
cent for  the  difference"  (Genealogy  of  the  Fer- 
ris family). 

The  first  American  Ferris  of  whom  there  is 


any  known  record  was  Jeffrey  Ferris,,  or  Fer- 
ries, of  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  where  he  was 
admitted  freeman,  May  6,  1635,  and  who  re- 
moved thence  to  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  and 
thence  to  Stamford,  Connecticut,  where  he  was 
an  original  proprietor. 

Samuel  Ferris,  progenitor  of  the  line  under 
consideration  in  these  annals,  came  from  Read- 
ing, in  Warwickshire,  England,  before  1655,  and 
was  a  Presbyterian  Puritan  in  early  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut  history.  He  was  of  the 
Stratford  (Connecticut)  colony  in  that, year,  and 
came  there  from  Massachusetts.  He  had  two 
sons,   Zachariah   and   Benjamin. 

Zachariah  Ferris,  son  of  Samuel,  married 
Sarah  Noble,  and  had  five  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. All  of  their  sons  and  one  of  the  daughters 
(Hannah)  became  reputable  Quaker  preachers, 
and  their  mother,  Sarah  Noble,  likewise  was  an 
early  convert  to  that  faith.     The  children  were: 

1.  Deborah,  born  June  17,  1700. 

2.  Joseph,  born  September  27,  1703. 

3.  David,  born  May  10,  1707,  whose  pub- 
lished memoirs  contain  an  interesting  recital  of 
the  events  of  his  life,  and  of  his  conversion  to  the 
Quaker  teachings,  whose  exponent  he  afterward 
was.  His  descendants  settled  in  Wilmington, 
Delaware. 

4.  Benjamin,  born  November  10,  1708,  of 
whom  later. 

5.  Sarah,  born  November  10,  1710,  the  first 
white  child  born  in  New  Milford,  Connecticut, 
married  a  Noble. 

6.  Hannah,  born  August  6,  1712. 

7.  John,  born  February  6,  1714. 

8.  Zachariah,  born  September  30,   1717. 
Benjamin   Ferris,   born   November    10,    1708, 

fourth  child  of  Zachariah  and  Sarah  (Noble) 
Ferris,  married,  1728,  Phebe  Beecher,  and  had 
children  : 

1.  Zebulon,  born  1729,  a  pious  Quaker  gen- 
tleman, died  December  16,  1778. 

2.  Reed,  born  1730,  married Aiken. 

3.  Susannah,  born  1731,  married Doty, 

and  left  religious  writings  which  are  still  extant 
among  the  Quakers. 

4.  Lillius,  born  1736,  married Aiken. 


^8 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


5.  Benjamin,  born  1738,  of  whom  later. 

6.  Gilbert,  born  and  died,  1740. 

7.  Edmund,  born  1748,  died  1750. 

8.  Phebe,  born  and  died,  1754. 
Benjamin  Ferris,  fifth  child  of  Benjamin  and 

Phebe  ( Beecher)  Ferris,  born  1738,  married 
Mary  Howland,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Howland 
and  his  wife,  Joanna  Ricketson,  granddaughter 
of  S.  Ricketson  and  the  Lady  Ellafel,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Lord  Edmund  Fitzgerald. 
Benjamin  and  Mary   Ferris  had  children: 

1.  Walter,  born  January  20,  1768,  died 
April,  1806 ;  married  Sally  Morgan. 

2.  Lillius,  born  August  19,  1769,  died  Sep- 
temper   19,   1777. 

3.  Wayman,  born  September  24,  1771,  died 
November,    1846;  married   Priscilla  Dodge. 

4.  Nathaniel,  born  June  29,  1775,  died  Sep- 
tember 15,  1777. 

5.  Edwin,  born  February  20,  1779,  died 
April,  1839 :    married    Clara  Winans. 

6.  Peleg,  born  May  23,  1783,  married  (first) 
Polly  Sherman,    (second)    Sally  Sweet. 

7.  Eber,  born  May  26,  1784,  of  whom  later. 

8.  Phebe,  born  January  28,  1788,  died 
March,  1840. 

Eber  Ferris,  seventh  child  of  Benjamin  and 
Mary  (Howland)  Ferris,  born  May  26,  1784, 
died  December,  1852,  married  Betsey  Ferris,  his 
•cousin,  born  November  19,  1787,  died  March, 
1842.  She  was  a  descendant  of  Benjamin  Fer- 
ris, the  son  of  Samuel  Ferris.  By  this  marriage 
the  line  of  descent  from  Zachariah  and  Ben- 
jamin, both  sons  of  Samuel,  were  again  brought 
together.     Eber  and  Betsey  Ferris  had  children : 

1.  Zachariah  Benjamin,  born  September  1, 
1804,  died  in  infancy. 

2.  Zachariah,  born  September  4,  1808,  died 
October  15,  1825. 

3.  Benjamin,  born  May  28,  1810,  died  De- 
cember 17.  1846;  married  1836,  Maria  Rogers. 

4.  Phebe  Maria,  born  April  28,  1812,  died 
May   16.   1816. 

5.  Mary,  born  February  8,  1814. 

6.  Julia  A.,  born  February  16,  1816,  mar'-'^d 
1858,  Nathaniel  Pierce. 


7.  Wayman,  born  March  27,  1818,  married 
1841,  Sylvia  Davis. 

8.  Peleg,  born  April  3.  1820,  married.  1844. 
Philura  H.  Ingersoll. 

9.  Edwin  Fitzgerald,  born  February  19, 
1822,  of  whom  later. 

10.  Eliza  A.,  born  October  15.  1824. 

11.  Sarah  A.,  born  June  16,  1827,  died  No- 
vember 10,   1857. 

12.  John,  born  January,  1832,  lived  one  day. 
Edwin   Fitzgerald   Ferris,  fifth   son  of  Eber 

and  Betsey  (Ferris)  Ferris,  born  Cnadilla,  Ot- 
sego county.  New  York,  February  19,  1822, 
died  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  June  7,  1877:  mar- 
ried December  7,  1847,  Margaret  Steele,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Ransom)  Steele.  (See 
Ransom  family).  He  came  to  the  Wyoming 
valley  with  Rev.  Reuben  Nelson,  D.  D.  After 
the  opening  of  Wyoming  Seminary,  September 
24,  1844,  he  became  a  teacher  in  that  institution. 
He  lived  in  Pittston  many  years,  and  in  1847  was 
superintendent  for  Lord  Butler  and  John  Butler 
during  their  early  coal  operations.  Later  he  was  a 
miller,  partner  at  various  times  with  James  Mott. 
Theodore  Strong,  J.  A.  Wisner  and  Charles 
Steele,  until  the  summer  of  1861,  when  he  was 
appointed  to  a  position  in  the  civil  service  in 
Washington.  Edwin  F.  and  Margaret  (Steele) 
Ferris  had : 

1.  George  Steele  Ferris,  born  April  28, 
1849,  °f  whom  later. 

2.  Margaret  Ferris,  born  Pittston,  May  8, 
185 1,  died  May  28,  1899;  married  Dr.  Augustus 
F.  McKay,  of  Colorado  Springs.  Colorado.  Chil- 
dren:  Henrietta,  Ella,  Edward  F.,  Margaret  and 
George  McKay. 

3.  Ella,  born  June  17,  1856,  died  December 
29,  1891  :  married  Thomas  Sharkey.  One  child: 
Jessie  Ford  Sharkey. 

Hon.  George  Steele  Ferris,  eldest  child  of 
Edwin  Fitzgerald  Ferris  and  his  wife  Margaret 
Steele,  was  born  Pittston,  Pennsylvania.  April 
28,  1849:  married,  September  1,  1875.  ^da  C. 
Stark,  daughter  of  Lewis  G.  and  Jeanette  (Muz- 
zey)  Stark.  He  was  educated  at  Columbian  Uni- 
versity (now  Washington  University)  Washing- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


29 


ton,  District  of  Columbia,  and  Allegheny  College, 
Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  graduating  at  the  latter 
institution,  Bachelor  of  Arts,  1869.  In  1870  and 
1871  he  held  a  clerkship  in  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment in  Washington,  and  during  that  time  took  a 
course  in  the  Columbian  University  Law  School 
of  that  city.  He  graduated  in  June,  1871,  and 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme  court  of 
the  District  of  Columbia.  He  returned  to  Pitts- 
ton  and  continued  his  law  studies  in  the  office  of 
Conrad  Sax  Stark,  Esq.,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  Luzerne  county  February  10,  1872.  From 
the  day  he  came  to  the  bar  until  he  entered  upon 
the  performance  of  his  judicial  duties  upon  the 
bench  of  the  common  pleas.  Judge  Ferris  was  a 
constant  worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  profession. 
His  active  practice  extended  over  a  period  of 
about  thirty  years.  He  practiced  in  Pittston  un- 
til 1895,  and  then  removed  his  principal  office  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  maintaining,  however,  his  res- 
idence in  West  Pittston.  He  was  elected  judge 
of  the  Luzerne  court  of  common  pleas,  Novem- 
ber, 1900,  and  assumed  the  judicial  office  Janu- 
ary 1,  1901.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

Judge  .Ferris  married  September  1,  1875, 
Ada  C.  Stark,  daughter  of  Lewis  G.  Stark,  and 
his  wife,  Jeanette  Muzzey,  of  West  Pittston. 
Lewis  G.  Stark  was  a  descendant  of  Aaron  Stark 
of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  1639  ;  of  Windsor,  Con- 
necticut, 1643;  °f  Mystic,  Connecticut,  1653; 
freeman  of  Stonington,  Connecticut,  1666;  free- 
man of  New  London,  Connecticut,  1669;  died 
there  1685.  His  grandson,  Christopher  Stark, 
son  of  William  Stark,  lived  in  Dutchess  county, 
New  York,  and  removed  when  an  old  man  with 
his  family  to  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  1769; 
died  there,  1771.  His  son,  James  Stark,  died 
July  20,  1777.  Aaron  Stark,  A?ron  Stark,  Ji\,  and 
James  Stark,  of  this  family,  were  in  the  battle 
andniassacre  at  Wyoming,  and  David  and  Aaron 
Stark,   sons    of   Christopher,    were   killed   there. 

I  Aaron,  Jr.,  son  of  James,  was  in  the  battle,  but 
escaped  the  massacre  and  returned  to  Dutchess 

[county-.  William  Stark,  son  of  Christopher, 
came  from  Dutchess  county  and  settled  on 
Tunkhannock  creek,  in  what  is  now   Wyoming 


county.  He  married  Polly  Cary.  Nathan  Stark, 
son  of  this  William,  was  born  December  28, 
1768 ;  married  Dorcas  Dixon,  and  died  May  23, 
1837.  William  Stark,  son  of  Nathan,  born  Jan- 
uary 13,  1791,  a  pensioner  of  the  war  of  1812-15, 
was  father  of  Lewis  G.  Stark,  whose  daughter 
Ada  C.  Stark  married  Judge  Ferris.  (See  Stark 
family. ) 

Judge  Ferris  and  wife  had  one  child,  Edwin 
Fitzgerald  Ferris,  born  West  Pittston,  May  17, 
1878.  H.  E.  H. 

HALSEY  FAMILY.  The  Halsey  family  in 
England  under  the  several  variations  of  the  sur- 
name dates  to  the  time  of  the  Conqueror,  about 
the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century,  when  its  rep- 
resentatives were  of  the  house  of  the  Alsis.  Tra- 
dition well  supported  by  circumstances  gives  the 
family  this  considerable  antiquity,  and  by  the 
same  means  it  is  understood  that  out  of  this  an- 
cient house  there  descended  John  Hals,  who 
lived  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III,  (1327-1377),  a 
man  of  wealth  and  good  repute,  and  doubtless 
one  of  the  notables  whose  lives  of  luxury  and 
extravagance  characterized  that  energetic  period. 
This  John  Hals  was  one  of  the  English  judges 
of  the  common  pleas.  His  second  son  John 
jwrote  his  surname  Halse,  and  was  a  distinguished 
personage  in  English  history,  a  graduate  of  Exe- 
ter College,  Oxford,  and  successively  provost  and 
proctor  of  Oriel,  prebendary  of  St.  Paul's  and 
bishop  of  Litchfield  and  Coventry.  He  was  also 
known  in  the  "War  of  the  Roses,"  but  achieved 
his  greatest  eminence  in  the  affairs  of  church. 
He  died,  1490.  Several  generations  later  than 
the  time  of  John  Halse  the  descendants  of  that 
house  became  scattered  throughout  the  English 
realm,  and  out  of  it  evolved  those  of  the  name  of 
Halsey,  some  of  them  personages  of  distinction, 
in  favor  with  the  sovereign,  who  honored  them 
with  titles  as  reward  of  fealty.  These  marks  of 
favor  were  bestowed  on  the  family  in  several 
generations  from  the  time  of  John  Hals  to  the 
eighteenth  and  perhaps  the  nineteenth  centuries. 
Thomas  Halsey  (5),  of  Lynn,  Massachusetts, 
1637,  son  of  Robert  (4)  and  Dorothy  (Downes) 
Halsey,  of  Great  Goddesden.    (William  3,  Will- 


3° 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


iam,  2,  John  i),  was  a  descendant  of  the  an- 
cient and  honorable  house  referred  to,  and  was 
the  founder  and  progenitor  of  the  family  on  the 
continent  of  America.  He  was  baptized  at 
Great  Gaddesden  Parsonage,  Hertfordshire,  Jan- 
uary 2,  1 59 1-2.  The  circumstances  of  his  emi- 
gration are  not  known,  but  he  came  from  Hert- 
fordshire, and  as  one  of  the  early  planters  in 
New  England  was  well  possessed  of  lands  in 
Lynn.  Soon  afterward  he  joined  with  a  colony 
and  set  sail  for  Long  Island,  where  he  proposed 
to  found  a  town  at  what  is  now  North  Hemp- 
stead, and  to  that  end  they  purchased  lands  and 
extinguished  the  Indian  title ;  but  the  Dutch  dis- 
puted their  right  of  settlement  within  their  do- 
main, and  by  force  of  arms  compelled  them  to 
depart  and  take  up  their  abode  elsewhere.  Then 
Halsev  and  his  companions  founded  the  town  of 
Southampton,  and  set  up  what  they  fancied  an 
independent  government,  with  John  Halsey  as 
their  leader,  thc{ir  law-giver,  and  the  chiefest 
among  them  in  influence  and  wealth ;  but  as  the 
colony  grew  stronger  in  numbers  its  members 
were  less  dependent,  and  on  occasion  Thomas 
Halsey  was  disciplined  for  "wilful  obstinacy." 
Thomas  was  married  twice ;  his  first  wife, 
Phebe  Halsey,  was  killed  by  the  Indians,  1649. 
His  second  wife,  whom  he  married  about  1660 
was  Ann  Jones,  widow  of  Edward  Jones.  His 
will  was  probated  in  Xew  York  City,  1679,  and 
he  left  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  from  whom 
have  come  a  goodly  array  of  descendants,  among 
whom  in  each  generation  have  been  men  of  char- 
acter and  achievement. 

From  Thomas  Halsey  of  Lynn  and  South- 
ampton the  line  under  consideration  here  de- 
scends to  Thomas  in  the  second,  Jeremiah  in  the 
third,  Jeremiah  in  the  fourth,  Matthew  in  the 
fifth,  Matthew  in  the  sixth,  and  Gaius  in  the  sev- 
enth, to  Richard  Church  Halsey,  M.  D.,  in  the 
eighth  generation,  who  seems  to  have  led  the 
way  of  his  family  into  Pennsylvania,  and  whose 
son  Gaius  Leonard  Halsey,  a  descendant  of  the 
ninth  generation  of  Thomas  of  Lynn  and  South- 
ampton, is  now  Judge  Halsey  of  the  Luzerne 
common  pleas,  one  of  the  respected  representa- 


tives  of   the   legal   profession   in   the    Wyoming 
valley. 

Matthew  Halsey,  the  second,  born  July  25, 
1753,  died  January  28,  1841,  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolution,  and  credited  with  having  captured 
thirteen  Hessian  soldiers.  He  settled  after  the 
war  in  Otsego  county,  New  York,  and  removed 
thence  to  Steuben  county.  His  first  wife  was  Miss 
Rose,  his  second  wife  was  Ruth  Leonard,  hence 
the  introduction  of  that  surname  in  the  Halsey 
family.  It  was  bestowed  as  the  middle  name  of 
Gaius  Leonard  Halsey,  but  was  not  used  by  him. 

Dr.  Gaius  Leonard  Halsey  was  born  May  4, 
1793,  and  was  educated  for  the  medical  profes- 
sion, of  which  he  was  almost  a  pioneer  in  interior 
New  York,  in  Bainbridge,  Chenango  county,  and 
later  at  Kortright  Centre,  in  Delaware  county, 
where  the  scene  of  his  life  was  chiefly  laid.  His 
first  wife,  whom  he  married  November  25.  1815, 
was  Mary  Church,  daughter  of  Richard  Bill- 
ings Church,  of  Bainbridge,  Xew  York,  and 
granddaughter  of  Col.  Timothy  Church,  of  the 
Revolution.  His  second  wife  was  Barbara 
Grant,  who  survived  him,  and  died  without  issue, 
1892.  His  four  children,  all  of  his  first  marriage 
were : 

Richard  Church,  born  Bainbridge,  Xew  York, 
July  17,  1817. 

Gaius  Leonard,  born  Bainbridge,  Xew  York, 
May  4,  1819. 

Xelson  Gaylord,  born  Bainbridge,  Xew  York, 
October  19,  1823. 

Lavantia,  bo)rn  February  2,  1822,  married 
Dr.  Goff,  and  removed  to  Illinois. 

Like  their  father,  Richard  C.  and  Gaius  L- 
Halsey  were  physicians,  the  latter  in  Unadilla, 
New  York,  and  the  former  in  White  Haven, 
Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Richard  Church  Halsey  married  Anna 
Sprowl,  who  died  1895,  a  member  of  the  So- 
ciety  of  Friends,  and  a  native  of  Kennett,  Ches- 
ter county,  Pennsylvania.  He  studied  medicine 
with  his  father,  accompanied  him  in  his  '"rides" 
and  thus  learned  his  methods  of  practice ;  and 
he  completed  his  medical  education  in  a  medical 
college  in  Xew  York  City.    He  located  for  prac- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


3i 


tice  first  at  White  Haven,  Pennsylvania,  re- 
moved thence  to  Nesquehoning,  but  four  or 
five  years  later  returned  to  the  place  first  men- 
tioned, where  he  lived  chiefly  throughout  the 
period  of  his  long  and  useful  life.  During  the 
Civil  war  he  served  as  surgeon  in  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  Dr.  Halsey  died  in  the  south,  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1904.  He  had  retired  from  active  pro- 
fessional life  about  fifteen  years  before,  and 
lived  during  the  winter  months  in  Florida  where 
he  had  an  orange  grove.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Halsey 
had  two  children,  Gains  Leonard  Halsey  and 
Harriet  Halsey. 

Judge  Gaius  Leonard  Halsey  was  born  in 
Nesquehoning,  Carbon  county,  Pennsylvania, 
July  12,  1845,  and  was  educated  at  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Academy,  the  Clinton  Liberal  Institute, 
Clinton,  Oneida  county,  New  York,  and  at 
Tufft's  College,  Medford,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  graduated  A.  B.  1867.  In  1866  he  taught 
school  for  a  time  in  Canton,  Massachusetts,  and 
after  he  secured  his  diploma,  taught  one  year  in 
White  Haven,  where  he  lived  several  years.  Dur- 
ing portions  of  the  years  1868  and  1869  he  lived 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  did  stenographic 
work,  and  in  1869  and  1870  he  was  stenographic 
reporter  of  the  Harrisburg  "Legislative  Record." 
In  1870  and  1871  he  was  assistant  sergeant-at- 
arms  in  the  lower  house  of  the  Pennsylvania  leg- 
islature, and  in  1871  and  1872  was  transcribing 
clerk  in  the  same  branch.  He  read  law  with 
Lyman  Hakes,  Esq.,  and  Hon.  Charles  E.  Rice, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  came  to  the  bar  in  Luzerne 
county,  September  9,  1872.  From  that  time 
Judge  Halsey  has  been  closely  and  actively  iden- 
tified with  the  legal  profession  in  Carbon  and 
Luzerne  counties.  He  was  a  good  lawyer  in  the 
trial  courts,  a  safe  counsellor  in  the  office,  and  his 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  law  and  the  interpre- 
tation and  application  of  its  principles  was  the 
chief  means  of  his  appointment  to  the  bench  of 
the  common  pleas  in  the  fall  of  1898 ;  and  his  elec- 
tion to  the  same  office  in  November,  1899,  for  a 
full  term  of  ten  years  was  a  natural  and  logical 
sequence — a  fitting  tribute  to  his  mental  qualities 
and  legal  attainments. 

Gaius    Leonard    Halsey    married,    April     17, 


1882,  Sarah  Elizabeth  Levan,  daughter  of  John 
W.  Levan,  of  White  Haven.  Their  children  are : 
Anna  Catharine,  now  in  Vassar  College.  John 
Richard,  a  student  in  Yale  College.  Jean  Louise, 
Ruth  Alice,  Joseph  Gaius. 

H.  E.  H. 

REYNOLDS  FAMILY.    The  progenitor  of 
the  Reynolds   family  of     Wyoming  valley  was 
William  Reynolds   (1),  who  was  born  near  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century  at  Kingstown, 
Rhode   Island.   He  was  fourth   in   descent  from 
William  Reynolds,  who  is  presumed  to  have  been 
originally  of  Gloucestershire,  England,  and  then 
of  Bermuda,  whence  he  immigrated  about  1629  to 
Salem  in  the  new  Puritan  colony  of  Massachu- 
setts   Bay.     He    was    a    member    of    the    First 
Church  in  Salem  under  the  ministry  of  its  aged 
pastor    Samuel    Skelton,    and    of    his    successor 
Roger  Williams  ;  and  subsequently  was  associated 
with    the    latter    in    the    early    settlement    and 
founding  of  the  colony  of  Providence  Plantations. 
In   August,    1637,   William  Reynolds  the  immi- 
grant and  twelve  others,  "desirous  to  inhabit  in 
the  town   of  Providence,"   signed  a  compact  in 
which  they  promised  to  subject  themselves   "in 
active  or  passive  obedience  to  all  such  orders  or 
agreements"  as  should  be  made   for  the  public 
good   of  their   community.      In   July,    1640,    an 
agreement  for  a  form  of  government  was  signed 
by  William  Reynolds  and  thirty-eight  others  at 
Providence,  and  nearly  four  years  later  a  royal 
charter  was  granted  to  them  and  their  associates 
for  the  incorporation  of  the  colony  of  Providence 
Plantations.    Mr.  Reynolds  was  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  the  little  colony,  and  was  the  possessor 
of    a    considerable    amount    of    land    within    its 
bounds.    A  portion  of  his  original  "home"  lot  is 
now  owned  by  Brown  University.     In   1646  he 
executed    a   deed   which   closed    out   his   landed 
property  at  Providence,  and  about  that  time  he 
removed  to  Kingstown   (at  what  is  now  North 
Kingston,    Washington   county,   Rhode    Island), 
and  there  some  years  later  died.     He  was  sur- 
vived by  his  son  James,  and  probably  other  chil- 
dren, who  had  removed  with  him  to  Kingstown. 
(II)  James  Reynolds,  son  of  William,  above 


72 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


mentioned,  was  bom  about  1625.  He  took  the  oath 
of  allegiance  at  Kingstown  May  20,  1671,  and 
in  the  same  year  was  chosen  constable.  In  1677 
and  subsequent  years  he  took  an  active  part  in 
connection  with  the  boundary  conflicts  between 
the  colony  of  Connecticut  and  that  of  Rhode 
Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  series  of  provocations  and  reprisals 
between  those  inharmonious  neighbors — "so  fatal 
to  the  prosperity"  of  the  latter  colony — James 
Reynolds,  in  company  with  several  other  Rhode 
Islanders,  was  carried  off  forcibly,  in  May,  1677, 
by  a  number  of  the  Connecticut  party,  and  im- 
prisoned at  Hartford  for  some  time.  In  1687 
he  was  overseer  of  the  poor  at  Kingstown,  and 
in  1690  was  chosen  by  the  colonial  assembly  as 
conservator  of  the  peace  for  the  town.  He 
owned  a  considerable  amount  of  land  in  Kings- 
town and  in  East  Greenwich,  some  of  which  he 
deeded  to  his  sons  prior  to  1700.  The  residue 
of  his  estate  he  disposed  of  by  his  last  will,  of 
which  his  son  James  was  executor.  He  died  at 
Kingstown    in    1702.     His    wife    was    Deborah 

,   and   they   had    the    following   children, 

born  Kingstown : 

1.  John,  born  October  12,  1648;  killed  by 
the  Indians  in  1675,  during  King  Philip's  war. 

2.  James,  born  October  28,  1650,  of  whom 
later. 

3.  Joseph,  born  November  27,  1652 ;  died 
1722. 

4.  Henry,  born  January  1,  1656;  died  1716. 

5.  Deborah,  born  1658;  died  1716;  married 
John  Sweet. 

6.  Francis,  born  1662;  died  1722;  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  and  Deliverance 
(Potter)   Greene,  of  Warwick,  Rhode  Island. 

7.  Mercy,  born  1664. 

(Ill)  James  Reynolds,  son  of  James  and  De- 
borah Reynolds,  was  born  at  Kingstown,  Rhode 
Island,  October  28,  1650.  In  1679  he  was  one 
of  the  signers  of  a  petition  to  the  King,  praying 
that  he  would  put  an  end  to  the  difficulties  then 
subsisting  between  Rhode  Island  and  Connecti- 
cut, as  previously  mentioned.  In  April,  1684, 
James  Reynolds  received  from  his  father  one 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  East  Greenwich,  Rhode 


Island,  and  February  19,  1685,  he  was  married 
to  Mary,  born  September  8,  1660,  daughter  of 
James  and  Deliverance  (Potter)*  Greene,  and 
granddaughter  of  John  and  Joan  (Tattersall) 
Greene  of  Warwick,  Rhode  Island.  James  and 
Mary  (Greene)  Reynolds  had :  1.  James,  born 
February  20,  1686.  2.  William,  of  whom  later. 
3.  Elizabeth. 

(IV)  William  Reynolds  (of  James,  of  James, 
of  William)  was  born  near  the  close  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century,  probably  in  1698,  at  Kings- 
town, Rhode  -Island.  He  was  married  Septem- 
ber 18,  1729,  to  Deborah,  born  after  1700,  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  and  Humility  (Coggeshall) 
Greene**  of  East  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island,  and 
thev    settled   in   West    Greenwich.      There   thev 


*Deliverance  Potter  was  a  daughter  of  Robert 
Potter  of  Lynn  and  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  and  War- 
wick, Rhode  Island.  Of  Lynn,  1630;  freeman.  163 1 ; 
of  Portsmouth,  Rhode  Island,  1638 ;  signed  compact, 
1639 ;  assistant,  1648,  and  deputy  to  the  colonial  as- 
sembly, 1645,  1650,  1652  and  1655.  In  1652  the  assembly 
convened  at  his  house. 

*  *  Benjamin  Greene  was  the  son  of  John  Greene. 
He  was  a  deputy  in  the  assembly  in  1698,  1700,  1701, 
1703 ;  surveyor  of  highways,  1701  ;  member  of  town, 
council,  170:,  1703,  1704;  rate-maker,  1702.  He  was 
married  in  1687  to  Humility  Coggeshall,  and  they  had 
five  sons  and  seven  daughters.  Benjamin  Greene  died 
January  7,  1719.  His  wife  survived  him.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Joshua  and  Joan  (West)  Coggeshall,  of 
Newport  and  Plymouth,  Rhode  Island.  Joshua  was  the 
son  of  John  and  Mary  Coggeshall,  who,  with  their  chil- 
dren John,  Joshua  and  Ann,  came  to  America  in  1632  in 
the  ship  "Lion."  They  settled  in  Boston,  where  John 
Coggeshall,  Sr.,  was  made  a  freeman  in  1634.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  First  Church,  1634,  and  afterwards  a 
deacon ;  deputy  to  the  general  assembly,  1634,  and  agairt 
in  1637,  when  he  was  deprived  of  his  seat  for  affirm- 
ing the  innocence  of  Mr.  Wheelwright.  In  1638  he  was 
one  of  the  signers  at  Portsmouth  for  a  plantation  and 
a  separate  church,  and  in  1639  he  signed  the  Newport 
compact.  He  was  an  assistant  of  the  colony  of  Rhode 
Island,  1641-44;  moderator,  1644;  president  of  colonyy 
1647.  Joshua,  son  of  John  Coggeshall  and  father  of 
Humility  (Coggeshall)  Greene,  was  of  Portsmouth. 
Rhode  Island,  1654;  deputy,  1654-68,  1670-72;  assistant 
1669,  1670,  1672-1676;  commissioner  to  treat  with  the- 
Indians  to  prevent  drunkenness  among  them,  May  7, 
1673.  Having  embraced  Quakerism  he  was  seized,  his 
horse  was  taken  away  and  sold,  and  he  was  imprisoned,, 
in   1680. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


33 


lived  until  175 1,  when,  Mr.  Reynolds  having  pur- 
chased an  estate  in  Coventry,  Rhode  Island,  they 
removed  thither  with  their  children. 

About  the  year  1750  or  175 1  a  spirit  of  emi- 
gration began  to  pervade  the  Connecticut  Rhode 
Island  borderland,  and  within  the  ensuing  ten 
years  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  region  re- 
moved to  western  Connecticut  and  to  "The  Ob- 
long," "The  Great  Nine  Partners,"  "The  Little 
Nine  Partners"  and  other  districts  in  New  York, 
now  comprehended  in  the  counties  of  Dutchess 
and  Orange.  In  1759  William  Reynolds  disposed 
of  his  Coventry  estate  for  £  1,000,  and  about  that 
time  removed  to  eastern  New  York  with  all  his 
family  except  his  two  eldest  children,  who  were 
married  and  settled  in  Connecticut.  Upon  the 
organization  in  Connecticut  in  1753  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna Company,  and  the  purchase  by  it  from 
the  Six  Nation  Indians  in  July,  1754.  of  the 
Wyoming  lands  on  the  Susquehanna  river,  many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Dutchess  and  Orange  coun- 
ties, New  York,  bought  "rights"  in  this  "Sus- 
quehanna Purchase."  In  February,  1769,  the 
company  renewed  its  attempts  (originally  begun 
in  1762  and  suspended  in  1763)  to  settle  the  Wy- 
oming region;  and  a  few  months  later  Benjamin 
Reynolds,  the  fifth  child  of  William  and  Deborah 
(Greene)  Reynolds,  then  in  the  twenty-ninth 
year  of  his  life,  came  as  a  settler  to  Wyoming, 
in  company  with  many  other  men  from  New 
England,  New  York  and  elsewhere.  At  Wilkes- 
Barre,  August  29,  1769,  he  was  one  of  169  sign- 
ers of  a  petition  to  the  general  assembly  of  Con- 
necticut praying  that  body  to  "erect  and  estab- 
lish a  county"  out  of  the  Wyoming  region.* 
Early  in  the  ensuing  September,  William  Rey- 
nolds joined  his  son  Benjamin  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  on  the  12th  of  that  month,  in  com- 
pany with  twenty-five  others — all  "inhabitants  of 
the  Province  of  New  York" — signed  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  a  petition  to  the  Conecticut  assembly 
praying  that  they  might  be  granted  by  the  as- 
sembly "a  township  of  six  miles  square  of  lands 


*  It  is  not  probable  that  Benjamin  Reynolds  re- 
mained in  Wyoming  for  any  great  length  of  time,  as 
his  name  does  net  appear  later  than  1 771  in  any  of  the 
few  original   "lists  of  settlers"   now   in   existence. 


lying  westward  of  said  Susquehanna  lands." 
Shortly  after  that  David  Reynolds,  third  child 
of  William  and  Deborah  (Greene)  Reynolds, 
joined  his  father  and  brother  at  Wilkes-Barre. 

When,  in  the  autumn  of  1771,  the  settlers  in 
Wyoming  valley,  under  the  Susquehanna  com- 
pany were  distributed  among  the  five  "gratuity" 
(or  settling)  townships,  William  Reynolds  was 
assigned  to  Plymouth ;  and  when,  in  the  spring 
of  1772,  the  lands  in  Plymouth  were  allotted  to 
the  several  proprietor-settlers  of  the  township, 
William  Reynolds  drew  his  share,  and  about  that 
time  established  his  home  within  what  are  now 
the  bounds  of  the  borough  of  Plymouth.  Later 
he  acquired  by  purchase  other  lands  in  the  same 
township,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  owned 
a  considerable  amount  of  real  estate,  much  of 
which  proved  to  be  very  valuable  later.  He  re- 
sided in  Plymouth  from  1772  till  July  3,  1778, 
when  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  was  fought.  In 
1777,  although  nearly  eight)'  years  old  and  con- 
siderably beyond  the  maximum  age  fixed  by 
Connecticut  law  for  military  service,  William 
Reynolds  was  enrolled  in  the  "Alarm  List"  at- 
tached to  the  Third  or  Plymouth  company,  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Asaph  Whittlesey,  of  the  24th 
Regiment,  Connecticut  militia,  the  members  of 
which  regiment  were  all  inhabitants  of  the  Con- 
necticut county  of  Westmoreland,  erst  the  Wy- 
oming region.  With  the  Plymouth  company, 
William  Reynolds  and  his  youngest  son,  William. 
Jr.,  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  on 
Abraham's  Plains,  in  Exeter  township.*  When 
the  retreat  of  the  Americans  began,  William 
Reynolds  escaped  from  the  bloody  field  in  com- 
pany with  a  friend  and  fellow-soldier.  They  fled, 
together  with  other  Wyoming  refugees,  over  the 
mountains,  to  Bethlehem,  on  the  Lehigh  river: 
thence  to  Eaton,  and  thence  to  Fort  Penn  (now 
Stroudsburg) ,  where,  July  26,  1778,  they  joined 
a  detachment  of  the  24th  Regiment  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler. 
With  this  body  they  marched  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  they   arrived   August  4.     (See   Harvey's 


*  William  Reynolds,  Jr.,  fell  on  the  field  of  battle, 
and  his  name  is  recorded  in  the  list  of  the  slain. 


34 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


"History  of  Wilkes-Barre,"  chapter  XVI),  and 
where  they  were  on  October  ist  with  the  170  or 
more  Continental  soldiers  and  Wyoming  militia 
there  engaged  in  scouting,  gathering  throughout 
the  valley  crops  which  had  escaped  destruction 
at  the  hands  of  the  savage  invaders  in  the  prev- 
ious July,  and  in  erecting  Fort  Wyoming  on  the 
river  bank  below  Northampton  street. 

Mr.  Reynolds  remained  at  Wilkes-Barre  dur- 
ing the  autumn  and  winter  of  1778  and  through 
the  year  1779,  and  in  January,  1780,  owing  to  the 
unsettled  and  generally  unsatisfactory  conditions 
in  Wyoming,  he,  (as  many  other  settlers  did),  re- 
tired from  the  valley  with  his  family  to  a  more 
peaceful  and  secure  locality,  presumably  to  his 
former  home  in  New  York.  According  to  exist- 
ing records  it  would  seem  that  William  Reynolds 
did  not  return  to  Wyoming  and  to  his  property  in 
Plymouth,  until  about  1785. 

Scarcely  had  .the  Revolutionary  war  come  to 
an  end  when  what  is  known  in  Pennsylvania 
history  as  the  "Second  Pennamite- Yankee  War" 
was  begun  in  Wyoming.  It  lasted  until  1784, 
and  eight  months  later  the  Susquehanna  Com- 
pany, at  a  meeting  held  in  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
adopted  various  measures  relative  to  its  affairs  in 
Wyoming,  first  formally  declaring:  "Our  right 
to  those  lands  in  possession  is  founded  in  Law 
and  Justice — is  clear  and  unquestionable —  and 
we  cannot  and  will  not  give  it  up."  A  plan  was 
then  adopted  by  the  Company  whereby  numbers 
of  people  were  shortly  afterwards  induced  to  emi- 
grate from  New  England,  New  York,  New  Jer- 
sey and  elsewhere  and  settle  throughout  the 
Wyoming  region.  It  was  then  (peace  being  as- 
sured and  comparative  prosperity  seeming  to  be 
in  sight)  that  William  Reynolds  and  his  son 
David  and  their  families  returned  to  Wyoming 
and  to  their  property  in  Plymouth.  William 
Reynolds  died  at  Plymouth  in  1791,  and,  under 
his  will,  (probated  January  6,  1792),  his  property 
was  divided  among  his  six  surviving  children. 
His  wife  had  died  a  number  of  years  previously. 
The  children  of  William  and  Deborah  (Greene) 
Reynolds  were  : 

1.  Sarah,  born  March  31,  1730;  married 
175 1,  Benjamin  Jones. 


2.  Caleb,  born  June  21,  1731  ;  married  Sarah 
Anderson,  at  Voluntown,  Connecticut,  January 
23,  1755- 

3.  David,  born  June  17,  1734  ;  of  whom  later. 

4.  Griffin,  born  June  11,  1737. 

5.  Benjamin,   born   October  25,    1740. 

6.  James,  born  August  21,   1748. 

7.  William,  born  about  1754;  killed  at  battle 
of  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778. 

(V)  David  Reynolds  (of  William,  of 
James,  of  James,  of  William)  was  born  in  West 
Greenwich,  Rhode  Island,  June  17,  1734,  the 
third  child  of  William  and  Deborah  (Greene) 
Reynolds.  As  previously  noted,  he  came  to 
Wyoming  Valley  in  the  early  autumn  of  1769,  and 
in  November  was  present  at  the  surrender  of 
Fort  Durkee  to  the  Pennamites  by  the  Yankees — 
being  one  of  the  witnesses  who  signed  the  "Arti- 
cles of  Capitulation."  (See  Harvey's  "History 
of  Wilkes-Barre,"  p.  628).  Expelled  from  the 
valley  with  the  other  Yankee  settlers,  David 
Reynolds  made  his  way  to  either  New  York  or 
New  England,  and,  in  common  with  manv  of 
those  settlers,  did  not  return  to  Wyoming  until 
about  1773,  when  he  repaired  to  Plymouth  and 
took  up  his  residence  with  his  father.  His  name 
appears  in  the  Plymouth  tax-lists  for  1777  an(V 
1778.  He  was  in  the  valley  at  the  time  of  the 
battle  of  Wyoming,  and  took  part  with  all  the 
other  able-bodied  men  on  the  ground  in  defend- 
ing the  settlement  against  the  enemy,  but  owing 
to  the  meager  records  and  incomplete  data  now 
in  existence,  it  is  impossible  to  state  just  what 
service  he  performed.  Escaping  from  the  vallev 
after  the  surrender  of  Forty  Fort,  he  returned 
thither  late  in  the  autumn  of  1778.  He  sus- 
tained at  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  during  their 
brief  occupancy  of  the  valley,  a  loss  of  property 
valued  at  £94,  2s.,  as  shown  by  a  report  made  to 
the  general  assembly  of  Connecticut  in  October, 
1 78 1.  In  1779  David  Reynolds  married  (second) 
to  Mrs.  Hannah  (Andrus)  Gay  lord,  born  in 
Connecticut  in  1746,  widow  of  Charles  Gaylord, 
formerly  of  Plymouth,  who  died  in  July.  1777. 
while  a  soldier  in  the  Continental  army.  In 
the  latter  part  of  January,  1780,  David  Reynolds 
and  his  wife  accompanied  William  Reynolds  and 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


35 


others  in  their  departure  from  Wyoming,  for  the 
reasons  previously  mentioned.  During  their  toil- 
some and  distressful  journey — which  was  made 
through  an  almost  deserted  country  shortly  after 
one  pf  the  severest  snow-storms  that  had  been 
experienced  in  the  course  of  many  years  in  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey  and  New  York — a  son  was 
born  to  David  and  Hannah  (Andrus)  Reynolds. 
As  previously  related,  David  Reynolds  and  his 
wife,  with  the  several  children  of  their  respective 
marriages,  returned  to  Plymouth  about  1785 ; 
and  there  David  and  his  wife  resided  for  the  re- 
mainder of  their  days.  He  died  July  8,  1816,  and 
she  died  October  7,  1823.  By  his  first  wife 
David  Reynolds  had  two  children — Joseph,  died 
without  issue ;  and  Mary,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Levi  Bronson.  The  only  child  of  David  and 
Hannah   (Andrus)  Reynolds  was 

Benjamin  Reynolds,  born  February  4, 
1780.  He  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Plym- 
outh about  1785,  and  there  spent  the  sub- 
sequent years  of  his  life.  About  181 1  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Joseph  Wright 
and  Joel  Rogers,  of  Plymouth,  for  carry- 
ing on  a  general  mercantile  business  there  under 
the  firm  name  of  Wright,  Rogers  &  Company. 
This  partnership  was  dissolved  by  mutual  consent 
May  6,  1814,  and  shortly  thereafter  Joel  Rogers 
(of  the  late  firm)  and  Henderson  Gaylord  (only 
son  of  Dr.  Charles  E.  Gaylord,  Benjamin  Rey- 
nolds' half-brother)  formed  a  partnership  and 
carried  on  a  mercantile  business  for  about  two 
years.  Then  Benjamin  Reynolds,  Henderson 
Gaylord  and  Abraham  Fuller  (Mr.  Reynolds' 
brother-in-law)  formed  a  partnership  and  car- 
ried on  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Rey- 
nolds, Gaylord  &  Company  until  the  death  of  Mr. 
Fuller,  December  21,  1818.  In  January,  1832, 
owing  to  the  death  of  the  sheriff  of  Luzerne 
county,  the  governor  of  the  commonwealth  ap- 
pointed Benjamin  Reynolds  to  fill  the  vacancy 
in  the  office  until  the  qualification  of  his  succes- 
sor, to  be  chosen  at  the  next  election.  Mr.  Rey- 
nolds performed  with  great  acceptability  the  du- 
ties of  sheriff,  and  retired  from  the  office  Jan- 
uary 7,  1833.  In  October,  1832,  there  were  five 
candidates   voted    for    for    the   office   of   sheriff, 


and  according  to  the  returns  Benjamin  Reynolds 
stood  fourth  in  the  list,  having  received  eight 
hundred  and  forty-six  votes.  James  Nesbitt, 
of  Plymouth,  who  had  received  the  largest  num- 
ber of  votes  (one  thousand  five  hundred  and 
seventy-two) ,  was  commissioned  sheriff.  In 
1832  the  anti-M_asonic  political  party  was  almost 
at  the  zenith  of  its  power  in  Luzerne  county  as 
well  as  in  other  parts  of  this  country,  and  James 
Nesbitt,  who  was  elected  and  commissioned 
sheriff,  had  been  the  candidate  of  that  party. 
Benjamin  Reynolds,  on  the  contrary,  was 
a  Free  Mason,  having  been  initiated  into 
Lodge  No.  61,  F.  and  A.  M.,  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  January  4,  1819.  His  half-brother 
and  one  of  his  brothers-in-law  had  prev- 
iously become  members  of  that  lodge,  and  later 
another  of  his  brothers-in-law,  two  of  his  sons 
and  one  of  his  grandsons  united  with'  the  same 
lodge.  •  For  many  years,  by  appointment  of  the 
governor,  Mr.  Reynolds  held  the  office  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  in  and  for  the  township  of  Plym- 
outh, and  for  nearly  half  a  century  was  one  of 
the  representative  and  substantial  men  of  Plym- 
outh. During  his  long  and  useful  life  he  did 
much  for  the  promotion  of  religion  and  educa- 
tion in  his  community. 

Benjamin  Reynolds  was  married  (first) 
March  22,  1801,  to  Lydia,  born  November  5, 
1779,  in  Kent,  Litchfield  county,  Connecticut, 
second  child  of  Joshua  and  Sybil  (Champion)* 
Fuller.  Joshua  Fuller,  born  in  Kent,  July  11, 
1753,  was  the  eldest  child  of  Joseph  Fuller  (born 
in  1723  at  Colchester,  New  London  county,  Con- 


*  Sybil  Champion,  married  to  Joshua  Fuller  in 
1776,  was  born  July  18,  1755,  at  Salisbury,  Litchfield 
count}',  Connecticut,  eldest  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Esther  Champion.  Daniel  Champion  was  of  East  Had- 
dam,  Salisbury  and  Sharon,  Connecticut,  and  was  born 
about  1721,  the  third  child  of  Lieutenant  Henry  Cham- 
pion, of  East  Haddam.  The  latter  was  a  grandson  of 
Henry  Champion,  a  native  of  England,  who  was  settled 
at  Saybrook,  Connecticut,  as  early  as  1647,  and  some 
years  later  became  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  Lyme, 
New  London  county,  Connecticut.  Daniel  Champion  was 
a  soldier  in  the  company  commanded  by  Captain  Sam- 
uel Durham,  of  Sharon,  in  1757,  during  the  French 
and  Indian  war. 


w. 


J 


36 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


necticut),  fifth  in  descent  from  Edward  Fuller, 
one  of  the  "Mayflower"  Pilgrims.     Both  Joseph 
and  Joshua  Fuller  were  Revolutionary  soldiers, 
Joseph  being  a  captain  in  the  Eighteenth  Con- 
necticut Regiment.     In  1794  or    early    in     1795, 
Captain  Fuller  sold  his  land  in  Kent,  and  with  his 
son  Joshua  and  other  members  of  the  Fuller  fam- 
ily,  removed  to  Wyoming  Valley.     Joshua  set- 
tled   in    Kingston   township,    within   the    present 
limits  of  the  borough  of  Dorranceton  (his  name 
is  in  the  Kingston  tax-list  for  1796),  but  within  a 
_  short  time  thereafter  he  removed  to  what  is  now 
.    Lehman    ( formerlv    Dallas)    township,    Luzerne 
county,  and  there  died  May  16,   1815,  and  was 
buried  in  the  graveyard  at  Huntsville,  Jackson 
township.     Mrs.   Lydia  \Fidler)    Reynolds  died 
in  Plymouth,  August  29,  1828,  and  February  23, 
1830,  Benjamin  Reynolds  was  married   (second) 
at  Kingston  to  Ruey,    ( born  in  Danbury,   Con- 
necticut, February  14,  1786),  fifth  child  of  Daniel 
and  Anne  (Gunn)  Hoyt,  first  of  Danbury,  Con- 
necticut,  and   then   of    Kingston.    Pennsylvania. 
Mrs.  Ruey  (Hoyt)  Reynolds  died,  leaving  no  is- 
sue,  August  26,   1835,  and   Benjamin  Reynolds 
was  married   (third)   at  Wilkes-Barre,  February 
16,   1837,  t0  Olivia  M.,  born  in  Litchfield,  Con- 
necticut, September  3,  1791,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Frost,  and  widow  ofjVIajor  Orlando  Porter,  bora 
in  Waterbury,  Connecticut,  May  8,  1787,  died  at 
Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  January  1,  1836,  who 
was  burgess    of   the   borough    of   Wilkes-Barre 
1833-34.     Benjamin  Reynolds  died  in  Plymouth, 
Februarv  22,  1854,  and  his  wife  Olivia  M.,  died 
there  April  2,  1862,  leaving  no  issue.     Benjamin 
and  Lydia  (Fuller)  Reynolds  had: 

1.  William  Champion,  born  December  9, 
1801  ;  of  whom  later. 

2.  Chauncey  Andrus,  born  December  31, 
1803  ;  died  November  23,  1868. 

3.  Hannah,  born  October  22,  1806;  married 
February  18,  1827,  Dr.  Andrew  Bedford;  died 
August  21,  1845. 

4.  Clara,  born  in  181 1 ;  died  May  1,  1876, 
unmarried. 

5.  Elijah  Wadhams,  born  January  18,  1813 ; 
died  September  25,  1869. 


6.  Joshua  Fuller,  born  April  5,  1814;  died 
May  1,  1874. 

7.  George,  born  May  29,  1817 ;  died  June  25,. 
1835,  unmarried. 

8.  Abram  H.,  born  July  14,  1819;  died  De- 
cember 4,  1890. 

9.  Emily  Elizabeth,  born  April  21,  1822; 
married  February  14,  1847,  Dr.  Robert  Hamilton 
Tubbs ;  died  June  11,   1896. 

WILLIAM      CHAMPION      REYNOLDS 
(of     Benjamin,     of     David,     of     William,     of 
James,    of    James,    of    William),  eldest  child  of 
Benjamin    and    Lydia    (Fuller)    Reynolds,    was. 
born  in  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Plymouth, 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  9,  1801. 
In  the  days  of  his  youth  the  people  of  Plymouth 
were,  with  very  few  exceptions,  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  and  he,  according  to  the  com- 
mon   custom    of   those    days,   worked    upon   his. 
father's  farm  in  the  summer-time  and  in  winter 
attended  a  primary  school  in  Plymouth,  and  later 
the   academy  there  under  the    principalship    of 
Thomas  Patterson.     In  1819,  '20,  and  '21  he  was 
a    student    in    Wilkes-Barre    Academy,    then    in 
charge  of  Joseph  H.  Jones,  and  deemed  the  lead- 
ing educational  institution  in  northeastern  Penn- 
sylvania.    There   he   was   fitted   for   the   sopho- 
more    class     of     Princeton     College,     but     his 
health  failing  about  that  time,  he  abandoned  his. 
purpose  of  pursuing  a  collegiate  course.     Dur- 
ing one  winter  thereafter  he  taught  school,  and. 
for  the  remainder  of  the  time  engaged  in  out- 
door employments  in  Plymouth  until  he  had  re- 
covered his  health,  when,  in  1824,  he  became  the 
business    partner    of    Henderson    Gaylord,    his. 
cousin,  previously  mentioned.     During  the  next 
ten  years,  under  the  firm  names  of  Gaylord  & 
Reynolds,  and  Henderson,  Gaylord  &  Company, 
they  carried  on  an  extensive  and  a  profitable  bus- 
iness, having  one  store  in  Plymouth  and  a  sec- 
ond one  in    Kingston.     The}-    engaged    largely 
(  for  the  times)    in  the  mining  and  shipping  of 
coal,  lumber,  grain,  and  general  farm  products. 
About   1830   Mr.    Reynolds  removed   from   Ply- 
mouth to  Kingston  to  take  charge  of  the  business. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


37 


interests  of  his  firm  there.  By  mutual  consent 
the  partnership  of  Messrs.  Gaylord  and  Rey- 
nolds was  dissolved  in  1835,  when  the  former 
purchased  the  interest  of  the  latter.  For  the  en- 
suing eighteen  or  nineteen  years  Mr.  Reynolds 
was  actively  and  successfully  engaged  in  mining 
and  shipping  coal,  and  in  looking  after  other  im- 
portant business  interests.  In  October,  1836, 
and  again  in  1837,  he  was  elected  one  of  the  two 
representatives  from  Luzerne  county  to  the  state 
legislature. 

"At  that  time  the  question  of  internal  im- 
provements was  one  of  the  chief  subjects  that 
engrossed  the  attention  of  the  people.  The  de- 
velopment of  the  natural  resources  and  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  the  state  by  means  of  ave- 
nues of  intercommunication — the  system  of  ca- 
nals, slackwater  navigation  and  turnpikes — had 
been  undertaken  by  the  state  government  nearly 
a  score  of  years  before,  and  the  benefits  which 
were  expected  to  accrue  to  this  section  by  the 
extension  and  completion  of  this  work  made  it  a 
question  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  people 
Tiere.  Mr.  Reynolds'  business  experience  had 
made  him  well  acquainted  with  the  need  of  the 
proposed  improvements  and  the  great  purposes 
.  they  might  subserve,  and  he  assumed  the  duties 
of  the  office  to  which  he  had  been  chosen,  well 
fitted  to  represent  the  interests  of  this  district. 
He  advocated  all  measures  relating  to  the  plan  of 
internal  improvements,  and  labored  to  bring 
about  its  extension  throughout  this  section  of  the 
State.  Among  the  important  bills  he  introduced 
haying  relation  to  this  subject,  was  one  granting 
authority  to  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation 
Company  to  build  a  railroad  to  connect  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  Lehigh  river  with  the  North 
Branch  canal  at  Wilkes-Barre.  The  bill  was  a 
compromise  measure,  releasing  the  company 
irom  the  operation  of  certain  clauses  of  its  char- 
ter bearing  upon  the  extension  of  its  system  of 
slackwater  navigation,  but  making  obligatory 
the  building  of  the  railroad  to  Wilkes-Barre. 
Work  was  begun  on  the  road  in  1838  and  com- 
pleted five  years  later.  It  was  one  of  the  first 
railroads  built  in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  its 
completion  was  looked  upon  with  great  satisfac- 


tion by  the  people  as  a  principal  factor  in  the 
progress  and  improvement  of  the  place ;  and  that 
their  expectations  were  not  disappointed  is  shown 
in  the  present  usefulness  of  this  highway,  which, 
after  more  than  sixty  years  of  continuous  opera- 
tion, still  serves  to  carry  to  market  a  large  part 
of  the  products  of  the  mines  of  this  vicinity." 

The  course  Mr.  Reynolds  pursued  as  repre- 
sentative, and  his  efforts  in  furthering  the  sys- 
tem of  internal  improvements,  were  favor- 
ably recognized  by  his  constituents  in  a  number 
of  public  meetings  by  resolutions  expressing  the 
high  regard  in  which  they  held  his  services.  The 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  representative  and  the 
cares  incident  to  the  office  required  more  time 
and  attention  than  he  could  spare  from  the  de- 
mands of  an  active  business  life,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  he  declined  a  renomination 
to  the  office.  In  October,  1838,  his  friends  urged 
that  he  be  appointed  prothonotary  of  the  court  of 
common  pleas  of  Luzerne  county,  but  he  declined 
to  be  considered  an  applicant  for  the  office.  He 
was  appointed  and  commissioned  by  Governor 
Porter,  March  15,  1841,  one  of  the  associate 
judges  of  the  courts  of  Luzerne  county  for  the 
term  of  five  years.  At  that  period  the  various 
county  courts  were  held  by  three  judges,  one  of 
whom,  the  president  judge,  was  required  to  be  a 
trained  and  experienced  lawyer,  while  the  other 
two  were  usually  laymen,  not  necessarily  learned 
in  the  law.  Judge  Reynolds  performed  the  duties 
of  his  office  with  intelligence,  dignity  and  honor. 
In  1840  and  for  several  years  thereafter,  Judge 
Reynolds  served  by  the  appointment  of  the 
auditor  general  of  Pennsylvania,  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  managers  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Bridge  Company,  the  owners  of  the  Market  Street 
Bridge,  representing  the  interests  of  the  com- 
monwealth in  that  corporation.  He  was  chosen 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Wyoming  Seminary, 
at  Kingston,  in  1845,  tne  second  year  after  the 
establishment  of  the  institution  by  the  Wyoming 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and,  although  a  member  of  a  different  religious 
denomination,  was  continued  in  the  board  of 
trustees  for'  thirteen  years  by  successive  elections. 
In    1852   he,   with   his   former  business  partner, 


38 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Henderson  Gaylord,  Hon.  George  W.  Wood- 
ward, William  Swetland,  Samuel  Hoyt  and  others 
whose  interests  lay  mainly  in  the  development 
of  the  mineral  resources  of  Wyoming  Valley,  se- 
cured the  charter  for,  and  in  1854  proceeded  to 
build  the  Lackawanna  and  Bloomsburg  Railroad, 
extending  from  Scranton  to  Rupert,  Pennsyl- 
vania, first,  and  then  to  Northumberland,  and 
now  forming  a  part  of  the  extensive  and  impor- 
tant Lackawanna  railroad  system.  Judge  Rey- 
nolds was  president  of  the  Lackawanna  and 
Bloomsburg  Railroad  Company  during  the  en- 
tire period  of  the  construction  of  its  road,  com- 
pleted in  i860,  after  which  he  declined  a  re-elec- 
tion ;  he  continued,  however,  a  director  of  the 
company  until  1865.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
and  for  several  years  prior  thereto,  he  was  a  di- 
rector of  the  Wyoming  National  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  .  He  was,  an  original  member  of  the  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  Geological  Society  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  retained  his  membership  there- 
in until  his  death.  Judge  Reynolds  was  a  man  of 
correct  business  habits,  far-seeing  judgment,  in- 
dustry and  economy.  His  taste  for  literature  led 
him  to  devote  to  its  study  much  of  the  time  he 
spared  from  business  cares,  and  his  kindly  tem- 
perament and  cultured  mind,  united  with  a  fine 
conversational  gift,  rendered  him  a  most  agreea- 
ble companion  and  friend.  Colonel  H.  B.  Wright, 
who  knew  Mr.  Reynolds  well  during  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  latter's  life,  wrote  of  him  in  "His- 
torical Sketches  of  Plymouth,"  published  in  1873  : 
"The  success  of  Judge  Reynolds  is  but  an  illus- 
tration of  what  can  be  accomplished  by  a  life  of 
industry  and  perseverance,  guided  by  a  sound 
mind  and  discerning  judgment.  He  was  the 
architect  of  his  own  fortune.  *  *  *  His 
foresight  and  high  character  of  intellect  led  him 
to  make  the  investment  of  his  spare  funds  in  coal 
lands,  and  the  increase  of  the  value  of  those  lands 
was  the  foundation  of  a  large  estate." 

William  Champion  Reynolds  was  married  at 
Plymouth,  June  19,  1832,  by  the  Rev.  Nicholas 
Murray,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  to  Jane  Holberton, 
born  at  Plymouth,  April  3,  1812,  third  child  of 
John  and   Frances   (Holbertson)    Smith  of  Ply- 


mouth. (See  sketch  of  John  Smith).  Judge- 
Reynolds  died  at  his  home  on  South  River  street, 
Wilkes-Barre,  January  25,  1869,  and  his  wife 
died  there  March  6,  1874.  They  had  the  follow- 
ing children,  born  in   Kingston : 

1.  Lydia  Frances,  born  July  14,  1833;  died 
August  30,  1833. 

2.  Mary  Clinton,  born  September  1,  1834; 
died  August  19,  1836. 

3.  Emily,  born  December  6,  1836;  died  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1838. 

4.  George"  Murray,  born  July  17,  1838;  of 
whom  later. 

5.  Charles  Denison,  born  April  17,  1840; 
married  August  7,  1868,  Mary  W.,  daughter  of 
J.  M.  and  Mary  M.  (Porter)  Burtis,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Major  Orlando  Porter,  previously 
mentioned.  Charles  Denison  Reynolds  died 
April  20,  1869,  and  some  years  later  his  widow 
became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  A.  Mutch- 
more,  D.  D.,  of  Philadelphia. 

6.  Elizabeth,  born  April  13,  1842 ;  of  whom 
later. 

7.  Sheldon,  born  February  22,  1844;  of 
whom  later. 

8.  Benjamin,  born  December  25,  1849;  °f 
whom  later.  H.  E.  H. 

Note. — John  Smith,  born  Derby,  New  Haven 
county,  Connecticut,  April  22,  1781,  ninth  and 
youngest  child  of  Lieutenant  Abraham  and  Sarah 
(French)  Smith.  Ebenezer  Smith,  of  Jamaica, 
Long  Island,  who  died  there  in  October,  1717, 
was  a  large  landholder.  His  wife  was  Clement, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Denton,  of  Ja- 
maica, and  great-granddaughter  of  Rev.  Rich- 
ard Denton,  who  was  graduated  at  the  University 
of  Cambridge  in  1623,  and  was  of  Wethersfield, 
Connecticut,  in  1640,  and  Hempstead,  Long 
Island,  in  1646.  Ebenezer  and  Clement  (Denton) 
Smith  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  of  whom 
the  eldest  was  Robert,  born  at  Jamaica  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  1723 
he  removed,  "full-handed,"  to  Norwalk,  Connecti- 
cut, where  in  May,  1729,  he  bought  for  £395  a 
home-lot,  dwelling-house,  barn  and  four  acres 
of  land.  Thereafter  he  had  a  considerable  place 
in  the  annals  of  the  town.  He  was  married 
March  11,  1724,  to  Judith,  daughter  of  James 
Fountain,  of  Greenwich,  Connecticut,  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  eight  children,  the  sixth 
of  whom  was  Abraham  Smith,  born  at  Norfolk. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


39 


May  17,  1734.  He  was  married  December  5. 
1756,  to  Sarah,  born  at  Derby,  Connecticut,  July 
16.  1738,  third  child  of  Samuel  'aid  Martha 
(Chapman)  French,  and  granddaughter  of 
Francis  (Jr.)  and  Anna  (Bowers)  French  of 
Derby. 

Abraham  Smith  settled  at  Derby.  In  1755, 
during  the  French  and  Indian  war,  he  served 
three  months  as  a  private  in  Colonel  Chauncey's 
regiment  of  Connecticut  troops  in  the  colonial 
service.  In  the  autumn  of  1774  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  committee  of  safety  and  inspec- 
tion of  Derby,  and  also  a  member  of  the  town 
committee  appointed  to  examine  and  report  upon 
the  resolves  of  the  first  Continental  Congress. 
In  May,  1777,  he  was  an  ensign  in  the  "Alarm 
List"  of  the  Second  Regiment,  Connecticut 
Militia:  in  1778  he  was  lieutenant  of  the  com- 
pany commanded  by  Captain  Ebenezer  Sumner, 
in  Colonel  Thaddeus  Cook's  regiment  of  Con- 
necticut Militia,  and  in  May,  1779,  was  lieutenant 
of  the  Fourth  Company  in  the  "Alarm  List"  of 
the  Second  Regiment,  Connecticut  militia. 
Lieutenant  Abraham  Smith  died  at  Derby,  Feb- 
ruary 13,  1796,  and  his  wife,  Sarah,  died  there 
August  13,  1805.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine 
sons,  of  whom  the  youngest  was  John  Smith, 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  sk"etch. 

John  Smith  resided  in  Derby  until  1807,  when 
he  removed  to  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  whither 
an  elder  brother,  Abijah,  had  preceded  him  in 
1806.  John  Smith  bought  a  large  tract  of  land 
adjoining  a  tract  owned  by  his  brother  on  Ran- 
som's creek,  near  the  lower  end  of  the  present 
borough  of  Plymouth.  Both  of  these  tracts  were 
entirely  underlaid  with  several  strata  or  veins  of 
the  finest  anthracite  coal — "stone-coal"  it  was 
called  in  those  days — but  which  then  was  es- 
teemed of  little  value.  In  February,  1808,  it 
was  demonstrated  in  Wilkes-Barre  by  Judge 
Jesse  Fell  that  "the  common  stone-coal  of  the 
Valley"  could  be  burned  in  a  grate  in  an  ordi- 
nary fire-place.  Up  to  that  time  the  use  of 
anthracite  coal  as  a  fuel  had  been  confined 
almost  exclusively  to  furnaces  and  forges  using 
an  air  blast.  Encouraged  by  the  success  of 
Judge  Fell's  experiment,  Abijah  and  John  Smith 
determined  a  few  months  later,  to  ship  an  ark- 
load  of  coal  down  the  Susquehanna  from  the 
bed  on  their  lands.  But,  in  order  to  create  a 
market  for  the  fuel,  it  became  necessary  to  show 
that  it  could  be  used  for  domestic  purposes  as 
well  as  in  furnaces  and  forges ;  that  it  was  a 
better  and  more  convenient  fuel  than  wood,  and 
that  its  use  was  attended  with  no  difficulties.  In 
order  to  accomplish  this  the  Messrs.  Smith  ac- 


companied their  arkload  of  coal  down  the  river, 
taking  with  them  a  stone  mason  and  several 
iron  grates.  In  several  houses  at  Columbia,  and 
in  other  towns,  fire-places  for  burning  wood 
were  fitted  up  with  grates  for  the  use  of  coal, 
and,  fires  being  lighted,  the  good  qualities  of 
"stone-coal"  were  fully  demonstrated.  The  re- 
sults were  the  sale  of  the  coal  which  had  been 
taken  down  the  river,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
trade  that  grew — very  slowly,  but  continually. 
In  1808  or  1809  Abijah  and  John  Smith  formed  a 
copartnership  under  the  name  of  Abijah  Smith  & 
Company,  and  thenceforward  until  1825  (when 
Abijah  retired  from  business),  the  firm  was  en- 
gaged almost  exclusively  in  the  mining  and  ship- 
ping of  coal.  In  September,  1830,  a  writer  in 
Hazard's  "Pennsylvania  Register,"  (vi :  315) 
stated  that  "the  Messrs.  Smith  opened  their  mine 
in  Plymouth  about  1810,  and  it  is  believed  to  be 
the  first  mine  in  Wyoming  valley  from  which 
coal  was  sent  down  the  river."  Pearce,  in  his 
"Annals  of  Luzerne  County"  says  (page  375)  : 
"We  have  no  positive  evidence  that  the  Wyom- 
ing coal  has  been  used  in  Baltimore  prior  to  this 
attempt  *  *  *  (in  1815)  to  introduce  the 
bituminous  variety.  But  the  fact  that  John  and 
Abijah  Smith  were  engaged  in  the  business  of 
shipping  coal,  and  in  no  other,  from  1808  until 
1825.  renders  it  probable  that  some  of  our  anthra- 
cite reached  Baltimore  shortly  after  its  intro- 
duction into  Columbia  (in  1808).  The  Smiths 
were  energetic,  persevering  men,  and  it  seems  not 
improbable  that  they  shipped  coal  from  Port 
Deposit  to  Baltimore  before  *  *  1815."  How- 
ever, if  Abijah  Smith  &  Co.  did  not  ship  coal 
to  Baltimore  prior  to  181 5,  they  did  ship  some 
to  New  York  as  early  at  least  as  1812,  for  the 
evidence  is  indisputable  that  in  that  year  they 
delivered  to  their  factors  in  the  city  of  New 
York  over  two  hundred  tons  of  coal  from  the 
Plymouth  bed,  the  bulk  of  which  was  sold  off  in 
small  lots  prior  to  January  1,  1813.  (See  Har- 
vey's "History  of  Wilkes-Barre,"  chap.  LI.) 

With  reference  to  the  production  of  anthra- 
cite coal  it  has  been  stated,  for  years,  in  various 
histories  and  cyclopedias,  and  in  official  publica- 
tions issued  bv  the  National  and  State  govern- 
ments, that  this  industry  had  its  beginning  in  the 
year  1820,  when  365  tons  were  shipped  to  market 
from  the  Lehigh,  Pennsylvania,  region.  On  the 
contrary,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  industry  was 
begun  at  Plymouth  a  dozen  years  earlier,  and 
Abijah  and  John  Smith  were  the  pioneer  miners 
and  shippers  of  anthracite  coal.  In  a  table  re- 
cently issued  by  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  1814  is  given  as  the  year  "of  the  earliest 


4o 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


record"  of  anthracite  production,  and  twenty- 
two  tons  as  the  quantity  produced. 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  firm  of  Abijah 
Smith  &  Co.,  John  Smith  continued  in  the  busi- 
ness of  mining  and  shipping  coal  until  1845. 
when  he  also  retired.  In  connection  with  his 
mining  interests  Mr.  Smith  owned  and  operated 
a  grist-mill  on  Ransom's  creek  from  1825  until 
1837,  when  he  leased  the  property  to  Jeremiah 
Fuller.  In  the  latter  part  of  1836  Mr.  Smith 
changed  the  motive  power  of  this  mill  from  water 
to  steam,  thus  setting  up  the  third  steam  engine 
and  establishing  the  second  steam  grist-mill  to 
be  operated  in  Luzerne  county. 

John  Smith  was  married  at  Stratford,  Con- 
necticut, January  5,  1806,  to  Frances  (born  in 
the  parish  of  Stratfield,  now  a  part  of  Bridge- 
port, Connecticut,  January  1,  1780),  fifth  child 
of  William  and  Eunice  (Burr)  Holberton,  and 
widow  of  Samuel  French,  born  at  Weston,  Con- 
necticut, February  17,  1774;  married  April  15, 
1798;  died  at  Stratford,  Connecticut,  in  1804. 
William  Holberton,  born  at  Stratfield,  Connecti- 
cut, August  15,  1740,  and  died  there  December 
11,  1797,  was  the  son  of  John  Holberton,  a  native 
of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  who  was  the  son  of 
Captain  William  Holberton,  a  native  of  Devon- 
shire, England,  a  mariner  who  owned  his  own 
ship,  and  after  1700  a  resident  of  Boston,  where 
he  died  in  1716.  William  Holberton,  the  sec- 
ond of  this  name,  saw  considerable  service  as 
a  soldier  in  the  Connecticut  forces  during  the 
Revolutionary  war.  His  wife,  Eunice  Burr,  to 
whom  he  was  married  in  December,  1770,  was 
born  in  Bridgeport,  October  5,  1750,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  John  and  Eunice  (Booth)  Burr. 
Captain  John  Burr  was  the  son  of  Colonel  John 
Burr,  Sr.,  and  his  wife  Catharine  Wakeman. 

John  Smith  died  May  7,  1852,  and  his  wife 
died  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  February  3, 
186 1.  They  were  the  parents  of  three  daughters 
and  one  son,  of  whom  the  third  child  and  sec- 
ond daughter  was  Jane  Holberton,  who,  as  prev- 
iously mentioned,  became  the  wife  of  William 
Champion  Reynolds. 

GEORGE  MURRAY  REYNOLDS,  fourth 
child  and  eldest  son  of  Hon.  William  Champion 
and  Jane  Holberton  (Smith)  Reynolds,  was  born 
in  what  is  now  the  borough  of  Kingston,  Lu- 
zerne county,  Pennsylvania,  July  17.  1838.  He 
received  his  early  education  at  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary, Kingston,  and  Edgehill  School,  Princeton, 
New  Jersey,  and  then  entered  Yale  College,  but, 


on  account  of  impaired  health  following  an  at- 
tack of  scarlet  fever,  was  unable  to  finish  the 
prescribed  course  of  study.  After  leaving  col- 
lege he  pursued  for  some  time  the  study  of  law, 
and  then  engaged  in  business  pursuits.  Within 
a  few  years  thereafter  he  began  to  be  identified, 
in  a  marked  degree,  with  the  civil,  political,  in- 
dustrial and  military  interests  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
In  February,  1874,  Mr.  Reynolds  was  elected 
to  represent  the  seventh  ward  of  Wilkes-Barre 
in  the  city  council,  and  for  the  ensuing  six  years 
he  continued  to-be  a  member  of  that  body,  serv- 
ing as  its  president  from  June,  1875,  till  April, 
1880,  and  discharging  his  official  duties  in  a 
most  efficient  and  satisfactory  manner.  His 
labors  in  the  council  showed  able  fitness  for  the 
responsible  position,  a  highly  intelligent  appre- 
ciation of  the  legislation  necessary  for  the  man- 
agement of  the  city's  interests,  and  a  conscien- 
tious devotion  to  the  almost  continuous  and  ardu- 
ous duties  of  the  office.  In  1877  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  judges  of  the  Luzerne  county 
courts  to  serve  with  Hon.  Charles  E.  Rice,  now 
president  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  late  Harrison  Wright,  Esq., 
in  making  the  "Seven  Years'  Audit,"  a  work 
which  occupied  a  period  of  some  two  years  and 
entailed  duties  neither  pleasant  nor  profitable. 
Mr.  Reynolds  was  a  member  of  the  board  of 
school  directors  of  the  third  district  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  from  1884  till  1891,  and  for  the  last  two 
years  of  his  service  was  secretary  of  the  board. 
In  April,  1880,  Mr.  Reynolds  was  elected  a 
trustee  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Female  Institute, 
and  he  continued  in  that  position  until  his  death, 
serving  as  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  board 
of  trustees  from  and  after  December,  1883.  He 
was  also  a  trustee  of  the  Harry  Hillman  Acad- 
emy for  several  years,  and  from  April,  1892, 
until  his  death  a  trustee  of  the  Osterhout  Free 
Library  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  also  for  many 
years  a  valued  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wilkes- - 
Barre,  and  was  president  of  the  board  from  May, 
1878,  until  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
vigorous  workers  in  bringing  about  the  erec- 
tion and  furnishing  of  the  handsome  edifice  now 


7%e  Mcfifis  PuiSli 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


4i 


owned  by  this  church.  An  institution  which 
claimed  a  large  share  of  his  time  and  attention, 
and  a  great  deal  of  his  solicitude,  was  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  City  Hospital,  and  it  would  be  impossible 
to  overestimate  the  value  of  his  service  in  behalf 
of  that  beneficent  institution.  He  was  a  member 
of  its  board  of  directors  from  January,  1880, 
until  his  death,  and  treasurer  of  the  hospital 
from  January,  1889,  until  his  death.  During 
these  twenty-four  years  of  uninterrupted  service 
— only  excepting  the  last  two  years  of  his  life, 
when  his  health  was  impaired — he  was  unre- 
mitting in  his  regard  for  the  hospital  interests. 

When  the  Ninth  Regiment.  National  Guard 
of  Pennsylvania,  was  organized  at  Wilkes-Barre 
in  July,  1879,  Mr.  Reynolds  was  unanimously 
■elected  its  colonel,  and  upon  the  expiration  of 
his  commission  in  July.  1884.  he  was  unani- 
mously re-elected  to  the  office.  In  May,  1885, 
Colonel  Reynolds  tendered  his  resignation,  which 
was  duly  accepted,  inasmuch  as  his  personal  af- 
fairs would  no  longer  admit  of  his  performing 
the  duties  of  his  office  satisfactorily  to  himself. 
Much  of  the  efficiency  and  high  standing  in  the 
National  Guard  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  is  due 
to  Colonel  Reynolds'  untiring  energv  in  its  or- 
ganization and  discipline,  and  his  efforts  in  cre- 
ating among  the  people  of  Wyoming  valley  a 
personal  interest  in  the  regiment's  welfare  and 
permanence.  In  recognition  of  his  services,  so 
well  understood  and  highly  appreciated  by  the 
officers  of  his  command,  the  latter,  upon  his  re- 
tirement from  the  regiment,  presented  him  with 
a  set  of  resolutions  reading  in  part  as  follows : 
^'From  its  (the  Ninth's)  inception  your  personal 
supervision  of  every  detail,  your  faithful  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  your  position,  and  earn- 
est efforts  to  secure  it  the  proper  recognition 
in  the  National  Guard,  is  appreciated  by  us  all. 
Not  only  the  regiment,  but  the  National  Guard, 
"has  lost  an  efficient  officer,  and  your  courteous 
tearing  towards  and  impartial  treatment,  at  all 
times  and  under  all  circumstances,  of  the  officers 
and  men  of  your  command  have  won  for  vou 
the  respect  and  kindly  feeling  of  the  whole  regi- 
ment.'' When  it  was  determined  to  make  an 
■effort    to    raise    funds    for   building   an   armorv 


for  the  Ninth  Regiment,  by  holding  a  fair  in 
Wilkes-Barre  in  May,  1886,  Colonel  Reynolds 
was  selected  as  general  manager  of  the  fair ; 
after  the  armory  was  erected  he  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  board  of  armory  trustees, 
which  position  he  held  until  his  death.  In  1890, 
and  other  years  about  that  period,  Colonel 
Reynolds  was  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Board  of  Trade.  He  was  also,  for  a  number 
of  years,  a  director  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  Cut- 
lery works  and  of  the  Wyoming  National  Bank 
of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Society  of  Mayflower  Descendants, 
and  was  also  an  active  member  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society  from  1883  un- 
til his  death,  serving,  as  vice-president  of  the 
society  from  1895  till  1904. 

Colonel  Reynolds  was  married  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  May  24,  1866,  to  Stella  Mercer,  born 
December  3,  1840,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John 
Dorrance,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Wilkes-Barre  from  1833  till 
1861,  and  his  wife,  Penelope  Mercer.  (See 
Dorrance  Family.)  The  work  and  influence  of 
Mrs.  Reynolds,  in  her  sphere,  were  as  eminent 
and  praiseworthy  as  those  of  her  husband  in 
more  conspicuous  affairs.  Of  all  those  identi- 
fied with  the  management  of  the  Home  for 
Friendless  Children  she  was  the  most  tireless, 
and  she  was  also  one  of  those  upon  whom  fell 
a  large  share  of  the  women's  work  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church.  To  all  her  labors  in  con- 
nection with  these  institutions  she  brought 
boundless  energy,  intelligent  executive  ability, 
strong  practical  sense  and  keenness  of  percep- 
tion that  gave  her  acknowledged  leadership.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society,  Wyoming  Valley  Chapter 
of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution, 
the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  the  Colonial  Dames 
of  America,  and  other  organizations  whose  pur- 
suits were  of  a  literary  and  historical  nature. 
Mrs.  Reynolds'  death  occurred  quite  unexpect- 
edly at  Wilkes-Barre,  November  13,  1904,  after 
a  very  brief  illness.  Col.  George  Murray  and 
Stella  Mercer   (Dorrance)   Reynolds  had: 

t.     Helen   Murray,  born  January   29.    i£ 


42 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


married  June  24,  1896,  to  Burr  Churchill  Miller, 
son  of  Hon.  Warner  Miller,  United  States  sen- 
ator from  New  York  1881-87;  ^r-  ancl  ^rs- 
Miller  have  children :  Reynolds,  born  January 
26,  1901 ;  and  Warner,  born  April  3,  1904. 

2.  Schuyler  Lea,  born  May  6,  1872.  He  is 
a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society. 

Elizabeth  Reynolds,  sixth  child  of  Hon. 
William  Champion  and  Jane  Holberton  (Smith) 
Reynolds,  was  born  at  Kingston  April  13,  1842, 
and  twenty  years  later  removed  with  her  parents 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  where,  October  1,  1868,  she 
was  married  to  Col.  Robert  Bruce  Ricketts. 

H.  E.  H. 

COL.  ROBERT  BRUCE  RICKETTS,  who 
is  of  Scottish  and  English  descent,  was 
born  at  Orangeville,  Columbia  county, 
Pennsylvania,  April  29,  1839,  fifth  son  of 
Elijah  Green  and  Margaret  (Lockhart) 
Ricketts,  and  grandson  of  Lieutenant  Ed- 
ward Ricketts  (born  1759),  who  in  1781  was 
an  officer  in  the  battalion  of  Pennsylvania  mili- 
•tia  commanded  by  Col.  Hugh  Davidson,  of  Bed- 
ford county.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war 
Robert  Bruce  Ricketts,  having  left  school,  was 
pursuing  the  required  studies  for  admission  to 
the  bar.  In  the  spring  of  1861  he  enlisted  for 
three  years  in  Battery  F,  Capt.  Ezra  W.  Mat- 
thews, First  Light  Artillery,  Forty-third 
Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers ;  July  8, 
1861,  he  was  mustered  into  service,  and  on 
August  5th  he  was  promoted  first  lieutenant  of 
the  battery.  The  First  Light  Artillery  was  or- 
ganized at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  under 
Col.  Charles  T.  Campbell,  and  early  in  August, 
1861,  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Washington, 
where  it  encamped  near  the  arsenal.  There  it 
was  more  completely  armed  and  equipped,  and 
the  same  month  the  several  batteries  were  sep- 
arated and  assigned  to  different  divisions  and 
corps  of  the  army,  and  were  never  again  united 
as  a  regiment.  September  12,  1861,  Battery 
F  joined  Mai. -Gen.  N.  P.  Banks'  command, 
Fifth  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  at  Darnes- 
town,  Maryland.  Lieutenant  Ricketts,  in  com- 
mand  of  his   section   of   Batterv   F,   was  under 


fire  for  the  first  time  December  20,  1861,  in  an 
engagement  with  a  body  of  the  enemy  on  the 
upper  Potomac.  Early  in  January,  1863,  Bat- 
tery F,  having  been  previously  assigned  to  the 
Second  Division,  First  Army  Corps,  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Third  Division  of  that  corps,  at 
which  time  Lieutenant  Ricketts  was  in  actual 
command  of  the  battery,  which  had  come  to  be 
known  as  "Ricketts'  Battery."  February  23, 
1863,  Brig.-Gen.  H.  J.  Hunt,  Chief  of  Artillery, 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  communicated  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  "artillery  of  the  First  Corps  the 
following:  "None  of  your  batteries  are  in  bad 
order — the  only  corps  so  reported.  The  bat- 
teries in  the  best  order  are  Reynolds'  L',  First 
New  York ;  Ricketts'  'F,'  First  Pennsylvania, 
and  Lepperne's  Fifth  Maine." 

March  14,  1863,  Captain  Matthews  was  pro- 
moted major,  and  May  8,  1863,  Lieutenant  Rick- 
etts was  promoted  captain  of  Battery  F.  A  few 
weeks  later  the  division  to  which  the  batterv  was 
attached  marched  into  Pennsylvania.  On  the 
1st  of  June,  1863,  Battery  G  of  the  First  Artil- 
lery was  attached  to  Battery  F,  Captain  Rick- 
etts, assuming  command  of  the  consolidated  bat- 
teries, comprising  three  officers  and  141  men, 
and  denominated  "Ricketts'  Battery.''  In  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg  this  battery  performed  very 
noteworthy  services.  On  July  2nd  it  occupied 
an  exposed  position  on  Cemetery  Hill,  which 
Captain  Ricketts  was  ordered  to  hold  to  the  last 
extremity.  In  the  midst  of  the  general  action 
the  famous  "Louisiana  Tigers,"  1700  strong, 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  charged  with  fiend- 
ish yells  upon  "Ricketts-  Battery"  and  its  in- 
fantry supports.  "As  soon  as  Captain  Ricketts 
discovered  that  this  compact  and  desperate  rebel 
column  was  moving  upon  his  position  he  charged 
his  pieces  with  canister,  and  poured  in  deadly 
volleys,"  states  Bates,  in  his  "History  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers."  "The  infantry  sup- 
ports lying  behind  the  stone  wall  in  front  fled 
in  despair.  The  brunt  of  the  attack  fell  upon 
Ricketts ;  but  he  well  knew  that  the  heart  of  the 
whole  army  was  throbbing  for  him  in  that  des- 
perate hour,  and  how  much  the  enemy  coveted 
the  prize  for  which  he  was  making  so  desperate 


<y^ctcltrTx-   CWjW^U 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


43 


a  throw.  With  an  iron  hand  Ricketts  kept  every 
man  to  his  post,  and  every  gun  in  full  play,"  and 
the  terrible  "Tigers"  were  beaten  back  and,  num- 
bering barely  600,  retired  discomfited  and  dis- 
rupted. It  would  be  interesting  to  follow  Cap- 
tain Ricketts  and  his  batterv  into  subsequent  im- 
portant and  bloody  battles  and  through  other  suc- 
cessful campaigns  to  the  dawn  of  peace,  but  the 
limits  of  this  sketch  will  not  permit  any  further 
references  to  Captain  Ricketts'  military  life  other 
than  the  statement  that  December  i,  1864,  he 
was  promoted  major,  and  March  15,  1865,  he 
was  commissioned  colonel  of  the  First  Pennsyl- 
vania Light  Artillery.  June  3,  1865,  he  was 
honorably  discharged  from  the  military  service 
of  the  United  States,  and  shortly  thereafter  he 
located  in  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  has  since  con- 
tinued to  reside. 

Colonel  Ricketts  is  the  owner  of  vast  tracts 
of  woodland  on  the  North  mountain,  in  the 
counties  of  Luzerne,  Sullivan  and  Wyoming, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  carries  on  an  extensive 
business  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  He  is 
also  engaged  in  other  important  industries.  He 
is  a  comrade  of  Conyngham  Post,  No.  97,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic ;  a  companion  of  the  First 
Class  of  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion 
of  the  LTnited  States ;  a  member  of  the  Wyoming- 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Pennsylvania  Gettysburg  Monument 
Commission,  and  was  a  member  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Fair  Commission.  He  is  also  a  Free 
Mason,  and  was  a  charter  member  and  the  first 
eminent  commander  of  Dieu  Le  Veut  Com- 
mandery,  No.  45,  Knights  Templar,  constituted 
at  Wilkes-Barre  in  September,  1872.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Westmoreland  club,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  was  vice-president  (in  1889)  of  its 
original  board  of  directors.  In  1886  Colonel 
Ricketts  was  nominated  for  the  office  of  lieu- 
tenant-governor of  Pennsylvania  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party  of  the  state  (the  Hon.  Chauncey 
F.  Black  being  its  nominee  for  governor),  but 
at  the  election  in  November  the  Republican  party 
was  triumphant.  Gen.  James  A.  Beaver  being 
elected  governor  and  Hon.  William  T.  Davies 
lieutenant-governor.    Two  years  later  the  Demo- 


cratic state  convention  would  have  given  Colonel 
Ricketts  the  gubernatorial  nomination  had  he 
not  refused  to  allow  his  name  to  be  brought  be- 
fore the  convention.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Reynolds) 
Ricketts  is  an  active  member  of  the  Wyoming- 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  the  Society 
of  Mayflower  Descendants,  the  Pennsylvania  So- 
ciety of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  America,  Wyo- 
ming Valley  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  the  Society  of  Colo- 
nial Governors.  She  has  also  been  for  many 
years  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Colonel  Robert  Bruce  and  Elizabeth  (Rey- 
nolds) Ricketts  had  three  children,  born  in 
Wilkes-Barre : 

1.  William  Reynolds,  born  July  29,  1869; 
graduated  at  Yale  L'niversity  in  1892,  Ph.  B. ; 
is  engaged  in  business  with  his  father ;  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Westmoreland  Club,  a  Companion  of 
the  second  class  of  the  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion  of  the  United  States,  and  a  life 
member  and  since  1898  curator  of  mineralogy  of 
the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

2.  Jean  Holberton,  born  Majr  25,   1873. 

3.  Frances  Leigh,  born  December  2,  1881. 

H.  E.  H. 
SHELDON  REYNOLDS,  seventh  child  of 
Hon.  William  Champion  and  Jane  Holberton 
(Smith)  Reynolds,  was  born  at  Kingston,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  22,  1844.  He  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  at  Wyoming  Seminary, 
Kingston ;  the  Luzerne  Presbyterial  Institute, 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Hopkins  Gram- 
mar School,  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  In  1863, 
he  entered  Yale  College,  and  was  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1867,  and  in  1872  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  A.  M.  After  leaving  col- 
lege Mr.  Reynolds  spent  some  time  in  foreign 
travel,  and  then,  upon  his  return  home,  entered 
the  law  school  of  Columbia  College,  New  York,, 
where  in  1868  and  1869  he  pursued  the  usual 
course  in  law.  Later  he  became  a  student  of 
law  in  the  office  of  Andrew  T.  McClintock,  Esq., 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  October  16,  1871,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  Luzerne  county.  Although 
Mr.   Reynolds  had  an  admirable  equipment  for 


44 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


success  in  his  profession,  he  preferred  to  devote 
his  time  to  general  business  and  to  literary  and 
archaeological  pursuits.  He  became  an  active 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 
ical Society  in  February,  1874,  and  a  life  mem- 
ber in  1889,  and  until  his  death  was  one  of  the 
most  loyal  and  zealous  members  of  the  society. 
He  was  its  treasurer  in  1880-82;  a  trustee  in 
1884-86;  corresponding  secretary  1884-94;  as- 
sistant librarian  1885  and  1886;  curator  of  arch- 
aeology and  history  1884-95 1  president,  1894- 
1895,  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  also  a  life 
member  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  a  life  member  of  the  Franklin  Institute 
of  Philadelphia ;  a  member  of  the  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science ;  a  member  of 
the  Historical  Society  of  Virginia ;  a  correspond- 
ing member  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Bangor, 
Maine,  and  a  corresponding  member  of  the  An- 
thropological Society,  Washington,  D.  C.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  the  Osterhout 
Free  Library  of  Wilkes-Barre,  "an  institution 
which  was  largely  the  work  of  his  hands,  and 
was  ever  an  object  of  his  special  devotion,"  and 
was  secretary  of  the  board  of  trustees  from  the 
date  of  its  organization  until  his  death.  He  was 
for  some  thirty  years  a  member  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Law  and  Library  Association,  and  in  1875 
and  1876  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  school 
directors  of  the  Third  District  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
Mr.  Reynolds  became  a  director  of  the  Wyoming 
National  Bank,  Wilkes-Barre,  1884,  continuing 
as  such  until  1892,  when  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent. In  1883  ne  became  a  member  of  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Electric  Light 
Company,  and  in  1888  was  elected  president  of 
the  company,  which  office  he  continued  to  hold 
by  re-election  until  his  death.  In  May,  1892, 
he  was  elected  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Water  Company.  In  politics  Mr.  Reynolds  was 
a  Democrat;  in  1880  he  was  chairman  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  city  committee  of  his  party,  and 
in  1 88 1  was  chairman  of  the  county  committee. 
His  administration  of  affairs  was  clean,  straight- 
forward and  effective,  and  he  introduced  a  num- 
"ber  of  reforms  in  the  management  of  the  party. 


In  1884  he  was  urged  to  accept  the  Democratic 
nomination  for  state  senator  for  the  Twenty- 
first  district.  "It  was  universally  conceded  that 
he  would  fill  the  position  admirably — that  he  pos- 
sessed just  the  qualifications  needed  in  the  rep- 
resentative of  one  of  the  most  important  indus- 
trial districts  in  the  state  in  the  higher  branch 
of  the  state  legislature.  He  was  repeatedly 
urged  to  permit  the  use  of  his  name  as  a  candi- 
date, but  the  conditions  of  the  contest  were  such 
as     *     *     *     to  impel  him  to  decline." 

Sheldon  Reynolds  was  the  author  of  various 
essays  and  monographs,  some  of  which  have 
been  published  in  pamphlet  form  and  others  in 
different  volumes  of  the  "Proceedings  and  Col- 
lections of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 
ical Society."  What  is  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant of  these  publications  is  a  paper  entitled 
"The  Frontier  Forts  of  the  Wyoming  Region," 
which  was  the  last  work  done  by  Mr.  Reynolds, 
and  was  read  before  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society  in  December.  1894.  In 
May,  1S93,  Mr.  Reynolds  had  been  appointed 
by  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  a  member  of 
a  commission  of  five  to  make  inquiry,  examine 
into  and  report  to  the  state  legislature  (1)  as 
to  the  locations  of  the  various  forts  which  had 
been  erected  by  the  inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania 
as  a  defense  against  the  Indians  prior  to  1783; 
(2)  as  to  the  advisability  of  marking  the  sites 
of  those  forts  with  appropriate  tablets.  The  re- 
port of  this  commission,  including  the  above- 
mentioned  paper  of  Mr.  Reynolds,  was  pub- 
lished by  the  state  in  1896  in  two  volumes.  Shel- 
don Reynolds  was,  in  all  affairs  with  which  he 
was  connected,  looked  up  to  as  a  man  of  sound 
judgment,  clear  intuition  and  remarkable  ex- 
ecutive ability.  He  had  rare  business  qualifi- 
cations, and  possessed  the  absolute  confidence 
of  the  community  in  which  he  lived ;  he  was 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  was  a  great 
favorite  among  his  intimate  friends.  He  was 
popular  because  of  the  highest  merit.  After  a 
long  and  tedious  illness  his  death  occurred  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1895,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age, 
at   Saranac   Lake,    New   York,   whither   he   had 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


45 


gone  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  Hollenback  cemetery,  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

Sheldon  Reynolds  was  married  November  23, 
1876,  to  Annie  Buckingham,  born  May  6,  1850, 
only  daughter  of  Col.  Charles  and  Susan  E. 
(Ford)  Dorrance,  of  Kingston  township.  (See 
Dorrance  Family.)  Possessing  a  cheerful,  viva- 
cious nature  and  sprightly  wit,  allied  to  gracious 
manners  and  a  kindly,  thoughtful  consideration 
for  others,  Mrs.  Reynolds  attracted  to  herself 
the  acquaintances  of  everyday  life  and  converted 
them  into  steadfast  friends  and  admirers.  Intel- 
ligently sympathetic,  and  devoid  of  all  senti- 
mentality, she  was  well  fitted  to  accomplish  many 
things  helpful  and  beneficial  to  those  in  whom- 
she  was  interested ;  and  that,  unobtrusively  and 
frequently,  she  did  accomplish  much  good  is  well 
known.  She  was  an  earnest  and  faithful  mem- 
ber of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  She  was  an  active  member  of  the  Wyo- 
oming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  the 
Pennsylvania  Society  of  the  Colonial  Dames  of 
America,  and  Wyoming  Valley  Chapter  of  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  the 
American  Historical  Association,  Mary  Wash- 
ington Society  and  the  American  Forestry  As- 
sociation. Mrs.  Reynolds  died  at  her  residence 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  October  4,  1905,  after  a  brief 
illness. 

Sheldon  and  Annie  B.  (Dorrance)  Reynolds 
had  one  child,  Dorrance,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
September  7,  1877;  graduated  at  Yale  Univer- 
sity in  1902  with  the  degree  of  A.  B. ;  graduated 
at  the  law  school  of  Harvard  University  with 
the  degree  of  LL.  B.  1905 ;  married  in  New 
York  City  June  30,  1903,  to  Mabel,  elder  daugh- 
ter of  James  Reuben  and  Sevilla  B.  (Hayden) 
Doudge,  of  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reynolds 
have  one  daughter,  Constance,  born  October, 
1905.  Mr.  Reynolds  is  a  life  member  of  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

BENJAMIN  REYNOLDS,  youngest  child 
of  Hon.  William  Champion  and  Jane 
Holberton  (Smith)  Reynolds,  was  born  in 
Kingston,  on  Christmas  Day,  1840.  In  his 
thirteenth     year     he     removed     with     his     pa- 


rents to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  has  since 
continued  to  reside.  He  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  private  schools  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  then  entered  Princeton  College,  .from 
which  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A. 
B.  in  1872.  In  1873  and  '74  he  was  connected 
in  a  clerical  capacity  with  the  People's  Bank  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  which  had  come  into  existence 
in  July,  1872.  Early  in  1881  Mr.  Reynolds,  who 
was  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Anthracite  Sav- 
ings Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  which  began  busi- 
ness in  February,  1876,  became  cashier  of  the: 
bank  and  continued  as  such  until  1890,  when  he 
was  elected  president,  which  office  he  still  holds. 
Under  his  administration  the  capital  stock  of 
the  bank  has  been  increased  $50,000,  its  surplus 
fund  and  undivided  profits  have  been  increased 
tenfold,  and  its  total  resources  have  been  in- 
creased threefold.  Mr.  Reynolds  is  a  director 
in  the  following-named  important  corporations : 
The  Hazard  Manufacturing  Company,  the 
Wilkes-Barre  and  Wyoming  Valley  Traction 
Company,  the  Wilkes-Barre,  Dallas  and  Har- 
vey's Lake  Railway  Company,  the  Wilkes-Barre 
and  Hazelton  Railway  Company,  and  the  Han- 
over Fire  Insurance  Company  of  New  York 
City.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and  of  the 
Westmoreland  Club  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Benjamin  Reynolds  was  married  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  December  17,  1879,  to  Grace  Goodwin 
Fuller,  fourth  daughter  of  Hon.  Henry  Mills 
and  Harriet  Irwin  (Tharp)  Fuller.  Henry  Mills 
Fuller  was  born  at  Bethany,  Wayne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  June  3,  1820,  the  son  of  Amzi 
Fuller,  born  in  Kent,  Connecticut,  October  19,. 
1793,  died  there  September  26,  1847,  and  his 
wife,  Maria,  born  April  7,  1799 ;  married  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1818;  died  August  24,  1885,  daughter 
of  Col.  Philo  and  Rhoda  (Goodwin)  Mills,  of 
Kent,  Connecticut.  Amzi  Fuller,  who  was  the 
son  of  Capt.  Revilo  Fuller,  of  Kent,  was  a  prom- 
inent lawyer  in  Wayne  county,  Pennsylvania, 
for  many  years  until  1841,  when  he  removed  to 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  had  been  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  Wayne  county,  August  25,  1816,  and  to- 
the   bar   of   Luzerne   county   January    11,    1822. 


46 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Henry  M.  Fuller  was  graduated  at  Princeton 
College  with  the  highest  honors  in  1838,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  years.  Having  pursued  the  usual 
course  of  legal  studies  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  Luzerne  county,  January  3,  1842.  In 
October,  1848,  he  was,  as  a  Whig,  elected  one 
of  the  representatives  from  Luzerne  county  to 
the  Pennsylvania  legislature.  In  1849  ne  was 
nominated  by  the  Whig  state  convention  for  the 
office  of  canal  commissioner.  In  October,  1850, 
he  was  elected  a  representative  to  the  thirty-sec- 
ond congress  from  the  Pennsylvania  district  com- 
prising Luzerne  county ;  in  1852  he  was  a  can- 
didate for  re-election  to  the  same  office,  but  was 
defeated  by  Hon.  Hendrick  B.  Wright.  In  1854 
Messrs.  Fuller  and  Wright  were  again  opposing 
candidates  in  the  same  district,  and  Mr.  Fuller 
was  elected  representative  to  the  thirty-fourth 
congress  by  a  majority  of  two  thousand  and 
twenty-eight  votes.  When  this  congress  con- 
vened in  December,  1855,  Henry  M.  Fuller  was 
put  forward  as  the  candidate  of  the  Whig  and 
National  Know-Nothing  party  for  the  office  of 
speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives,  he  and 
Nathaniel  P.  Banks  (afterward  major  general 
of  volunteers  in  the  Union  army)  being  the  most 
prominent  candidates  for  the  office.  After  two 
months  of  wrangling,  and  when  one  hundred  and 
thirty-three  ballots  had  been  taken,  Mr.  Banks 
was  declared  elected.  When  Mr.  Fuller  retired 
from  congress  in  March,  1857,  he  removed  with 
his  family  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  died  December  26,  i860.  Harriet  Irwin 
Fuller,  the  wife  of  Henry  M.  Fuller,  was  born 
in  1822,  the  daughter  of  Michael  Rose  and 
Jerusha  (Lindsley)  Tharp.  She  bore  her  hus- 
band five  daughters  and  two  sons  (of  whom 
Mrs.  Benjamin  Reynolds  is  the  fourth  child), 
and  died  at  Wilkes-Barre  July  18,  1890. 

Benjamin  and  Grace  Goodwin  (Fuller) 
Reynolds  have  one  child,  Edith  Lindsley,  born 
November  28,  1883.  H.  E.  H. 

JOHN  BUTLER  REYNOLDS.  Elijah 
Wadhams  Reynolds,  fifth  child  and  third  son  of 
Benjamin  and  Lydia  (Fuller)  Reynolds,  was  born 
in   Plymouth,    Pennsylvania,   January    18,    1813, 


and  died  in  Kingston,  same  state,  September  25, 
1869.  He  married  November  21,  1842,  Mary 
Lucinda  Butler,  daughter  of  Pierce  Butler  and 
wife  Temperance  Colt.     (See  Butler  Family.) 

Elijah  Wadhams  Reynolds  was  for  many 
years  a  prominent  merchant  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  his  home  during  the  later  years  of  his  life 
was  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  From  May, 
1848,  to  May,  1849,  he  was  president  of  the  town 
council  of  the  borough  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  for 
many  years  he  was  a  director  of  the  Wyoming 
Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  always  a  strong 
Democrat,  popular  alike  with  his  own  party  and 
with  his  political  opponents,  yet  he  declined  all 
offers  of  official  preferment. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elijah  W.  Reynolds  had: 

1.  Pierce  Butler,  born  October  7,  1844,  died 
in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  March  1,  1901 ;  mar- 
ried Rachel  Owen. 

2.  William  Champion,  born   September    11, 

1847. 

3.  John  Butler,  born  August  -5,  1850 ;  mar- 
ried, October  21,  1879,  Emily  Bradley  Dain, 
born  May  27,  1854,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Dain, 
of  Peekskill-on-the-Hudson,  New  York,  a  "native 
of  Lisbon,  Maine,  and  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin 
College. 

John  Butler  Reynolds,  son  of  Elijah  W.  and 
Alary  L.  Reynolds,  was  educated  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  in  the  Wyoming  Seminary  at  Kingston, 
and  at  Lafayette  College,  Easton.  He  studied 
law  with  W.  W.  Lathrop,  then  of  the  Luzerne 
county  bar,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
courts  of  the  county  November  15,  1878,  and 
since  that  time  has  practiced  his  profession  in 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  has  at  the  same  time  inter- 
ested himself  in  various  other  elements  of  city 
business  and  public  life.  In  1881  he  was  chosen 
one  of  the  examiners  of  the  orphans'  court.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  insurance  firm  of  Reynolds 
&  Co.  He  was  the  leading  factor  in  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  Kingston  bridge  project,  organizing 
the  company,  of  which  he  became  president  and 
general  manager,  and  directing  the  building  of 
the  three  iron  bridges  across  the  Susquehanna 
river  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the  approaches  to 
the  same,  covering  the  lowlands  and  connecting 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


47 


Wilkes-Barre  with  the  many  adjacent  towns. 
In  1888  he  organized  the  Westside  Water  Com- 
pany and  took  an  active  interest  in  it  until  it 
was  absorbed  by  the  Spring  Brook  Water  Sup- 
ply Company.  In  1889  he  organized  the  West- 
side  Electric  Street  Railway  Company,  built  the 
road  and  retained  his  connection  with  the  cor- 
poration until  its  consolidation  with  the  Wyoming 
Valley  Traction  Company.  In  1894,  in  associa- 
tion with  A.  A.  Holbrook,  he  organized,  financed 
and  built  the  Wilkes-Barre  and  Harvey  Lake 
Electric  Railroad  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Harvey 
Lake,  a  distance  of  sixteen  miles,  was  the  first 
president  of  the  building  and  operating  com- 
pany, and  was  also  its  general  manager  until  its 
absorption  by  the  Wyoming  Valley  Traction 
Company.  He  is  a  director  in  a  number  of  local 
enterprises.  He  has  never  held  public  office 
except  as  a  member  of  the  town  council,  of  which 
body  he  was  president  for  two  years.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat,  holding  to  the  highest  prin- 
ciples of  his  party.  In  1888  he  was  elected  a  del- 
egate in  the  national  convention  which  nomi- 
nated Cleveland  and  Thurman,  but  declined  the 
honor.  In  1890  he  was  the  party's  candidate  for 
congress,  but  was  defeated.  In  1896  he  was  a 
prominent  member  of  the  gold-wing  of  the  party, 
and  as  a  delegate  to  the  national  convention  held 
in  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  aided  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  Palmer  and  Buckner.  He  was  presidential 
elector,  twelfth  district  of  Pennsylvania,  1892.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club,  and  the 
Historical  and  Geological  Society  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  the  Reform  Club  of  New  York  City. 

The  children  of  John  Butler  and  Emily  Brad- 
ley (Dain)   Reynolds  are : 

Dain,  born  September  17,  1880,  died  August 
1 881. 

Pierce  Butler,  born  July  20,  1882,  graduated 
from  Yale  College  in  1904,  and  is  in  business  in 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

Eugene  Beaumont,  born  December  25,  1884, 
student  in  Yale  College,  class  of  1907. 

Warren  McClellan,  born  December  10,  1886, 
a  student  in  the  Chestnut  Hill  Academy,  Phila- 
delphia. 

Marv  Butler,  born  March  1,  i£ 


Emily  Ruth,  born  July  4,  1890. 
John  Dain,  born  March  26,  1893. 

H.  E.  H. 

BUTLER  FAMILY.  Lieutenant  William 
Butler  was  born  probably  about  1650,  and  died 
August  2,  1730.  He  was  a  yeoman  in  Ipswich, 
Massachusetts,  in  1688,  was  made  a  freeman 
there  October  11,  1682,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  the  owner  of  land  there.  He  was  mar- 
ried three  times,  first  in  1675,  to  Sarah  (probably 
Cross),  born  1654,  and  had  the  following  named 
children : 

1.  William,  born  June  15,  1677;  died  May 
6,  1723. 

2.  Thomas,  born  September  15,  1682;  died 
1745  ;  was  of  Hopkinton,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  had  descendants;  married  (first)  probably 
February  16,  1719,  Martha  Story;  married  (sec- 
ond), 1731-2,  Abigail  Craft. 

3.  Ralph,  born  September  15,  1682;  died 
May,  1684. 

4.  Ralph. 

5.  Sarah,  born  July  23,  16 — ;  married  to 
John  Bailey,  of  Newbury,  Massachusetts. 

6.  Hannah,  married  November  1,  1704,  to 
Joseph  Andrews. 

7.  Elizabeth,  married  to  Josiah  Burnham. 

8.     ;  married  to  Job  Giddings  ;  died 

February  27,  1708. 

9.     ;  married  to  


Bennett,  and 

had  a  daughter  Sarah. 

Lieutenant  William  Butler  was  married  (sec- 
ond), July  21,  1703,  to  Mary  Ingalls,  and  had: 
1.  Mary,  unmarried  in  1724.  2.  Samuel,  a 
minor  in  1724,  who  died  before  1733.  3.  John, 
a  minor  in  1724,  of  whom  later. 

Lieutenant  Butler  was  married  (third)  No- 
vember 3,  1713,  (published),  to  Abigail  Met- 
calf  (born  1656;  still  living  in  1724),  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Abigail  Metcalf.  After  the  death 
of  Lieutenant  Butler  his  widow  Abigail  was  mar- 
ried June  16,  1 73 1,  to  Lieutenant  Simon  Wood. 

Lieutenant  Butler's  will  was  probated  Au- 
gust 18,  1730,  and  his  property  inventoried 
£1,379,  17s.,  6d.  He  acquired  his  military  title 
through  service  in  the  Massachusetts  militia  in 


48 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  va- 
rious contemporary  conveyances  recorded  in  the 
land  records  of  Ipswich,  he  is  referred  to  as 
"Lieutenant  William  Butler." 

John  Butler,  son  of  Lieutenant  William  But- 
ler and  his  wife  Mary  Ingalls,  was  born  about 
1707.     He  was  married    to     Hannah     Perkins, 
(marriage  published  December  27,  1729),  daugh- 
ter of  Abraham  and  Abigail   (Dodge)    Perkins, 
grand-daughter  of  Isaac  and  Hannah    (Knight) 
Perkins,  who  was  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
Perkins,  quartermaster  of  Ipswich,  1675,  the  son 
of  John  Perkins,  Sr.,  who  came  to  Massachusetts 
1630  from  Bristol,   England.     John   Butler  was 
the   owner   of  considerable   land   in   Ipswich,   in 
1736,  but  disposed  of  it,  and  with  his  family  re- 
moved to  that  part  of  the  town  of  Lyme,  New 
London  county,  Connecticut,  later  known  as  the 
North    Society   of   Lyme.      There    he    acquired 
lands  as  early  as  1736,  and  there  he  lived  until 
his  death  in  1755,  engaged  in  farming  and  as  a 
trader.     John  and     Hannah     (Perkins)     Butler 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  viz.:  1.  Zebu- 
Ion,   born   Ipswich,    Massachusetts,     1731 ;    died 
July  28,    1795 ;  of  whom  later.    2.   Mary,   born 
1738;  died  November  29,   181 1;  married  before 
1761,  Ebenezer  Brockway,   son  of  William  and 
Prudence    (Pratt)    Brockway;  had  Zebulon  and 
Ebenezer,   and   Captain   Brockway ;   died   Lyme, 
May  9,   1812.     3.     Isaac.     4.     John,  in  Wyom- 
ing in  1770.     5.     Houghton.     6.     Samuel,  mar- 
ried 1771,  Hester  Brockway.     He  was  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  in  1774-75,  taught  school.     He  later  moved 
to     Saybrook,     Connecticut.       7.       William.     8. 
Nathaniel.    9.     Sarah,    married     (first)    Gideon 
Pratt,  (second)  Mr.  Wood. 

Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  eldest  son  of  John 
and  Hannah  (Perkins)  Butler,  born  1731  ;  died 
July  28,  1795,  came  with  his  parents  in  1736 
to  Lyme,  where  he  continued  to  live  until  his  re- 
moval to  Wyoming  valley.  At  an  early  age  he 
entered  in  the  active  business  of  a  trader,  owning 
and  managing  one  or  more  sloops  used  in  carry- 
ing live  stock  and  various  commodities  from 
Lyme  to  the  West  Indies,  and  in  bringing  back 
certain  products  of  those  islands  which  were  in 
demand  in  the  New  England  Colonies.     He  was 


also  the  owner  of  a  considerable  amount  of  land 
in  the  North  Society  of  Lyme. 

As  early  as  1765  Zebulon  Butler,  then  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  entered  upon  a  military  career 
which  continued  with  a  few  interruptions  through 
the  ensuing  twenty-eight  years.  His  active  serv- 
ice in  the  field  began  in  the  campaign  carried  on 
by  the  troops  of  the  American  Colonies  against 
Crown  Point  in  1756,  when  he  (Butler)  was  en- 
sign in  Captain  Andrew  Ward's  company  in  the 
Connecticut  battalion  commanded  by  Colonel 
David  Wooster.  In  the  campaign  of  1757-58 
he  served  first  as  ensign  of  Captain  Andrew 
Ward's  company,  and  then  as  ensign  of  Captain 
Reuben  Ferris'  "Rangers."  In  the  spring  of 
1758  he  was  commissioned  ensign  of  the  Eleventh 
Company,  Third  Connecticut  Regiment,  and  a 
few  weeks  later  was  promoted  lieutenant  of  the 
same  company  and  detailed  to  serve  as  quarter- 
master of  the  Third  Regiment.  The  duties  of 
this  office  he  performed  during  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1758  at  Camp  Fort  Edward,  Lake  George. 
In  1759,  prior  to  May,  he  was  commissioned  cap- 
tain of  the  Ninth  Company,  Fourth  Regiment, 
Connecticut  troops,  and  participated  with  that 
regiment  in  the  vigorous  campaign  carried  on  in 
that  year  against  Canada  by  the  British  regular 
and  Colonial  troops.  Again,  in  1760,  Captain 
Butler,  in  command  of  the  Tenth  Company, 
Fourth  Connecticut  Regiment,  participated  in  the 
campaign  against  the  French  in  Canada.  In 
1762,  as  captain  of  the  Eighth  Company,  First 
Connecticut  Regiment,  he  took  part  in  the  noted 
expedition  against  Havana,  in  which  he  and  his 
men  suffered  great  hardships,  sickness  and  ship- 
wreck, causing  much  loss  of  life. 

From  1763  till  1775  Captain  Butler  seems  to- 
have  had  no  connection  with  the  organized  mil- 
itia of  Connecticut.  In  May  of  the  year  last  men- 
tioned, however,  he  was  appointed  and  commis- 
sioned colonel  of  the  Twenty- fourth  (or  West- 
moreland) Regiment,  Connecticut  Militia,  which 
has  just  then  been  established  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Colony.  This  office  he  held  until' 
October,  1776,  when  he  was  appointed  and  com- 
missioned by  the  Continental  Congress,  "Lieut- 
enant Colonel  in  the  Army  of  the  United  States- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


49 


of  America,"  and  was  detailed  to  duty  in  Wyom- 
ing valley,  Pennsylvania.  In  the  following  Jan- 
uary he  was  commissioned  lieutenant  colonel  of 
the  Third  Regiment,  Connecticut  Line,  in  the 
Continental  service,  and  shortly  afterwards  joined 
Washington's  army  at  Morristown,  New  Jer- 
sey. In  April,  1777,  he  was  commanding  a  body 
of  Connecticut  troops  in  defense  of  Danbury, 
Connecticut,  from  Huntington's,  Wylly's,  and 
Douglas's  battalions.  In  November,  1778,  Lieut- 
enant Colonel  Butler  was  promoted  colonel  of  the 
Second  Regiment,  Connecticut  Line,  in  the  Con- 
tinental service,  to  date  from  March  13,  1778. 
He  was  in  command  of  the  'Wyoming  Post"  at 
Wilkes-Barre  from  August,  1778,  till  February, 
1781,  when  he  was  ordered  to  join,  as  its  colonel, 
the  new  Fourth  Regiment  of  the  Connecticut 
Line,  encamped  near  West  Point  on  the  Hudson. 
Colonel  Butler  remained  in  command  of  this  regi- 
ment, which  was  on  duty  chiefly  along  the  Hud- 
son, until  January,  1783,  when  under  the  consoli- 
dation of  the  Connecticut  troops,  he  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  "new"  First  Regiment.  This 
regiment  remained  in  camp  at  and  near  West 
Point  until  June,  1783,  when  the  dissolution  of 
the  army  was  begun,  and  the  "First"  was  dis- 
banded by  orders  from  headquarters.  Shortly 
afterwards  Colonel  Butler  repaired  to  his  home 
in  Wyoming  valley. 

Some  fourteen  years  previously  (in  the  spring 
of  1769),  a  large  body  of  settlers  from  Connecti- 
cut and  other  colonies  had  been  sent  by  the  Sus- 
quehanna Company  to  take  possession  of  the 
Wyoming  region  on  the  East  Branch  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna river.  Zebulon  Butler  was  an  incon- 
spicuous member  of  that  body,  but  within  a  short 
time  he  became  prominent  in  the  affairs  not  only 
of  the  little  Wyoming  settlement,  but  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna Company,  and  thenceforward,  until 
within  four  or  five  years  of  his  death,  "the  life  of 
Zebulon  Butler  is  the  history  of  Wyoming.  Al- 
most every  letter  of  our  annals  bears  the  impress 
of  his  name  and  is  a  record  of  his  deeds,"  as 
Charles  Miner  states  in  his  "History  of  Wyom- 
ing." From  the  beginning  he  made  his  home  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  not  only  the  military  com- 
mander of  the  men  of  Wyoming  in  their  various 


conflicts  and  frays  with  the  Pennamites,  and  in 
their  warfares  with  the  Indians,  but,  as  the  holder 
of  various  civil  offices  to  which  he  was  either  ap- 
pointed by  the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut 
or  elected  by  his  fellow-citizens,  was  the  advisor 
and  leader  of  the  people  in  their  affairs  of  peace.. 
In  July,  1771,  at  the  head  of  an  armed  band, 
of  sixty-five  Connecticut   settlers,   within   a  few 
days  increased  to  one  hundred  and  twenty,  Zebu- 
lon Butler  invested  and  attacked  the  Pennamites^ 
in  their  wooden  fort  on  the  River  Common  in 
Wilkes-Barre,    and   after  a   siege  of   twenty-six 
days  compelled  them  to  evacuate  the  fort  and  re- 
tire from  the  valley.     In  December,  1775,  at  the 
head  of  some  four  hundred  of  the  men  of  Wyom- 
ing, the  majority  of  whom  were  enrolled  mem- 
bers of  the  Twenty-fourth  Connecticut  Regiment, 
previously  mentioned,  Colonel  Butler  opposed  an 
invading   force   of   Pennamites    numbering   over 
six   hundred  men  and   commanded    by    Colonel 
William    Plunket,   of    Sunbury.     A    battle    was. 
fought    at     "Rampart    Rocks,"   near    Nanticoke 
Falls,  at  the  lower  end  of  Wyoming  valley,  and, 
after  some  loss  of  life,  Plunket  and  his  men  were 
compelled  to  beat  a  retreat.     At  home  from  the 
army  on  a  brief  leave  of  absence  at  the  beginning 
of  July,    1778,   Colonel   Butler,   who  of  all  men 
then  on  the  ground,  was  conceded  to  be  the  most 
experienced  in  matters  of  warfare,  was  urged  by 
the  officers  of  the  Twenty-fourth   Regiment   to 
take  command  of  the  almost  undisciplined  Amer- 
ican force  about  to  march  forth  to  oppose  the  in- 
vading British  and  Indians.     A  few  days  later  the 
memorable  battle  of  Wyoming   (which  resulted 
so  disastrously  to  the  brave  defenders  of  the  val- 
ley)  was  fought  on  Abraham's  Plains,  some  six 
miles  north  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Colonel  Butler  be- 
ing in  command  of  the  right  wing  of  the  Amer- 
ican line  of  battle. 

In  September,  1770,  when  Fort  Durkee  (oc- 
cupied by  the  New  England  settlers  at  Wilkes- 
Barre)  was  captured  by  the  Pennamites,  Zebulon 
Butler  was  taken  prisoner  and  conveyed  to  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  was  detained  in  the  city  jail  for 
several  months.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Susque- 
hanna Company  held  at  Windham,  Connecticut, 
January  9,  1771,  it  was  "Voted,  That  Capt.  Zeb- 


50 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


ulon  Butler,  Capt.  Lazarus  Stewart,  Mapor 
John  Durkee  and  John  Smith,  Esq.,  be  and  they 
are  hereby  appointed  a  committee  to  repair  to  our 
settlement  at  Wyoming  with  our  settlers,  to  Order 
and  direct  in  all  affairs  relating  to  the  well  order- 
ing and  governing  said  settlers  and  settlements." 
Captain  Butler  was  at  that  time  still  in  the  Phila- 
delphia jail.  (See  Harvey's  'History  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,"  II:  671,  6yy). 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Susquehanna  Company 
held  April  1,  1772,  Captain  Butler  was  appointed 
with  four  others  a  committee  "to  order  and  regu- 
late the  settlement-'  of  the  lands  in  the  "Susque- 
hanna Purchase."  June  2,  1773,  he  was  appointed 
by  the  Susquehanna  Company,  one  of  the  three 
"Directors"  empowered  "to  take  upon  them  the 
well  ordering  and  governing  of  the  town"  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  "to  suppress  vice  of  every 
kind,  and  preserve  the  peace  of  God  and  King 
therein."  July  22,  1773,  at  a  general  meeting  of 
the  Susquehanna  Company,  proprietors  and  set- 
tlers, held  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Captain  Butler  was 
"chosen  to  be  ye  Judge  of  the  Probates"  for  the 
company  of  settlers.  When,  in  January,  1774, 
the  General  Assembly  of  Connecticut  erected  the 
Wyoming  region  into  the  town  of  Westmoreland 
and  annexed  it  to  the  county  of  Litchfield,  in  Con- 
necticut, Zebulon  Butler  was  appointed  by  the 
Assembly  and  commissioned  by  Governor  Trum- 
bull a  justice  of  the  peace  in  and  for  said  county, 
and  was  authorized  and  directed  to  call  the  free- 
men of  Westmoreland  together  and  conduct  an 
election  of  officers  for  the  new  town.  At  this 
election  Zebulon  Butler  was  chosen  town  treas- 
urer, and  a  few  weeks  later  he  and  three  other 
citizens  of  Westmoreland  were  elected  to  repre- 
sent the  town  at  the  May  (1774)  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  Connecticut.  Colonel  But- 
ler also  represented  the  town  as  one  of  its  two 
deputies  in  the  sessions  of  the  Assembly  held  in 
October,  1774,  May  and  October,  1775,  and  Octo- 
ber, 1776. 

When  by  enactment  of  the  Pennsylvania  legis- 
lature, in  September,  1786,  a  large  part  of  the 
Wyoming  region  was  erected  into  the  county  of 
Luzerne,  Colonel  Butler  was  appointed  one  of  the 
three  commissioners  authorized  and  empowered 


to  locate  and  erect  a  court-house  and  jail  for  the 
new  county.  At  that  time  Colonel  Butler  resided 
at  the  southeast  corner  of  River  and  Northampton 
streets,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  in  his  house  the  courts 
of  Luzerne  county  were  duly  organized  in  May, 
1787,  and  for  some  time  thereafter  were  regularly 
held.  Colonel  Butler  was  commissioned  by  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania 
"lieutenant  of  the  County,"  in  and  for  the  new 
county  of  Luzerne,  in  August,  1787,  and  this 
office  he  held  until  January,  1792.  Three  and  a- 
half  years  later  (July  28,  1795)  he  died  at  his  then 
home  at  Coal  "Brook,  in  the  township  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  A  tablet  has  lately  been  erected  by  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  in 
memory  of  Colonel  Butler,  containing  the  follow- 
ing inscription  : 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

COLONEL  ZEBULON  BUTLER, 

Born  Ipswich,  Mass.,   173 1. 

Died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  1795. 

Commanded 

The  American  Forces  at  Wyoming,  Pa., 

July  3,  1778. 

Ensign,  3d  Regt.  Conn.  Troops,  1 757-1758. 

Lieutenant,  4th  Regt.  1759. 

Captain,  1760- 1762. 

Served  in  the  Havana  Campaign. 

Col.  24th  Conn.  Regt.  Wyoming,   1775. 

Lieut.-Colonel,  Continental  Line,  1776-1778. 

Colonel,  Continental  Line,  1778-1783. 

Retired  June  3,  1783. 

Member  Connecticut  State  Society 

of  the  Cincinnati,  1783. 

Member  Conn.  Assembly,  1774-1776. 

Justice,   1 774- 1 779. 

Judge,   1778-1779. 

County  Lieut.,  Luzerne  Co.,  1787-1790. 

Erected  by  Some  of  His  Descendants 

July  25,   1904. 

Zebulon  Butler  was  married  (first)  at  Lyme", 
Connecticut,  December  23,  1760,  to  Anne,  born 
April  4,  1736,  daughter  of  John  and  Hannah 
(Rogers)  Lord,  of  Lyme.  Mrs.  Anne  (Lord) 
Butler  died  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  spring  of 
I773-     John  Lord,  born  at  Lyme  about  1704,  was 


>})tl  s 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


5i 


the  second  son  of  Lieutenant  Richard  and  Eliza- 
beth (Hyde)  Lord.  He  lived  on  Eight-mile  river 
in  North  Lyme,  where  he  died  January  7,  1776. 
His  wife,  Hannah,  (to  whom  he  was  married 
November  12,  1734),  was  born  in  1712,  the 
daughter     of     Lieutenant     Joseph     and     Sarah 

( )  Rogers,  of  Milford,  Connecticut,  and 

she  died  December  25,  1762.  Children  of  Ze- 
bulon  and  Anne  (Lord)  Butler:  1.  Lord,  born 
December  n,  1761  ;  died  March  3,  1824;  of  whom 
later.  2.  Zebulon,  born  at  Lyme,  November 
12,  1767;  died  at  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  spring  of 
I773-  3-  Hannah,  born  at  Lyme,  February  28, 
1770 ;  married  in  1788,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  to  Rose- 
well  Welles;  died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  October  31, 
1807. 

Colonel  Butler  was  married  (second)  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  August,  1775,  to  Lydia,  born  1756, 
eldest  child  of  the  Rev.  Jacob  and  Mary  (Gid- 
dings)  Johnson,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  (See  John- 
son Family) .  The  only  child  of  this  marriage 
was  Zebulon  Johnson,  born  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
May,  1776;  married,  February  22,  1798,  to  Jem- 
ima, born  1777,  married  September  30,  1819, 
daughter  of  Captain  Jabez  and  Sarah  (Avery) 
Fish.  Captain  Zebulon  Johnson  Butler  died  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  March  23,  1817,  survived  by  his 
wife  and  nine  children. 

Mrs.  Lydia  (Johnson)  Butler  having  died  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  June  26,  1781,  Colonel  Butler  was  / 
married  (thirdj  in  June,  1783,  to  Phebe  Haight/ 
born    1756,    died   at  Wilkes-Barre,   January    19, 
1837,   daughter  of  Daniel  Haight,   of   Dutchess 
county,  New  York.     The  children  by  this  mar- 
riage were  the  following-named,     all     born     in 
Wilkes-Barre:     1.     Lydia,  born   1784;  married, 
July  3,  1801,  to  George  Griffin;  died  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  May     1,     1864.     2.     Anne,    born 
1787;  married,  January   12,   180S,  to    John    W. 
Robinson;  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  May  11,   1856. 
3.     Steuben,  born  March  7,  1789 ;  died  in  Wilkes-, 
Barre,  August  12,  1881. 

GENERAL  LORD  BUTLER,  eldest  child  of 
Colonel  Zebulon  and  Anne  (Lord)  Butler,  born 
North  Society  of  Lyme,  New  London  county, 
Connecticut,  December  11,  1761,  and  in  Decem- 
ber,  1772,  removed  thence  with  the  other  mem- 


bers of  his  father's  family  to  Wilkes-Barre.  Here 
he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life  except  for  two 
or  three  years  prior  to  1778  spent  at  school  in 
Connecticut.  In  October,  1778,  he  was  appointed 
by  his  father,  then  in  command  of  the  Wyoming 
post,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  quartermaster  at  the  post. 
The  duties  of  this  appointment  he  performed  un- 
til the  following  January,  when  he  was  appointed 
acting-  deputy  quartermaster  in  the  Continental 
establishment,  and  quartermaster  at  the  Wyoming 
post.  He  was  then  only  a  few  weeks  over  seven- 
teen years  of  age.  Before  June,  1779,  he  was 
promoted  acting  quartermaster  in  the  Continental 
establishment,  and  in  the  following  October  was 
promoted  acting  deputy  quartermaster  general, 
with  an  assignment  to  the  Wyoming  post.  This 
office  he  held  until  February,  1783.  when  the 
Continental  garrison  was  withdrawn  from  Wyo- 
ming. 

When  the  "Second  Pennamite  War"  was  be- 
gun in  the  autumn  of  1783,  Lord  Butler  was  one 
of  the  foremost  of  the  younger  men  identified 
with  the  Connecticut  party  in  Wyoming  to  come 
to  the  front  to  oppose  the  schemes  and  imposi- 
tions of  the  Pennamites.  He  was  one  of  the 
thirty-seven  "effective  men"  who,  in  August, 
1784,  under  the  command  of  Captain  John  Swift, 
marched  over  the  Wyoming  mountains  to  Locust 
Hill,  near  the  present  village  of  Stoddartsville, 
and  attacked  a  band  of  invading  Pennamites, 
killing  one  of  them  and  wounding  several  others. 
A  few  weeks  later  Lord  Butler  was  one  of  thirty 
Wyoming  settlers  who  were  taken  prisoners  by 
the  Pennamites,  bound,  and  marched  under  guard 
to  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  were  lodged 
in  the  jail  of  Northampton  county.  Eleven  of 
these  prisoners,  including  Lord  Butler,  were  de- 
tained in  the  jail  until  about  November  1,  1784, 
when,  being  released,  they  returned  to  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

In  April,  1787,  the  new  county  of  Luzerne 
having  been  organized,  as  previously  mentioned, 
Lord  Butler  was  appointed  and  commissioned  by 
the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  the  State, 
sheriff  of  the  county,  to  serve  until  the  election  of 
his  successor.  In  the  following  October  he  was 
elected  to  serve  a  full  term  as  sheriff,  and  in  No- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


vember  was  duly  commissioned  by  the  Supreme 
Executive  Council.  He  served  till  the  last  of 
October,  1789,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Jesse 
Fell.  In  May,  1788,  he  was  elected  first  lieuten- 
ant of  the  Troop  of  Light  Dragoons  of  the  Lu- 
zerne County  Militia.  Prior  to  1798  he  had  be- 
come captain  of  this  troop.  In  April,  1799,  he 
was  commissioned  a  brigadier-general  of  the 
Pennsylvania  militia.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania 
from  October  30,  1789,  till  December  20,  1790, 
when  the  Council  went  out  of  existence.  He  was 
appointed  and  commissioned,  August  17,  1791,  as 
the  successor  of  Colonel  Timothy  Pickering, 
prothonotary,  clerk  of  the  orphans'  court  and  of 
the  court  of  quarter  sessions,  register  of  wills  and 
recorder  of  deeds  in  and  for  Luzerne  county. 
These  various  offices  he  held  until  January,  1800, 
when  he  was  removed  from  them  by  Governor 
McKean  for  political  reasons  only.  Lord  Butler 
was  the  first  postmaster  of  Wilkes-Barre,  being 
appointed  in  1794,  and  holding  the  office  till  1802, 
when  he  took  his  seat  for  one  term  in  the  Penn- 
sylvania legislature  as  one  of  the  two  representa- 
tives from  Luzerne  county.  Upon  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  first  town  council  of  the  borough  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  in  May,  1806,  Lord  Butler  was 
elected  president  of  the  body,  and  this  office  he 
held  until  May,  1808.  He  was  burgess  of  the 
borough  from  May,  181 1,  till  May,  1814.  In 
1 80 1  and  for  several  years  thereafter  held  the 
office  of  county  treasurer,  and  from  1815  till  1818 
he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  of  Luzerne 
county.  He  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  and  was  a  member  of  its 
board  of  trustees  from  1807  until  his  death  in 
1824,  for  seven  years  of  which  time  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  board. 

General  Butler  was  for  many  years  one  of 
the  most  prominent  and  active  men  in  public 
life  in  Luzerne  county.  Charles  Miner,  who 
knew  him  well  for  many  years,  says  of  him 
("History  of  Wyoming,-'  appendix,  page  7)  : 
"In  all  his  various  offices  General  Butler  sus- 
tained the  highest  character  for  faithfulness  and 
ability.  No  public  servant  ever  deserved  better 
of  the  public.     If  he  would  not  condescend  to 


flatter  their  prejudices,  he  yet  delighted  all  with 
his  intelligence  and  zeal  to  promote  their  best 
interests.  Decided  in  his  political  opinions  and 
free  in  expressing  them,  his  opponents  said  he 
was  proud.  If  an  unworthy  pride  was  meant, 
the  charge  was  unjust.  He  was  a  man  of  stern 
integrity,  and  lived  and  died  highly  respected 
and  esteemed,  while  in  the  family  and  social 
circle  he  was  justly  and  tenderly  loved.  He  was. 
always  and  everywhere  the  gentleman."  He 
died  at  his  home  in  Wilkes-Barre,  March  3, 
1824. 

Lord  Butler  was  married  May  30,  1786,  to- 
Mary  Peirce,  born  October,  1763,  died  October 
28,  1834,  third  child  of  Abel  and  Ruth  (Shep- 
pard)  Peirce,  originally  of  Plainfield,  Windham 
county,  Connecticut,  and  later  of  Wyoming  val- 
ley, Pennsylvania. 

Abel  Peirce  (Ezekiel,  Timothy,  Thomas, 
Thomas,  Thomas,  Massachusetts,  1634),  born 
at  Plainfield,  Connecticut,  December  15,  1736, 
was  the  eldest  child  of  Maj.  Ezekiel  and  Lois 
(Stevens)  Peirce,  and  the  grandson  of  Judge 
and  Col.  Timothy  Peirce,  of  Plainfield,  and 
his  second  wife  Hannah  Bradhurst.  Maj. 
Ezekiel  Peirce  was  one  of  the  original  members 
of  the  Susquehanna  Company  previously  men- 
tioned, and  was  one  of  the  original  settlers  at 
Wyoming  under  the  auspices  of  that  company 
in  1762  and  1763.  Upon  the  organization  of 
the  town  of  Westmoreland,  March  1,  1774.  he 
was  elected  town  clerk  and  recorder  of  deeds 
in  and  for  the  new  town.  This  office  he  held 
until  1777  or  1778.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  Connecticut  militia, 
previously  mentioned,  and  was  a  survivor  of  the 
battle  of  Wyoming.  He  died  at  his  home  in 
Kingston  township  in  1779  or  1780.  Abel  Peirce, 
the  first  above  mentioned,  was  one  of  the  origi- 
nal Connecticut  settlers  at  Wyoming  in  1762- 
and  '63.  He  next  came  to  the  valley  in  May, 
1769,  in  the  company  of  settlers  led  by  Maj. 
John  Durkee.  Subsequently  he  settled  in 
Kingston,  and  was  constable  _of  that  township 
in  1772.  He  served  in  the  Plainfield,  Connecti- 
cut, "Lexington  Alarm  Party"  while  on  a  visit 
there,  April  20,  1775.    He  was  a  justice  of  the 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


53 


peace  in  Kingston  1781-1782.  He  was  mar- 
ried about  1757  to  Ruth  (born  1733,  died  1820), 
daughter  of  Lieut.  Isaac  and  Dorothy  (Pren- 
tice) Sheppard,  of  Plainfield.  Abel  Peirce  died 
at  his  home  in  Kingston,  May  23,  1814,  and  was 
survived  by  his  wife  and  two  daughters,  the 
younger  daughter  being  Mrs.  Lord  Butler,  and 
the  elder  being  the  second  wife  of  Capt.  Daniel 
Hoyt,  of  Kingston.  Chester  Peirce,  the  only 
son  of  Abel  and  Ruth  (Sheppard)  Peirce,  was 
killed  by  the  Pennamites  in  a  skirmish  in 
Plymouth  township,  July  20,  1784.  Lord  and 
Mary  (Peirce)  Butler  had  the  following-named 
children,  all  born  in  Wilkes-Barre.  Pennsylvania : 

1.  Louisa,  born  February  23,  1787,  died  De- 
cember 17,  1787. 

2.  Peirce,  born  January  27,  1789,  of  whom 
later. 

3.  Houghton,  born  November  8,  1791,  died 
October  3,  1807. 

4.  Sylvina  Peirce,  born  March  5,  1794,  died 
March  28,  1824;  married  June,  181 1  (as  his  first 
wife)  to  Garrick  Mallery,  born  at  Middlebury, 
Connecticut,  April  17,  1784,  died  at  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  July  6,  1866.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mal- 
lery were  the  parents  of  five  children. 

5.  John  Lord,  born  February  9,  1796;  mar- 
ried, November  9,  1826,  to  Cornelia  Richards, 
born  December,  1801,  died  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
July  12,  1887 :  daughter  of  Capt.  Samuel  and 
Sarah  (Welles)  Richards,  of  Farmington,  Con- 
necticut. Captain  Richards  died,  Wilkes-Barre, 
August  4,  1858.  John  L.  and  Cornelia  (Rich- 
ards) Butler  were  the  parents  of  two  sons  and 
two  daughters.  Sarah  Richards  Butler  married, 
June  3,  1857,  Hon.  Stanley  Woodward.  (See 
Woodward  Family.) 

6.  Chester  Peirce,  born  March  21,  1798; 
married  January,  1829,  Mrs.  Sarah  (Hollen- 
back)'  Cist,  born  July  1,  1789,  died  August  1, 
1854,  daughter  of  Judge  Matthias  Hollenback 
and  the  widow  of  Jacob  Cist,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
Chester  Peirce  Butler  represented  the  counties 
of  Luzerne  and  Columbia,  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
thirtieth  and  thirty-first  congresses.  He  died  in 
Philadelphia,  October  5,   1850.     He  had  George 


Hollenback    Butler,    born    September    22,    1829, 
died  March   16,  1863. 

7.  Ruth  Ann,  born  January  11,  1801,  died 
July  31,  1879;  married  December  17,  1823,  to 
John  N.  Conyngham,  born  December  17,  1798, 
died  February  23,  1871.  (See  Conyngham  Fam- 
ily.) 

8.  Zebulon,  born  September  27,  1803,  died 
Port  Gibson,  Mississippi,  December  23,  i860; 
married  November  12,  1829,  to  Mary  Ann  Mur- 
dock.  He  was  a  clergyman  at  Port  Gibson  for 
a  number  of  years. 

9.  Lord  Nelson,  born  October  18,  1805 ; 
married  February,  1832,  to  Abi  W.  Slocum,  born 
1808,  died  March,  1887,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Sarah  (Fell)  Slocum  and  granddaughter  of 
Judge  Jesse  Fell,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr.  Butler 
died  November  27,  1861.     (See  Fell  Family.) 

10.  Phebe  Haight,  born  January  16,  181 1, 
died  July,  1879:  married,  1835,  to  Dr.  Alexan- 
der C.  Donaldson,  of  California. 

Peirce  Butler,  eldest  son  of  Gen.  Lord  But- 
ler and  Polly  (Peirce)  Butler,  born  January  27, 
1789,  died  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  March  30, 
1848,  was  a  farmer  and  lived  in  Kingston,  Penn- 
sylvania. "He  was  possessed  of  an  uncommon 
share  of  native  good  sense  and  sound  discrim- 
inating judgment,  a  happy,  benevolent  disposi- 
tion. Few  men  ever  had  fewer  enemies,  and 
none  ever  had  warmer  and  more  sincere  friends." 
He  married,  February  2,  1818,  Temperance  Colt, 
born  December  2.J,  1790,  died  May  10,  1863, 
daughter  and  eldest  child  of  Arnold  Colt,  of 
Lyme,  Connecticut,  and  Wyoming,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  his  wife,  Lucinda  Yarrington.  Children 
of  Peirce  and  Temperance  (Colt)  Butler:  1. 
Houghton  Seymour,  born  December  15.  1818, 
died  August  22,  1870;  married  to  Caroline 
Amanda  Meyer,  March  18,  1847.  2-  Mary  Lu- 
cinda, born  January  13,  1822,  died  November 
21,  1897;  married  to  Elijah  W.  Reynolds,  No- 
vember 21,  1842.  3.  James  Montgomery,  born 
February  9,  1826,  died  December  9,  1861,  of 
whom  later.  4.  Peirce,  jr.,  born  October  13, 
1832;  married  to  Catherine  A.   Kelley,  January 

17.  I855- 


54 


THE    WYOMING    .VXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


James  Montgomery  Butler,  third  child  and 
second  son  of  Peirce  Butler  and  Temperance 
(Colt)  Butler,  was  born  in  Kingston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, February  9,  1826,  died  there  December  9, 
1861 ;  married,  March  18,  1852,  Martha  Lazarus, 
born  September  28,  1832,  daughter  of  John  and 
Polly  (Drake)  Lazarus.  Mrs.  Butler's  ances- 
tor, John  Lazarus,  born  1796.  in  Northampton 
county,  died  December  14,  1879,  was  son  of 
George  Lazarus  and  Mary  Hartzell,  and  early 
in  1800  removed  from  Northampton  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Hanover  township, 
Luzerne  county.  George  Lazarus  was  of  Ger- 
man descent,  and  was  born  in  Northampton 
county  in  1761,  died  in  1844.  Evidently  he  was 
a  man  of  means,  as  in  1818  he  purchased  his 
farm  in  Hanover  township  of  Matthias  Hollen- 
back.  He  became  the  sole  owner  of  469  acres 
of  land,  being  all  of  certified  lot  number  five  and 
a  part  of  certified  lot  number  six  in  the  first  di- 
vision of  Hanover  township ;  the  former  lot  be- 
ing- known  as  "Hvde  Park"  and  the  latter  as 
"Southampton."  James  Montgomery  and  Mar- 
tha (Lazarus)  Butler  had:  1.  Blanche  Mont- 
gomery, born  April  27,  1853,  died  September 
19,  1869.  2.  Peirce,  born  March  31,  1855,  lives 
in  Dorranceton,  Pennsylvania.  3.  George  Hol- 
lenback,  born  September  2,  1857,  of  whom  later. 
4.  John  Lord,  born  March  18,  i860,  died  Sep- 
tember 13,  1880.  5.  James  Montgomery,  born 
May  23,  1862. 

George  Hollenback  Butler,  third  child  and 
second  son  of  James  Montgomery  Butler  and 
his  wife,  Martha  (Lazarus)  Butler,  was  born 
in  Kingston  township  September  2,  1857 ;  mar- 
ried May  8,  1890,  Gertrude  Taylor  Stoddard, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Marshall  Stoddard  and  his 
wife,  Eliza  Fahnestock.  He  was  educated  in 
the  select  schools  of  W.  S._  Parsons  and  W.  R. 
Kingman,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  also  in  Wyoming 
Seminary,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  He  read  law 
with  Edwin  P.  and  J.  Araughan  Darling,  of 
'Wilkes-Barre,  was  admitted  to  the  Luzerne  bar 
June  6.  1 88 1,  and  since  that  time  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
maintaining,  however,  a  home  in  Dorranceton. 
Mr.  Butler  is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Com- 


memorative Association  and  its  corresponding 
secretary  and  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  So- 
ciety Sons  of  the  Revolution.  He  is  a  director 
and  the  secretary  of  the  Central  Poor  District 
of  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Butler 
is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  Chapter  of 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  by 
right  of  descent  from  Lieut.  Isaac  Ashton,  sec- 
ond lieutenant  of  artillery.  Philadelphia,  1777. 
She  is  also  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  So- 
ciety of  the  Colonial  Dames  of  America  by  right 
of  descent  from  George  Mifflin,  of  the  Common 
Council  of  Philadelphia,  1730.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
George  H.  Butler  had  the  following  children : 
1.  John  Lord,  born  December  28,  1892.  2. 
Georgene  Gilbert,  born  September  26,  1894.  3. 
Gertrude  Stoddart,  born  September  26,  1894, 
died  October  6,  1895.  H.  E.  H. 

RICHARD  SHARPE,  (5),  (1813-1895), 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  at  Langham, 
Rutlandshire,  England,  April  10,  1813,  of  Rich- 
ard (4)  and  Mary  A.  (Swingler)  Sharpe.  de- 
scendant from  Richard  Sharpe  (1),  of  Lang- 
ham  (born  1691,  died  1757),  who  owned  land 
"in  fee  and  copy  hold."  From  him,  and  his  wife 
Elizabeth  Williamson  (1690-1765)  the  line  of 
descent  is  traced  through  their  son  William  (2), 
(1723-53)  and  his  wife  Rachel  Wate  (1721-51) 
through  their  son  Richard  (3),  (1751-85)  and 
his  wife  Sarah  Chester  (1754-1823)  and  con- 
tinuing through  their  son  Richard  (4),  (1781- 
1836)  and  his  first  wife,  Mary  A.  Swingler, 
(1787-1822),  daughter  of  Robert  and  Ann 
(Flavel)  Swingler,  and  granddaughter  of  John 
and  Margery  Flavel.1 


*  In  a  volume  called  "The  Norman  People  and 
their  Existing  Descendants  in  the  British  Dominions 
and  the  United  States  of  America,"  published  in  Lon- 
don in  1874,  we  find  mention  as  among  those  who 
crossed  the  English  Channel  and  "helped  to  build  the 
wonderfully  energetic  Anglo-Norman  and  Anglo-Saxon 
races,  the  names  of  Roger  Sharpe,  of  Poinant,  Nor- 
mandy, 1 180:  Roger  Sharpe,  1198;  Richard  and  Hugo 
Sharpe,  1272."  This  family  name  thenceforth  appears 
in  the  old  records  of  Lincolnshire,  Leicestershire,  Kent, 
Rutlandshire  and  Yorkshire.  In  the  Yorkshire  records, 
of  the  town  of  Bradford  the  name  occurs  as  earlv  as. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


55 


Richard  Sharpe  (5),  and  his  brother  Wil- 
liam (5)  came  to  this  country  with  their  father 
Richard  Sharpe  (4),  and  his  second  wife,  sail- 
ing from  Liverpool  in  December,  1826,  cabin 
passengers  in  the  ship  "Sarah  Ralston,"  landing 
in  Philadelphia  in  January,  1827.  Soon  after 
their  arrival  the  family  came  to  the  Wyoming 
Valley,  where  they  bought  a  farm  and  made  their 
home.  Articles  of  personal  property  and  inven- 
tories still  in  possession  of  the  family  show  it  to 
be  one  of  ancient  lineage.  Among  the  books, 
some  of  them  inherited  through  several  genera- 
tions, were  included  'An  Exposition  of  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles,"  published  1699;  Milton, 
Virgil,  "The  Spectator,"  Pope,  Cowper,  Johnson's 
Dictionary,  Latin  Grammar,  Mythology,  works 
on  ancient  and  modern  history  and  philosophy, 
Chesterfield's  Letters,  Bruce's  Travels,  Newton's 
Letters,  etc.  Mr.  Sharpe  (4)  made  a  short  visit  to 
England  for  the  purpose  of  selling  some  lands 
which  he  held  there   in   fee  and  copyhold.     He 


the  fourteenth  century,  various  bearers  of  that  name 
having  been  set  down  as  owning  property  and  paying 
taxes.  No  less  than  ninety-two  wills  bearing  the  name 
of  Sharpe, and  dated  between  1601  and  1602,  are  still 
preserved  among  the  venerable  records  of  York,  Eng- 
land ;  and  the  given  names  of  Richard,  Thomas,  John 
and  William  are  still  to  be  found  throughout  these 
old  documents,  generation  after  genration.  In  the 
"Valor  Ecclesias"  made  between  April,  1634,  and  April, 
1635,  is  the  name  of  Thomas  Sharpe,  incumbent  of 
Rothwell,  near  Ledshan.  In  1605  the  records  bear  the 
name  of  Richard  Sharpe  de  Ledshan,  later  those  of 
John  Sharpe,  1644-1713,  archbishop  of  York  and  primate 
of  England,  and  those  of  his  son  Thomas  Sharpe,  1693- 
1758,  archdeacon  of  Northumberland  and  prebendary  of 
the  cathedral  and  collegiate  churches  of  York,  South- 
well, and  Durham,  and  also  of  his  grandsons  (sons  of 
Thomas),  John  Sharpe,  1723-92,  who  was  prebendary 
of  Durham,  archdeacon  of  Northumberland  and  vicar 
of  Hartburn ;  Thomas  Sharpe,  D.  D.,  curate  of  Ban- 
borough  ;  William  Sharpe,  of  Fulham  House,  an  emi- 
nent surgeon  1728-1810;  Granville  Sharpe,  1735-1813 
"to  whom  England  owes  the  glorious  verdict  of  her 
highest  court  of  law,  that  the  slave  who  sets  his  foot 
on  British  soil  becomes  at  that  instant  free."  The  old 
town  of  Bradford  twice  suffered  siege  during  the  civil 
wars,  and  most  of  the  old  records,  excepting  some 
registers  were  lost  or  destroyed.  It  was  during  one 
of  these  investments  that  John  Sharpe  earned  the  title 
of  "The  Hero  of   Bradford." 


became  identified  with  St.  Stephen's  Church  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  of  which  the  Rev.  James  May  was 
then  rector,  and  in  1834  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  vestry.  Other  members  at  this  time  were 
Judge  David  Scott,  Judge  John  N.  Conyngham, 
Judge  William  S.  Ross,  Henry  F.  Lamb,  Nathan- 
iel Rutter,  William  B.  Norton,  Thomas  H.  Mor- 
gan, Houghton  B.  Robinson,  Hendrick  B. 
Wright,  E.  W.  Sturdevant,  Judge  George  W. 
Woodward.  The  son,  Richard  Sharpe  (5),  in 
after  years  became  a  vestryman  and  warden  of 
the  same  parish,  and  the  other  son,  William,  be- 
came one  of  the  founders,  a  vestryman  and 
warden  of  St.  Clement's  parish.  The  latter  died 
in  Wilkes-Barre  in  August,  1872,  leaving  a 
widow,  a  son  William,  and  four  daughters. 
Richard  Sharpe  (4),  died  September  16,  1836, 
his  second  wife  and  five  daughters  surviving 
him. 

In  1838,  the  second  year  after  his  father's 
death,  the  son  Richard  Sharpe  (5),  went  to  Sum- 
mit Hill,  Carbon  county,  where  later  he  embarked 
in  an  active  career  as  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the 
anthracite  coal  trade.  He  formed  a  partnership 
in  1845  with  Ira  Courtright,  George  Belford  and 
John  Leisenring,  and  some  time  later  Francis 
Weiss  was  taken  into  the  firm  and  still  later, 
Asa  Foster.  This  firm  in  1853  undertook  the 
mining  of  coal  in  Foster  township,  Luzerne 
county,  on  lands  leased  from  the  Tench  Coxe 
estate.  Their  colliery  was  named  "Council 
Ridge,"  from  a  tradition  that  Indian  tribes  had 
held  their  councils  there,  and  the  village  which 
grew  up  was  called  Eckley.  The  lease  under 
which  this  firm  was  operating  expired  in  Decem- 
ber, 1874,  Mr.  Sharpe  having  then  been  identi- 
fied with  the  coal  mining  industry  for  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  This  period  of  primitive 
methods  in  an  industry  which  became  later  so 
enormously  developed  would  furnish  a  story  of 
unusual  interest.  After  closing  the  business  at 
Eckley  in  1874,  Mr.  Sharpe  made  his  home  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  continued  to  live  until 
his  death,  April  21,  1895.  Having  had  a  suc- 
cessful career,  he  was  minded  to  retire  from  ac- 
tive business.  In  1881,  however,  Mr.  Sharpe 
and  his  former  partner  Francis  Weiss  deemed  it 


56 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


advisable  to  lease  certain  lands  purchased  by 
them  in  1863  to  the  proposed  Alden  Coal  Com- 
pany. The  tract  was  situated  in  Newport  town- 
ship, Luzerne  county,  and  in  this  operating  com- 
pany Mr.  Sharpe  and  Mr.  Weiss  took  a  large 
share  of  the  capital  stock,  as  well  as  an  active 
interest  in  the  management  of  its  affairs.  Thus 
it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Sharpe's  experience  in 
the  conduct  of  matters  connected  with  the  de- 
velopment and  mining  of  anthracite  coal  extended 
over  half  a  century,  from  the  early  beginning 
to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  president  of 
the  Alden  Coal  Company  and  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley  Manufacturing  Company,  a  director  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  direc- 
tor in  the  Vulcan  Iron  Works,  vice-president  of 
the  City  Hospital,  trustee  of  the  Home  for  the 
Friendless,  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society,  and  identified  with 
other  organizations. 

His  extended  experience  in  methods  of  coal 
mining,  his  ready  mind,  his  impressive  person- 
alis that  gained  confidence  and  held  respect, 
naturallv  made  Mr.  Sharpe's  counsel  much 
sought,  and  the  kindness  and  readiness  with  which 
he  responded  gained  him  many  a  life  long  friend. 
He  was  a  business  man  of  fine  attainments  and 
large  sagacity.  His  path  was  not  a  royal  road 
to  wealth.  The  wilderness  had  to  be  conquered, 
and  the  methods  then  used  in  coal  mining  were 
necessarily  primitive.  He  possessed  to  a  remark- 
able degree  the  qualities  of  patience,  industry, 
perseverance  and  courage,  and  these  stood  him 
in  good  stead  in  times  when  he,  with  the  business 
world  in  general,  had  reason  to  feel  apprehensive 
as  to  results.  His  business  career  throughout 
shows  his  fine  traits  of  faithfulness  and  determ- 
ination. It  also  shows  a  healthy,  fair,  upright 
spirit,  regardful  always  of  the  rights  of  others, 
with  a  resolute  purpose  never  swayed  by  trick 
or  scheme  or  flimsy  methods  or  creation  of  ficti- 
tious values.  Whatever  Richard  Sharpe  en- 
gaged in  was  undertaken  honestly  and  carried 
through  with  an  unsullied  personal  integrity. 
Though  his  business  career  was  a  successful  one, 
the  acquisition  of  a  fortune  was  never  to  him  a 
controlling  ambition.    His  horizon  was  widened 


by  culture  and  a  philanthropic  spirit.  His  gen- 
erous inclination  to  befriend  needy  individuals 
and  to  contribute  to  benevolent  enterprises  went 
hand  in  hand  with  his  increasing  ability  to  exer- 
cise the  same.  Alive  to  the  spiritual  and  social 
as  well  as  the  material  welfare  of  his  employee.--, 
he  was  largely  instrumental  in  the  erection  of 
church  edifices  and  buildings  for  their  recreation. 
So  strong  was  his  personal  following  that  after 
the  operation  of  the  Alden  Coal  Company  had 
begun,  in  1881,  there  were  among  the  employees 
the  children  and  even  grandchildren  of  former 
Summit  Hill  "and  Eckley  operatives. 

He  was  baptized  in  infancy  in  the  ancient 
church  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  Langham, 
England,  in  the  shadow  of  which  his  forefathers 
for  generations  lie  buried.  It  was  at  the  sug- 
gestion of  Mr.  Sharpe  and  with  his  liberal  assist- 
ance that  this  church,  a  fine  specimen  of  ecclesi- 
astical architecture  dating  from  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, was  restored  1874-75.  A  tablet  upon  its 
walls  bears  record  of  this  fact.  After  taking  up 
his  residence  in  Wilkes-Barre  he  became  actively 
interested  and  identified  with  St.  Stephen's  par- 
ish. Rev.  Henry  L.  Jones,  S.  T.  D.,  rector,  and 
like  his  father  he  became  a  vestryman,  as  al- 
ready noted,  afterward  a  warden,  this  close 
relationship  continuing  until  his  death.  His 
identification  with  the  Episcopal  church  was 
throughout  his  life  strongly  marked.  He  loved 
his  church  and  showed  this  in  many  ways  by 
taking  his  share  of  the  burdens  of  maintenance, 
by  sitting  in  its  councils,  by  faithful,  remarkably 
faithful  attendance  at  its'  services.  More  than 
this,  he  was  familiar  with  the  Church's  history 
and  with  the  history  and  significance  of  its  liturgy 
and  doctrine.  As  a  sequence  of  his  churchman- 
ship,  there  was  revealed  one  of  the  finest  traits 
of  his  character,  his  giving,  which  was  generous 
and  timely  always,  and  yet  utterly  without  osten- 
tation. Here  was  exemplified  the  true  spirit  of 
charity.  It  is  to  such  like  examples  of  honor 
and  industry,  of  open-handed  generosity,  wide 
comprehension  of  the  duties  of  the  citizen,  of 
the  husband  and  father  and  churchman,  that  we 
must  look  for  the  inspiration  of  generations  to 
follow.     At   the    time    of   his   death   his   rector. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


57 


Rev.  Dr.  Henry  L.  Jones,  who  had  known  him 
long  and  intimately,  remarked:  "Throughout 
a  long  life,  whose  duties  have  been  performed 
with  conscientious,  but  with  unostentatious  fidel- 
ity, he  has  been  found  worthy  of  love  and  honor. 
We  celebrate  a  triumph,  not  a  defeat — a  life  per- 
fected. The  grief  of  those  who  knew  him  best 
in  his  most  fitting  memorial ;  their  sorrow  his 
sweetest  praise.  Gentle  and  loving  in  the  family ; 
in  the  relations  of  business  marked  by  strict 
integrity  and  kindly  interest  in  those  employed 
hy  him,  in  all  efforts  for  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity prompt  and  generous  in  response — all 
these  he  was.  Surrounded  by  those  nearest  to 
him,  their  loving  ministrations  soothing  his  dying 
pillow — unfaltering  faith  in  the  promises  of  the 
Gospel  sustained  him  when  heart  and  flesh  were 
failing.  As  a  little  child  he  placed  his  hand  in 
that  of  the  Heavenly  father  and  passed  to  his 
reward." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  one  interested 
in  so  many  of  the  avenues  of  religious,  charit- 
able and  business  matters  who  could  mointain 
throughout  the  years  a  more  absolutely  unobstru- 
sive  spirit.  He  was  endowed  with  great  per- 
sonal force,  and  not  less  remarkable  because  so 
quiet,  self-contained  and  perfectly  under  con- 
trol. His  face,  which  could  shine  with  rare  sweet- 
ness, was  an  index  of  much  in  his  character — 
a  character  eminenty  noble  and  dignified. 
These  qualities  were  recognized  by  his  casual 
as  well  as  his  closest  friends,  as  indicated  in  their 
attitude  of  deference  and  respect.  And  that  he, 
on  the  other  hand,  gladly  yielded  the  homage 
due  from  him  to  others,  is  shown  in  his  life- 
long love  and  reverence  for  the  memory  of  his 
own  father  and  mother.  Possessed  of  a  familiar 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  a  carefully  nurtured 
love  of  good  books,  he  gradualy  stored  his 
library  with  works  of  literary  value.  He  de- 
lighted in  the  English  classics,  was  familiar  with 
them,  and  from  a  well  stored  mind  he  could 
recite  many  a  gem  of  prose  and  verse.  He  had 
a  rare  sense  of  humor,  and  the  merry  twinkling 
of  his  eye  and  the  lighting  up  of  ris  face  revealed 
"his  appreciation  of  pure  wholesome  merriment, 
hut  his  quiet  dignity  never  unbent  to  innuendo 


or  expletive  or  unseemly  jest.  He  had,  more- 
over, a  keen  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  in  na- 
ture and  found  great  diversion  in  the  cultivation 
of  trees  and  flowers,  and  frequently  sought  re- 
creation and  entertainment  in  travel. 

On  September  22,  1847,  Richard  Sharpe  mar- 
ried Sally  Patterson,  born  in  Huntington  town- 
ship, Luzerne  county,  June  27,  1819,  died  in 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  June  14,  1905  :  her  re- 
mains were  interred  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, June  17th.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Patterson,-  born  near  Londonderry,  Ireland,  July 
7.  1775.  died  April  29,  1844,  and  of  his  wife 
Mary  Denison.  born  January  2,  1779,  married 
January  2,  1802,  died  June  10,  1858,  daughter 
of  Colonel  Nathan  and  Elizabeth  Sill  Denison. 

Colonel  Nathan  Denison  commanded  the  left 
wing  of  the  patriot  forces  at  Wyoming,  July  3, 
1778:  born  September  17,  1740,  died  January 
25,  1S09,  member  of  committee  of  correspond- 
ence, 1775:  member  Connecticut  Assembly,  1776, 
1778,  1779  and  1780,  member  executive  council, 
Philadelphia,  1787;  associate  judge,  1798;  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Sill,  of  Wyoming  Valley,  born 
November  22,  1750,  died  April  27,  1812. 

Mary  Denison,  eighth  in  descent  from  Elder 
William  Brewster,  of  Cambridge  University, 
England,  who  drafted  in  the  cabin  of  the  May- 
flower the  first  written  constitution  of  the  Eng- 
lish settlers  in  America ;  also  eighth  in  descent 
from  John  and  Agnes  Denison  of  Stratford,  Eng- 
land, through  Captain  George  Denison  and  Anna 
Borodell.     (See  Denison  Family). 

There  were  born  to  Richard  and  Sally  (Pat- 
terson) Sharpe  one  son,  Richard,  Ph.  B.,  Vale, 
1875  ;  and  six  daughters :  Mary  A. ;  Elizabeth 
Montgomery;  Emily,  died  January  30,  1870: 
Sallie ;  also  a  daughter  who  died  an  infant,  Oc- 
tober 29,  1857;  and  Martha.  Of  these,  Richard 
married  Margaret  W.  Johnston,  daughter  of 
Colonel  William  Preston  Johnston  and  his  wife. 


2.  Thomas  Patterson,  son  of  Ezekiel  and  Eliza- 
beth (Smiley)  Patterson,  who  were  married  in  1761. 
and  grandson  of  Archibald  and  Martha  (Colbert)  Pat- 
terson, who  were  married  in  1728,  also  grandson  of 
Archibald  and  Alleveah  (Montgomery)  Smiley,  who 
were  married  in  1738. 


5§ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Rosa  Duncan,  and  grandaughter  of  General 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston;  and  Martha  married 
Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  LL.  D.,  son  of  Hon. 
John  Randolph  Tucker,  LL.  D.,  of  Virginia. 
The  children  of  Richard  and  Margaret  (John- 
ston) Sharpe  are  Rosa  D.,  Elizabeth  M.,  died 
April  15,  1900,  Caroline  J.,  Margaret  J.,  and 
Richard  (7).  H.  E.  H- 

DORRANCE  FAMILY.  Rev.  Samuel  Dor- 
rance, a  "Scotch  Presbyterian  lately  arrived  from 
Ireland,  a  graduate  of  Glasgow  University,  li- 
censed to  preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Dumbar- 
ton, and  bringing  with  him  satisfactory  testi- 
monials of  his  ministerial  character  and  stand- 
ing from  several  associations  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland."  Thus  the  eminent  man  is  mentioned 
in  the  "History  of  Windham  County,  Connecti- 
cut." 

The  early  historv  of  the  Dorrance  family  in 
New  England  says  that  on  April  17,  1723,  the 
people  of  Voluntown,  in  the  Connecticut  colony, 
called  Rev.  Samuel  Dorrance  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel in  that  town,  at  a  salary  of  £60  per  year,  "for 
the  present,"  and  £50  in  such  species  suitable  to 
promote  his  building  and  settling.  At  the  same 
time  the  people  who  extended  the  call,  "as  a 
special  token  of  their  love  and  goodness,"  in  or- 
der to  provide  their  new  minister  with  a  com- 
fortable place  of  abode,  presented  him  with  "five 
thousand  shingles,  three  pounds  money  in  shingle 
nails,  five  pounds  in  work,  three  pounds  in  boards 
and  plank,  two  hundred  clapboards,  breaking  up 
two  acres  of  land,  a  cow  and  a  calf." 

The  Voluntown  church  was  the  first  perma- 
nent and  for  a  long  time  the  only  Presbyterian 
church  in  Connecticut.  It  was  proposed  to  cel- 
ebrate the  ordination  of  Mr.  Dorrance  on  Oc- 
tober 23,  1723,  and  to  that  end  letters  were  sent 
to  the  ministers  in  New  London,  Canterbury, 
Preston,  Plainfield,  and  Killingly,  inviting  them 
to  join  in  the  ceremony  on  that  occasion ;  but  be- 
fore the  day  set  for  the  ordination  the  feelings 
of  many  of  the  townpeople  had  been  swayed  by 
conflicting  emotions,  and  they  became  divided  in 
opinion  respecting  the  settling  of  Mr.  Dorrance 
as  their  pastoral  head  and  spiritual  guide.     He 


had  been  followed  into  Voluntown  by  several 
families  of  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians,  and  who 
also  had  accompanied  him  to  New  England  at 
the  time  of  his  immigration.  They  not  only  set- 
tled round  him,  but  bought  lands,  and  as  they 
were  an  industrious  people  they  soon  began  to 
prosper  and  improve  their  condition.  There 
were  among  them  men  of  excellent  character,  but 
in  the  estimation  of  the  older  settlers  they  were 
foreigners  and  were  regarded  with  suspicion,  and 
some  objections  were  made  to  Mr.  Dorrance's 
ordination.  Notwithstanding,  Mr.  Dorrance 
was  duly  ordained  on  December  23,  1723,  and 
soon  afterward  the  prejudice  which  had  swayed 
the  minds  of  his  opponents  were  swept  away, 
and  the  Scotch-Irish  minister  at  Voluntown  won 
by  his  works  the  affections  of  all  its  people,  and 
was  the  spiritual  head  of  the  church  in  that  town 
until  his  death,  November  12,  1775. 

Rev.  Samuel  Dorrance  had  five  sons  and  one 
daughter.  Of  the  sons  Lemuel  remained  in  Vol- 
untown, and  served  in  the  Revolutionary  army ; 
Samuel  settled  in  Coventry,  Rhode  Island :  James 
removed  to  Brooklyn  parish,  and  also  served  in 
the  Revolutionary  army,  and  John  and  George 
settled  in  the  Wyoming  valley  on  lands  held  by 
the  family  unto  the  present  time. 

John  Dorrance,  son  of  Rev.  Samuel,  born 
1733,  died  single  July,  1804.  He  was  the  defen- 
dant party  in  the  famous  test  case  between  the 
Pennamites  and  the  Yankees  over  the  validity 
of  the  Connecticut  titles,  the  action  being  entitled 
"Van  Horne,  lessee,  vs.  Dorrance,"  which  was 
made  the  subject  of  exhaustive  review  by  the  late 
Governor  Hoyt.  He  is  said  to  have  returned  to 
Voluntown,  where  much  of  his  later  life  was 
spent. 

Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Dorrance,  son  of 
Rev.  Samuel  Dorrance,  was  one  of  the  notable 
characters  in  Wyoming  valley  history.  He  was 
born  March  4,  1736,  died  July  4,  1778,  the  day 
following  the  tragic  affair  at  Wyoming,  when, 
a  prisoner  and  weakened  by  sufferings  and  a  se- 
vere wound,  his  captors  killed  him.  As  he  had 
lived,  so  George  Dorrance  died — a  hero  and  a 
patriot.  He  appears  to  have  been  made  the 
especial  object  of  savage  vengeance,  for  he  had 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


59 


led  various  armed  parties  against  the  Indians 
and  Tories,  and  had  succeeded  in  dispersing 
them.  In  1777  he  led  a  company  of  eighty  men 
against  one  of  their  camps  on  the  Wyalusing 
and  put  them  to  rout.  As  lieutenant  colonel  he 
commanded  the  American  left  wing  under  Colo- 
nel Denison,  July  3,  1778,  and  it  was  he  who  gave 
that  famous  order,  "stand  up  to  your  work,  sir," 
when  one  of  his  men  showed  signs  of  faltering. 
He  appears  as  a  private  in  Captain  Hall's  com- 
pany, Major  Backus 's  regiment  of  light  horse, 
Connecticut  troops,  with  Lemuel  and  James  in 
1776,  but  in  October,  1775,  he  was  commissioned 
by  the  Assembly  lieutenant  in  the  second  com- 
pany of  the  Twenty-fourth  regiment  of  Connec- 
ticut militia  for  Wyoming.  He  was  promoted 
major  of  same  regiment,  succeeding  Major  Will- 
iam Judd,  May,  1777,  and  lieutenant  colonel, 
succeeding  Lazarus  Stewart,  October,  1777,  and 
was  serving  in  that  rank  until  July  3,  1778.  He 
was  the  founder  of  the  Dorrance  family  in  the 
Wyoming  valley  in  Pennsylvania. 

Family  traditions  state  that  Colonel  Dorrance 
was  twice  married ;  some  authorities  say  that  his 
children  were  born  of  his  first  marriage,  others 
believe  that  he  had  issue  by  both  wives ;  and 
there  has  always  been  some  uncertainty  as  to  the 
names  of  his  wives.  Elizabeth  Fish  has  been 
mentioned  as  his  first  wife,  and  so  has  the  name 
of  Miss  Murphy.  His  daughter  Mary  married 
Stephen  Buckingham,  and  died  at  the  birth  of 
her  first  child  Mary,  who  married  Samuel  Sut- 
ton, youngest  son  of  pioneer  James  Sutton ;  and 
this  Mary  Sutton  once  said  to  Colonel  Charles 
Dorrance  that  the  first  wife  of  his  grandfather 
was  a  Miss  Murphy.  Kulp  says  he  was  twice 
married,  and  had  two  daughters  by  his  first 
wife  and  three  sons  by  his  second  wife — Robert, 
Gershom  and  Benjamin — and  that  Elizabeth,  the 
second  wife,  subsequently  married  Ensign  Jabez 
Fish,  who  was  at  the  battle  at  Wyoming  and  es- 
caped ;  that  Robert  served  in  the  company  of  Cap- 
tain Samuel  Ransom  until  the  close  of  the  war, and 
afterward  was  killed  in  the  western  armv, Novem- 
ber 4,  1791,  at  St.  Clair's  defeat;  that  Gershom 
went  back  to  the  old  home  in  Voluntown ;  and 
that    Benjamin   was   the   youngest   of   the   three 


sons.  Another  account  gives  the  names  of  the 
daughters  as  Elizabeth,  who  married  a  Whit- 
ney ;  Susanna,  who  married  Samuel  Tubbs ;  and 
Polly  (or  Mary)  who  married  Stephen  Buck- 
ingham. 

Colonel  Benjamin  Dorrance,  youngest  son  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Dorrance,  born  in 
Voluntown,  1767,  was  a  child  when  his  father's 
family  removed  to  the  Wyoming  valley  and  set- 
tled in  the  locality  where  he  afterward  lived,  and 
which  has  since  been  called  "Dorranceton."  Colo- 
nel Benjamin  was  in  Forty  Fort  at  the  time  of  the 
battle  of  Wyoming,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death 
retained  clear  recollections  of  all  that  took  place ; 
hence  he  was  always  regarded  as  an  authority  on 
the  events  of  that  period.  He  possessed  excellent 
business  qualities,  was  thrifty  and  progressive, 
and  was  one  of  the  most  popular  men  of  his  day. 
He  was  elected  sheriff  of  Luzerne  county  in 
1801  ;  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  1808- 
10- 1 2- 14- 1 9-20,  and  again  in  1830;  was  one  of 
the  organizers  and  the  first  president  of  the 
Wyoming  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  also 
a  colonel  in  the  state  militia,  and  generally  was 
so  addressed. 

Colonel  Benjamin  Dorrance  married,  Novem- 
ber 25,  1795,  Nancy  Ann  Buckingham,  born  1767, 
died  February  2,  1834,  daughter  of  Jedediah 
Buckingham  and  his  wife  Martha  Clark.  Jede- 
diah Buckingham  was  a  descendant  of  the  fifth 
generation  of  Thomas  Buckingham,  the  Puritan 
ancestor  of  all  the  American  Buckinghams,  and 
who  was  one  of  the  company  to  which  Eaton  and 
Hopkins,  two  London  merchants,  and  the  two 
ministers,  Davenport  and  Prudden,  belonged. 
This  company  sailed  from  London  in  the  early 
part  of  1637,  and  landed  in  Boston  June  26.  On 
March  30,  1638,  the  company  sailed  for  Quinni- 
pack  (New  Haven)  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut. 
Here  the  name  of  Thomas  Buckingham  appears 
among  the  "Names  of  Planters  and  Division  of 
Lands  according  to  the  estate  and  Heads  of 
Families."  Late  in  1639  Thomas  the  Puritan 
removed  with  his  family  to  Milford,  and  was  one 
of  the  company  who  under  the  pastorate  of  Prud- 
den settled  that  town.  Thomas  also  was  one  of 
the  seven  founders  of  the  church  in  Milford,  a 


6o 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


truly  good  man.  and  a  leader  among  the  settlers. 
His  youngest  son  Thomas,  born  1646.  entered 
the  ministry,  preached  in  Wethersfiekl  in  1664, 
in  Saybrook  in  1665,  and  was  settled  pastor  of 
the  latter  church  from  1769  to  his  death  in  1709. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  followers  of  Yale 
College  from  1700  until  he  died.  Rev.  Thomas' 
wife  was  Hester  Hosmer.  They  had  a  son 
Thomas,  born  September  29,  1670,  married  Mar- 
garet Griswold.  and  who  was  a  prominent  man 
in  town  affairs  and  in  the  church,  and  was  owner 
of  considerable  land  in  Lebanon.  This  Thomas 
and  Margaret  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  January 
24.  1693.  married  Mary  Parker,  and  died  De- 
cember 13,  1760.  He  was  a  seafaring  man,  and, 
like  his  father,  was  a  man  of  consequence.  He 
was  the  father  of  Jedediah,  born  Saybrook,  Jan- 
uary 20,  1727,  died  Columbia,  July  9,  1809 ;  mar- 
ried Martha  Clark,  died  May  20.  1829.  Their 
children  were:  Sarah,  born  1753,  died  in  infancy' 
Thomas,  born  1755;  Joshua  and  Mary  (twins), 
born  1757;  Jedediah  P..  born  1758:  Sarah,  born 
1761 ;  Stephen,  born  1763,  married  (first)  Mary 
Dorrance,  and  (second)  Polly  Brewster:  Esther: 
Martha:  and  Nancy  Anna,  born  1767,  married 
Benjamin  Dorrance. 

Children  of  Colonel  Benjamin  and  Nancy 
Ann  Dorrance :  John  Dorrance,  born  February 
28,  1800,  died  April  1,  1861,  of  whom  see  later; 
Charles  Dorrance.  born  January  4,  1805.  died 
January  18.  1892.  (See  later).  George  Dor- 
Tance.  born  August  30,  1807,  died  April  28,  1814. 

Rev.  John  Dorrance,  D.  D.,  eldest  son  of  Ben- 
jamin Dorrance  and  his  wife  Nancy  Ann  Buck- 
ingham, was  born  Kingston.  February  28,  1800, 
and  died  April  18.  1861.  He  graduated  from 
Princeton  College.  A.  B.,  1823.  and  from  Prince- 
ton Theological  Seminary,  1827,  and  was  or- 
dained November.  1827,  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Mississippi.  He  was  pastor  of  the  Baton  Rouge 
church  from  1827  to  1830,  and  from  183 1  to  1833 
was  settled  over  the  church  at  Wysox,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was.  called  to  the  First  Presbyterian 
church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  1833,  where  he  contin- 
ued until  his  death,  in  April,  1861,  a  period  of 
twenty-eight  years.     Princeton  College  conferred 


on  him  the  degree  of  D.  D.  in  1859.  He  entered 
upon  his  mission  with  great  earnestness  and  res- 
olute purpose :  his  zeal  in  the  work  was  strong 
and  continuous ;  he  strove  to  discharge  his  duty 
as  pastor  of  the  church,  and  to  so  build  up  and 
invigorate  it  that  its  influence  and  power  might 
be  felt  throughout  the  region  in  the  upbuilding 
of  other  churches  and  the  gathering  together  of 
many  congregations. 

He  extended  the  field  of  his  labors  throughout 
the  county,  and  for  a  time  preached  regularly  at 
Xanticoke  and  Newport,  at  regular  intervals  at 
Pittston  and  Providence,  and  at  other  points  in 
the  Lackawanna  valley,  thus  preparing  the  way 
for  other  churches  afterward  established,  in 
Tunkhannock.  in  Falls,  and  in  Providence.  Out 
of  the  latter  subsequentlv  grew  the  churches  at 
Scranton  and  Pittston.  Under  the  auspices  of 
the  mother  church  in  Wilkes-Barre  during  his 
pastorate  the  Wilkes-Barre  Female  Institute  was 
established,  1854,  and  the  construction  of  a  new 
church  building  was  accomplished  in  1849.  Dur- 
ing his  pastorate,  nearly  six  hundred  names  were 
added  to  the  membership  of  the  mother  church. 

Rev.  John  Dorrance  married,  December  6, 
1827,  Penelope  Mercer,  died  January  7,  i860. 
They  had  children : 

1.  Anna  Mary,  born  Kingston,  November 
20,  1825,  died  January  18,  1833. 

2.  Frances  Gertrude,  born  January  23,  1830, 
died  June  15,  1855:  married.  October  27,  1852, 
John  Colt  Beaumont,  commander  in  United  States 
navy.      (See  Beaumont  family). 

3.  Benjamin  Charles,  born  November  8. 
1832 ;  entered  the  ministry ;  died  unmarried  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1859. 

4.  John  Breckenridge,  born  June  1.  1834, 
died  October  18,  1855,  unmarried. 

5.  James  Mercer,  born  August  10.  1836.  died 
March  22,   1855,  unmarried. 

6.  Charles  Buckingham,  born  January  1. 
1839.  entered  United  States  navy  and  was  killed 
in  action,  Mobile  Bay,  October  9.  1864. 

7.  Stella  Mercer,  born  December  3,  1840, 
died  1904;  married  May  4,  1866,  George  Murray 
Reynolds.     (See   Reynolds   Family). 


: 


■_:  - 


frrrr 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


6r 


8.  Emily  Augusta,  born  September  I,  1844, 
married,  July  18,  1865,  Alexander  Farnham. 
(See  Farnham  family.) 

Colonel  Charles  Dorrance,  second  son  of  Ben- 
jamin Dorrance  and  his  wife  Nancy  Ann  Buck- 
ingham, was  born  Kingston,  January  4,  1805, 
died  January  18,  1892.  He  was  a  farmer,  and 
"the  Dorrance  Farm"  has  long  been  the  model 
farm  of  the  valley,  the  Colonel  farming  for  pleas- 
ure as  well  as  profit,  succeeding  in  acquiring  both 
results  from  his  labors.  He  early  introduced  the 
short-horned  cattle  on  his  farm ;  from  his  herd 
the  strain  was  opened  through  all  the  country 
round  about,  and  great  improvement  in  stock 
was  the  result.  His  house  was  ever  the  abode 
of  a  large  and  generous  hospitality,  dispensed 
with  all  the  grace  and  dignity  befiitting  his  sur- 
roundings. He  never  sought  official  position,  ex- 
cept possibly  that  of  captain  of  the  Wyoming  vol- 
unteers, from  which  he  rose  through  the  various 
grades  to  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  state  militia. 
He  was  president  of  the  Luzerne  County  Agri- 
cultural Society  from  its  organization  in  1858  to 
1868.  He  was,  with  A.  C.  Lanning,  appointed 
by  the  late  Judge  John  N.  Conyngham,  LL.  D., 
commissioner  of  the  Luzerne  county  prison,  and 
president  of  the  board  throughout  his  connection 
with  it.  When  the  Wyoming  Commemorative 
Association  was  organized  for  the  celebration  of 
the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  Massacre 
of  Wyoming,  1878,  he  was  made  president  of 
that  organization,  retaining  that  office  until  his 
death.  Colonel  Dorrance  was  president  of  the 
Wyoming  National  Bank  from  1835  to  1892,  in 
which  office  he  succeeded  his  distinguished  father, 
president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Bridge  Company, 
of  which  his  father  was  an  incorporator  in  1816: 
and  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society  from  1858  to  1892.  He  and 
his  family  were  attendants  at  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  although  not 
a  member  himself  he  was  a  liberal  contributor  to 
its  support  and  also  to  the  support  of  its  depen- 
dencies. 

Charles  Dorrance  married,  August  28,  1845, 
Susan  E.  Ford,  daughter  of  James  and  Maria 
(Lindsley)     Ford,    of    Lawrenceville,    Pennsyl- 


vania, born  November  27,  1828,  died  March  6, 
1892.  James  Ford,  of  Lawrenceville,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Perth  Amboy,  New  Jersey,  and  came  to 
Pennsylvania  about  1800.  He  was  twice  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Pennsylvania  legislature,  and  repre- 
sented his  district  in  congress  from  1829  to  1833. 
His  life  was  honorably  interwoven  with  the  civil 
and  political  history  of  the  state  ;  he  died  in  Law- 
renceville, August,  1859,  aged  seventy-six  years. 
His  wife,  Maria  Lindsley,  was  daughter  of  Judge 
Eleazer  Lindsley,  of  the  town  of  Lindsley,  in 
Steuben  county,  New  York,  who  was  the  son  of 
Colonel  Eleazer  Lindsley,  of  Revolutionary  fame, 
a  resident  of  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  who  after 
the  war  became  proprietor  of  a  township  of  land 
in  the  Genesee  country  in  New  York  state,  to 
which  the  name  Lindsley  was  given.  The  colonel 
settled  on  the  tract,  and  was  Steuben  county's 
first  representative  in  the  state  legislaure,  and  his 
death  was  the  first  in  Lindsley. 

Children  of  Charles  and  Susan  Dorrance : 

1.  Benjamin,  born  August  14,  1846;  mar- 
ried Ruth  Woodhull  Strong. 

2.  Maria  L.,  born  August  31,  1848,  died  July 
27,  1849. 

3.  Annie  Buckingham,  born  May  6,  1850,, 
married  Sheldon  Reynolds,  died  October  4,  1905. 

4.  James  Ford,  born  April  19,  1852,  married 
Elizabeth  W.  Dick. 

5.  Charles,  born  August  2,  1854,  resides  in' 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

6.  John,  born  September  27,  1856,  now  in 
Missouri. 

7.  Frank  Petre,  born  January  8,  1859,  died 
March  6,  1864. 

Benjamin  Dorrance,  A.  B.,  A.  M.,  F.  R. 
H.  S.,  eldest  son  of  Charles  and  Susan  E.  (Ford) 
Dorrance,  was  born  Kingston,  August  14,  1846. 
His  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  Presby- 
terian Seminary  at  Troy,  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
Wyoming  Seminary  at  Kingston.  He  graduated 
Princeton  College,  A.  B.,  1868;  A.  M.,  1871  ; 
read  law  with  Andrew  T.  McClintock,  LL.  D., 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
August  20,  1870.  He  practiced  law  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  about  eighteen  years,  when  impaired  eye- 
sight  compelled  him  ,to   lay   aside   professional 


62 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


work.  He  then  turned  to  farming  pursuits  at 
Dorranceton,  and  incidentally  to  horticulture. 
For  many  years  he  has  been  president  of  the 
Wyoming  Commemorative  Association,  succeed- 
ing the  late  Calvin  Parsons.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society,  and  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Horticultural 
Society  of  England. 

Benjamin  Dorrance  married,  May  22,  1872, 
Ruth  Woodhull  Strong,  daughter  of  Schuyler 
Strong,  of  Bath,  Steuben  county,  New  York,  and 
his  wife,  Frances  Cruger  Strong,  descended 
from  Elder  John  Strong,  of  Windsor,  Connecti- 
cut, 1630.  The  Strong  family  of  England  was 
originally  located  in  the  county  of  Shropshire. 
One  of  the  family  married  an  heiress  of  Griffith, 
of  the  county  of  Caernarvon,  Wales,  and  went 
there  to  reside  in  1545.  Richard  Strong  was  of 
this  "branch  of  the  family,  and  was  born  in  the 
county  of  Caernarvon,  1561 ;  removed  1609  to 
Jamestown,  Somersetshire,  England,  where  he 
died,  1613,  leaving  a  son  John,  then  eight  years 
old,  and  a  daughter  Eleanor.  John  was  born 
Taunton,  England,  1605,  and  removed  to  Lon- 
don, and  afterward  to  Plymouth,  England.  Hav- 
ing strong  Puritan  sympathies,  he  sailed  for 
America,  March  20,  1630,  in  company  with  one 
hundred  and  forty  persons  (among  them  many 
men  of  prominence  in  the  New  England  colo- 
nies) in  the  "Mary  and  John,"  and  landed  at 
Nantasket,  Massachusetts,  about  twelve  miles 
southeast  from  Boston,  Sunday,  May  30,  1630. 
Their  original  destination  was  Charles  river,  but 
owing  to  a  misunderstanding  between  the  com- 
pany and  the  captain  of  the  vessel,  the  immigrants 
were  put  ashore  on  Nantasket  beach,  whence 
they  settled  and  founded  Dorchester,  and  named 
it  in  allusion  to  their  home  town  in  England. 
John  Strong  was  of  this  company,  and  settled  at 
Dorchester,  as  also  did  his  sister  Eleanor,  who 
subsequently  married  Walter  Deane,  by  whom 
she  had  four  sons  and  one  daughter.  In  1635 
John  removed  to  Hingham,  and  took  the  free- 
man's oath,  1636,  in  Boston ;  was  of  Taunton, 
1638 ;  deputy  to  general  court,  1641-43-44 ;  re- 
moved to  Windsor,  Connecticut,  and  was  ap- 
pointed with  John  Mason  and  others  to  superin- 


tend and  bring  forward  the  settlement  of  that 
place."  In  1659  ne  removed  to  Northampton, 
Massachusetts,  and  was  one  of  its  most  prom- 
inent founders ;  a  leader  in  town  affairs ;  one  of 
the  founders  and  pillars  of  the  church,  its  fir.-,t 
ruling  elder;  hence  his  title  "Elder  John  Strong." 
He  married  (first)  in  England,  but  his  wife  died 
on  the  ship  or  soon  after  landing.  She  bore  him 
two  children,  only  one  of  whom  survived  long. 
He  married  (second)  Abigail  Ford,  who  bore 
him  sixteen  children,  and  died  July  6,  i638.  He 
died  April  14,  1699,  and  had  at  the  time  of  his 
death  one.  hundred  and  sixty  living  descen- 
dants. Thomas  Ford,  father  of  Abigail,  came  to 
America  with  the  company  in  the  "Mary  and 
John."  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Dorches- 
ter, an  early  settler  in  Windsor,  Connecticut,  a 
deputy  to  the  general  court,  grand  juror,  and  re- 
moved with  Elder  John  to  Northampton,  where 
he  died  1676.  From  Elder  John  Strong,  of 
Northampton,  to  Ruth  Woodhull  Strong,  wife  of 
Benjamin  Dorrance,  the  line  of  descent  follows 
to  Thomas  (2)  of  Northampton,  one  of  Captain 
John  Mason's  troopers;  from  him  to  Selah  (3), 
qf  Setauket,  Long  Island,  'farmer,  tradesman, 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  village  trustee  of  Brook- 
haven ;  from  him  to  Selah,  Sr.,  (4),  who  mar- 
ried Hannah  Woodhull,  sister  of  Gen.  Nathan- 
iel Woodhull,  killed  on  Long  Island  during  the 
Revolution;  from  him  to  Maj.  Nathaniel  Strong, 
(5),  killed  by  British  and  Tories,  November  6, 
1778;  from  him  to  Selah,  (6),  who  married  Ruth 
Woodhull,  daughter  of  Captain  Ebenezer  Wood- 
hull  ;  and  from  Selah  and  Ruth  to  Schuyler 
Strong  (7),  who  married  Frances  Cruger,  daugh- 
ter of  General  Daniel  Cruger,  of  Steuben 
county,  New  York,  and  from  Schuyler  and  Fran- 
ces to  Ruth  Woodhull  Strong  (8),  wife  of  Ben- 
jamin Dorrance,  of  Dorranceton,  Pennsylvania. 
(See  Strong  family  history.)  The  Crugers  were 
of  Huguenot  ancestry,  who  escaped  the  mas- 
sacre at  St.  Bartholomew  and  fled,  some  to  Eng- 
land, some  to  Denmark  and  others  to  Germany 
and  formed  a  temporary  home  in  Altoona,  in  the 
Duchy  of  Holstein.  The  branch  from  which 
Mrs.  Dorrance  is  descended  settled  in  Holstein. 
The  father  of  General  Cruger  came  to  America 


&k**-^  ,     "^ 


'trT-Tzu^&e^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


63 


in  1768,  and  settled  in  Sunbury,  Pennsylvania, 
where  Daniel  (General  Cruger)  was  born  De- 
cember 22,  1780.  Soon  afterward  the  family 
removed  to  Newtown  (Elmira),  New  York, 
where  the  father  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits. 
Daniel  went  to  Albany,  apprenticed  to  learn  the 
printing  trade,  and  afterward  settled  in  Owego, 
1804  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Bath,  Steuben 
county,  to  which  -place  his  parents  had  removed. 
He  read  law,  was  admitted  to  practice  and  be- 
came partner  with  General  S.  S.  Haight.  In  1812 
he  enlisted  in  the  army,  was  commissioned  majon 
and  assigned  to  duty  on  General  McClure's  staff, 
and  served  throughout  the  war ;  was  member  of 
assembly,  1813-15;  speaker  of  the  house,  1815; 
elected  to  congress,  1816;  served  as  deputy  at- 
torney general  for  the  district ;  removed  to  Syra- 
cuse about  1828 ;  to  Wheeling,  West  Virginia, 
1833,  and  died  there  in  June,  1843. 

Children  of  Benjamin  Ford  and  Ruth  Wood- 
hull   (Strong)  Dorrance : 

1.  Anne,  born  June  26,  1873,  graduated 
Vassar,  1895 ;  F.  R.  H.  S. 

2.  Frances,  born  June  30,  1877 ;  graduated 
Vassar  1900,  with  the  highest  honors,  and  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa. 

3.  Ruth,  born  August  9,  1879,  died  Febru- 
ary 13,  1895. 

Colonel  James  Ford  Dorrance,  second  son  of 
Charles  Dorrance  and  his  wife,  Susan  E.  Ford, 
born  in  Dorranceton,  Pennsylvania,  April  19, 
1852.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools, 
and  in  Germantown  under  Dr.  Barker,  and  in 
Lehigh  University.  After  leaving  college  he 
went  to  Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  read  law  with 
Judge  Derrickson  of  that  city,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  practiced  law  in  Meadville  about 
sixteen  years.  He  returned  to  Dorranceton  in 
1890,  and  from  that  time  has  devoted  his  atten- 
tion to  the  care  of  the  old  home  farm  and  the 
management  of  his  father's  estate.  Was  appointed 
on  Governor  Henry  M.  Hoyt's  staff  in  1878,  and 
served  four  years. 

Mr.  Dorrance  married,  January  15,  1875, 
Elizabeth  Wilson  Dick,  daughter  of  James  Ross 


Dick    and    his    wife    Harriet    Sturges     (Thorp) 
Dick. 

James  Ross  Dick,  born  Meadville,  April  22, 
1801,  son  of  William  Dick,  and  his  wife  Anna 
McGunnigle,  who  had  eight  sons  and  one 
daughter.  William  Dick  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
birth  and  came  to  America  when  quite  young. 
James  R.  Dick  was  a  banker  in  Meadville  from 
1850  to  about  1895,  and  was  a  man  of  means,  in- 
fluence and  social  position.  David  Dick,  brother 
of  James  R.  Dick,  born  1797,  was  the  first  white 
child  born  in  Meadville.  Another  brother  was  ' 
General  John  Dick,  at  one  time  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  state  militia  circles.  Anna  McGunnigle 
was  a  daughter  of  George  McGunnigle  and  his 
wife  Margaret,  both  of  whom  were  of  Scotch- 
Irish  birth  and  ancestry,  and  were  among  the 
earliest  Scotch-Irish  immigrants  who  settled  in 
Pennsylvania. 

Harriet  Sturges  Thorp  was  daughter  of  Stur- 
ges Thorp  and  his  wife  Nancy  Sturges,  both  de- 
scendants of  old  New  England  ancestors,  living 
in  Fairfield,  Connecticut.  Sturges  Thorp  was  the 
son  of  Jabez  Thorp,  son  of  Peter  Thorp,  son  of 
John  Thorp ;  on  the  maternal  side  he  was  son.  of 
Martha  Osborn,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Osborn, 
son  of  Capt.  John  Osborn,  son  of  Capt.  Richard 
Osborn,  who  probably  was  Richard,  who  sailed 
from  London  for  the  Barbadoes  in  the  "Hope- 
well," in  1634,  and  who  in  1635  was  of  Hingham, 
Massachusetts,  one  of  Peter  Hobart's  company, 
and  who  shared  in  the  division  of  lands  in  Hing- 
ham. He  was  a  brave  soldier  in  the  Pequot  war, 
and  for  his  services  was  awarded  eighty  acres  of 
land  in  Fairfield.  He  was  in  New  Haven  in  1639, 
shared  in  the  division  of  its  lands  in  1643,  and 
took  the  freeman's  oath  before  Governor  Eaton 
in  1644.  He  removed  to  Fairfield  between  1650 
and  1653,  and  thence  to  Westchester  in  1682. 
Nancy  Sturges,  wife  of  Sturges  Thorp,  was 
daughter  of  Judson  Sturges,  son  of  Solomon 
Sturges,  son  of  Joseph  Sturges,  son  of  John 
Sturges,  who  probably  was  of  the  Stur- 
geses  of  Yarmouth,  and  who  settled  in 
Fairfield,  1660;  freeman,  also  selectman,  1669, 
and  the  owner  of  "a  largfe  estate.-'     Nancy  Stur- 


64 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ges  was  a  daughter  of  Abigail  Squire,  daughter 
of  Daniel  Squire,  son  of  Lieutenant  Samuel 
Squire,  son  of  Captain  Samuel  Squire,  son  of 
Sergt.  George  Squire,  who  was  of  the  Concord 
(Massachusetts)  Squires,  1642,  who  removed  to 
Fairfield  about  1644  with  Rev.  John  Jones,  or 
soon  afterwards,  and  where  they  shared  in  the 
division  of  lands  and  were  among  the  prominent 
families  of  the  town. 

The  children  of  Colonel  James  Ford  and 
Elizabeth  Wilson  (Dick)  Dorrance ;  Susan  Ford 
Dorrance,  born  February  26,  1876;  Sturges  Dick 
Dorrance,  born  July  15,  1881 ;  Charles  Dorrance, 
born  March  12,  1883.  H.  E.  H. 

JOHNSON  FAMILY.  There  is  a  tradition 
of  very  long  standing  that  the  original  Connecti- 
cut Johnsons1  came  from  Cherry-Burton,  a  vil- 
lage about  three  miles  from  the  cathedral  town 
of  Beverly,  in  Yorkshire,  England,  about  six 
miles  north  of  Rowley.  Dr.  William  Samuel 
Johnson  visited  Yorkshire  in  1767,  and  there 
met  a  Mrs.  Bell  who  was  the  latest  survivor  of 
this  Johnson  family  in  England.  Her  father  was 
a  lawyer  and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-two.  Her 
grandfather  lived  on  his  estate,  which  was  very 
considerable.  Her  great-uncle  was  a  doctor  of 
physic,  eminent  in  his  profession,  and  by  his  mon- 
ument in  Cherry-Burton  church  it  appears  that 
he  died  November  1,  1724,  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
four,  having  survived  his  wife  and  seven  of  nine 
children,  all  of  whom  died  without  issue ;  the  two 
who  survived  never  married,  wherefore  upon  his 
death  the  estate  descended  to  Mrs.  Bell. 

The  Johnsons  of  Stratford  have  a  record  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  in  which  he  tells  of  the 
coming  of  three  brothers  from  Hull,  England, 
about  1637  to  1640,  and  he  gives  the  sons  of 
Thomas  as  Thomas,  Daniel,  Jeremiah,  and  Will- 
iam. This  statement  by  Dr.  Johnson  carries  the 
tradition  back  to  the  occasion  of  his  visit  to  Hull 
in  1723,  and  from  the  intimate  companionship 
which  history  says  existed  between  Dr.  Johnson 


1.  This  record  of  the  Johnson  family  is  compiled 
largely  from  manuscripts  in  the  possession  of  Frederick 
C.  Johnson,  M.  D.,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 


as  a  boy  and  his  grandfather  William  of  Guil- 
ford, (who  came  from  England;  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  he  heard  it  from  his  own  lips; 
and  the  conclusion  is  therefore  irresistible  that 
the  line  under  consideration  is  from  Thomas. 

The  New  Haven-Wallingford  Johnsons  emi- 
grated from  England  to  America  about  1638,  the 
year  in  which  there  came  from  England  twenty 
ships  and  at  least  three  thousand  persons.  Among 
them   were   three   brothers :    John,   Robert,    and 
Thomas  Johnson,  who  came  from  Kingston-on- 
Hull  and  landed  at  Boston.    They  were  Puritans, 
under  the  leadership  of  Ezekiel  Rogers,  a  gradu- 
ate of  Cambridge  and  a  clergyman  of  Rowley,  in 
Yorkshire.    He  and  many  of  his  followers  settled 
on  the  coast  of   Massachusetts   Bay,  and  called 
their  new  home  Rowley,  after  their  old  home  in 
England.     The  three  Johnsons  left  Mr.  Rogers 
at   Boston  and   repaired   to  the  colony   of   Xew 
Haven,  where  Thomas  and  Robert  permanently 
settled.     John,  however,  after  a  year  or  two  re- 
turned to  his  former  associates  at  Rowley.  Davis's 
"History  of  Wallingford"    incorrectly    says    he 
was  killed  by  the  Indians,  but  Blodgett's  "Early 
Settlers    of   Rowley"   mentions   him   as   Captain 
John,  and  gives  the  names  of  his  children  and 
grandchildren.     Blodgett  also  says  that  Elizabeth 
Johnson,  sister  of  the  three  immigrant  brothers, 
married,   1665,  Jonathan  Platts,  of  Rowley,  and 
■  he    gives   the  names    of   her    children.      Robert 
Johnson  died  in  New  Haven  in  1694.     He  was 
the    ancestor    of    the    Stratford    Johnsons ;    the 
father   of  Deacon   William   of   Guilford    (1629- 
1702)  ;  the   grandfather    of   Deacon    Samuel   of 
Stratford     (1670- 1727);     great-grandfather     of 
William  Samuel  Johnson,  LL.  D.,  the  able  lawyer 
and  statesman  who  as  attorney  for  Connecticut 
figured  so  prominently  in  the  settlement  of  the 
controversy   with    Pennsylvania  over  Wyoming. 
He  represented  Connecticut  in  the  colonial  con- 
gress of  1775,  and  signed  the  remonstrance  to  the 
King  against  the  "stamp  act." 

Thomas  Johnson  (1),  the  third  of  the  immi- 
grant brothers,  is  the  one  whose  line  is  especially 
under  consideration  in  these  annals,  for  he  is  the 
American  ancestor  on  the  paternal  side  of  the 
Johnsons    of    the    Wyoming    valley.      He    was 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


65 


drowned  with  Thomas  Ashley  in  New  Haven 
harbor  in  1640.  His  children  were  Thomas, 
Daniel,  Jeremiah,  and  William   (2). 

William  Johnson  (2),  .of  Wallingford,  Con- 
necticut, immigrated  to  America  presumably 
about  1660,  and  settled  at  New  Haven ;  Decem- 
ber, 1664,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  John  and 
Jane  (Woolen  or  Woolin)  Hall.  He  was  one  of 
the  founders  or  original  proprietors  of  Walling- 
ford in  1670,  and  one  of  the  signers  of  the  com- 
pact. In  the  town  records  of  New  Haven  he  is 
sometimes  mentioned  as  "Wingle"  Johnson,  and 
is  recorded  as  "husbandman,"  and  also  as 
"planter."  He  died  in  1716,  and  his  will  is  re- 
corded in  New  Haven.  William  and  Sarah  had 
thirteen  children,  of  whom  Jacob  (3)  was  sixth 
in  order  of  birth. 

Jacob  Johnson  (3),  of  Wallingford,  born  in 
New  Haven,  September  25, .  1764,  married,  De- 
cember 14,  1693,  Abigail,  daughter  of  John 
Hitchcock  and  Abigail  Merriman  his  wife,  and 
died  July  17,  1749.  Abigail  was  a  granddaugh- 
ter of  Captain  Nathaniel  Merriman,  one  of  the  or- 
iginal proprietors  of  Wallingford.  Jacob  was  ser- 
geant of  the  Wallingford  train  band,  and  is  men- 
tioned in  the  records  as  "Sergeant"  Jacob.  He 
served  as  deputy  in  the  general  court  1732,  1733, 
and  1736.  He  was  a  man  of  influence  and  of 
substance,  and  the  possessor  at  the  time  of  his 
death  of  about  four  hundred  acres  of  land,  "and 
there  were  several  slaves."  Jacob's  wife  Abigail 
died  January  9,  1726,  and  he  afterward  married 
Dorcas  Linsley,  of  Branford,  Connecticut,  who 
bore  him  no  children.  Jacob  and  Abigail  were 
the  parents  of  ten  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity,  and  had  families.  The  youngest  of 
them  was  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson  (4),  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  on  whose  monument  in  the  cemetery  in 
that  city  is  inscribed  an  epitaph  in  these  words : 

"Rev.  Jacob  Johnson,  A.  M.,  born  at  Walling- 
ford, Connecticut,  April  7,  1713;  died  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  March  15,  1797;  gradu- 
ated at  Yale  college,  1740;  pastor  of  Congrega- 
tional Church,  Groton,  Connecticut,  1749-1772; 
first  pastor  of  Wilkes-Barre  Congregational 
(subsequently  First  Presbyterian)  1772-1797. 
He  made  missionary  journeys  to  the  Six  Nations  ; 
preaching  in  the  Indian  language.  He  was  an 
early  and  outspoken  advocate  of  Amercan  liberty 


and  a  commanding  figure  in  the  early  history  of 
Wyoming.  He  wrote  the  articles  of  capitula- 
tion following  the  destruction  of  the  infant  set- 
tlement by  the  British  and  Indians  in  1778,  and 
was  a  firm  and  self-sacrificing  defender  of  the 
Connecticut  title  throughout  the  prolonged  land 
contest." 

In  itself  this  brief  epitaph  reflects  something 
of  the  life  and  services  of  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson  in 
behalf  of  his  fellow  man,  of  his  country,  and  his 
Maker,  whom  he  served  so  long  and  faithfully. 
Yet,  after  all,  the  mere  inscription  on  a  tomb- 
stone is  a  meager  tribute  to  the  life  and  works 
of  a  truly  good  and  patriotic  man.  There  was 
that  in  the  life  of  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson  which  has 
survived  him  and  all  the  years  which  have  passed 
into  history  since  his  death.  His  noble  character 
is  shown  in  his  daily  walk,  his  unswerving  loy- 
alty to  kindred  and  to  country  during  the  dark 
days  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  equally  hazardous 
period  of  contention  between  the  Connecticut 
settlers  in  the  Wyoming  valley  and  the  claimants 
under  Pennsylvania. 

The  early  life  of  Rev.  Jacob  Johnson  belongs 
to  New  England,  yet  in  serving  the  Master 
whose  disciple  he  was  he  carried  his  missionary 
work  into  the  country  of  the  Iroquois  in  the  prov- 
ince of  New  York,  and  as  an  instrument  for 
peace,  justice,  and  upholding  the  faith  of  treaties 
with  the  untutored  aborigines,  he  was  not  un- 
known among  the  people  of  the  Delawares  who 
inhabited  the  northern  regions  of  Pennsylvania. 
He  first  appears  as  a  figure  in  Wyoming  valley 
history  in  the  year  1772,  when  he  was  invited  by 
the  town  of  Wilkes-Barre  to  minister  to  their 
spiritual  wants,  to  "come  and  labor  with  the 
people  as  their  pastor ;"  but  at  least  four  years 
before  that  time,  while  he  was  acting  as  spiritual 
head  of  the  church  in  Groton,  his  missionary  la- 
bors had  called  him  among  the  Indians  of  the 
Province  of  New  York.  He  was  present  at  the 
treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  (Rome,  New  York)  in 
1768,  not  as  commissioner  to  represent  the  inter- 
ests of  Connecticut,  for  delegates  from  that  col- 
ony were  not  invited  to  participate  in  the  confer- 
ence ;  not  as  an  emissary  to  protect  the  interests 
of  the  Connecticut  settlers  in  the  Wyoming  val- 
ley,  whose  territory  was   sought  to  be  acquired 


66 


THE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


by  the  Perm  proprietors  as  one  of  the  results  of 
the  council ;  not  as  the  representative  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  New  York,  as  that  province  was  rep- 
resented by  chosen  commissioners  and  by  a 
person  of  no  less  consequence  than  Sir  William 
Johnson,  the  King's  own  agent  and  superinten- 
dent of  Indian  affairs  in  that  royal  province ;  but 
rather  as  the  especial  representative  of  that  zeal- 
ous missionary  laborer,  Rev.  Eleazer  Wheelock, 
who  hoped  to  secure  from  the  Six  Nations  a  con- 
cession of  lands  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
and  maintaining  a  school  for  civilizing,  educat- 
ing, enlightening,  and  christianizing  the  Indians. 
For  that  purpose,  and  for  that  alone.  Rev.  Jacob 
Johnson  was  present  at  the  treaty  conference  in 
1768.  The  council  was  attended  by  the  gover- 
nors, the  commissioners  and  agents  of  the  col- 
onies indicated,  and  by  about  three  thousand  In- 
dians from  the  various  nations  of  the  Iroquois 
confederacy,  including  those  of  the  chiefs  of  the 
various  Delaware  tribes  who  were  permitted  to 
be  present  without  having  a  voice  in  its  councils. 
The  council  was  dominated  by  the  Penns,  John 
Penn,  a  son  of  William,  being  present.  He 
sought  to  acquire  title  to  the  lands  of  northeast- 
ern Pennsylvania,  which  were  claimed  by  Con- 
necticut and  which  had  been  purchased  from  the 
Indians  some  years  before  by  Connecticut :  and, 
as  the  latter  colony  had  not  been  invited  to  the 
council  which  was  to  wrest  from  her  a  part  of 
her  ex-territorial  possession — the  Wyoming  re- 
gion— this  Connecticut  missionary,  Rev.  Jacob 
Johnson,  undertook  entirelv  without  authority, 
however,  to  defend  the  Connecticut  titles  by  dis- 
suading the  Indians  from  selling  to  the  Penns 
the  lands  which  Connecticut  claimed.  While  the 
treaty  was  in  progress  Sir  William  Johnson  gave 
a  banquet,  and  the  missionary,  bv  reason  of  his 
sacred  office,  rather  than  by  reason  of  his  being  a 
New  England  man,  was  among  the  invited 
guests.  The  feast  was  made  the  occasion  of 
bursts  of  eloquence  as  to  the  greatness  of  Eng- 
land, and  toasts  were  drunk  to  the  health  of  King 
George  III.  Amid  the  noisy  merrymaking  of 
the  convivial  company  the  Connecticut  mission- 
ary could  hear  the  muttering  of  the  gathering 
storm,  and  he  could  alreadv  feel  that  the  next 


breeze  from  the  north  was  to  bring  to  their  ears 
the  clash  of  resounding  arms.  So  when  the 
adulations  to  the  King  were  all  over  and  the 
preacher  from  Connecticut  was  called  upon,  he 
addressed  the  assembled  revellers  in  these  thrill- 
ing words : 

"I  drink  to  the  health  of  King  George  III,  of 
Great  Britain,  comprehending  New  England  and 
all  the  British  colonies  in  North  America,  and  I 
mean  to  drink  such  a  health  so  long  as  his  royal 
majesty  shall  govern  the  British  and  American 
subjects  according  to  the  great  charter  of  Eng- 
lish liberty,, and  so  long  as  he  hears  the  prayers 
of  his  American  subjects.  But  in  case  his  British 
Majesty  (which  God  in  great  mercy  prevent) 
should  proceed  contrary  to  Charter  rights  and 
privileges,  and  govern  us  with  a  rod  of  iron  and 
the  mouth  of  cannons,  and  utterly  refuse  to  con- 
sider our  humble  prayers,  then  I  should  consider 
it  my  indispensable  duty  to  join  my  countrymen 
in  forming  a  new  empire  in  America. 

These  were  prophetic  words,  worthy  of  the 
noble  character  of  the  orator,  and  worthy  of  the 
cause  for  which  he  labored  so  earnestly  and  suc- 
cessfully ;  but,  in  view  of  his  utterances  on  the 
occasion  referred  to,  it  is  not  surprising  to  learn 
that  in  after  years,  when  the  same  missionary 
was  pastor  of  the  church  at  Westmoreland,  he 
denounced  the  Pennamite  outrages  with  such 
vehemence  that  he  was  ( 1784)  dragged  to  court 
and  compelled  to  give  bonds  for  his  peaceable 
behavior. 

Such,  then,  was  the  quality  and  character  of 
this  Connecticut  missionary  who  was  the  pioneer 
of  the  Johnson  family  in  the  Wyoming  valley. 
His  coming  into  the  region  was  a  reunion  with 
families  whose  names  and  faces  were  in  a  de- 
gree familiar  to  him,  and  he  found  himself  with 
friends  and  willing  followers  rather  than  strang- 
ers. Under  the  custom  of  the  church  he  preached 
for  a  year  as  minister,  and  then  (August  23, 
1773)  was  permanently  settled  as  pastor;  and 
this,  as  Kulp  says,  "was  the  first  actual  settle- 
ment of  any  minister  of  the  gospel  west  of  the 
Blue  mountains  in  the  territory  comprising  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania/'  He  continued  his  work 
of  the  ministry  more  than  half  a  century,  and  he 
died  as  he  had  lived,  an  earnest,  untiring,  God- 
loving  and   God-serving  man.     During  the  pe- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


67 


riod  of  the  Revolution  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  the 
patriot  cause  was  in  every  respect  commendable, 
and  by  his  splendid  example  and  christian  sym- 
pathy he  softened  the  hardships  to  which  his 
people  were  so  frequently  and  so  long  subjected. 
His  record  during  the  war  and  also  during  the 
period  of  strife  regarding  the  Connecticut  titles 
are  matters  of  history  so  general  to  text  books 
on  Pennsylvania  history  that  the  subject  is  fa- 
miliar to  almost  every  child  in  the  public  schools, 
and  needs  no  elaborate  presentation  in  these 
pages. 

While  pastor  at  North  Groton,  Jacob  John- 
son married  Mary  Giddings,  of  Preston,  born 
November  28,  1730,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Janu- 
ary 18,  1805,  daughter  of  Captain  Nathaniel  Gid- 
dings and  his  wife  Mary  Williams.  The  children 
of  this  marriage,  all  born  in  Connecticut,  were : 
Jehoiada  Pitt  (6),  born  1767,  died  January  8, 
1830;  Jacob,  born  1765,  died  May,  1807,  mar- 
ried and  had  two  daughters :  Mary  B.  (married 
Phineas    Nash    Foster),    and    Lydia     (married 

Smith)  ;  Lydia,  born  about  1756,  married 

Col.  Zebulon  Butler;  Christiana  Olive,  married, 
March  25,  1801,  William  Russell  and  had  no  chil- 
dren. There  were  also  two  daughters  of  Rev. 
Jacob  and  Mary  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

Jehoiada  Pitt  Johnson  (6),  eldest  son  of  Rev. 
Jacob  and  Mary,  was  born  in  Connecticut  in  1767, 
"while  the  animated  discussions  preceding  the 
revolution  were  going  on,  and  the  elder  Pitt  was 
thundering  his  anathemas  in  parliament"  against 
the  British  ministry  on  account  of  the  oppressions 
it  had  put  upon  the  American  colonies.  His 
father  named  him  Jehoiada  Pitt  (Jehoiada — "the 
knowledge  of  God,")  and  Pitt,  in  allusion  to  the 
patriot  orator,  showing  at  once  the  religious 
tendency  of  his  mind  and  his  zeal  for  the  cause  of 
American  freedom.  He  was  five  years  old  when 
his  father  assumed  charge  of  the  parish  in" 
Wilkes-Barre,  but  while  yet  a  youth  he  mani- 
fested a  lively  interest  in  the  controversy  between 
Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  over  Wyoming ; 
and  in  1784,  when  he  was  only  seventeen  years 
old,  he  took  the  side  of  the  Yankees  in  the  Pen- 
namite  war.  Miner  says  he  was  one  of  about  one 
hundred    men    who    were    arrested    at    Wilkes- 


Barre  on  the  charge  of  treason,  some  of  whom 
were  sent  to  the  jail  in  Northumberland  and 
others  in  Sunbury. 

Jehoiada  in  his  time  was  an  active  business 
man.  He  removed  from  Wilkes-Barre  to 
Laurel  Run  (now  Parsons)  about  18 10,  and 
erected  there  in  that  year  a  gristmill,  which  he 
owned  and  operated  successfully  many  years.  He 
also  was  interested  in  the  business  life  of  the 
township,  especially  in  educational  matters,  and 
was,  withal,  one  of  the  best  citizens.  He  was 
one  of  the  poormasters  in  1799,  the  only  office 
he  ever  held.  His  wife  was  Hannah,  daughter 
of  Robert  Frazer,  of  Scottish  birth  and  ances- 
try, and  said  to  have  been  related  to  the  unfor- 
tunate Sir  Simon  Frazer,  the  Scottish  chieftain 
known  in  history  as  Lord  Lovat.  Robert,  father 
of  Hannah,  served  with  the  British  against  the 
French  in  the  wars  preceding  the  revolution,  and 
fought  as  a  sergeant  under  Wolfe  at  Quebec, 
where  he  was  wounded.  Later  on  he  came  with 
Connecticut  settlers  to  Wyoming,  where  he 
shared  their  fortunes,  and  taught  the  youth  of 
the  infant  settlement.  In  1777  he  enlisted  in 
Col.  Obadiah  Gore's  regiment  for  service  during 
the  Revolution.  He  died  in  1790,  and  his  widow, 
August  23,   1855. 

Children  of  Jehoiada  Pitt  and  Hannah :  Ovid 
Frazer  (7),  born  March  25,  1807,  died  February 
12,  1853 ;  Mary  Giddings,  born  November  3, 
1809,  died  November  12,  1880;  Jehoiada,  born 
January  20,  18 12,  died  December  31,  1871  ;  Will- 
iam P.,  born  March  14,  1814,  died  January  26,' 
1893;  Miles,  born  March  16,  1816,  died  October 
6,  1889;  Priestley  R.,  born  December  20,  1819, 
died  July  5,  1878;  Wesley,  born  December  20, 
1819,  died  October  27,  1892:  Sarah  A.,  born 
March  18,  1824;  Diantha,  born  September  22, 
1826,  died  November  4,  1874.  There  were  two 
other  children :  Zipporah,  died  September  18, 
1806,  aged  twenty  months,  and  Christiana,  born 
about  1817,  died  in  infancy. 

Ovid  Frazer  Johnson  (7),  eldest  son  of  Je- 
hoiada (6)  and  Hannah,  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Luzerne  county,  April  6,  183 1,  and  associated 
in  practice  with  Hendrick  B.  Wright.  Two  years 
later  he  removed  to  Harrisburg,  where  he  soon 


68 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


took  a  leading  position  both  as  lawyer  and  politi- 
cal writer.  His  series  of  articles  called  "Gov- 
ernor's Papers,"  purporting  to  come  from  Gov- 
ernor Ritner  and  his  political  cabinet,  had  the 
effect  to  bring  the  administration  into  ridicule, 
disrupt  the  old  Whig  party  in  the  state,  and  ac- 
complish the  election  of  Porter  as  governor ;  and 
the  latter,  in  recognition  of  this  great  service  in 
his  behalf,  appointed  Mr.  Johnson  attorney  gen- 
eral of  the  commonwealth  when  he  was  only  thir- 
ty-two years  old.  He  served  from  1839  to  1845, 
and  became  a  conspicuous  figure  in  Pennsylvania 
political  history,  with  a  reputation  which  was  al- 
most national.  Mr.  Johnson  married,  July  28, 
1835,  Jane  Alricks,  daughter  of  James  Alricks 
01  Oakland  Mills,  Juniata  county,  and  afterward 
lived  in  Harrisburg. 

Mary  Giddings  Johnson  (7),  daughter  of  Je- 
hoiada  (6)  and  Hannah,  married  Charles  Reel, 
and  had  children:  Miles,  Helen  Marr,  Diantha, 
Frances  (Dolly),  and  Benjamin  F.,  all  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  Both  sons  served  in  the  war  of 
1861-65. 

Jehoiada  Johnson  (7)  died  at  the  old  home- 
stead in  Wilkes-Barre  township,  December  31, 
1871.  In  1834  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States 
army  in  Company  I,  First  Regular  Dragoons,  and 
served  five  years  during  the  Seminole  and  Texas 
'wars.  He  married  Priscilla  Scovel,  and  had  chil- 
dren :  Harriet  Scovel,  Emily  Wright  (married 
Judson  Wheeler  and  had  two  children),  and 
Thomas  M.  Johnson,  all  of  Parsons  (old  Laurel 
Run),  Pennsylvania. 

William  Perry  Johnson  (7),  who  died  in  Dal- 
las, Pennsylvania,  January  26,  1893,  was  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lived,  and  a  worthy  representative  of  his  distin- 
guished ancestry.  He  was  a  farmer,  school  di- 
rector, and  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  days  when 
the  title  "Squire"  stood  for  intelligence  and  per- 
sonal influence.  He  married  Eliza  Roderick,  and 
had  children:  Wesley,  Jane  (wife  of  Emanuel 
Sinclair),  George  Frazer,  Robert  H,  and  Sarah 
(wife  of  Clayton  J.  Ryman). 

Miles  Johnson  (7)  was  at  first  a  cabinet 
maker,  afterward  a  sailor  on  a  whaling  vessel, 
and  finally  cast  his  fortunes  with  the  people  of  the 


great  west:  He  died  in  California  in  1889.  His 
wife  was  Philomela  Burlingame,  of  Wisconsin, 
who  bore  him  eleven  children. 

Priestley  R.  Johnson  (7)  was  reared  on  the 
ancestral  farm  where  he  and  his  twin  brother, 
Wesley  were  born.  As  one  of  the  copartnership 
comprising  George  Knapp,  Gould  P.  Parrish  and 
himself,  he  established  the  first  extensive  manu- 
factory of  power  kegs  by  machinery  in  the  Wy- 
oming region.  He  also  was  for  several  years  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  pursuits  in  Wilkes-Barre,. 
and  at  one  time  was  street  commissioner.  Hen- 
drick  B.  Wright  wrote  of  him  that  he  was  "a 
man  of  large  heart,  of  sound  and  mature  judg- 
ment." Being  thoroughly  imbued  with  correct 
principles  of  right  and  wrong,  he  was  never 
known  to  swerve  from  the  path  of  duty  as  a  citi- 
zen in  a  public  or  private  capacity."  He  mar- 
ried Sarah,  daughter  of  Simon  Monega,  a  soldier 
who  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  great  Napoleon 
on  nearly  all  the  bloody  fields  of  Europe  during 
that  warlike  period.  The  children  of  Priestley 
and  Sarah  were :  Henry  Frazer,  Franklin  Pierce,. 
Hannah  and  Mary  Johnson. 

Wesley  Johnson  (  7)  twin  brother  of  Priest- 
ley, was  educated  in  Wilkes-Barre  Academy, 
studied  law  under  the  instruction  of  his  older 
brother  Ovid,  came  to  the  bar  in  Philadelphia  in 
1846,  and  soon  afterward  in  Luzerne  county.  He 
went  to  Texas  and  began  legal  practice  in  Gal- 
veston, and  during  the  war  with  Mexico  crossed 
over  into  the  Spanish  domain  and  was  a  witness 
to  many  of  the  events.  About  1850  he  was  at- 
tracted by  the  westward  tide  of  emigration,  and. 
soon  found  himself  settled  in  Marquette  county,. 
Wisconsin,  where  he  was  elected  clerk  of  courts. 
In  1852  he  married,  and  in  the  next  year  returned 
with  his  wife  and  infant  son  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  the 
practice  of  law  and  the  turmoil  of  legal  contests 
being  wholly  distasteful  to  him.  He  possessed 
the  essential  qualities  of  a  successful  lawyer,  had. 
an  excellent  understanding  of  its  principles  and 
theories,  in  fact  a  well  equipped  legal  mind,  but 
he  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of  peace.  After  his 
retirement  from  active  business  life  in  1874  he 
was   for   several  years  alderman   of  the  Fourth 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


69 


~ward,  and  he  also  held  several  positions  of  trust 
— city  auditor,  judge  of  elections,  etc.  He  was 
one  of  the  projectors  and  guiding  spirits  of  the 
Wyoming  Centennial  in  1878,  and  was  secretary 
•of  the  Commemorative  Association  from  its  in- 
ception to  the  day  of  his  death,  and  his  compila- 
tion, the  memorial  volume,  is  one  of  the  standard 
works  of  local  history  in  Wyoming  annals. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  twice  married,  first  with 
Cynthia  Henrietta  Green,  born  Vermont,  May  13, 
1827,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  August  30,  1855, 
daughter  of  David  Sands  Green  and  his  wife 
Mary  Tuttle ;  and  second,  Frances  Wilson,  died 
April  21,  1888,  widow  of  Frederick  McAlpine. 
Two  children  were  born  of  his  first  marriage : 
Frederick  Charles,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Zebulon 
Butler,  born  February  3,  1855.  died  1855.  % 
the  second  marriage  one  child  was  born :  Mar- 
garet Colt,  born  July  7,  1857,  died  November  30, 
i860. 

Sarah  Ann  Johnson  (7)  Jehoiada  (6),  mar- 
ried Henry  Colt  Wilson,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1818,  died  Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio,  Febru- 
ary 13,  1892,  a  prosperous  farmer.  His  widow 
•died  at  Columbus,  Ohio,.  April  20,  1903.  They  had 
four  children,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Edwin  Frazer 
Wilson,  A.  B.,  A.  M.  M.  D.,  a  graduate  of  the 
medical  department  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  professor  of  therapeutics,  electro-therapeu- 
tics and  clinical  medicine  in  Ohio  Medical  Uni- 
versity; physician  to  the  Protestant  Hospital,  and 
Hawkes  Hospital ;  fellow  of  American  Academy 
of  Medicine ;  member  of  American  Medical  As- 
sociation, Ohio  State  Medical  Society,  and  Co- 
lumbus Academy  of  Medicine.    He  died  in  1902. 

Frederick  Charles  Johnson  (8),  Wesley,  (7), 
Jehoiada  (6),  Rev.  Jacob  (5),  Jacob  (4), 
William  (3),  Thomas  (2),  Thomas  (1),  is  a  na- 
tive of  Marquette,  Green  Lake  county,  Wiscon- 
sin, born  March  2,  1853,  eldest  and  only  surviv- 
ing son  of  Wesley  Johnson  and  his  wife  Cynthia 
Henrietta  Green.  His  elementary  education  was 
acquired  in  the  public  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
after  which  he  returned  to  Wisconsin  and  took 
a  partial  course  in.  Ripon  College  with  the  class 
of  1873.  Beginning  in  1871  he  had  a  business 
training    of    about    ten    vears    in    Wilkes-Barre, 


meanwhile  contributing  to  local  newspapers  and 
doing  special  correspondence  from  the  coal  re- 
gions for  the  Chicago  Tribune.  He  also  spent 
a  year  in  Chicago  as  a  reporter  on  the  Tribune 
staff,  and  is  still  on  the  list  of  its  correspon- 
dents. He  then  took  a  three  years'  course  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  took  his  doctor's  degree  in  1883 ; 
but,  instead  of  engaging  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, he  took  up  journalism,  purchasing  a  half 
interest  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Record,  with  which 
he  is  still  connected.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Board  of  Trade,  the  New  Eng- 
land Society,  the  Westmoreland  Club,  the  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  Geological  Society,  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  the  Luzerne 
County  Medical  Society,  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Medical  Society,  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, the  Society  for  Prevention  of  Tubercu- 
losis, the  Wvoming  Commemorative  Association^ 
the  Pennsylvania  Forestry  Association,  the  State 
and  National  Editorial  Associations ;  the  Masonic 
fraternity,  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  etc.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  was  one  of  the  committee  appointed 
by  the  state  board  of  public  charities  to  inspect 
the  public  institutions  of  Luzerne  county,  and  in 
1901  was  appointed  by  the  court  one  of  the  jail 
commissioners.  Dr.  Johnson  married  June  25, 
1885,  Georgia,  daughter  of  Joseph  H.  and  Har- 
riet (Green)  Post,  at  Oshkosh,  Wisconsin.  They 
have  three  children — Ruth,  Frederick  and  Mar- 
garet Johnson.  H.  E.  H. 

HODGE  FAMILY.  Towards  the  close  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  during  the  reign  of 
William  of  Orange  in  England,  William  Hodge, 
of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  lived  in  the  north  of 
Ireland.  He  died  January  4,  1723,  and  his  wife, 
Margaret,  died  October  15,  1730.  Their  three 
surviving  sons,  William,  Andrew,  and  Hugh 
Hodge  came  to  Philadelphia,  1731. 

William  Hodge,  born  1704,  died  Philadelphia, 
1784,  married  September  1,  1732,  Mary  McCul- 
loch,  widow.  They  had  Mary,  who  married 
David  Hayfield  Conyngham,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
(See  Conyngham  family.) 

Hugh  Hodge,  the  youngest  of  the  immigrant 


7o 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


brothers,  married  Hannah  .     They  had  one 

child,  a  son  bearing  his  own  name,  who  gradu- 
ated at  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  Princeton, 
in  1773,  and  took  his  master's  degree  in  course. 
He  soon  afterward  sailed  for  Europe,  but  the 
ship  in  which  he  took  passage  was  never  heard 
of  after  leaving  port.  At  the  death  of  his  parents 
their  estate  went  by  Hugh  Hodge's  will  to  the 
College  of  New  Jersey. 

Andrew  Hodge,  second  in  age  of  the  im- 
migrant brothers,  was  born  in  Ireland,  March 
28,  171 1,  and  became  not  only  a  successful  mer- 
chant in  Philadelphia,  but  also  founder  of  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  families  in  that  city 
and  in  the  state,  numbering  among  its  members 
in  the  generations  succeeding  men  of  eminence 
in  the  professions  and  in  the  varied  avocations 
of  business  life.  He  was  active  and  influential 
in  all  the  affairs  of  the  church  and  of  the  com- 
munity, being  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Second 
Church,  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
until  the  day  of  his  death.  In  1739  he  married 
Jane  McCullough,  and  had  many  children,  eight 
of  whom  died  in  infancy  or  early  life.  Their 
eldest  daughter,  Margaret,  married  Colonel  John 
R.  Bayard,  of  Bohemia  Manor,  and  the  next 
eldest,  Agnes,  married  James  Ashton  Bayard, 
M.  D.,  and  had  Senator  James  A.  Bayard,  father 
of  Senator  James  A.  Bayard  and  grandfather  of 
Senator  William  G.  Bayard.  The  sons  were  Dr. 
John  Hodge,  Captain  William  Hodge,  Captain 
Andrew  Hodge,  Hugh  Hodge,  and  James  Hodge. 
The  other  children  were  Jane,  who  married  B. 
Phillips,  of  England,  and  Mary,  who  married 
Mr.  Hodgson. 

Hugh  Hodge,  the  eighth  child  of  Andrew 
Hodge  and  Jane  McCullough,  born  in  Phila- 
delphia, August  20,  1755,  died  July  14,  1791. 
He  graduated  at  Princeton  College,  A.  B.,  1773, 
and  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Cad- 
wallader,  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  appointed 
February  4,  1776,  surgeon  of  the  third  battalion 
of  Pennsylvania  troops,  and  was  captured  by 
the  British  at  Fort  Washington,  New  York,  but 
through  the  intercession  of  General  Washington 
was  released  on  parole.  He  then  entered  mer- 
cantile pursuits   with   his   brother   Andrew,   but 


soon  returned  to  the  practice  of  medicine,  and 
had  an  important  part  in  endeavoring  to  stay 
the  progress  of  the  yellow  fever  epidemic  which 
ravaged  Philadelphia  in  1793  and  again  in  1795. 
He  himself  escaped  attack  by  the  disease,  but 
his  exertions  in  behalf  of  others  drained  his 
strength  and  produced  troubles  which  ultimately- 
resulted  in  his  death,  July  14,  1798. 

Dr.  Hugh  Hodge  married,  1790,  Mary 
Blanchard,  of  Boston,  born  1765,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Blanchard,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts. 
Two  sons,  Hugh  Lenox  Hodge  and  Charles 
Hodge,  were  left  in  early  infancy  to  a  widowed 
mother  with  slender  means  of  support.  This  in- 
telligent and  gifted  woman,  was,  however,  equal 
to  the  emergency,  and  by  untiring  energy  she 
not  only  contributed  to  the  necessities  of  her  chil- 
dren, but  secured  for  them  a  good  classical  edu- 
cation, and  they  completed  a  full  course  of  in- 
struction in  the  College  of  New  Jersey  at  Prince- 
ton. Dr.  Hugh  and  Mary  (Blanchard)  Hodge 
had  :  Elizabeth,  born  1791,  died  1793  ;  Mary,  born 
1792,  died  1795;  Hugh,  born  1794,  died  1795; 
Hugh  Lenox,  born  June  27,  1796;  "and  Charles 
Hodge,  born  December  27,  1797. 

Rev.  Charles  Hodge,  D.  D.,  S.  T.  D.,  LL.  D., 
fifth  child  of  Dr.  Hugh  and  Mary  (Blanchard) 
Hodge,  began  his  studies  in  the  Classical  Acad- 
emy at  Somerville,  New  Jersey,  in  1810;  entered 
the  sophomore  class,  College  of  New  Jersey, 
1812;  graduated  A.  B.  1815,  A.  M.  1818;  began 
theological  study  in  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  1816 ; 
licensed  to  preach,  1819 ;  appointed  professor  of 
Hebrew  in  Princeton  Theological  Seminary, 
1820;  visited  Europe,  1826,  for  two  years  course 
of  study  in  Paris,  Havre  and  Berlin.  He  received 
the  honorary  degree  of  S.  T.  D.,  from  Rutgers 
College,  1834,  and  LL.  D.,  from  Washington 
College,  Pennsylvania,  1864.  Before  he  went  to 
Europe,  at  the  instigation  and  with  the  support 
of  his  colleagues  and  with  the  patronage  of  other 
professors  and  the  clergy  of  Princeton,  he  un- 
dertook the  publication  of  the  "Biblical  Reper- 
tory," a  quarterly  religious  periodical  devoted 
chiefly  to  notices  and  reviews  of  books,  now  the 
"Presbyterian  Quarterly  and  Princeton  Review." 
It  was  conducted  almost  solelv  bv  Dr.  Hod^e  for 


THE    WYOMIXG    AND    LACKAWAXXA    VALLEYS. 


7i 


half  a  century  or  more.  After  his  return  from 
Europe  Dr.  Hodge  resumed  the  duties  of  his  pro- 
fessorship with  renewed  earnestness,  and  was 
long  identified  with  the  best  and  most  interest- 
ing history  of  the  institution.  In  1862,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  fiftieth  aniversary  of  the  semi- 
nary, he  delivered  an  address.  Ten  years  later 
(1872),  a  jubilee  was  held  at  Princeton  to  com- 
memorate the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Dr.  Hodge's 
professorship,  and  on  this  occasion  the  graduates 
endowed  the  "Charles  Hodge  Professorship" 
with  $50,000,  and  presented  Dr.  Hodge  with 
$15,000.  He  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  men 
in  the  Christian  Church  in  America,  and  doubt- 
less has  influenced  more  minds  than  any  other 
man  in  the  study  of  theology  by  his  writings.  He 
was  the  author  of  "Princeton  Theological  Es- 
says," two  volumes,  1846 ;  "Essays  and  Reviews," 
1857;  "Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans," 1835 ;  "Constitutional  History  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,"  two 
volumes,  1840;  "The  Way  of  Life,"  1842;  "Com- 
mentaries on  Ephesians,"  1856 ;  "First  Corin- 
thians," i860:  "Second  Corinthians,"  i860; 
"What  is  Darwinism,"  1874;  and  his  great  work, 
"Systematic  Theology,"  three  volumes  of  over 
two  thousand  pages,  1871-72.  He  was  for  years 
professor  of  Didactic  and  Exegetical  Theology 
and.  also  Polemic  Theology  in  the  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary  from  1852  until  his  death, 
and  moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  1846. 

In  his  domestic  life  Dr.  Hodge  was  greatly 
favored.  He  married,  June  17,  1822,  Sarah 
Bache,  daughter  of  Dr.  William  Bache,  whose 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 
Dr.  William  Bache's  wife  was  Catharine  Wistar, 
sister  of  Dr.  Casper  Wistar,  at  one  time  profes- 
sor of  anatomy  in  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. The  children  of  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  and 
Sarah  (Bache)  Hodge  were  : 

1.  Archibald  Alexander  Hodge,  born 
Princeton,  Xew  Jersey.  July  18,  1823, "died  there 
November  11,  1886;  graduated  at  Princeton  Col- 
lege, A.  B.  1841,  A.  M.  1844.  S.  T.  D.  1862; 
LL.  D.  of  Theological  Seminary,  1844:  tutor  in 
the  college  ;  missionary  to  Allahabad,  India,  1847  ; 
returned   to   America    1850;   accepted   a   call   to 


small  congregation  in  Cecil  county,  Maryland, 
185 1  to  1855,  and  partially  supported  himself 
by  teaching ;  accepted  a  call  to  Fredericksburg, 
Virginia,  1855-61 ;  returned  north  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war,  and  soon  received  an  ap- 
pointment as  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  1861-64; 
appointed  professor  of  Theology  in  the  Western 
Theological  Seminary,  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania, 
1864  to  1867,  and  in  connection  with  that  work 
also  had  charge  of  a  large  congregation  in  Pitts- 
burg. He  was  associate  professor  of  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  1877-78,  and  succeeded 
his  father  as  professor,  1878.  He  was  also  vice- 
president  of  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geologi- 
cal Society,  1864.  He  received  the  degree  of 
LL.  D.,  University  of  Wooster,  Ohio,  1880. 
Among  the  articles  written  by  him  were  "Out- 
lines of  Theologv,"  i860,  and  "Life  of  Charles 
Hodge,"  1880. 

2.  Mary  Hodge,  born  August  31,  1825,  mar- 
ried, 1848,  Rev.  William  M.  Scott,  D.  D„  born 
October  18,  1817,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  The- 
ological Seminary,  1843,  then  a  professor  in 
Centre  College,  Danville,  Kentucky,  1847  to 
1854,  afterward  pastor  of  Seventh  Presbyterian 
Church,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  1856-59 ;  professor  in 
Northwest  Theological  Seminary,  Chicago,  Illi- 
nois, 1859-61  ;  returned  to  Princeton  in  Decem- 
ber, 1861,  and  died  there  December  22,  1861. 

3.  Casper  Wistar  Hodge,  S.  T.  D.,  born 
Princeton,  Xew  Jersey,  February  21,  1830; 
graduate  of  Princeton,  A.  B.,  1848,  first  honors; 
studied  theology  and  was  licensed  to  preach  ; 
tutor  in  Princeton,  1850-53  ;  appointed  professor 
in  Theological  Seminary,  Princeton,  i860;  S.  T. 
D.  1865  ;  married,  first,  Mary  Stockton,  daugh- 
ter of  Lieutenant  Stockton,  and  granddaughter 
of  Richard  Stockton,  of  Princeton,  Xew  Jersey; 
married  (second),  Harriet  Terry  Post,  of  Hunt- 
ington, Long  Island,  granddaughter  of  Professor 
Post,  surgeon,  of  Xew  York;  married  (third), 
Angie  Post. 

4.  Charles  Hodge,  M.  D.,  born  March  22, 
1832,  died  1876.  A  graduate  of  Princeton,  A. 
B.  1852;  A.  M.  1855;  phvsician  in  Philadelphia, 
M.  D.  University  of  Pennsylvania,  1855 ;  resi- 
dent physician,  Blockley  Hospital ;  removed  to 
Trenton,  Xew  Jersey,  and  appointed  physician 
to  Xew  Jersey  Asylum  for  Insane ;  later  engaged 
in  general  practice  of  medicine  in  Trenton ;  mar- 
ried, 1858,  Martha  Janeway,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Thomas  L.  Janeway,  and  granddaughter  of  Rev. 
Jacob  J.  Janeway. 

5.  John  Bayard  Hodge,  born  Princeton, 
Xew  Jersey,  1834;  became  a  farmer  at  Millstone, 


72 


THE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


and  later  entered  the  service  of  a  railroad  com- 
pany at  South  Amboy.  New  Jersey. 

6.  Catharine  Bache  Hodge,  born  August 
31,  1836. 

7.  Francis  Blanchard  Hodge,  born  October 
24,  1838. 

8.  Sarah  Hodge,  born  Princeton,  New  Jer- 
sey, married,  August,  1866,  Colonel  Samuel 
Stockton,  a  retired  army  officer  and  farmer. 

Rev.  Francis  Blanchard  Hodge,  A.  M., 
S.  T.  D.,  born  in  Princeton,  New  Jersey.  October 
24,  1838,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  May  13,  1905. 
He  married,  June  2,  1863,  Alary  Alexander,  died 
May  8,  1883,  daughter  of  Stephen  Alexander, 
forty  years  professor  of  astronomy,  Princeton 
College,  and  his  wife,  Louisa  Meads,  of  Albany, 
New  York.  Dr.  Francis  B.  Hodge  was  edu- 
cated at  Princeton  College,  where  he  graduated 
A.  B.  1859,  A.  M..  1862,  and  of  the  Theological 
Seminary  of  Princeton  in  1863.  Received  the 
honorary  degree  of  S.  T.  D.,  1883.  He  was  or- 
dained by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Castle,  Penn- 
sylvania, May  19,  1863,  and  settled  as  pastor  of 
the  church  at  Oxford,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1869.  Here  his  intelligence  and  de- 
votion to  his  parishioners  won  for  him  wide  pop- 
ularity and  influence ;  his  congregation,  com- 
prised largely  of  farmers,  increased  materially  in 
size  under  his  ministrations,  and  under  his  lead- 
ership a  new  brick  church  edifice  replaced  the 
former  old  wooden  structure.  When  his  brother, 
Rev.  Dr.  Alexander  Archibald  Hodge,  vacated 
the  pastorate  of  the  mother  Presbyterian  church 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  Dr.  Francis  B.  Hodge  accepted 
a  call  to  the  pastorate  there,  and  was  formally 
installed  February  23.  1869.  From  that  time  he 
was  the  active  influential  head  of  the  church  and 
its  society  until  recent  physical  infirmities  im- 
pelled him  to  yield  his  place  to  another,  although 
he  himself  continued  in  the  relation  of  pastor 
emeritus  to  the  church  until  his  death.  To  Dr. 
Francis  B.  Hodge  and  the  Rev.  Henry  L.  Jones, 
rector  of  St.  Stephen's  Episcopal  Church,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  for  over  thirty-one  years,  is  due  the  very 
unusual  brotherly  "entente  cordiale"  that  has  for 
all  the  years  of  their  ministry  here  marked  the 
history  of  all  evangelical  churches  in  Wyoming 
valley.  They  have  worked  here  for  the  Master's 
cause  without  differences,  but  with  the  one  pur- 


pose of  magnifying  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  ex- 
emplifying the  loving  spirit  of  that  Gospel..  Dr. 
Francis  B.  Hodge  was  a  trustee  of  Princeton  Un- 
iversity, 1 886- 1905,  succeeding  his  brother  in 
that  office.  He  was  also  a  trustee  of  the  Oster- 
hout  Free  Library,  Wilkes-Barre,  under  the  will  . 
of  its  founder,  from  1887  to  1905 ;  vice-president 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  So- 
ciety, 1896-1905,  and  meteorologist  of  the  Society 
from  1890  to  1905.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Society  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  by 
right  of  his  ancestors,  Surgeon  Hugh  Hodge, 
Third  Pennsylvania  Battalion,  1776-83;  Richard 
Bache,  first  postmaster  in  the  Lnited  States, 
1776-82;  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Dr.  Francis 
Blanchard  and  Mary  (Alexander)  Hodge  had 
seven  children : 

1.  Louise  Alexander,  a  graduate  of  the 
Drexel  Institute  Library,  and  one  of  the  assis- 
tants of  the  Osterhout  Free  Library.  • 

2.  Franklin  died  in  infancy. 

3.  Charles,  graduated  A.  B.,  Princeton  Col- 
lege, 1890,  now  with  Westinghouse  Electric 
Company. 

4.  Stephen  Alexander,  graduated  A.  B., 
Princeton  College,  1895 ;  is  now  connected  with 
the  Hazard  Manufacturing  Company,  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

5.  Sarah   Blanchard. 

6.  Joseph  Henry,  died  October  23.  1884. 

7.  Helen  Henry,  graduated  A.  B..  Bryn 
Mawr  College,  Pennsylvania,  1900.  Teacher  of 
history  in  Miss  Irwin's  School,  Philadelphia,  and 
graduate  student  at  Bryn  Mawr  College,  1901- 
02 ;  graduate  scholar  at  Bryn  Mawr  College, 
1902-03  ;  associate  principal,  with  Sarah  Henry 
Stites ;  graduated  M.  A.,  Bryn  Mawr,  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Female  Institute,   1904-05. 

H.  E.  H.. 

REV.  HEXRY  LAWRENCE  JONES,  M. 
A.,  S.  T.  D.  The  ancestors  of  Rev.  Dr.  Jones 
came  from  Great  Britain  to  Maine  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  They  were  members  of  the 
Societv  of  Friends.  Lemuel  Jones,  the  first  of 
the  name   to   emigrate,     settled    at    Brunswick, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


73 


Maine.  He  was  "a  highly  approved  and  accepted 
minster"  among  the  Friends.  He  married  and 
had  a  large  family  of  twelve  children,  all  of  whom 
lived  to  advanced  age.  Among  them  was 
Thomas  Jones,  who,  like  his  father,  was  "a  highly 
approved  and  accepted  minister"  in  the  Society 
at  Brunswick.  He  married  Esther  Hacker, 
daughter  of  Jeremiah  Hacker,  a  prominent  mer- 
chant of  Salem,  Maine,  who  removed  to  Bruns- 
wick shortly  after  the  Revolutionary  war.  Thomas 
and  Esther  had 

Rev.  Lot  Jones,  M.  A.,  S.  T.  D.,  born 
Brunswick,  February  21,  1797,  died  Philadel- 
phia, October  12,  1865.  He  married  first,  in 
Augusta,  Georgia,  1825,  Priscilla  McMillan, 
daughter  of  Alexander  McMillan,  a  native  of 
Edinburg.  Scotland,  whose  wife  was  daughter  of 
Colonel  Mead,  of  Bedford  county.  Virginia.  Her 
sister  married  Judge  Wilde,  of  Richmond  county, 
Georgia.  Mrs.  Jones  died  Leicester,  Massachu- 
setts, 1829.  He  married  second,  May  19,  1831, 
Lucv  Ann  Bullard,  born  November  9,  1809,  died 
New  York,  August  15,  1898,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Artemus  Bullard,  of  West  Sutton,  Massachusetts, 
and  his  wife,  Lucy  White,  eldest  daughter  of 
Deacon  Jesse  and  Anna  Mason  White,  of  North- 
bridge,  Massachusetts.  Rev.  Lot  Jones  was 
reared  in  the  belief  of  his  parents,  and  sent  to 
Bowdoin  College,  Brunswick,  Maine,  to  be  edu- 
cated. He  graduated  from  this  institution  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1821,  and  Mas- 
ter of  Arts  in  1824.  He  received  from  Columbia 
LTniversity,  New  York,  in  1859,  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  S.  T.  D.  After  his  graduation,  under 
new  convictions  of  duty  he  earlv  terminated  his 
ecclesiastical  relations  with  the  people  among 
whom  he  was  born  and  reared,  and  with  the  pur- 
pose of  entering  the  ministry  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  began,  the  study  of  theology 
under  the  Rev.  Thomas  Carlisle,  rector  of  St. 
Peters  Church,  Salem,  Massachusetts.  He  was  or- 
dained to  the  diaconate  by  Rt.  Rev.  Alexander 
Viets  Griswold,  D.  D.,  of  the  Eastern  Diocese  of 
Massachusetts,  Januarv  1,  1823,  and  to  the  priest- 
Tiood  by  the  same  in  1824.  He  labored  as  a  mis- 
sionary for  two  years  in  M arblehead  and  Ashfield, 
Massachusetts,  and  then  moved  to  Georgia  on  ac- 


count of  his  health.  While  in  that  state  he  organ- 
ized a  church  in  Macon,  and  for  a  time  had  charge 
of  Chatham  Academy,  Savannah.  He  was  also 
rector  of  Christ  Church,  Clappville, .  for  several 
years.  Returning  to  Maine  he  supplied  Christ 
Church,  Gardiner,  and  then  accepted  the  rector- 
ship of  Christ  Church,  Leicester,  Massachusetts. 
In  1833  he  went  to  New  York  City,  where  as  rec- 
tor of  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany,  he  labored 
for  thirty-three  years  with  great  success.  "This 
was  strictlv  a  missionary  enterprise,  springing 
from  an  effort  of  benevolence  to  supply  the  wants 
of  a  populous  but  comparatively  poor  neighbor- 
hood. The  sittings  were  all  free,  and  its  religious 
privileges  have  been  blessed  to  multitudes  of  that 
shifting  population."  Long  as  it  was  since  Rev. 
Lot  Jones  renounced  the  tenets  of  Quakerism,  he 
retained  much  of  the  manner  and  tone  which  mark 
the  members  of  that  placid  community.  Among 
the  rectors  of  the  Episcopal  Churches  in  New 
York  City  few  were  older  than  he  and  none 
more  highly  respected.  Besides  several  dis- 
courses in  pamphlet  form,  he  published  a  small 
volume  called  "The  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Sarah  L. 
Tavlor,"  (Bowdoin  College  History).  Another 
writer  says  of  him:  "He  was  held  in  respect 
everywhere  as  the  faithful  and  beloved  pastor.  In 
literary  and  social  circles  of  the  metropolis  he  was 
no  less  esteemed  as  an  accomplished  scholar  and 
one  of  the  most  genial  of  men.  He  died  quite 
suddenly  in  consequence  of  an  accidental  fall 
while  attending  a  church  convention  in  Phila- 
delphia." 

Mrs.  Lucy  Ann  Jones,  wife  of  Rev.  Lot  Jones, 
was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Artemus  Bullard,  of 
Sutton,  Massachusetts,  and  his  wife,  Lucy, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Jesse  and  Ann  Mason  White, 
of  Northbridge.  Her  father  was  a  prominent 
physician  and  a  fellow  of  the  council  of  the  Mass- 
achusetts Medical  Society.  He  was  descended 
from  Robert  Bullard.  of  Watertown,  whose  son, 
Benjamin  Bullard,  was  a  large  landowner  in 
Sherborn,  Massachusetts.  Benjamin  Bullard  (3) 
eldest  son  of  Benjamin  (2),  married  Judith, 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  Hill,  of  Sherborn,  and  had 
six  sens  and  five  daughters.  Asa,  the  eldest  son, 
was  the  father  of  Dr.  Artemus  Bullard.     Lucv 


74 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


White,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Artemus  Bullard  and  the 
mother  of  Mrs.  Lot  Jones,  descended  also  from 
"Sampson  Mason,  the  Baptist  and  Dragoon  in 
Oliver  Cromwell's  Army,"  of  whom  a  sketch  ap- 
peared in  the  New  England  Hist.-Gen.  Register 
for  July,  1864.  Mrs.  Bullard  was  descended 
from  him  in  the  sixth  generation.  Among  Mrs. 
Lot  Jones'  brothers  were  Rev.  Artemus  Bullard, 
D.  D.,  of  Amherst  College,  1826;  Rev.  Asa  Bul- 
lard, M,  A.,  of  the  same  college,  1828;  Ebenezer 
Waters  Bullard,  M.  A.,  of  Miami  University, 
1834;  Talbot  Bullard,  M.  D.,  and  Jesse  Mason 
Bullard,  M.  D. ;  and  among  her  sisters  was  Eu- 
nice White  Bullard,  who  has  been  so  well  known 
for  many  years  as  Mrs.  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 
Rev.  Lot  and  Lucy  Ann  (Bullard)  Jones  had 
five  children  :  William  Henry,  died  in  infancy ; 
Maria  Louisa,  married  George  E.  Moore,  of  New 
York,  both  deceased;  Emily,  died  in  infancy; 
Lucy  Ann,  died  in  infancy ;  and  Henry  Law- 
rence. 

Rev.  Henry  Lawrence  Jones,  M.  A.,  S.  T.  D., 
born  New  York,  May  30,  1839,  married,  October 
6,  1869,  Sarah  Eastman  Coffin,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel Coffin,  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  and  his 
wife,  Harriet  Fox  Ayers.  Dr.  Jones  graduated 
Bachelor  of  Arts,  Columbia  University,  New 
York,  1858,  Master  of  Arts,  1861 ;  from  his  alma 
mater  he  also  received  the  honorary  degree  of  S. 
T.  D.,  1892.  After  his  graduation  he  entered  the 
Theological  Seminary  of  Virginia  to  study  di- 
vinity, and  graduated  1861.  He  was  ordained  to 
the  diaconate  May  24,  1861,  and  to  the  priesthood 
by  Rt.  Rev.  Horatio  Potter,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  in 
1862.  After  serving  his  diaconate  under  his 
father  in  New  York  City,  he  accepted  a  call  to 
Fitchburg,  Massachusetts,  where  he  organized 
Christ  Church  parish,  October,  1863,  and  re- 
mained rector  of  the  church  for  eleven  years,  re- 
signing 1874  to  accept  a  call  to  St.  Stephen's 
Church,  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  has  served  as 
rector  for  thirty-one  years.  During  that  period 
he  has  held  the  highest  positions  in  the  eccles- 
iastical affairs  of  the  diocese  of  Central  Pennsyl- 
vania, i.  e.,  examining  chaplain  1876-80 ;  presi- 
dent of  the  North-Western  Convocation  (now 
Archdeaconry  of  Scranton)   and  member  of  the 


Board  of  Missions  1876-87,  when  he  refused  to  be 
re-elected ;  deputy  to  the  General  Convention  of 
the  Church,  1886-1905;  member  of  the  standing 
committee  continuously  since  1876.  He  was  also 
for  years  member  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  American  Church  Missionary  Society,  of 
which  Judge  I.  N.  Conyngham  was  president.  He 
is  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Oster- 
hout  Free  Library,  and  vice-president  of  the  Wy- 
oming Historical-Geological  Society.  He  has 
for  the  past  thirty  years  and  more  been  past  mas- 
ter, past  patriarch,  and  past  commander  of  the 
Masonic  lodge,  chapter  and  commandery  of 
Fitchburg,  Massachusetts.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Society  Sons  of  the  Revolution 
in  right  of  his  ancestor,  Asa  Bullard,  who  served 
in  the  Revoluntionary  army.  Dr.  Jones'  church 
work  is,  perhaps,  the  most  extensive  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Pennsylvania,  the  mother  parish  having 
charge  of  seven  mission  chapels,  and  the  rector  a 
staff  of  five  assistant  pastors. 

Mrs.  Henry  L.  Jones  descends  from  Tristram 
Coffin,  of  Butlers,  parish  of  Brixton,  county  De- 
von, England,  who  died  1602,  and  whose  grand- 
son, son  of  Nicholas  Coffin,  of  Butlers,  1613,  was 
Peter  Coffin,  of  the  same  place,  who  died  1628. 
Peter  married  Joanna  Thember,  and  died  in  Eng- 
land, 1628.  His  widow,  with  her  son  Tristram 
and  daughters  Mary  and  Eunice,  came  to  Salis- 
bury, Massachusetts,  1642.  She  was  a  woman 
of  unusual  force  of  character.  Her  son  Tristram, 
born  1609,  died  1681,  was  the  ancestor  of  the 
Coffin  family  of  Newbury,  Massachusetts.  Tris- 
tram Coffin,  1609-81,  had  Tristram,  Jr.,  who  mar- 
ried Judith  Greenleaf,  1602-1705,  and  had  Nath- 
aniel, who  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Captain 
Samuel  Brocklebank,  and  had  John,  who  married 
Judith  Greenleaf,  1692-1772,  and  had  William, 
who  married  Sarah  Hazeltine,  whose  son  Enoch 
married  Lois  Cavis  and  had  Samuel,  the  father 
of  Mrs.  Jones.  He  married  Harriet  Fox  Ayers. 
Mrs.  Jones  is  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  So- 
ciety Colonial  Dames  of  America  through  her  an- 
cestors, Judge  Nicholas  Coffin,  Lieutenant  Ed- 
ward Greenleaf,  Captain  Stephen  Greenleaf,  and 
Captain   Samuel   Brocklebank. 

Rev.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  L.  Jones  had  six 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


/d 


children:  i.  Harriet  Louise,  now  the  head  of 
Glencoe  Female  Seminary,  Glencoe,  Maryland. 
2.  Lawrence  Bullard,  Yale  College,  A.  B.,  1894; 
was  admitted  to  the  Luzerne  county  bar,  1896. 
He  married,  June  15,  1899,  Martha  Phelps,  born 
October  16,  1873,  daughter  of  George  Slocum 
and  Ellen  Woodward  (Nelson)  Bennett.  (See 
Bennett  Family).  3.  Helen  Crocker,  died  an 
infant.  4.  Carleton  Coffin,  Yale  College,  A.  B., 
1898,  and  now  (1905)  bookkeeper  in  the  Miners' 
Saving  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and 
adjutant  of  the  Ninth  Regular  National  Guard  of 
Pennsylvania.  5.  Gertrude  Fox,  a  graduate  of 
Johns  Hopkins  Hospital  School  for  Nurses  in 
Baltimore,  Maryland.  6.  Paul,  graduated  A. 
B.,  Yale  College,  1902,  now  a  student  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Theological  Seminary, 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  H.  E.  H. 

PHELPS  FAMILY.  The  founder  of  this 
branch  of  the  family  in  America  was  William 
Phelps,  a  son  of  William  Phelps,  baptized  Au- 
gust 4,  1560,  at  Tewkesbury,  Gloucestershire, 
England,  and  his  wife  Dorothy,  and  grandson  of 
James  Phelps,  born  same  place  1520,  and  his  wife 
Joan.  William  Phelps  was  baptized  at  Tewkes- 
bury, August  15,  1599.  He  and  his  brother, 
Richard  Phelps,  baptized  December  26,  1619,  and 
George  Phelps,  all  members  of  a  church  organ- 
ized in  Plymouth,  England,  early  in  1629,  with 
Rev.  John  Warham  and  Rev.  Samuel  Maverick, 
both  Lniversity  bred  men  and  ministers  of  the 
Church  of  England,  as  their  pastors,  with  a 
goodly  number  of  emigrants,  one  hundred  and 
forty  in  all,  from  Devonshire,  Dorsetshire  and 
So.mersetshire,  England,  set  sail  for  New  Eng- 
land in  the  ship  ''Mary  and  John,"  reaching  the 
Massachusetts  coast  March  30,  1630,  and  landed 
at  what  is  now  Dorchester  Manse.  William 
Phelps  was  one  of  seven  only  in  this  first  organ- 
ized Church  of  New  England  who  was  entitled 
to  be  addressed  as  "Mister,"  a  title  given  only  to 
men  of  scholarship  or  high  position.  He  brought 
with  him  his  wife  Elizabeth  and  five  children  ;  he 
was  made  a  freeman,  Dorchester,  November  9, 
1630;  members  of  the  church  only  could  be  ad- 


mitted as  freemen,  and  only  freemen  could  exer- 
cise the  right  to  vote. 

Mr.  Phelps  was  one  of  the  first  jury  empan- 
elled in  New  England,  1630.  He  was  appointed 
constable  1631,  and  in  1634,  with  Ensign  Giles 
Gibbs,  was  appointed  by  the  general  court  of 
Massachusetts,  part  of  a  committee  to  arrange 
the  bounds  between  Boston  and  Dorchester.  In 
1636  he  removed  to  Windsor,  Connecticut,  with 
a  church  under  Rev.  John  Warham,  and  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  general  court  of  Massachusetts, 
March  3,  1636,  one  of  the  governing  commission- 
ers to  govern  the  people  of  Connecticut,  which 
honorable  position  he  held  until  Connecticut  be- 
came an  independent  colony.  He  was  assistant 
1636  to  1642,  1658  to  1662 ;  member  of  the  gov- 
ernor's council  in  1637,  covering  a  period  of  forty 
sessions.  He  was  also  deputy  to  the  general 
court  of  Connecticut,  1645  to  1655,  and  1657,  in 
all  fifty-six  sessions.  His  wife  Elizabeth,  died 
prior  to  1636.  He  married  (second)  at  Windsor, 
Mary  Dover,  born  in  England,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  a  fellow  passenger  with  him  on  the 
""Mary  and  John."  A  member  of  the  original 
Church  of  Dorchester  and  Windsor.  After  liv- 
ing forty-two  years  in  New  England,  of  which 
thirty-six  were  passed  in  Windsor,  he  died  there 
July  14,  1672;  his  widow,  Mary  died  November 
27-  K5/5.  He  was  an  excellent,  pious  and  up- 
right man  in  his  public  and  private  life,  "a  pillar 
in  church  and  state."  In  1641  he  and  Mr.  John 
Welles,  of  Hartford,  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee on  lying.  In  the  old  records  Mr.  Phelps 
was  distinguished  from  his  son  William  as  "Ould 
Mr.  Phelps."     Children,  first  marriage: 

1.  William,  born  1620;  died  s.  p.  February  7, 
16S1  ;  married  (first)  June  4,  1645,  Isabel  Wil- 
son;  married  (second)  December  20,  1676,  Sarah 
Pinney. 

2.  Sarah,  born  1623  :  married  June  9,  1658, 
William  Wade  ;  died  s.  d.  p.   1659. 

3.  Samuel,  born  1625 :  married  November 
10,  1650,  Sarah  Griswold;  had  issue. 

4.  Nathaniel,  born  1627 ;  married  September 
17,  1650,  Eizabeth  Copley;  had  issue. 


76 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


5.  Joseph,  born  1629. 

Children  of  William  Phelps,  second  marriage : 

6.  Timothy,  born  August,  1639,  Windsor ; 
married  March  19,  1661,  Mary  Griswold ;  had 
issue. 

7.  Mary,  born  Windsor,  March,  1644 ;  mar- 
ried Thomas  Barber ;  had  issue. 

Joseph  Phelps,  fifth  child  of  William  and 
Elizabeth,  married  (first)  September  20,  1660, 
Hannah  Newton,  daughter  of  Roger  Newton. 
She  died  in  Simsbury,  1674.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) January  9,  1676,  Mary  Salmon,  widow  of 
Thomas  Salmon,  who  died  January  16,  1682. 
Joseph  was  made  a  freeman  1664.  In  1668  he 
sold  his  property,  and  removed  to  Simsbury, 
where  he  died,  1684.  His  children  (first  mar- 
riage) were:  Joseph,  born  August  2,  1667; 
Hannah,  born  February  2,  1668,  died  young ; 
Timothy,  born  1671 ;  had  issue. 

Lieutenant  Joseph  Phelps,  eldest  son  of  Jos- 
•eph  and  Hannah  Phelps,  married  (first)  Mary 
Collier,  who  died  in  1697;  (second),  November 
■9,  1699,  Sarah  Case,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah 
(Spencer)  Case,  died  May  2,  1704,  and  (third) 
Mary  Case,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Elizabeth 
Case,  who  died  September  10,  1757.  Lieutenant 
Phelps  was  a  deputy  to  the  general  court  of  Con- 
necticut from  Simsbury,  1709  to  1727,  service 
of  thirty-three  sessions.  He  was  justice,  1726  to 
1733:  ensign.  May  1716;  commissioned  lieuten- 
ant, 1730 ;  captain,  1732.  He  died  January  20, 
1750.     His  children,  first  wife : 

Joseph,  born  October  9,  1689. 

Hannah,  born  October  25,  1693 ;  married 
February  23,  1710,  Samuel  Humphrey;  had 
issue. 

Mary,  born  October  17,  1696 ;  died  January  g> 

Children  by  second  wife : 

Sarah,  born  August  11,   1700;  died  January 

14.  I7I4- 

Damaris,  born  March  5,  1703;  married  April 
7,   1720,  John  Mills. 

Children  by  third  wife : 

David,  born  1710. 

Lieutenant  David  Phelps,  of  Simsbury,  mar- 
ried, April  25,   1 73 1,  Abigail  Pettebone,  born  in 


Simsbury,  April  22,  1706,  died  October  16,  1787, 
daughter  of  John  Pettebone,  Jr.,  and  his  wife 
Marv  Bissell,  son  of  John  Pettebone  and  Sarah 
Egglestone,  of  Begat  Egglestone,  Dorchester, 
Massachusetts,  1630.  Mary  Bissell  was  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Bissell,  of  John,  1591-1677,  and 
Abigail  Holcombe,  of  Thomas.  1630.  Lieuten- 
and  David  Phelps  was  deputy  from  Simsbury  to 
the  general  court  of  Connecticut,  October,  1752, 
to  May,  1756,  eleven  sessions ;  was  commissioned 
lieutenant,  May,  1756.  He  died  in  Simsbury, 
April  9,  1760,  aged  fifty  years.     Children: 

1.  David,  born  May  7,   1732:  died  July  19, 

I732- 

2.  David,  born  March  26,  1733. 

3.  Abigail,  born  November  5,  1735  :  married 
(first)  Edward  Griswold,  (second)  Amasa  Case. 

4.  Elisha,  born  October  17,  1737;  died  July 
14,  1776:  married,  August  10,  1760,  Rosetta 
Owen :  appointed  captain  and  a  commissary  Con- 
necticut troops,   1774-75  ;  had  issue. 

5.  General  Noah  Phelps,  born  January  22. 
1740 ;  died  March  4,  1805  ;  married  June  10.  1761 
Lydia  Griswold.  Served  as  captain  Revolution- 
ary war  and  commissary,  later  major-general  of 
militia  ;  judge  of  probate  twenty-two  years  ;  dep- 
uty twenty  sessions :  was  father  of  Governor 
Elisha  Phelps  and  others. 

6.  Rachel  Phelps,  born  December  n,  1741  ; 
married  David  Humphrey. 

7.  Ruth,  born  September  15.  1743:  married 
Jonah  Case. 

8.  Sarah,  born  October  15,  1745:  married 
March,  1765,  Elijah  Hayden,  of  William,  1630. 

9.  Susanah,  born  January  4,  1748:  married 
William  Nash. 

10.  Lois,  born  March  4,  1750 ;  married  No- 
vember 15,  1770,  Samuel  Hayden,  of  William, 
1630. 

Captain  David  Phelps,  son  of  Lieutenant 
David  Phelps  and  Abigail  Pettibone,  married 
(first)  April  7,  1753,  Abigail  Griswold,  born  in 
Windsor,  May  16,  1732,  died  there  May  16, 
1795,  daughter  of  Edward  Griswold  and  Abigail 
Gay  lord,  son  of  Daniel  Griswold  and  M  indwell 
Bissell ;  son  of  George  Griswold  and  Mary  Hol- 
combe, son  of  Edward  Griswold,  deputy  to  the 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


77 


general  court  1656,  1658-60,  1668-69.  Mindwell 
Griswold  was  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Bissell  and 
Mindwell  Moore,  daughter  of  Deacon  John 
Moore,  deputy  from  Windsor,  1643-61  to  1667; 
John  Bissell,  father  of  Nathaniel,  was  deputy  1648 
to  1659;  member  of  the  first  troop  of  horse, 
Windsor,  1657-58.  Captain  Phelps  married 
(second)  Harriet  Humphreys,  who  died  s.  p. 
Captain  Phelps  was  first  lieutenant  Josiah  Gil- 
lett's  Company,  Second  Battalion,  Colonel  Fisher 
Gay,  Connecticut  Militia,  June  to  December, 
1776,  at  Long  Island  ;  lieutenant  Connecticut  mil- 
itia in  'Danbury  Alarm,''  April  25,  to  28,  1777; 
captain  in  Colonel  Noah  Phelps'  regiment  Con- 
necticut militia  in  the  "New  Haven  Alarm,"  July 
5,  1779;  captured  and  confined  on  prison  ship 
"Jersey."     Children : 

1.  Abigail,  born  November  16,  1754;  mar- 
ried Jared  Merrill. 

2.  Ozias,  born  May  1,  1756;  married  Sallie 
Judson. 

3.  David,  born  November  13,  1759;  mar- 
ried Asennath  Humphrey. 

4.  Elizabeth,  born  November  13,  1759,  twin 
to  David ;  married  Samuel  Terry. 

5.  Rhoda,  born  September  22,  1765 ;  mar- 
ried Abel  Filley;  had  issue. 

6.  Roswell,  born  October  31,  1767;  married 
Dorcas  Pettebone ;  d.  s.  p. 

7.  Alexander,  born  February  26,  1769. 

8.  Susannah,  born  December  27,  1773 ;  mar- 
ried Frederick  Phelps. 

9.  Oliver  Cromwell,  born  December  25, 
1774,  married  Susannah  Ensign. 

Alexander  Phelps,  seventh  child  of  Captain 
David  and  Abigail  Griswold  Phelps,  married  De- 
cember-12,  1793,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Captain 
Jonathan  Eno,  and  his  wife,  Mary  Hart.  She 
was  born  August  9,  1773 ;  died  in  1865.  Mr. 
Phelps  died  in  Simsbury,  February  25,  1852. 
Capt.  Jonathan  Eno  was  a  son  of  David  and  Mary 
Gillett  Eno,  son  of  James  and  Abigail  (Bissell) 
Eno,  son  of  James  Eno,  of  Windsor,  and  wife 
Hannah  Bidwell,  daughter  of  Richard,  1630. 
Mary  Hart,  who  married  Captain  Eno,  January 
7,    1764,   was  daughter  of  Elijah   Hart,  ensign, 


October,  1752,  lieutenant,  May,  1756,  and  his  wife 
Abigail  Goodrich ;  son  of  Thomas  Hart  and  wife 
Mary  Thompson,  son  of  Captain  Thomas  Hart 
and  wife  Ruth  Hawkins.  Capt.  Thomas  Hart 
was  deputy  from  Farmington,  1690  to 
1706,  thirty-two  sessions;  speaker  of  the 
general  court,  1700- 1704-5-6;  justice,  1717,. 
1718;  ensign,  and  lieutenant,  and  May, 
1695,  captain  Connecticut  militia,  counselor, 
June  19,  1697.  He  was  the  son  of  Stephen  Hart, 
born  in  England,  1605,  deputy  1647-60,  thirty- 
three  sessions.  Anthony  Hawkins,  father  of 
Ruth  Hawkins  Hart,  was  deputy  1657  to  1663, 
thirteen  sessions ;  assistant,  1664,  166S-74.  Abi- 
gail Goodrich,  wife  of  Lieutenant  Elijah  Hart, 
was  granddaughter  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  David 
Goodrich,  of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  lieuten- 
ant 1704;  quartermaster,  1710;  captain  1715;, 
deputy,  1716;  lieutenant-colonel.  Abigail  Good- 
rich descends  from  John  Steele,  who  was  deputy 
general  court  of  Massachusetts,  1634-35  ;  deputy 
to  general  court  Connecticut,  thirty-four  sessions, 
from  1640-1659,  and  with  "old  Mr.  William 
Phelps,"  one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  by 
Massachusetts  to  govern  the  colony  of  Connecti- 
cut, March  3,   1636.     Children: 

1.  Alexander  Cotton  Phelps,  M.  D.,  born. 
1794;  married  January  20,  1830,  Harriet 
Eliza  Wood,  born  March  24,  1806 ;  moved  to 
Pennsylvania,  1827,  settled  in  Dundaff,  thence  to 
Waverly,  New  York,  where  he  practiced  medi- 
cine. Children :  Harriet  Elizabeth,  Norman 
Alexander,  Mary  Hodge,  Sarah  Amelia. 

2.  Horace  Griswold  Phelps,  born  February 
2,  1797;  died  Corning,  New  York,  1871  ;  married 
July  19,  1819,  Hannah  Cartright ;  engaged  in 
glass  manufacture  with  his  brother  John  J.,  Dun- 
daff, Pennsylvania.  Children :  John  Cartright, 
of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  married  June  6,  1853, 
Sara  C.  Stevens  ;  Mary  Phelps,  born  September 
22.  1824,  married,  October  12,  1846,  Claudius  B. 
Pratt,  Scranton,  Pennsylvania  ;  Elisha,  born  April 
12,  1827;  Draper  Legrand,  born  January  9,  1829, 
married  August  14,  1855,  Mary  Hendrick,  Titus- 
ville,  Pennsylvania;  Martha,  born  April  3,  1834, 
married,  December  6,    1859,  Alonzo  D.  Terwil- 


73 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


liger;  Horace  B.,  born  May'n,  1843,  died  1881. 

3.  Jaman  Hart  Phelps,  born  August  7,  1799, 
(See  below). 

4.  Edward  Phelps,  born  February  25,  1802; 
married  November  25,  1822,  Lamittia  Hubbard ; 
had  Emilie  L.  and  Sarah  Amelia. 

5.  Elizabeth  Phelps,  born  January  30,  1804; 
died  Wilkes-Barre,  January  28,  1893. 

6.  Norman  Phelps,  born  November  10, 
1806;  married  February  21,  1839,  Sarah  Wright, 
located  at  Dundaff,  thence  to  Waverly,  New 
York;  farmer;  children,  Sarah  Celestine. 

7.  Mary  Ann  Phelps,  born  December  20, 
1808 ;  married  January  12,  1837,  Simon  Shurt- 
leff ;  died  July  9,  1891. 

8.  John  J.  Phelps,  born  October    25,    1810. 

9.  Sherman  David  Phelps,  born  July  20, 
1814;  married  (first)  Susan  Electra  Porter; 
(second),  1853,  Ann  Elizabeth  Sweet;  went  with 
his  brothers  to  Pennsylvania,  1829;  1846  to  New 
York  City,  later  to  Tunkhannock,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  was  merchant  and  railroad  contractor ; 
settled  in  Binghamton,  New  York,  1854,  where 
he  was  unusually  successful;  died  November  13, 
1878.     Children:  Robert,  Arthur,  both  dead. 

Jaman  Hart  Phelps,  son  of  Alexander  and 
Elizabeth  Eno  Phelps,  married  January  1,  1823, 
Abigail  Hoskins,  born  Simsbury,  February  25, 
1798;  died  1879,  daughter  of  Asa  and  Abigail 
Case  Hoskins,  of  Daniel,  John  Anthony,  John, 
who  came  in  the  "Mary  Ann,"  1630.  Deputy 
general  court  Connecticut,  1637.  Mr.  Phelps 
moved  to  Dundaff  with  his  brothers,  engaged  in 
the  tannery  business,  after  forty  years  moved  to 
Scranton,  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business. after 
which  he  made  his  home  with  his  son  John.where 
he  died  August  4,  1885.     Children : 

John  Case  Phelps,  born  Granby,  Connecticut, 
April  20,  1825,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  July  14,  1892; 
married,  Wilkes-Barre,  September  20,  1854, 
Martha  Wheeler  Bennett,  daughter  of  Ziba  Ben- 
nett and  his  wife  Hannah  Slocum.  (See  Ben- 
nett family).  Mr.  Phelps  moved  to  Dundaff, 
Pennsylvania,  with  his  father  in  1842,  when  sev- 
enteen years  of  age ;  he  located  in  New  York 
City,  first  as  clerk,  afterwards  as  proprietor ;  was 
in  business  there  until  1862,  when  he  removed  to 


Wilkes-Barre,  engaged  in  the  banking  business 
under  the  firm  name  of  Bennett.  Phelps  &  Com- 
pany, and  the  extensive  purchase  of  anthracite 
coal  land.  Mr.  Phelps  was  recognized  as  a  man 
of  unusual  business  capacity  and  personal  integ- 
rity; the  latter  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to 
the  care  of  his  personal  business  and  estate.  For 
thirty  years  a  resident  of  the  city  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  he  was  at  one  time  vice-president  of  the 
Lackawanna  &  Bloomsburg  Railroad  ;  director  of 
the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  Railroad ; 
president  and  treasurer  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gas 
Company ; '  vice-president  of  the  Sheldon  Axle 
Company ;  secretary  for  the  Home  for  Friendless 
Children ;  director  of  the  Wyoming  National 
Bank,  and  of  the  Annora  Coal  Company ;  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  manufactures.  He 
was  prominently  identified  with  industrial  devel- 
opments of  the  city  of  his  adoption,  and  a  general 
supporter  of  every  measure  which  had  for  its  ob- 
business  community  was  always  for  the  best 
things ;  he  was  a  man  of  striking  personal  ap- 
pearance, tall,  handsome  and  of  fine  address. 
Children : 

1.  Anna  Bennett  Phelps ;  married,  March  31, 
1903,  Eustace  Hubert  Burrows,  of  London,  son 
of  Major  General  Arthur  Burrows,  Royal  Army. 

2.  William  George  Phelps,  born  August  17, 
1857 >  married  November  17,  1880,  Caroline  Ives 
Shoemaker,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
daughter  of  Hon.  Lazarus  Denison  and  Esther 
(Wadhams)  Shoemaker,  member  U.  S.  congress. 
(See  Shoemaker  Family).  Mr.  Phelps  is  en- 
gaged in  business  in  Binghamton,  New  York :  is 
president  First  National  Bank ;  vice-president  Se- 
curity Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  and  di- 
rector in  many  corporations.  Children :  John 
Case  Phelps,  born  June  29,  1883 ;  Denison 
Shoemaker,  born  March  10,  1885 ;  William 
George,  born  June  5,  1890;  Esther  Shoemaker, 
born  August  20,  1892. 

3.  Francis  Alexander  Phelps,  born  May  4, 
1859 ;  married  October  24,  1889.  Margaretta 
Darling  Brown,  daughter  of  William  Appleton 
and  Elizabeth  (Darling)  Brown.  (  See  Darling 
Family.)     Children:     William     Brown     Phelps, 


^3j^^^j,  ~tt: 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


79 


born  September  20,  1S90;  Alice  Darling  Phelps, 
born  March  7,  1893 ;  Francis  Slocum  Phelps, 
born  August  12,  1896.  Mr.  Phelps  is  head  of  the 
firm  of  Phelps,  Straw  &  Company,  now  Phelps, 
Lewis  &  Bennett  Company,  and  is  largely  inter- 
ested in  real  estate  and  director  in  many  other 
corporations. 

4.  Grace  Lee  Phelps,  married  November  8, 
18S7,  Harry  Barstow  Piatt,  son  of  Hon.  Thomas 
C.  Piatt,  born  July  15,  1883,  United  States  senator 
from  New  York,  and  his  wife,  Ellen  Lucy  Bars- 
tow,  born  February  25,  1835.  Children :  Sher- 
man Phelps  Piatt,  born  June  2,  1890 ;  Charlotte 
Piatt,  born  December  6,  1896;  Thomas  Collier 
Piatt,  born  May  3,  189S.  Mr.  Piatt  is  vice-pres- 
ident of  the  Fidelity  and  Deposit  Company  of 
Maryland. 

5.  Ziba  Bennett  Phelps,  born  December  7, 
1870;  married  April  8,  1896,  Elizabeth  Drown, 
daughter  of  William  Appleton  and  Elizabeth 
(Darling)  Drown,  of  Weldon,  Pennsylvania. 
(See  Darling  Family).  Children:  Elizabeth 
Drown  Phelps,  born  October  26,  1897 ;  Emily 
Bennett  Phelps,  born  September  21,  1903. 

John  Jay  Phelps,  eighth  child  of  Alexander 
and  Elizabeth  (Eno)  Phelps,  born  October  25, 
1810,  married  June  29,  1835,  Dundaff,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Rachel  D.  Badgeley  Phinney,  daughter  of 
Colonel  Gould  and  Rachel  (Price)  Phinney,  of 
Elizabeth  City,  New  Jersey,  and  Dundaff,  Penn- 
sylvania, born  in  Elizabeth  City,  December  12, 
18 12.  (See  Phinney  Family).  In  1823  he 
owned  and  edited  with  George  D.  Prentiss,  the 
"New  England  Weekly  Review"  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut.  Moved  to  Dundaff,  Pennsylvania, 
1827,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  glass. 
Later,  with  his  cousin,  Amos  R.  Eno,  engaged  in 
merchandise  in  New  York  City.  About  1850  he 
had  operated  in  real  estate  with  great  boldness 
and  success,  building  a  fine  block  on  the  site  of 
the  old  Grace  Church,  and  another  on  that  of  the 
Park  Theatre.  He  was  a  director  of  the  Erie 
Railroad  for  a  number  of  years ;  was  identified 
with  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  Rail- 
road and  one  of  its  presidents  and  a  member  of 
the  board.   He  is  also  connected  with  the  Camden 


&  Amboy  Railroad  and  several  of  the  important 
banks  in  New  York  City,  as  well  as  other  public 
and  private  trusts.     Children  : 

1.  Ellen  Ada  Phelps,  born  March  28,  1828; 
married  June  20,  i860,  Rev.  David  Stewart 
Dodge,  of  New  York  City.    They  have : 

1 .  Ellen  Ada  Phelps  Dodge,  born  New  York, 
February  28,  1862;  died  November  29,  1883.  2. 
Walter  Phelps  Dodge,  born  Beyrout,  Syria,  June 
13,  1869.  3.  Francis  Phelps  Dodge,  born  New 
Jersey,  September  20,  187 1.  4.  Guy  Phelps 
Dodge,  born  New  York  City,  February  21,  1874. 
5.  Clarence  Phelps  Dodge,  born  Honolulu,  July 
26,  1877. 

2.  Hon.  William  Walter  Phelps,  born  Au- 
gust 24,  1839.  Entered  Yale  College,  1855, 
graduated  A.  B„  i860,  taking  highest  honors. 
He  studied  law  at  Columbia  Law  School,  grad- 
uated LL.  B.  1863  ;  was  elected  member  forty- 
third  Congress.  1873,  fr°m  New  Jersey,  where  he 
located ;  appointed  American  [Minister  to  the 
Austrian  Court,  1887;  re-elected  member  for  the 
forty-eighth,  forty-ninth  and  fiftieth  Congresses ; 
member  Samoian  Commission,  1889;  American 
Minister  to  Berlin  1892 ;  director  of  and  inter- 
ested in  many  important  banking  and  other 
corporations  in  New  York  City. 

H.  E.  H. 

ZIBA  BENNETT  FAMILY.  Among  the 
older  stock  of  Bennetts  who  were  identified  with 
the  history  of  the  Wyoming  valley,  Judge  Ziba 
Bennett  was  one  of  the  best  representatives  of 
the  family,  and  one  of  the  first  to  settle  in  the 
region.  Neither  he  nor  his  family  were  classed 
with  the  pioneers,  but  in  the  various  avocations 
of  life  in  later  years  both  he  and  his  descendants 
have  been  associated  with  the  best  business  and 
professional    interests    of    Luzerne    county. 

This  branch  of  the  Bennett  family  is  de- 
scended from  James  Bennett,  an  Englishman  by 
birth,  who  was  made  a  freeman  in  Concord, 
Massachusetts,  May  13,  1639,  and  whose  wife 
was  Hannah  Wheeler  (married  1639),  daugh- 
ter of  Lieut.  Thomas  Wheeler  and  his  wife 
Ann.  He  removed  with  his  wife  and  her  par- 
ents  from   Concord  to   Fairfield,   in  the   colonv 


So 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


of  Connecticut,  and  died  there  in  1659.  James 
took  the  freeman's  oath  in  Connecticut  in  1648. 
Hannah,  his  widow,  subsequently  married 
Joseph  Middlebrook.  James  and  Hannah 
(Wheeler)  Bennett  had  the  following  children: 
Thomas,  born  October  16,  1642;  Hannah,  born 
June  1,  164 — ;  John,  married  Mary  Thompson; 
James ;  Sarah,  married  John  Osborn,  of  Fair- 
field, and  died  in  1709. 

Thomas  Bennett,  eldest  child  of  James  and 
Hannah  (Wheeler)  Bennett,  was  born  October 
16,  1642 ;  married  Elizabeth  Thompson,  born 
1645,  daughter  of  John  Thompson,  of  Pequon- 
nock,  Connecticut,  and  his  wife  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Sherwood.  Their  children 
were :  Thomas,  John,  James,  Peter,  Sarah,  who 
married  Samuel  Stewart ;  and  Hannah,  who  mar- 
ried Henry  Hendrick. 

Thomas  Bennett,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  (Thompson)  Bennett,  married  Sarah 
Hubbard,  daughter  of  William  Hubbard,  of 
Greenwich,  Connecticut,  1670,  who  revised  law 
of  1667.  He  was  a  son  of  George  Hubbard,  of 
Guilford,  Connecticut,  freeman  1669,  a  commis- 
sioner for  Guilford  1665-66-76  with  magisterial 
powers,,  and  deputy  to  the  general  court  1665. 
Their  children  were :  Thomas,  Deliverance,  Sa- 
rah, Tabitha,  Martha,  Ruth,  Ebenezer,  Hannah, 
James,  Peter  and  Mary. 

Deliverance  Bennett,  second  child  of  Thomas 
and  Sarah  (Hubbard)  Bennett,  was  born  De- 
cember, 16S8,  died  April  18,  1761.  He  married, 
in  Fairfield,  Connecticut,  March  15,  1708,  Mary 
Biggs,  born  October,  1688,  died  April  14,  1761. 
They  were  both  members  of  Greensfarms 
Church,  Fairfield  county,  Connecticut,  before 
1741.  Their  children  were :  William,  born  Jan- 
uary 8,  1710;  Daniel,  born  November  11,  1711; 
Sarah,  born  July  8,  1716,  married  John  Allen; 
Eunice,  born  October  24,  1718;  Benjamin,  born 
July  2,  1721  ;  Samuel  born  August  24,  1723; 
Moses,  born  April  8,  1727,  married  Eunice 
Hollibut;  Rachel,  born  October  11,  1729. 

William  Bennett,  eldest  child  of  Deliverance 
and  Mary  (Biggs)  Bennett,  married,  in  Fair- 
field, August,  1733,  Abigail  Hickock,  born  1716, 
died    December     30,     1800,    aged    eighty-three 


years.  After  the  death  of  William  Bennett  she 
married  Mr.  Morehouse.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Deacon  Benjamin  Hickock,  of  Samuel  and 
his  wife  Hannah  Skeel,  daughter  of  John  Skeel, 
all  of  Woodbury,  Connecticut.  John  Skeel's 
wife  was  Hannah,  daughter  of  Roger  Fenill, 
of  Woodbury,  where  he  died  April  17,  1722. 
William  and  Abigail  Bennett  had  the  follow- 
ing named  children,  all  born  in  Fairfield :  Sarah, 
born  March  17,  1734,  married  Jabez  Lockwood; 
Thaddeus,  born  June  22,  1736 ;  Deliverance, 
born  February  27,  1738 ;  William,  born  July  5, 
1741 ;  Mary,  born  August  25,  1743 ;  Joseph, 
born  September  17,  1745 ;  Stephen,  born  De- 
cember 18,  1747;  Abigail,  born  December  30, 
1749,  married  Samuel  Smith. 

Thaddeus  Bennett,  eldest  son  of  William  and 
/\bigail  (Hickock)  Bennett,  was  born  June  22, 
1736,  died  January  20,  1823,  and  was  buried 
near  Weston,  Connecticut.  He  married,  April 
15,  1761,  Mary  Piatt,  born  April  15,  1742,  died 
October  2,  1819.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Eb- 
enezer and  Tabitha  Hickock  Piatt,  granddaugh- 
ter of  John  Piatt,  Jr.,  of  Newtown,  Connecticut, 
who  was  a  son  of  Deacon  Josiah  and  grandson 
of  Deacon  Richard  Piatt,  of  Milford,  Connecti- 
cut. The  wife  of  Josiah  Piatt  was  Sarah,  daugh- 
ter of  Sergeant  Thomas  Canfield,  or  Camfield, 
of  Milford,  brother  of  Matthew,  who  was 
named  in  the  charter  of  Charles  II  of  Con- 
necticut. Thomas  Canfield  was  deputy  from 
Milford  to  the  general  court  of  Connecticut 
1674-76. 

Piatt  Bennett,  third '  child  of  Thaddeus  and 
Mary  (Piatt)  Bennett,  was  born  in  Fairfield, 
Connecticut,  July  28,  1770,  died  in  Horseheads, 
New  York,  April  22,  1848,  and  was  buried  at 
Flniira,  New  York.  He  married,  July  29,  1791, 
his  cousin,  Martha  Wheeler,  born  March  16, 
1771,  died  at  Horseheads,  New  York,  Septem- 
ber 2,  1844,  and  she  lies  beside  her  husband. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Calvin  and  Mary 
( Thorpe)  Wheeler,  granddaughter  of  Ephraim 
Wheeler  and  his  wife  Martha  Bulkeley,  who  de- 
scended from  the  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley,  of  Con- 
cord, Massachusetts,  through  Daniel  and  Han- 
nah   (Bartram)    Bulkeley,    Joseph    and    Martha 


Ai .  JV  &/^u>^- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


81 


(Beers)  Bulkeley,  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Jones) 
Bulkeley,  Rev.  Peter  and  Jane  (Allen)  Bulke- 
ley, deriving  his  lineage  from  Sir  Thomas  Allen, 
of  Goldington,  England ;  Rev.  Peter  Jones,  of 
Fairfield,  Connecticut,  and  Capt.  Richard  Beers, 
who  was  slain  in  King  Philip's  war,  1675. 
Ephraim  Wheeler  was  son  of  Joseph 
Wheeler  and  his  wife  Deborah  Nichols,  daugh- 
ter of  Ensign  Ephraim  Nichols  and  his  wife 
Esther,  daughter  of  Dr.  William  and  grand- 
daughter  of   Andrew   ,   of   Fairfield, 

one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the  col- 
ony of  Connecticut.  Joseph  Wheeler,  father  of 
Ephraim,  was  a  son  of  Capt.  John  Wheeler  and 
grandson  of  Lieut.  Thomas  Wheeler,  whose 
daughter  married  James  Bennett,  another  of  this 
family. 

Judge  Ziba  Bennett,  fourth  child  of  Piatt 
and  Martha  (Wheeler)  Bennett,  was  born  in 
Weston,  Connecticut,  November  10,  1800,  died 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  November  4,  1878.  He  mar- 
ried (first),  in  Wilkes-Barre,  November  25, 
1824,  Hannah  Fell  Slocum,  born  April  16,  1802, 
died  February  5,  1855,  daughter  of  Hon.  Joseph 
Slocum  and  his  wife  Sarah  Fell.  Ziba  and  Han- 
nah had  children :  Joseph  Piatt,  born  June  4, 
1828,  died  June  8,  1829 ;  Martha  Wheeler,  born 
August  2,  1833,  married  John  Case  Phelps  (see 
Phelps  Family),  and  George  Slocum,  born  Au- 
gust 17,  1842.  Ziba  Bennett  married  (second), 
November  18,  1856,  Priscilla  E.  Lee,  daughter 
of  James  Stewart  Lee,  of  Nanticoke,  Pennsyl- 
vania, son  of  Capt.  Andrew  Lee,  of  the  "Pax- 
tung  Boys,"  who  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
army  1775-83- 

Ziba  Bennett's  early  business  training  was 
in  a  measure  moulded  by  the  guiding  influence 
of  Col.  Matthias  Hollenback,  but  in  laying  the 
foundation  for  his  subsequent  career  in  life  he 
built  for  himself.  He  worked  out  his  own  edu- 
cation, and  perhaps  would  have  turned  to  farm- 
ing pursuits  had  not  Colonel  Hollenback's  in- 
fluence prevailed  with  Ziba's  father,  and  led  the 
young  man  to  take  a  clerkship  in  Elmira.  He 
came  thence  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  181 5  and  was 
employed  in  the  main  Hollenback  store  on  South 
Alain  street.     In   1822  he  became  partner  with 

6 


George  M.  Hollenback  (son  of  the  colonel)  in 
a  general  merchandise  business.  In  1826  he 
purchased  the  general  store  and  property  of 
Stephen  Turtle  on  North  Main  street  and 
succeeded  to  the  business  formerly  con- 
ducted by  Mr.  Tuttle.  He  soon  became 
recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of 
the  Wyoming  valley,  a  man  of  excellent  business 
qualities,  careful,  industrious  and  enterprising, 
of  unquestioned  integrity  and  straightforward 
honesty,  giving  to  every  man  his  just  due,  and 
exacting  from  no  man  one  farthing  more  than 
his  due.  He  was  engaged  in  business  for  sixty 
years,  and  until  the  time  of  his  death,  being  then 
he'ad  of  the  firm  of  Ziba  Bennett  &  Company. 
He  was  the  oldest  merchant  in  Luzerne  county. 
His  business  perceptions  were  unusually  clear 
and  his  judgment  always  sound,  and  regardless 
of  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  cautious 
of  men  he  readily  discovered  the  avenues  of 
wealth  and  so  boldly  entered  them  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  amassing  a  large  fortune. 

In  1833  Mr.  Bennett  was  a  member  of  the 
lower  house  of  the  state  legislature,  and  car- 
ried with  him  into  public  life  the  same  fidelity 
to  the  interests  of  the  commonwealth  he  showed 
in  the  care  of  his  personal  affairs.  He  took  an 
earnest  interest  in  the  educational  bill  which 
was  under  consideration  during  his  term  of  of- 
fice, and  was  arrayed  with  the  friends  of  the 
advanced  standard.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
reform  convention  which  met  in  Harrisburg  in 
1834,  when  the  subject  of  constitutional  revis- 
ion was  under  consideration,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  its  proceedings  and  deliberations.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Wyoming  Bank 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  one  of  its  directors  from  the 
date  of  organization  in  1829  until  his  death, 
and  its  president  nearly  ten  years.  Pic  was  for 
some  years  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Bridge 
Company,  and  of  the  Hollenback  Cemetery  As- 
sociation. He  was  an  incorporator  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Gas  Company,  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Water  Company,  the  Miners'  Savings  Bank,  the 
Home  for  Friendless  Children,  and  other  benev- 
olent institutions.  In  1842  Mr.  Bennett  was 
associate   judge   of   Luzerne   county,    sitting  on 


82 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


the  bench  with  that  most  distinguished  member 
of  our  count}'  judiciary,  Hon.  John  Nesbitt 
Conyngham,  LL.  D.  He  was  also  an  early  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society,  and  one  of  its  vice-presidents  from  1874 
to  1878.  In  1862  Judge  Bennett  founded 
and  was  senior  member  of  the  private  banking- 
house  of  Bennett,  Phelps  &  Company,  and  was 
its  active  head  until  his  death.  For  more  than 
half  a  century  he  was  a  devout  and  useful  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the 
donor  to  the  society  of  the  lands  in  Franklin 
street  on  which  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
edifice  now  stands,  and  of  his  means  he  con- 
tributed liberally  to  the  support  of  the  church 
and  also  to  the  maintenance  of  several  religious 
and  charitable  institutions.  In  personal  appear- 
ance and  manners  he  was  a  gentleman  of  the 
old  school,  courtly  and  gracious,  kind  and  gen- 
erous. 

George  Slocum  Bennett,  third  child  of  Judge 
Ziba  and  Hannah  Fell  (Slocum)  Bennett,  was 
born  August  17,  1842,  married,  September  7, 
1871,  Ellen  Woodward  Nelson,  daughter  of  the 
Rev.   Reuben    Nelson,   D.    D..1    and    his    wife, 


1.  Reuben  Nelson,  A.  M.,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  An- 
des, New  York,  December  16,  1818,  and  died  in  New 
York  City,  February  20,  1879.  His  early  education  was 
obtained  at  Hartwick  Seminary,  a  Lutheran  school  in 
Otsego  county,  New  York.  From  1840  to  1842  he  was 
acting  principal  of  the  Otsego  Academy  in  Coopertown, 
New  York,  and  in  1842  was  appointed  its  principal. 
During  these  years  he  was  preaching  as  well  as  teaching 
—being  assigned  circuit  work  in  the  Oneida  conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

On  July  28,  1842,  he  married,  at  Milford,  Otsego 
county,  New  York,  Jane  Scott  Eddy,  a  daughter  of 
Colonel  Asa  Eddy,  of  that  place. 

In  1844  Wyoming  Seminary  was  established  at 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  trustees  were  particu- 
larly fortunate  in  securing  as  its  first  principal  Reuben 
Nelson,  then  a  young  man,  twenty-six  years  of  age. 
With  the  exception  of  one  year,  when  he  was  presiding 
elder  of  the  Wyoming  district,  he  was  principal  until 
1872.  He  held  the  office  of  presiding  elder  1864-67,  and 
1869-71.  As  principal  of  the  seminary  Dr.  Nelson's  suc- 
cess was  almost,  if  not  quite,  unparalleled  in  the  history 
■of  seminaries  and  other  preparatory  schools  in  the  coun- 
try. His  ability  as  a  teacher,  his  executive  skill  and 
financial  wisdom,  his  indomitable  perseverance,  his  great 


Jane  Scott  Eddy.  Mr.  Bennett  was  educated 
at  Wesleyan  University,  where  he  graduated  as 
Bachelor  of  Arts,  1864,  as  a  commencement 
orator,  and  received  his  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts,  1867.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Psi  L'psilon 
and  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Fraternities.  He  en- 
gaged with  his  father  in  the  banking  business 
in  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  firm  of  Bennett,  Phelps 
&  Company.  The  enterprise  failed  during  a 
season  of  financial  depression,  but  the  house 
subsequently  paid  every  dollar  of  indebtedness 
in  full,  with  interest.  Mr.  Bennett  has  held 
many  positions  of  usefulness  in  his  city  and 
county,  namely:  Director  of  the  Wyoming  Xa- 


moral  power,  his  fervid  piety,  gave  him  the  equipment 
for  his  work  that  made  Wyoming  Seminary  what  it  is 
to-day.  In  1872  he  was  elected  one  of  the  agents  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Book  Concern  in  New  York 
City,  and  also  treasurer  of  the  Missionary  Society  of 
the  same  church,  which  office  he  held  at  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  general  conference  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  five  times,  to-wit,  1860- 
64-68-72-76,  the  last  three  times  leading  the  delegation. 
In  1876  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  episcopacy 
at  the  general  conference  that  year.  In  recognition  of 
Dr.  Nelson's  ability  as  a  teacher  he  received  the  degree 
of  A.  M.  from  Union  College,  and  in  recognition  of  his 
eloquence  as  a  preacher  the  degree  of  D.  D.  from  Dickin- 
son College. 

Dr.  Nelson  was  a  man  of  great  natural  energy  and 
character,  and  yet  was  calm,  quiet  and  not  very  demon- 
strative. He  was  systematic  and  exact  in  business 
habits,  and  by  virtue  of  his  strong  personality  had  great 
influence  over  young  men.  However,  valuable  as  was 
the  work  he  may  have  accomplished  in  New  York  and 
elsewhere,  his  great  work — his  life  work — was  done  at 
Wyoming  Seminary.  The  last  years  of  his  life — from 
the  age  of  twenty-six  to  fift}'-four  were  spent  there — 
years  remarkable  for  persistent  energy  and  indomitable 
will,  and  this  school  will  always  stand  as  Dr.  Nelson's 
monument.  In  1883,  four  years  after  Dr.  Nelson's 
death,  Mrs.  Nelson,  "in  consideration  of  the  desire  and 
purpose  to  aid  and  benefit  the  seminary  to  which  the  lab- 
ors of  her  husband  were  for  many  years  devoted,"  deeded 
to  the  school  the  house  built  by  Dr.  Nelson  where  he 
resided  prior  to  his  election  as  book  agent  in  New  York. 
This  gift  was  in  full  accord  with  the  noble  impulse  of 
one  who  did  her  full  share  in  making  sure  the  success 
of  the  institution  and  all  the  efforts  of  her  husband  in 
its  behalf.  In  1887  the  Nelson  Memorial  Chapel  was 
erected  by  friends  of  the  institution  as  a  memorial  of 
Dr.  Nelson. 


^p^ 


1 


(J\  .  \dU^^     \sD  z^^jjx 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


tional  Bank,  1864-1905,  and  president  since 
1S95 ;  superintendent  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Sunday  School,  1868- 1905,  having 
been  a  member  of  the  church  since  boyhood ; 
member  of  the  Wilkes-barre  city  council, 
1868-70 ;  manager  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Bridge 
Company,  1869-1905,  and  treasurer  from  1876 
to  1905  ;  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  in  1871,  and  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  managers  from  1871  to  1887  ; 
trustee  of  the  First .  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
from  1874  to  1905 ;  member  of  the  Wilkes-1 
Barre  school  board  from  1870  to  1873,  from 
1879  to  1882,  and  its  president  in  1883;  man- 
ager of  the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital  from 
1876  to  1905,  also  its  vice-president ;  manager 
of  the  Hollenback  Cemetery  Association  from 
1878  to  1905  ;  secretary  of  the  Luzerne  County 
Bible  Society  from  1879  to  1905 ;  trustee  of 
the  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  from  1873 
to  1905,  and  president  of  the  board  from  1888 
to  1905 ;  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Lace 
Manufacturing  Company,  1887-88,  and  a  di- 
rector from  1891  to  1905 ;  treasurer  of  the  Shel- 
don Axle  Company  from  1886  to  1888 ;  director 
of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gas  Company  from  1.893 
to  1898;  director  of  the  Hazard  Manufacturing 
Company  from  1895  to  1905,  and  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Water  Company  in  1895  ;  trustee  of  Wes- 
leyan  University,  Middletown,  Connecticut,  from 
1888  to  1905,  and  Drew  Theological  Seminary, 
Madison,  New  Jersey,  from  1888  to  1905  ;  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society,  Wilkes-Barre ;  delegate  to  the  general 
conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal.  Church, 
Cleveland,  1896.  George  Slocum  and  Ellen 
Woodward  (Nelson)  Bennett  were  the  parents 
of  three  children:  Martha  Phelps,  born  Oc- 
tober 16,  1873,  married,  June  15,  1899,  Law- 
rence Bullard  Jones,  attorney-at-Jaw,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Lawrence  and 
Sarah  (Coffin)  Jones.  (See  Jones  family.)  He 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts 
from  Yale,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  Their 
children  are :  Henry  Lawrence  and  George  Ben- 
nett Jones. 

Reuben    Nelson,    born    December    12,    1875, 


graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts  cum  laude  from 
Wesleyan  in  1897,  LL.  B.  from  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1900  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Psi  Upsilon  Fra- 
ternity, and  fourth  vice-president  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  board  of  trade,  1904,  and  member  of 
the  select  council  of  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
1905. 

Ziba  Piatt,  born  March  22,  1881,  graduated 
as  Bachelor  of  Arts  from  Wesleyan  in  1903. 
He  is  a  member  of  Psi  Upsilon  and  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  Fraternities,  and  is  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Phelps,  Lewis  &  Company,  the  successors  to 
the  business  founded  in  1826  by  his  grand- 
father, Hon.  Ziba  Bennett.  H.  E.  H. 

STEARNS  FAMILY.  In  the  history  of 
the  Wyoming  valley  the  branch  of  the  Stearns 
family  of  which  this  narrative  treats  dates  only 
from  the  year  1869,  when  Irving  A.  Stearns, 
of  the  department  of  analytical  chemistry  in  the 
Rennselaer  Polytechnic  Institute  in  Troy,  New 
York,  left  that  famous  school  and  took  up  new 
duties  in  Wilkes-Barre,  in  the  office  of  R.  P. 
Rothwell,  mining  and   civil  engineer. 

Mr.  Stearns  comes  of  New  England  stock, 
his  ancestry  in  America  dating  from  the  early 
days  of  the  Puritans,  and  almost  to  the  time 
of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers.  He  is  a  descendant 
in  the  eighth  generation  of  Charles  Stearns,  who 
was  admitted  freeman  in  Watertown  in  1646;' 
was  the  owner  of  a  house,  lot  and  other  lands ; 
was  elected  (1680)  tax-gatherer  and  also  con- 
stable, but  refused  to  take  the  oath.  He  then 
sold  his  lands  in  Watertown  and  moved  to  Lynn 
End,  now  the  town  of  Lynnfield.  There  is  a 
tradition  in  Lynn,  says  the  Stearns  genealogy, 
that  three  brothers,  Daniel,  Isaac  and  Shubael, 
came  from  England  to  America  in  1630  and  set- 
tled near  Watertown ;  that  Daniel  died  unmar- 
ried ;  that  Shubael  and  Isaac  each  brought  their 
families  with  them  ;  that  soon  after  landing  both 
Shubael  and  his  wife  died,  leaving  two  sons, 
Charles  and  Nathaniel,  who  were  reared  by  their 
Uncle  Isaac ;  that  these  sons  afterward  married, 
as  well  as  Isaac  their  uncle,  and  that  from  them 
all  the  Stearns  in  America  are  supposed  to  have 


84 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


descended.  There  is  also  a  traditional  anecdote 
of  the  first  landing  of  the  Stearns  family,  "that 
on  reaching  anchorage  in  America,  Isaac,  like 
the  spies  sent  into  Canaan,  went  forward  and 
selected  a  place  of  settlement ;  soon  after,  an 
emulation  arose  between  the  two  boys  as  to 
which  should  step  on  land  first,  and  as  they 
sprang  from  the  boat  Charles  missed  his  foot- 
ing and  fell  into  the  river,  which  was  therefore 
named  Charles  river."  Nevertheless,  the  his- 
torian claims  for  the  name  of  the  stream  a  royal 
origin. 

From  Charles  Stearns  (i),  the  founder  of 
that  branch  of  the  family  under  consideration, 
the  line  of  descent  follows  to  John  (2),  1657- 
1722;  George  (3),  1688-1760;  Jonathan  (4), 
I7I3"I7S8;  Ebenezer  (5),  1745-1834;  Ariel  or 
Royal  (6),  1776-1827;  George  W.  (7),  1821- 
1892;  Irving  Ariel   (8),   1845. 

George  W.  Stearns,  father  of  Major  Stearns, 
was  born  May  14,  1821 ;  married  October  13, 
1841,  Miranda  Tufts,  born  February  5,  1819, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Clarissa  (Hatfield) 
Tufts,1  of  Gorham,  Ontario  county,  New  York. 
Mr.  Stearns  was  a  farmer,  justice  of  the  peace 
and  justice  of  sessions  (an  office  at  one  time 
of  considerable  dignity,  but  now  abolished)  of 
Ontario  county  two  terms.  In  1867  he  removed 
to  Coldwater,  Michigan,  wdiere  for  several  years 
before  his  death  he  was  editor  and  publisher  of 
the  Coldwater  Republican.  He  died  February 
10,  1892;  his  wife  died  January  2,  1901.  They 
had  two  children :  Clarissa  Arminda,  born  Oc- 
tober 24,  1842,  married  September  1,  1870,  Abra- 
ham J.  Aldrich,  born  February  3,  1843,  and 
Irving  Ariel  Stearns,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Irving   Ariel    Stearns,2   born    September    12, 


1.  Miranda  Tufts,  who  married  George  W.  Stearns, 
was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Tufts  and  his  wife  Clarissa 
Jatfield ;  and  Hannah  Tyler,  who  married  Thomas 
Tufts,  of  West  Brookfield,  Massachusetts,  father  of 
above  Thomas,  was  a  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Abner 
Tyler,   the   revolutionary   soldier. 

2.  This  sketch  of  Major  Stearns  is  largely  taken 
from  "Stearns  Genealogy  and  Memoirs,"  1901,  by  Avis 
(Stearns)  Van  Wagenen. 


1845,  graduated  from  Rensselaer  Polytechnic 
Institute,  1868;  was  assistant  professor  of  ana- 
lytical chemistry  for  one  year  after  graduation, 
and  resigned  in  1869  to  accept  a  position  in 
the  office  of  R.  P.  Rothwell,  mining  and  civil 
engineer  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  From 
August,  1871,  to  August,  1872,  was  superintend- 
ent and  engineer  of  the  McNeal  Coal  and  Iron 
Company  of  Schuylkill  county.  He  resigned 
this  position  to  succeed  Mr.  Rothwell,  who  went 
to  New  York  to  take  charge  of  the  Engineering 
and  Mining  Journal  as  editor  and  part  owner. 
From  August,  1872,  to  June,  1885,  Mr.  Stearns 
conducted  a  general  engineering  business,  in- 
cluding the  construction  of  a  railroad  and  wagon 
bridge  across  the  Susquehanna  river  at  Shick- 
shinney ;  an  iron  bridge  across  the  Susquehanna 
at  Pittston;  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Com- 
pany's tift  farm  improvements  at  Buffalo,  New 
York,  consisting  of  ship  canals,  docks,  coal 
storage  plant,  etc.,  besides  various  collieries  in 
the  anthracite  coal  fields  of  Pennsylvania.  Dur- 
ing the  same  period  he  made  numerous  examina- 
tions and  reports  upon  mining  properties  and 
enterprises  in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  West  Vir- 
ginia, Arkansas,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Idaho  and 
Utah.  In  1885  he  was  appointed  manager  of 
the  various  coal  companies  controlled  by  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  and  held  that 
position  until  July,  1897,  when  he  resigned  and 
was  made  president  of  the  Cross  Creek  Coal 
Company ;  Coxe  Brothers  &  Company,  incorpo- 
rated ;  the  Delaware,  Susquehanna  &  Schuylkill 
Railroad  Company,  and  the  Coxe  Iron  Manu- 
facturing Company,  which  positions  he  still 
holds. 

Mr.  Stearns  is  also  a  director  in  the  Wyo- 
ming National  Bank,  the  Vulcan  Iron  Works 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  the  Standard  Trust  Company, 
the  Hibbard-Ely  Safe  Company  of  New  York, 
the  Pennsylvania  Canal  and  Railroad  Company, 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company  and  the 
Temple  Iron  Company.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers ;  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers ;  the  Perm- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


8; 


sylvania  Society,  Sons  of  the  Revolution  i1  the 
Westmoreland  and  Wyoming  Valley  Country 
Clubs  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  first  named ;  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Union  League  University  and  Engineers'  Clubs 
•of  New  York,  and  Union  League  Club  of  Phil- 
adelphia. Air.  Stearns  is  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution, 
and  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society,  of  which  he  has  been  curator  of  geology 
and  is  now  one  of  its  vice-presidents.  He  was 
commissioned  quartermaster  of  the  Ninth  Regi- 
ment March  29,  1880;  was  promoted  to  major 
on  May  15,  1884,  and  resigned  April  1,  1885. 
He  has  taken  a  very  active  interest  in  the  Ninth 
Regiment  Armory  Association  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
of  which  he  is  president.  On  June  29,  1892.  he 
became  one  of  five  trustees  of  the  association, 
an  account  of  which  body  appears  in  the  histor- 
ical souvenir  of  the  regiment,  published  in  1896. 
In  connection  with  Hon.  Charles  Miner  and 
Col.  Murray  G.  Reynolds  (since  deceased,  see 
sketches  on  other  pages)  Major  Stearns  raised 
the  amount  necessary  to  liquidate  the  mortgage 
on  the  property.  Portraits  of  Major  Stearns 
and  his  son,  Captain  Stearns,  appear  in  con- 
nection with  this  narrative.  Major  Stearns  mar- 
ried, November  20,  1872,  Miss  Clorinda  W. 
-Shoemaker,  daughter  of  Hon.  Lazarus  Denison 
Shoemaker  (See  Shoemaker  family)  and  his 
wife,  Esther  Wadhams.  She  died  May  6,  1904. 
Their  children  were : 

Lazarus  Denison  Stearns,  born  December 
27-  T875,  died  September  6,  1898. 

Irving  Ariel  Stearns,  Jr.,  born  July  5,  1877, 
died  April  9,  1884. 

Esther    Shoemaker    Stearns,    born    March     4, 
1885. 

Capt.  Lazarus  Denison  Stearns,  son  of  Major 
Irving  Ariel  Stearns,  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre. 
His   early   education   was   gained   at  the   Harry 


1.  Major  Stearns'  prominent  revolutionary  ances- 
tor was  Lieutenant  Abner  Tyler,  born  in  Brookfield, 
Massachusetts,  1710,  died  December  8,  1779;  recorded 
:as  second  lieutenant  April  9,  1778,  in  Captain  Cyrus 
Rich's  company,  Fourth  Regiment  Worcester  County 
Militia,   Colonel  Converse  commanding. 


Hillman  Academy  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  he  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover, 
Massachusetts,  and  graduated  from  Sheffield 
Scientific  School,  Yale  University,  in  the  class 
of  1896.  On  coming  home  he  became  a  coal 
inspector  for  the  Susquehanna  Coal  Company, 
and  afterward  served  with  the  engineer  corps 
of  the  same  company.  He  was  early  imbued 
with  a  strong  desire  to  enter  the  military  serv- 
ice, and  had  received  instruction  in  military  tac- 
tics at  Yale.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany D,  Ninth  Regiment,  National  Guard  of 
Pennsylvania,  February  4,  1897,  and  July  1st 
of  the  same  year  was  chosen  second  lieutenant 
of  Company  B.  The  entire  division  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard  of  Pennsylvania  having  been  or- 
dered into  camp  at  Mount  Gretna,  Pennsylva- 
nia, by  the  governor  in  response  to  the  first  call 
call  for  troops  by  the  president  for  the  war  with 
Spain,  Lieutenant  Stearns  left  Wilkes-Barre 
with  his  command  on  April  27,  1898.  May  4th 
he  volunteered  for  the  war  on  the  field  at  Mount 
Gretna.  The  captain  of  the  company  (Stewart 
L.  Barnes)  being  disqualified  for  entering  on 
active  service  on  account  of  age,  Second  Lieu- 
tenant Stearns  was  unanimously  chosen  by  the 
men  to  command  the  company,  and  was  mus- 
tered into  the  service  of  the  United  States  with 
the  rank  of  captain,  May  11,  1898.  He  was  the 
youngest  officer  of  his  grade  and  command  in 
the  First  Army  Corps,  to  which  his  regiment 
was  assigned  at  Camp  George  H.  Thomas, 
Chickamauga  Park,  Georgia,  on  arriving  there 
May  20,  1898. 

Captain  Stearns  was  by  nature  a  soldier. 
Although  trained  to  peaceful  pursuits,  the 
science  of  tactics  was  instinctive  with  him.  He 
came  from  a  line  of  ancestry  distinguished  for 
military  capacity.  His  great-grandfathers,  Eli- 
jah Shoemaker  and  Col.  Nathan  Denison,  were 
soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  and  participated  in 
the  Wyoming  massacre,  the  former  being  killed 
in  that  dreadful  struggle.  Captain  Stearns  was 
in  camp  at  Chickamauga  with  his  regiment  un- 
til August  14,  when  he  was  called  home  to  at- 
tend upon  his  father,  Major  Stearns,  who  was 
suffering  from  a  pulmonary  affection  of  a  seri- 


86 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ous  nature.  Typhoid  fever  was  prevalent  in  the 
camp  at  this  time,  and  no  doubt  the  seeds 
of  the  dread  disease  were  in  his  system 
at  the  time  of  his  departure  for  home.  He 
remained  at  home  a  few  days  and,  his  father 
improving  in  health,  he  decided  to  rejoin  his 
regiment,  which  was  about  to  change  station 
at  Lexington,  Kentucky.  His  desire  to  be  with 
his  command  at  the  time,  that  he  might  look 
after  his  men,  rendered  him  careless  of  his  own 
physical  condition,  and  August  21  he  departed 
for  the  south,  arriving  at  Chickamauga  on  the 
23d.  The  regiment  left  on  the  25th,  bivouac- 
ing  at  Rossville,  Tennessee,  that  night  and  ar- 
riving at  Lexington  on  Saturday,  August  27th. 
The  fever  was  upon  him,  no  doubt,  before  he 
left  Glen  Summit,  where  his  family  was  then 
staying,  but  he  would  not  yield  to  what  he 
thought  was  a  temporary  indisposition.  A  rally 
after  he  arrived  in  camp  was  succeeded  by  al- 
most a  prostration,  and  on  Sunday,  August  28th, 
he  was  brought  home  from  Lexington  by  Gov- 
ernor Hastings  on  a  hospital  train  which  the 
governor  had  provided  to  bring  the  sick  of  the 
Pennsylvania  regiments  from  the  camps  at 
Chickamauga  and  Lexington.  The  hospital 
train  arrived  at  Wilkes-Barre  on  August  30  at 
10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  a  week  later  he 
lay  dead,  one  of  the  precious  lives  sacrificed 
that  there  should  be  no  halt  in  American  devo- 
tion to  the  interests  of  humanity,  progress,  hu- 
man liberty  and  righteousness.  Death  claimed 
many  a  shining  mark  as  a  result  of  the  war  with 
Spain,  but  none  more  lustrous  than  Capt.  Laza- 
rus Denison  Stearns. 

As  an  officer  of  his  regiment  he  was  univer- 
sally esteemed,  and  his  own  men  were  devoted 
to  him.  During  his  illness  there  was  a  constant 
train  of  visitors  and  a  stream  of  messages  ask- 
ing for  news  of  his  condition.  His  youth,  his 
brilliant  future,  his  fine  physical  manhood,  all 
seemed  to  draw  sympathy,  and  the  thought  that 
the  end  might  be  near  was  too  sad  to  entertain. 
Lying  desperately  ill  himself,  he  still  thought 
of  his  stricken  companions,  and  asked  after  them 
with  much  solicitude.  That  seemed  to  be  a  kev- 
note  to  his  character,  forgfetfulness  of  self  and 


thought  for  others.  Universally  beloved,  it  was 
in  the  bosom  of  his  own  family  that  he  was  the 
devoted  son  and  brother,  the  thoughtful  child, 
dutiful  and  sympathetic,  and  later,  as  was  proved, 
strong  to  bear  and  patient  to  suffer.  Though 
just  on  the  threshold  of  a  useful  and  active  man- 
hood, with  his  college  days  as  a  pleasant  mem- 
ory to  look  back  upon,  his  character  was  well 
matured.  He  was  the  soul  of  honor,  and  no  one 
ever  knew  him  to  do  anything  mean  or  small. 
He  had  nothing  of  narrowness  in  his  disposition, 
but  an  innate  nobility  which  was  fostered  always 
by  the  attrition  with  men,  for  he  chose  good 
companionship.  He  had  a  liberal  mind  that 
frowned  not  on  such  amusements  as  young  peo- 
ple enjoy,  but  he  had  also  a  well-defined  power 
of  knowing  himself  and  being  careful  always  to 
use  and  not  abuse  recreation  and  pleasure.  All 
who  came  in  contact  with  him  were  impressed 
with  the  unmistakable  marks  of  a  fine  nature, 
full  of  manliness  and  nobility.  These  were 
striking  traits,  and  they  manifested  themselves 
when  he  had  scarcely  entered  upon  his  teens. 
He  was  industrious  and  faithful  in  business, 
faithful  and  true  to  whatever  he  undertook,  and 
his  business  career,  had  he  been  spared,  would 
have  been  a  most  creditable  and  brilliant  one. 

In  his  native  town  he  was  a  great  social  fa- 
vorite and  a  leader  in  many  of  the  affairs  that 
go  to  make  up  the  sum  of  relaxation  and  of  pleas- 
ure in  the  hours  given  to  such  occupation.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Country  Club,  the  Wyo- 
ming Historical  and  Geological  Society  since 
1895,  and  of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  the 
Sons  of  the  Revolution.  The  qualities  that  dis- 
tinguished his  bearing  among  friends  were  al- 
ways exemplified  in  his  military  routine.  He 
was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  though  always  from 
the  sense  of  duty,  but  as  a  commander  always 
had  the  well  being  and  comfort  of  his  men  near 
his  heart.  It  is  remarkable  that  one  so  young 
leaves  behind  such  a  maturity  of  the  best  traits, 
both  in  social  and  in  business  life.  Memory 
stands  tearful  and  pitying,  where  so  short  a 
time  ago  radiant  Hope  had  seemed  to  stretch 
forth  her  hands.  These  mysteries  of  life  and 
death  are  always  present,  but  always  baffle  so- 


P|Pi 


I1S5^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


85 


lution.  His  was  patriotism  of  the  real  kind.  He 
gave  up  everything  that  makes  life  worth  living 
(see  Collections  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society,  p.  249).  H.  E.  H. 

PETTIBONE  AND  DICKSON  FAM- 
ILIES. John  Pettibone,  of  French  extraction, 
came  over  from  England,  1650,  and  was  a  pro- 
prietor in  Windsor,  Connecticut,  1658,  removing 
to  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  about  1669  and  locat- 
ing on  land  which  in  1880  was  in  possession  of 
some  of  his  descendants.  He  married,  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1664,  Sarah  Eggleston,  daughter  of 
Begat  Eggleston,  and  had  nine  children,  three 
born  in  Windsor  and  six  in  Simsbury.  Of  these, 
Stephen,  born  October  3,  1669,  died  1750,  mar- 
ried Deborah  Bissell.  His  third  son  was  named 
Noah. 

Noah  Pettibone,  son  of  Stephen  and  Deborah 
(Bissell)  Pettibone,  born  April  16,  1714,  died 
Wyoming,  March  28,  1791.  He  petitioned  the 
Connecticut  assembly  in  1753  for  permission  to 
buy  lands  of  the  Indians  at  Wyoming.  He  mar- 
ried at  Simsbury,  1745,  Huklah  Williams,  by 
whom  he  had  eight  children,  born  in  Connecti- 
cut. He  was  in  Wyoming  in  1769  with  his  sons, 
Noah,  Stephen  and  Oliver.  In  1772  he  located 
on  meadow  lot  No.  22,  where  some  of  his  de- 
scendants have  continued  to  reside  for  more 
than  a  century.  His  children  were :  Esther, 
born  June,  1747,  married  William  Alworth ;  Hul- 
dah,  born  August,  1749,  married  Benjamin  At- 
water;  Noah,  born  November,  1751,  married, 
May,  1778,  Lucy  Scott  and  was  killed  in  the 
battle  of  Wyoming  July  3,  1778;  Hannah,  born 
October,  1753,  married  Joseph  Shaw ;  Stephen, 
born  September,  1755,  served  in  Sullivan's  army 
and  was  honorably  discharged  from  service ;  he 
was  killed  by  the  Indians  after  his  return  to 
Wyoming,  on  Kingston  flats,  February  10,  1779; 
Dolly,  born  June,  1757,  married,  1777,  Timothy 
Stevens ;  Oliver,  of  whom  later ;  Lydia,  born 
December,  1759,  married  John  Vaughn. 

Oliver  Pettibone,  son  of  Noah  and  Huklah 
(Williams)  Pettibone,  was  born  May  13,  1762, 
died  March  17,  1832.  "He  was  in  Forty  Fort 
at  the  time  of  the  massacre ;  he  counted  the  men 


as  they  went  out,  and  made  the  number  three 
hundred  and  eighty-two.  He  returned  to  Con- 
necticut after  the  battle,  but  later  removed  to 
Amenia,  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  where, 
December  21,  1783,  he  married  Martha,  died 
December  25,  1833,  daughter  of  Dr.  Barnabas 
Paine,  and  settled  on  Livingston  Manor,  where 
three  of  his  children  were  born.  He  returned 
to  Wyoming  in  April,  1788,  and  bought  lands 
adjoining  his  father,  and  there  ten  more  chil- 
dren were  born,  all  of  whom,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  who  died,  married  and  raised  large 
families."  Their  children  were :  Oliver,  born 
September  9,  1784;  Esther,  born  September  15, 
1785  ;  Payne,  born  January  14,  1787,  of  whom 
later;  Joshua,  born  August  31,  1788;  Marcia, 
born  November  3,  1790;  Lucy,  born  September 
12,  1792;  Mary,  born  October  21,  1794;  Nancy, 
born  November  13,  1796;  Noah,  born  July  27, 
1798;  Huldah,  born  February  14,  1801  ;  Henry, 
born  October  5,  1802;  Martha,  born  December 
30,  1804;  Stephen,  born  February  2,  1807. 

Payne  Pettibone,  son  of  Oliver  and  Martha 
(Paine)  Pettibone,  born  January  24,  1787,  died 
August  13,  1814;  married,  181 1,  Sarah  Tuttle, 
born  April  4,  1793,  died  April  27,  1869,  eldest 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Lee)  Tuttle. 
They  had  two  sons:  1.  Stoughton,  born  April  9, 

1812,  married  (first),  1835,  Antoinette  Dunning, 
who  died  March  9,  1845;  married  (second), 
1846,  Cornelia  Bellamy.  Children  by  first  mar- 
riage :  Emma  C. ;  by  second  marriage,  Lauren 
W.    Pettibone.     2.     Payne,   born    December   23, 

1813,  of  whom  later.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Payne 
Pettibone  his  widow  became  the  wife  of  David 
Perkins.  Joseph  Tuttle,  son  of  Henry,  of  New 
Jersey,  and  of  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  1785, 
father  of  Mrs.  Pettibone,  born  in  Rockaway, 
Morris  county,  New  Jersey,  January  19,  1772, 
died  February  Ii,  1849.  He  removed  to  Wyo- 
ming with  his  father,  1785.  He  was  farmer, 
miller  and  merchant,  being  engaged  in  the  lat- 
ter business  several  years  with  his  son  Joseph 
B.  at  Tunkhannock,  Pennsylvania.  He  held  va- 
rious town  offices  and  was  county  commissioner 
of  Luzerne  county  three  years.  He  married, 
September  26,  1792,  Mary  Lee,  and  her  parents 


88 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


removed  to  Wyoming  before  the  massacre  of 
July  3,  1778,  and  settled  on  a  farm  where  the 
Wyoming  monument  now  stands.  Her  father, 
Jesse  Lee,  was  from  Connecticut,  and  his  wife, 
Sally  (McDowell)  Lee,  was  daughter  of  John 
McDowell,  a  Scotch-Irishman,  who  came  to 
America  in  1735  and  married  a  Miss  Depui,  of 
Low  Dutch   (Holland)  extraction. 

Payne  Pettebone,  Jr.,  son  of  Payne  and  Sa- 
rah (Tuttle)  Pettibone,  born  December  23, 
1813,  died  March  21,  1888.  He  was  taken  in 
his  infancy  to  the  home  of  his  grandfather,  with 
whom  he  lived  until  he  was  eighteen,  at  which 
time  he  was  offered  a  business  partnership  with 
Colonel  Montayne.  This  he  declined,  and  shortly 
afterward  was  employed  as  clerk  by  Swetland  & 
Baldwin,  at  Wyoming,  and  in  1834  became  a 
partner  with  Mr.  Swetland,  a  relation  that  was 
maintained  with  mutual  profit  until  1864.  He 
became  variously  identified  with  leading  business 
enterprises,  in  a  number  of  which  he  was  a  di- 
rector, among  them  the  old  Pittston  Bank,  the 
Wyoming  Terra  Cotta  Works  and  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Pittston ;  also  the  following  banks 
in  Wilkes-Barre :  The  Wyoming  National  Bank, 
the  Miners'  Savings  Bank  and  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Savings  Bank,  being  president  of  the  latter.  He 
and  his  son  were  proprietors  of  the  Wyoming 
Shovel  Works.  He  was  also  a  director  of  the 
Washington  Life  Insurance  Company  of  New 
York ;  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
Wyoming  Seminary  and  the  Wyoming  Bible 
Society,  the  Wyoming  Camp  Meeting  Associa- 
tion and  the  Forty  Fort  Cemetery  Association ; 
a  trustee  of  the  Drew  Theological  Seminary  and 
the  Wesleyan  University  at  Middletown,  Con- 
necticut. In  1844,  with  Gen.  William  S.  Ross 
and  Jonathan  J.  Slocum,  he  was  appointed  un- 
der act  of  the  legislature  to  sell  the  Delaware 
division  of  the  state  canal.  He  was  treasurer 
of  the  Lackawanna  &  Bloomsburg  Railroad 
Company  from  1854  to  1863,  until  its  consoli- 
dation with  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  West- 
ern Company,  and  afterwards  a  director  of  the 
company.  He  was  appointed  one  of  the  com- 
missioners to  complete  the  Wyoming  monument, 
1864,  and  in  1878  was  chairman  of  the  finance 


committee  of  the  Centennial  Memorial  Associa- 
tion, and  as  such  he  entertained  at  his  residence 
President  Hayes  and  his  cabinet,  Governor 
Hartranft  and  his  suite,  and  other  notables  in 
public  life.  Early  in  life  Mr.  Pettebone  was 
seriously  impressed  with  religious  thoughts,  and 
from  1848  to  the  end  of  his  life  was  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
The  Wyoming  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
dedicated  July  18,  1883,  was  the  gift  of  the 
Pettebone  family  and  Mrs.  William  Swetland 
to  that  society.  Mr.  Pettebone  was  a  member 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  So- 
ciety and  president,  1875. 

Payne  Pettebone,  Jr.,  married,  October  3, 
1837,  Caroline  M.,  born  October  17,  1820, 
daughter  of  William  Swetland.  Their  children 
were:  Mary  S.,  born  October  5,  1838,  died  De- 
cember 6,  1844;  Frances,  born  September  5, 
1842,  died  November  17,  1845  •  William  S.,  born 
July  2,  1844,  died  June  22,  1850 ;  Edward,  born 
December  2,  1848,  died  March  23,  1852 ;  Kate 
S.,  born  September  27,  185 1,  married,  Novem- 
ber 12,  1874,  Allan  Hamilton  Dickson,  lawyer, 
born  in  Utica,  New  York,  November  14,  185 1, 
died  January  21,  1893;  Robert  Treat,  born  De- 
cember 12,  1858. 

William  Swetland,  father  of  Mrs.  Pavne 
Pettebone,  was  born  in  Sharon,  Connecticut, 
June  26,  1789.  He  was  a  merchant  and  exten- 
sive land  owner  and  operator  in  the  Wvoming 
valley.  He  was  president  of  the  old  Pittston 
Bank,  and  subsequently  a  director  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Pittston.  He  was  county  com- 
missioner, 1 828-3  t  :  delegate  to  the  constitu- 
tional convention  of  1837 :  an  old-line  Democrat, 
and  a  Republican  after  i860.  He  was  a  son  of 
Belding  and  Sally  (Gay)  Swetland.  Belding 
Swetland  was  born  January  14,  1763,  and  was 
with  his  father  in  Forty  Fort  at  the  battle  of 
Wyoming.  His  father  was  Luke  Swetland,  the 
first  settler  from  Connecticut,  locating  on  the 
farm  where  his  grandson  William  later  resided ; 
in  1777  was  a  member  of  Captain  Durkee's  com- 
pany in  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  enlisting  Sep- 
tember 17,  1776.  At  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  on 
account  of  disabilitv,  he  was  in  Fortv  Fort  and 


^ 


■fa^wv  t^/asic/^CdstsLrdL — - 


^C^v^J^^^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


89 


did  not  take  part  in  the  engagement.  August 
25,  1778,  he  was  captured,  with  Joseph  Blanch- 
ard,  by  the  Indians  and  was  held  prisoner  among 
the  Senecas  some  time.  In  1800  he  removed 
with  his  family  from  Mehoopany  to  Wyoming, 
where  he  died  January  30,  1823.  H.  E.  H. 

ALLAN  HAMILTON  DICKSON,  born 
Utica,  New  York,  Nov.  14,  1851,  died  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Jan.  21,  1893.  He  traces  his  ancestry  to 
David  Dickson,  born  1583,  one  of  the  regents 
of  the  University  of  Glasgow.  His  grandson, 
John  Dickson,  born  about  1673,  married  Jane 
Dodd,  emigrated  to  Ireland  and  settled  in  county 
Down.  His  eldest  son  James  had  eleven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Alexander,  born  1776,  was  fourth. 
He  became  involved  in  the  Wolf-Tone  rebellion, 
and  was  forced  into  hiding  for  a  time.  He  re- 
appeared in  1799  and  married  Sarah  McKee, 
by  whom  he  had  ten  children.  Sarah  died  in 
1819,  and  in  1820  Alexander  married  Margaret 
Harring,  who  bore  him  six  children.  In  June, 
1827,  he  brought  his  family  to  America,  settling 
at  Schaghticoke,  Rensselaer  county,  New  York. 
He  removed  in  1837  to  Lansingburg,  New  York, 
and  died  there  April  2,  1871.  Hugh  Sheridan 
Dickson,  born  181 3,  was  seventh  child  of  Alex- 
ander Dickson.  He  married  Sarah  Margaret 
Stoever  and  had  four  children :  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried the  Rev.  Samuel  T.  Lowrie ;  Ellen,  married 
Col.  W.  P.  Wilson ;  Frederick  Stoever,  lawyer 
and  author  of  "Dickson's  Blackstone,"  an  analy- 
sis of  "Blackstone's  Commentaries''  and  of 
"'Dickson's  Kent,"  and  an  analysis  of  "Kent's 
Commentaries." 

Allan  Hamilton  Dickson  was  during  his  life- 
time one  of  the  bright  lights  of  the  Luzerne 
county  bar,  but  he  was  cut  down  in  the  prime  of 
"his  career.  He  fitted  for  college  at  Wyer's  pre- 
paratory school  in  West  Chester,  Pennsylvania, 
and  entered  Yale  in  September,  1868,  but  left 
•college  at  the  end  of  the  first  half  of  the  sopho- 
more year  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  traveled 
in  Mexico,  and  returning  home  re-entered  col- 
lege in  January,  1 87 1,  and  finished  his  sopho- 
more year  in  July.  Soon  afterward  he  went  to 
Germany,  learned  the  German  language  in 
Heidelburg,  and  then  went  to  Berlin,  where  he 


attended  university  lectures.  He  traveled  ex- 
tensively in  Switzerland  and  Italy  and  returned 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  latter  part 
of  1872.  In  January  of  the  following  year  he 
began  reading  law  under  the  preceptorship  of 
Hon.  Henry  M.  Hoyt,  (having  previously 
registered  as  a  law  student  with  Hon.  Wayne 
McVeagh,  in  West  Chester)  and  September  14, 
1874,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Luzerne  county, 
From  that  time  until  his  death  he  was  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  legal  profession  in  the 
city  and  county. 

Allan  Hamilton  Dickson  married,  November 
12,  1874,  Kate  Swetland  Pettibone,  and  their 
children  were :  1.  Caro  Pettibone,  born  October 
15,  1877,  died  January  10,  1883.  2.  Dorothy 
Ellen,  born  December  12,  1883.  She  was  mar- 
ried, February  27,  1906,  to  Major  Franck  Darte, 
a  rising  young  attorney  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, son  of  Judge  Alfred  Darte,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Major  Darte  is  a  graduate  of  Yale,  and 
a  brigade  staff  officer  in  the  Pennsylvania  Nat- 
ional Guard.  3.  Hugh  Sheridan,  born  April 
24,  1889,  died  January  17,  1893. 

Franck  G.  Darte  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
April  12,  1873.  He  is  the  son  of  George  Leonard 
Franck,  who  was  at  the  time  of  his  death,  profes- 
sor of  civil  engineering  in  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. Upon  the  death  of  his  parents  he  was 
adopted  when  a  small  child  by  the  late  Judge 
Alfred  Darte.  He  prepared  for  college  at  Wyom- 
ing Seminary,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and 
graduated  from  Yale  University  with  the  class  of 
He  became  a  member  of  the  Ninth  Regi- 


ment, N.  G.  P.,  December,  1896,  and  served  dur- 
ing the  Spanish-American  war  as  corporal  in 
Company  D,  Ninth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
unteers. Upon  being  discharged  from  the  vol- 
unteer service  he  reenlisted  in  National  Guard, 
and  is  now  major  and  ordnance  officer,  Third 
Brigade,  N.  G.  P.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Lu- 
zerne county  bar  in  June,  1899,  and  since  that 
date  has  been  in  active  practice. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Dickson  created  a  profound 
sensation  of  loss  in  the  community,  and  many 
fervent  tributes  were  paid  to  his  memory  as  a 


9o 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


citizen  and  neighbor  of  the  highest  character. 
The  court  and  members  of  the  bar  of  the  county 
of  Luzerne  took  fitting  cognizance  of  the  sad 
event,  January  24,  1893.  Hon.  Charles  E.  Rice, 
president  judge,  presided,  and  on  motion  of  Hon. 
Henry  W.  Palmer  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  intelligence  of  the  sud- 
den death  of  Allen  H.  Dickson  was  so  unexpected 
and  shocking  as  to  cast  a  gloom  of  unusual  char- 
acter over  the  members  of  the  Association  and 
the  whole  community. 

Resolved,  That  Mr.  Dickson  was  a  man  of 
acknowledged  ability,  which  was  exhibited  in 
his  profession  as  a  lawyer,  and  in  all  his  respon- 
sible business  relations  and  in  the  public  and 
private  offices  he  held.  He  was  possessed  of 
fine  literary  and  artistic  tastes ;  was  strictly 
honorable  in  every  post  and  station ;  of  courage- 
ous determination  in  the  defense  of  what  he 
adjudged  right;  was  a  progressive,  enterprising 
member  of  society,  and  in  every  relation  of  life 
a  good  citizen. 

The  salient  points  in  the  character  of  Mr. 
Dickson  dwelt  upon  by  various  members  of  the 
bar  are  well  presented  in  the  following  epitomiza- 
tion : 

Hon.  Henry  W.  Palmer  said :  "Very  soon 
after  he  became  a  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre  he 
was  instrumental  in  unearthing  and  bringing  to 
justice  a  bold  and  influential  band  of  criminals 
who,  holding  official  positions,  had  plundered  the 
county  and  state  of  large  sums  of  money.  As 
public  officers  and  local  politicians  of  high  stand- 
ing the}'  had  friends  who  would  be  quite  apt  to 
resent  the  interference  of  the  young  lawyer  and 
visited  him  with  punishment  in  every  way  pos- 
sible ;  but  he  pressed  forward,  and  never  rested 
until  the  prison  doors  closed  on  the  chief  of- 
fenders and  honesty  was  restored  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  county  affairs.  It  was  not  policy  in 
the  customary  sense,  but  it  was  courageous,  and 
exemplified  a  trait  which  was  admirable.  In 
the  campaign  undertaken  to  carry  a  constitu- 
tional amendment  prohibiting  the  accursed  traf- 
fic in  liquors  in  the  whole  state,  he  was  not  only 
a  sympathizer  and  friend,  but  an  eloquent  and 
efficient  advocate  and  a  large  contributor  of 
time  and  money  to  the  cause.  He  hated  shams 
and  pretenders  of  high  and  low  degree,  whether 
at  the  bar,  on  the  bench,  or  in  politics  or  the  pul- 
pit, and  had  no  hesitation  in  making  his  opinions 
known. 

"Of  his  taste  for  literature  and  art,  his  public 


spirit,  his  charities,  his  beautiful  family  life,  his 
generous  hospitality  and  his  faithfulness  as  a 
friend,  a  volume  might  be  written.  Nothing  of 
it  will  be  forgotten  by  those  who  knew  and  loved 
him.  He  is  gone ;  it  seems  impossible  to  believe 
that  his  footsteps  will  never  more  be  heard  in 
this  court  of  justice  where  he  labored ;  in  the 
places  of  business  he  frequented ;  or  in  the  beau- 
tiful home  to  which  he  was  so  devoted". 

George  R.  Bedford  said  :  "To  him  more  than 
any  other  is  due  the  great  stride  in  municipal 
improvements  witnessed  in  this  city.  In  all  his 
conduct  it  can  be  said  with  absolute  truth  that 
he  was  always  actuated  by  principle,  and  never 
by  policy." 

A.  R.  Brundage  said  :  "His  daily  life,  in  the 
court  house  and  out  of  it,  was  pure  and  ex- 
emplary. His  intercourse  with  the  bar  was  char- 
acterized by  singular  urbanity  and  kindness. 
Always  the  gentleman  of  kindly  impulses, 
he  never  compromised  fidelity  or  duty, 
or  swerved  from  courageous  advocacy  of  his 
client's  cause.  His  pure  public  and  private  life 
has  made  an  impression  upon  us  and  the  com- 
munity, and  that  impress  is  clean  and  clear  cut. 
The  world  has  been  made  better  for  his  having 
lived  in  it.  He  has- gone  to  his  reward;  let  us 
profit  by  his  example." 

William  S.  M'Lean  said:  "Mr.  Dickson  was 
not  only  a  resolute  man  and  full  of  moral  courage, 
but  he  was  an  excellent  lawyer.  He  was  also 
a  scholarly  man  and  a  great  reader  of  good 
books." 

T.  H.  Atherton  said :  "He  was  intensely  in 
earnest  in  desiring  and  working  for  the  best 
development  and  progress  of  the  community  and 
commonwealth  in  which  he  lived,  whether  that 
progress  and  improvement  was  social  and  intel- 
lectual, material  or  political,  and  to  aid  and  ac- 
complish it  he  gave  freely  of  his  thought,  time 
and  means." 

E.  G.  Scott  said:  "Mr.  Dickson  was  one  of 
our  good  examples — let  it  be  borne  in  mind  and 
carried  in  the  heart,  that  the  reason  he  was  a 
good  example  to  others  is,  that  he  had  a  standard 
of  his  own,  and  that  he  lived  up  to  it." 

H.  E.  H. 

MIXER  FAMILY.  In  Pennsylvania  history 
the  Miners  of  the  Wyoming  valley  trace  their  an- 
cestry to  pioneers  Asher  and  Charles  Miner.  In 
America  the  family  dates  back  to  the  time  of 
Thomas  Miner,  the  immigrant  ancestor  who 
landed  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1630,  in  the 
time  of  the  colony.     In  England,  from  whence 


£^CS<cc«^     /Y.        s£h-JZYC^^D~<,  , 


V 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


9i 


Thomas,  the  immigrant,  came,  the  history  of  the 
family  is  traced  from  Henry  Miner,  who  died  A. 
D.,  1359.  Among  the  ancient  archives  of  the 
Miner  family  there  is  preserved  a  document  which 
shows  something  of  the  history  of  Henry,  his 
loyalty  to  his  sovereign,  Edward  III,  and  also 
gives  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Miner  arms, 
and  how  the  distinction  accompanying  them  was 
earned  in  Edward's  time.  "He  had  his  coat 
ahmorial  gules,  *  *  *  fesse  id  est.,  cin- 
guluin  militarc,  because  obtained  by  valour)  be- 
twixt three  plates  Argent,  *  *  *  the  crest 
being  a  battle  axe,  armed  at  both  ends  Minerall.' 
(From  "An  Herauldical  Essay  upon  the  Surname 
of  Miner.")  (See  N.  E.  Hist,  and  Gen.  Reg., 
vol.  XII,  p.   161). 

"This  Henry  died  in  the  year  1359, 
leaving  behind  him  Henry,  Edward,  Thomas,  and 
George  Miner,  of  whom  little  is  to  be  said,  save 
only  that  Henry  (2)  married  one  Henreta  Hicks, 
daughter  of  Edward  Hicks,  of  Gloucester,  of 
whom,  as  appears  by  the  paling  of  their  arms,  are 
the  Hicks  of  Beverston  Castle  in  Gloucester,  des- 
cended ;  and  had  issue,  William  and  Henry.-'  A 
further  continuation  of  this  line  of  narrative  is 
not  deemed  necessary  in  this  place,  however  in- 
teresting the  subject  may  appear.  The  line  of 
descent  is  from  Henry  (1).  the  valiant  follower 
of  Edward  III,  through  Henry  (2).  William  (3), 
Thomas  (4),  Lodovick  (5),  Thomas  (Mynor)1 
(6),  William  (Myner)  (7),  William  (8),  and 
Clement  (9),  to  Thomas  Minor  (10),  the  immi- 
grant ancestor  of  the  family  in  America. 

Clement  (9)  was  the  father  of  four  children — 
Clement,  Thomas,  Elizabeth,  and  Mary.  He 
was  born  in  England  about  1546,  and  died  there 
March  31,  1640.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1630  Thomas,  second  son  of  Clement,  sailed  from 
England  in  the  ship  "Arabella,"  and  landed  at 
Salem,   June    14.     He   went   thence  to   Charles- 


1.  In  the  first  generation  from  Henry  (1),  the  sur- 
name was  given  as  Miners ;  in  the  sixth  as  Mynor ;  in 
the  seventh  and  eighth  as  Myner ;  in  the  ninth,  by  Clem- 
ent, as  Miner,  and  in  the  tenth  by  Thomas,  the  immi- 
grant, as  Minor.  This  Thomas'  grandsons  resumed  the 
original  surname  Miner,  which  has  since  been  continued 
by  his  descendants  to  the  present  generation. 


town,  joined  the  planters  there,  subscribed  to  the 
covenant  and  was  admitted  to  membership  in  the 
church,  for  in  that  plantation  the  affairs  of  tem- 
poral government  were  administered  under  au- 
thority of  the  Established  Church.  April  29, 
1633,  Thomas  married  Grace  Palmer,  daughter  of 
Walter  Palmer,  who  came  from  England  to 
Charlestown  in  1629,  with  his  daughter,  Grace, 
his  wife  having  died  before  the  year  of  his  de- 
parture. In  1634  Thomas  Minor  and  his  wife 
Grace  removed  to  Saybrook,  in  the  colony  of 
Connecticut,  with  the  younger  John  Winthrop 
and  company.  In  1643  ne  accompanied  Winthrop 
to  Pequot  (afterward  New  London)  but  probably 
did  not  take  his  family  there  until  1646,  when  he 
was  elected  a  townsman  and  admitted  to  the 
rights  accorded  freemen  who  were  approved.  In 
1647  he  was  chosen  one  of  five  selectmen  "to  act 
in  all  township  affairs,"  and  in  the  same  year  he 
was  appointed  by  the  general  court  as  assistant 
with  others  to  have  power  as  a  court  "for  the  set- 
tling of  some  way  for  deciding  small  differ- 
ences." In  the  same  year  also  he  was  appointed 
military  sergeant,  commanding  "a  squadron"  in 
the  town  of  Pequot,  with  power  to  call  forth  and 
train  soldiers.  In  1650  and  1651  he  was  deputy 
to  the  general  court.  In  1653  he  joined  the  set- 
tlement at  Stonington,  and  subsequently  served 
as  magistrate,  deputy  to  the  general  court,  select- 
man, and  chief  military  officer,  and  held  in  turn 
every  important  office  in  the  town.  In  1677  he 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Church  of  Christ 
at  Stonington,  and  was  one  of  its  first  two  dea- 
cons.    He  died  October  3,  1690. 

Such  was  Thomas  Minor,  the  immigrant  an- 
cestor of  that  branch  of  the  Miner  family  in 
America,  from  whom  are  descended  the  Miners 
of  the  Wyoming  valley  in  Pennsylvania.  Grace 
Palmer,  wife  of  Thomas,  died  in  1690.  Her 
father,  Walter  Palmer,  was  made  a  freeman  in 
1631,  and  before  1633  married  Rebecca  Short, 
with  his  family  joining  the  church  in  Charles- 
town  in  that  year.  In  1642  he  removed  to  Reho- 
both,  Plymouth  colony,  received  large  tracts  of 
land,  was  elected  to  the  general  court  of  Ply- 
mouth, and  became  a  man  of  much  consequence 
in  public  and  church  affairs.     He  died  in   1662, 


9s 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


leaving  a  will  which  was  admitted  to  probate  in 
Boston.  The  children  of  Thomas  Minor  (10) 
and  his  wife  Grace  Palmer,  were  John,  Joseph, 
Thomas,  Clement  (11),  Ephraim,  Menasseh, 
Ann,  Maria,  Samuel,  Elizabeth,  and  Hannah. 
From  Thomas  (10),  the  immigrant  ancestor  in 
America,  the  line  of  descent  comes  through  Cle- 
ment (n),  Clement  .(12),  Hugh  (13),  and  Seth 
(14),  to  Asher  (15-),  and  Charles  (15),  the 
latter  the  pioneers  of  the  family  in  Pennsylvania. 

Ensign  Seth  Miner  (14)  was  born  in  New 
London,  Connecticut,  in  1742,  and  died  January 
15.  1822.  His  body  lies  in  the  old  graveyard  in 
Doylestown.  His  wife  was  Anna  Charlton,  bom 
probably  about  1744  (no  more  accurate  record  is 
obtainable),  and  died  November  4,  1804.  Seth 
and  Anna  were  progenitors  of  the  Miner  pioneers 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  as  such  are  worthy  to  be  re- 
membered in  these  annals.  Their  children  were 
Elizabeth,  born  December  12,  1768,  married  Cap- 
tain Boswell ;  Anna,  born  November  20,  1770, 
died  unmarried;  Sarah,  born  August  31,  1773; 
Asher,  born  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  March  3, 
1778:  Charles,  born  in  Norwich,  February  1, 
1780. 

Seth  Miner  was  commissioned  ensign  of  the 
Twentieth  Regiment,  Connecticut  militia,  June, 
1776.  He  had  inherited  something  of  the  martial 
spirit  of  his  ancestors,  who  had  given  service  to 
the  colonies  during  the  Pequot  war  and  also  dur- 
ing King  Philip's  war  which  followed.  Indeed, 
the  New  England  colonists  knew  little  of  the 
blessings  of  peace  after  1636,  or  from  that  time 
to  the  close  of  the  war  for  independence.  There 
was  hardly  an  able-bodied  New  England  settler 
who  was  not  in  some  manner  called  into  service 
in  defense  of  home  and  family  during  all  this 
century  and  a  half,  although  individual  records 
-of  service  were  imperfectly  kept  and  never  pre- 
served. To  appreciate  the  trials  and  hardships 
which  beset  the  life  of  the  settlers  in  the  eastern 
colonies  the  reader  must  have  recourse  to  au- 
thentic records  of  New  England  history  from  the 
landing  of  the  Pilgrims  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
British  supremacy  in  America.  Seth  Miner  was 
a  member  of  the  Susquehanna  Land  Company 
and  as  such  had  a  claim  in  the  territorv  so  long  in 


dispute  between  the  Pennsylvania  proprietary  and 
the  colony  of  Connecticut ;  and  his  son  Charles 
Miner  was  deputed  to  come  out  to  the  Susqu- 
hanna  to  look  after  his  father's  interests  there. 

Asher  Miner,  son  of  Seth  and  elder  brother 
of  Charles,  served  an  apprenticeship  of  some 
years  in  the  office  of  the  Gazette  and  Commer- 
cial Intelligencer,  at  New  London,  Connecticut, 
and  afterwards  worked  one  year  as  a  journeyman 
in  New  York.  At  the  suggestion  of  his  brother, 
Charles,  Asher  Miner  came  into  the  Wyoming 
valley  and  continued  work  at  his  trade.  He  was 
there  employed  on  the  IVilkes-Barrc  Gazette, 
which  suspended  publication  in  1801,  and  soon 
afterward  he  founded  the  Luzerne  County  Fed- 
eralist, the  first  number  of  which  appeared  Jan- 
uary 5,  1801.  In  April,  1802.  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  his  brother  Charles,  which  was  con- 
tinued until  May,  1804,  when  Asher's  interest 
was  sold  to  Charles. 

Leaving  Wilkes-Barre,  Asher  Miner  removed 
to  Doylestown,  and  on  July  7,  1804,  issued  the 
first  number  of  the  Pennsylvania  Correspondent 
and  Fanner's  Advertiser,  a  strong  paper  with 
equally  strong  Federalist  leanings,  which  after- 
ward became  known  as  the  Bucks  County  In- 
telligencer. For  a  time  the  publisher  struggled 
against  adversity,  and  the  first  issue  was  practi- 
cally given  away ;  but  at  length  the  paper  found 
favor  with  the  people,  success  rewarded  the  pa- 
tient efforts  of  its  proprietor,  and  he  remained  at 
its  head  for  twenty-one  years.  When  his  first 
newspaper  venture  had  become  a  success  Mr. 
Miner  branched  out  into  new  journalistic  fields, 
and  as  early  as  1806  announced  his  intention  to 
found  a  monthly  magazine,  although  his  plans 
never  reached  fruition.  In  18 16  he  declared  his 
purpose  to  establish  a  "monthly  literary  and 
agricultural  register,"  and  even  went  so  far  as  to 
name  the  proposed  publication  the  Olive 
Branch,  but  this  project  was  also  abandoned 
through  lack  of  substantial  encouragement.  How- 
ever, in  1817,  Mr.  Miner  opened  a  branch  office 
in  Newtown,  and  on  May  21,  issued  the  first 
number  of  The  Star  of  Freedom,  a  paper  de- 
voted chiefly  to  "agricultural,  biographical,  liter- 
ary, and  moral  matters,"  his  ostensible  purpose 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


93 


being  to  "fill  a  long-felt  want,"  but  in  fact  to  keep 
newspaper  competition  out  of  the  county.  The 
latter  purpose  was  accomplished,  but  his  endeavor 
was  poorly  rewarded,  and  the  paper  was  discon- 
tinued in  1818.  Asher  Miner  was  postmaster  at 
Doylestown  several  years,  and  kept  the  office  in 
his  printing  establishment,  where  he  also  kept 
various  articles  on  sale  such  as  were  proper  to  be 
handled  by  a  man  of  his  understanding  and  repu- 
tation, and  which  were  conducive  to  the  material 
health  of  man,  for  Mr.  Miner  was  in  all  respects 
an  upright  Christian  gentleman,  a  man  of  learn- 
ing, a  writer  of  marked  ability,  and  a  devout 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  relin- 
quished the  postmastership  in  1 82 1,  and  in  1824 
sold  his  paper,  then  known  as  the  Pennsylvania 
Correspondent,  to  Edward  Morris  and  Samuel 
R.  Kramer  of  Philadelphia.  He  then  removed 
to  West  Chester  and  joined  his  brother  Charles 
in  publishing  the  Village  Record.  In  1834  this 
paper  was  sold,  after  which  the  brothers  returned 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  Asher  died  March  13, 
1841. 

The  wife  of  pioneer  Asher  Miner  was  Mary 
Wright,  daughter  of  Thomas  Wright  and  his 
wife  Mary  Dyer.  They  were  married  May  19, 
1800,  and  thirteen  children  were  born  to  them: 
Anna  Maria,  born  August  23,  1801 ;  married  Dr. 
Abram  Stout ;  Thomas  Wright,  born  August  22, 
1803,  died  October  21,  1855  ;  Robert,  born  Au- 
gust 17,  1805;  Elizabeth,  born  January  30,  1808, 
died  May  1,  1835;  Sarah,  born  1810,  died  1841  ; 
Caroline,  born  June  13,  1812,  died  July  22,  1812 ; 
Charles,  born  March  5,  1814,  died  July  20,  1829; 
Samuel  Green,  born  February  26,  1816,  died  Oc- 
tober, 1847;  Asher,  born  1818,  died  1824;  Mary 
W.,  born  1820,  died  1839;  Helen,  born  Decem- 
ber 3,  1822,  died  June  18.  1841  ;  Joseph  Wright, 
born  January  29,  1825,  died  February  5,  1859; 
Asher  (2),  born  May  16,  1826,  died  same  month; 
Mary  Wright  Miner,  wife  of  Asher,  died  in  Jan- 
uary, 1830,  and  Asher  married  (second)  May  13, 
1835,  Mrs.  Thomazin  (Hance)  Boyer,  Robert 
Miner,  third  child  and  second  son  of  Asher  and 
Mary,  married,  Januarv  3,  1826,  Eliza  Abbott, 
born  October  22,  1806,  died  August  18,  1846. 
They  had  children :  Helen  Elizabeth,  born  June 


17,  1828,  died  March  4,  1829;  Charles  Abbott, 
born  August  30,  1830;  died  July  25,  1903;  John 
Howard,  born  January  4,  1838,  died  June  18, 
1844. 

Robert  Miner,  third  child  of  Asher  and  Mary 
(Wright)  Miner,  was  born  at  Doylestown,  Penn- 
sylvania, August  17,  1805.  He  took  charge  of 
his  father's  mill  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  taught  school  in  Plains  town- 
ship, Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania.  On  the 
third  of  January,  1826,  in  his  twenty-first  year, 
he  married  Eliza  Abbott  (born  October  22,  1806, 
died  August  18,  1846),  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
Abigail  Searle  Abbott.     About  this  time  he  built 

— _ £3 . ^ 

the  house  on  the  corner  of  Mock  street  and  Miner 
Road,  (Miner's  Mills)  afterward  occupied  for 
many  years  by  his  father,  Asher  Miner.  After  his 
marriage  he  again  took  charge  of  his  father's  mill 
at  Wrightsville  (now  Miner's  Mills)  and  ran  it 
until  it  burned  down  in  1826,  and  then  rebuilt  it. 
In  1833,  in  connection  with  Eleazer  Carey,  he 
purchased  the  Wyoming  Herald,  a  weekly  news- 
paper. They  published  the  paper  until  1835,. 
when  it  was  merged  with  the  Wyoming  Repub- 
lican, then  being  published  in  Kingston.  On 
November  1,  1836,  Mr.  Miner  entered  the  office 
of  the  Hazelton  Coal  Company,  which  had  just 
been  incorporated,  as  clerk.  He  boarded  in  the 
old  Drumheller  Tavern  in  Hazleton  kept  by 
Lewis  Davenport,  and  the  company's  office  was. 
in  the  lower  room  of  an  addition  built  on  the  east 
end  of  the  old  house.  The  company  laid  out  some 
of  its  land  in  town  lots  and  began  to  sell  them. 
The  first  house  on  the  plot  was  built  in  1837.  The 
same  year  Robert  Miner  built  himself  a  home  on 
lot  No.  9,  square  11,  and  brought  his  wife  and 
son  Charles  there  from  Plains  on  July  4th.  His 
second  son,  John  Howard,  born  in  the  following 
January,  was  the  third  child  born  in  Hazelton. 
He  became  secretary  of  the  company  and  acted 
as  its  treasurer  also.  At  that  time  Ario  Pardee 
was  superintendent,  and  in  1840  he  and  Mr. 
Miner  formed  a  partnership  in  the  coal  business 
with  a  miner  by  the  name  of  Hunt,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Pardee,  Miner  &  Company.  They 
mined  coal  by  contract  and  loaded  it  into  boats 
at  Penn  Haven.     Mr.  Miner  was  obliged  bv  ill 


94 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


health  to  withdraw  from  the  firm  in  1841,  when 
he  and  his  family  returned  to  the  old  home  on  his 
farm  in  Plains.  In  November,  1842,  having  bus- 
iness of  importance  to  attend  to  in  Easton  and 
Philadelphia,  he  and  his  younger  brother  Jo- 
seph traveled  thither  in  a  carriage.  They  re- 
turned on  December  9,  and  that  night,  Robert 
was  taken  violently  ill  and  died  before  morning. 
"He  has  been  described  as  of  peculiar  and  sub- 
stantial worth,  at  all  times  cheerful  and  happy, 
with  power  to  raise  those  emotions  in  others.  His 
life  was  an  exemplication  of  the  true  greatness 
to  which  many  may  attain  through  a  mastery 
over  self.  His  piety,  charity  and  urbanity  became 
a  part  of  his  existence ;  to  do  good  to  his  fellow 
creatures  was  the  pleasure  of  his  life.  He  was 
polite  without  show,  charitable  without  ostenta- 
tion and  religious  without  bigotry.  In  business 
he  was  punctual  and  exact,  and  such  was  the 
burthen  he  took  upon  himself  in  whatever  he  en- 
gaged in,  that  those  coming  after  him  found  little 
to  do."  He  had  three  children,  only  one  of  whom 
survived  him :  Helen  Elizabeth,  born  June  17, 
1828,  died  March  4,  1829 ;  Charles  Abbott,  born 
August  30,  1830,  died  July  25,  1903  ;  and  John 
Howard,  born  January  4,  1838,  died  June  18, 
1844. 

Hon.  Charles  Abbott  Miner,  eldest  son  of 
Robert  and  Eliza  (Abbott)  Miner,  was  born  in 
Plains  township,  August  30,  1830.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Wilkes-Barre  Academy  and  the  academy 
at  West  Chester,  Pennsylvania.  His  whole  bus- 
iness life  was  devoted  to  milling  enterprises,  and 
until  his  retirement  from  their  active  manage- 
ment he  operated  a  mill  built  on  the  site  of  his 
grandfather's  plant  at  Miner's  Mills,  which  was 
making  flour  in  1795.  Thus  he  was  a  miller  by 
inheritance,  and  in  turn  passed  the  business  on  to 
his  son,  Asher.  Mr.  Miner  was  first  president  of 
the  Pennsylvania  State  Millers'  Association.  He 
was  identified  with  many  of  Wilkes-Barre's  in- 
dustrial enterprises.  For  twenty-five  years  he 
was  a  director  of  the  Wyoming  National  Bank, 
and  its  vice-president  at  the  time  of  his  death.  For 
fifteen  years  he  was  president  of  the  Coalville 
(Ashley)  Street  Railway  Company;  was  presi- 
dent of  the  board   of  directors   of  the  Wilkes- 


Barre  City  Hospital  from  the  time  of  its  organi- 
zation ;  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  (afterward  the  Harry  Hillman) 
Academy,  and  at  one  time  was  president  of  the 
Luzerne  County  Agricultural  Society.  He  be- 
came a  commissioner  of  the  Second  Geological 
Survey  of  Pennsylvania  in  1877.  Politically  he 
was  a  Republican,  and  he  served  his  party  with 
ability  and  energy.  From  1875  to  1880  he  rep- 
resented Wilkes-Barre  in  the  lower  house  of  the 
state  legislature,  and  in  1881  was  his  party's 
candidate  for  the  senate,  but  was  defeated  at  the 
polls  by  his  Democratic  opponent,  Eckley  B. 
Coxe.  He  was  closely  identified  with  the  Wyom- 
ing Historical  and  Geological  Society  for  forty 
years,  a  life  member,  president  1881.  vice-presi- 
dent 1887-1890,  and  a  trustee  from  1887  to  1904. 
He  was  the  author  of  "The  Early  Grist  Mills  of 
Wyoming  Valley,  Pennsylvania,"  read  before  the 
society  in  1900.  During  the  Civil  war  he  en- 
listed in  Company  K,  Thirtieth  Regiment  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers,  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged as  a  sergeant  July  26,  1863. 

Mr.  Miner  was  a  firm  believer  in  thorough 
education  for  young  men  and  women,  and  was 
ever  zealous  in  advancing  the  educational  stand- 
ard. For  many  years  he  furnished  the  Miner 
prizes  for  declamation  contests  in  the  Harry  Hill- 
man  Academy.  He  was  known  by  his  good 
works,  and  felt  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  per- 
tained to  the  welfare  of  his  city  and  its  people. 
He  lived  a  good  life,  above  all  selfish  and  sordid 
interests  that  sometimes  animates  men  of  means 
and  influences  their  actions.  He  followed  the  im- 
pulses of  a  heart  that  felt  for  humanity  in  gen- 
eral, and  in  his  death  he  left  a  memory  that  al- 
ways will  be  cherished  in  grateful  remembrance. 
An  estimate  of  the  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Miner 
was  held  in  the  city  of  his  home  among  his 
neighbors  and  fellow  citizens  with  whom  he  was 
in  daily  association  and  business  relations,  is  well 
shown  by  an  extract  from  the  Leader  published 
on  the  day  of  his  funeral,  July  27,  1903 : 

"All  that  was  mortal  of  the  Hon.  Charles  A. 
Miner  was  this  afternoon  consigned  to  its  last 
resting  place.  In  the  death  of  Mr.  Miner, 
Wilkes-Barre   has  indeed  sustained  a  severe  loss. 


>^2^/ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


95 


A  public-spirited,  philanthropic  citizen,  he  was 
ever  ready  to  help  in  advancing  the  welfare  of  his 
city  and  its  inhabitants.  His  personal  side  was 
particularly  loveable  to  all  who  knew  him,  and 
his  business  integrity  was  a  strong  example  to 
many  of  the  younger  business  men  of  the  com- 
munity. The  deeds  of  Mr.  Miner  will  live  in  this 
city  for  man}-  a  long  day.  After  all,  the}"  are  the 
most  lasting  tribute  to  a  citizen's  memory.  But 
it  would  not  be  amiss  to  erect  in  the  public  square 
or  on  the  river  common,  or  some  such  appro- 
priate spot — the  property  of  the  people — a  monu- 
ment to  Mr.  Miner's  memory,  something  for  the 
boys  and  girls  of  coming  generations  to  look  up 
to  and  to  inspire  in  them  the  same  noble  traits 
and  characteristics  which  made  Charles  A.  Miner 
one  of  the  best  citizens  Wilkes-Barre  ever  had." 

No  less  gratifying  to  Mr.  Miner's  family  and 
friends  were  the  many  other  evidences  of  regard 
which  found  public  expression  on  the  occasion 
of  his  death,  among  them  being  numerous  news- 
paper comments,  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the 
vestry  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  the  board  of  di- 
rectors of  the  Wyoming  National  Bank,  the  di- 
rectors of  the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital,  Con- 
yngham  Post,  No.  97,  G.  A.  R.,  the  Pennsyl- 
vania State  Millers'  Association,  besides  hun- 
dreds of  letters  received  by  members  of  the  fam- 
ily from  friends  and  business  acquaintances  in 
various  parts  of  the  country. 

Charles  Abbott  Miner  married,  January   19, 

1853,   Eliza   Ross   Atherton,1  born   in    Kingston 

■ 

I.  A  James  Atherton  settled  in  Wyoming.  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1762,  and  a  James  Atherton,  junior,  settled 
in  Kingston,  in  1769.  They  were  undoubtedly  Connec- 
ticut Athertons,  although  their  connection  is  not  defi- 
nitely traced  in  family,  town,  or  parish  records ;  but 
the  James  Atherton  who  died  in  1798  and  lies  buried  in 
Forty  Fort  is  probably  the  one  who  was  born  in  .  1816, 
whose  father  sold  his  lands  in  Lancaster  in  1740,  and 
then  moved  away.  This  James  Atherton  married  Eliz- 
abeth Borden,  born  September,  1718,  died  March  25, 
1802.  They  had  two  children,  the  second  being  James 
(2)  born  September  19.  1751.  died  May  5,  1828,  buried 
at  Galena,  Ohio:  married  May  3,  1774,  Lydia  Wash- 
burn, born  May  16.  1757.  died  June  20,  1847,  Galena, 
Ohio.  James  and  Lydia  had  thirteen  children,  of  whom 
Elisha,  born  Wyoming.  May  7,  1786.  died  April  2, 
1853,  was  the  sixth.  Elisha  married,  February  3,  1828, 
Caroline  Ann  Ross,  daughter  of  General  William  Ross 
and  his  wife  Elizabeth  Sterling,  married  October  10, 
1790.  Eliza  Ross  Atherton.  daughter  of  Elisha  Ather- 
ton and  Caroline  Ann  Ross,  his  wife,  married  Charles 
Abbott  Miner. 


township  (now  Wyoming  borough),  Pennsyl- 
vania, March  10,  1831,  daughter  of  Elisha  Ather- 
ton, born  in  Wyoming,  May  7,  1786,  died  April  2, 
1853,  and  wife  Caroline  Ann  Ross,  born  Wilkes- 
Barre,  February  24.  1797,  died  August  18,  1885. 
Charles  A.  and  Eliza  Ross  Miner  had  children: 
Elizabeth,  born  1853,  died  unmarried,  a  modest, 
lovely  and  lovable  Christian,  November  22,  1902  ; 
Robert,  died  young ;  William  Ross,  died  young ; 
Asher.  born  November  14,  i860,  married  Hetty 
M.  Lonsdale;  Sidney  Roby,  born  July  28,  1864; 
Charles  Howard,  M.  D..  born  July  5,  1868,  mar- 
ried Grace  Lea  Shoemaker,  sister  of  Airs.  Asher 
Miner ;  supra. 

Colonel  Asher  Miner  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools,  at  the  Wilkes-Barre  (now  Harry  Hill- 
man)  Academy,  and  at  Williston  Seminary  of 
Easthampton,  Massachusetts.  He  then  entered  his 
father's  employ  and  learned  the  milling  business 
in  all  its  branches,  filling  various  positions  up  to 
general  manager  in  1887,  which  position  he  held 
until  1894,  when  the  Miner-Hillard  Milling 
Company  was  organized  and  he  was  made  vice- 
president  and  general  manager,  and  continued  as 
such  until  the  death  of  his  father  (see  above) 
when  he  was  made  president.  This  concern  op- 
erates five  mills,  making  cereal  products.  The 
business  has  grown  up  largely  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Colonel  Miner,  and  is  by  far  the  largest 
in  the  state. 

He  married,  November  6,  1889,  Hettie 
McNair  Lonsdale,  born  in  Wilkinson  county, 
Mississippi,  daughter  of  Lieut.  Henry  Hollcfway 
Lonsdale,  of  New  Orleans,  and  his  wife  Helen 
Lea,  daughter  of  Hon.  James  Neilson  Lea,  judge 
of  the  Louisiana  supreme  court,  and  his  wife, 
Hetty  Hart  McNair.  Lieutenant  Lonsdale  was 
born  at  Mills  Point,  Arkansas,  in  1840.  He  was  a 
cotton  factor  in  New  Orleans  when  the  Civil 
war  broke  out.  He  enlisted  March  6,  1862.  for 
ninety  days  in  the  Fifth  Company,  Battalion  of 
Washington  Artillery  of  New  Orleans,  Confed- 
erate States  Army,  but  owing  to  physical  disabil- 
ity incurred  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged  from  the  service  June  15,  1862. 
He  returned  to  the  arm}'  with  the  restoration  of 
his  health,  and  held  the  rank  of  lieutenant  P.  A. 
C.  S.,  commanding  the  post  at  Woodville,  Mis- 


96 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


sissippi,  in  1865,  until  the  final  surrender  of  the 
Confederate  forces  in  that  state.  He  died  in 
1873.  Lieutenant  Lonsdale  was  descended  from 
an  English  family  of  that  name.  His  father, 
Henry  T.  Lonsdale,  was  born  in  New  York  in 
1809,  while  his  family  was  visiting  in  the  United 
States.  He  located  at  Mills  Point,  Arkansas,  and 
formed  the  mercantile  house  of  Lonsdale,  Wal- 
ton &  Company,  and  engaged  in  the  grain  trade. 
After  years  of  successful  business  his  house 
failed  in  the  crash  of  1837  when  he  removed  to 
New  Orleans,  where  he  built  up  the  largest  cof- 
fee importing  business  in  the  south. 

Colonel  Miner  has  five  children — Helen  Lea, 
Elizabeth  Ross,  Robert  Charles,  Margaret  Mer- 
cer and  Hetty  Lonsdale. 

Colonel  Miner  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He 
joined  Company  D,  Ninth  Regiment  Pennsyl- 
vania National  Guard,  in  1884,  as  private,  and 
was  promoted  through  the  various  grades  to 
lieutenant  and  finally  became  captain  of  the  same 
company.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Hast- 
ings in  1895  as  general  inspector  of  rifle  practice 
with  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  served  on  the  staff 
of  Governor  Hastings  until  1898,  when  the  Na- 
tional Guard  of  Pennsylvania  was  enlisted  into 
the  service  of  the  LTnited  States.  The  Seventh 
Regiment,  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
then  organized  and  he  was  commissioned  colonel. 
The  regiment  was  second  in  line  to  go  to  the  war, 
and  was  fully  equipped  for  the  purpose,  but  its 
services  were  not  needed.  After  being  organ- 
ized for  some  months,  and  during  this  time  at- 
tending the  inauguration  of  Governor  Stone,  it 
was  disbanded.  This  closed  the  military  career 
of  Colonel  Miner,  covering  a  period  of  twelve 
years.  While  in  the  military  service  he  was  a 
celebrated  rifle  and  pistol  shot  and  made  the 
highest  score  of  any  member  of  the  regiment. 
He  was  selected  to  represent  the  regiment  on  the 
brigade  and  state  teams,  where  he  held  (at  one 
time)  the  highest  record  for  marksmanship  in 
the  state.  He  was  for  several  years  president  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Board  of  Trade  and  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Millers'  State  Association.  He  is 
now  president  of  the  Pennsylvania  Millers'  Mu- 
tual  Fire   Insurance   Company,   director   of   the 


Millers'  National  Federation,  director  of  the 
Wyoming  National  Bank  and  other  local  institu- 
tions, member  of  the  Westmoreland  and  Wyo- 
ming Valley  Country  Club,  and  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution. 

Sidney  Roby  Aiiner.  born  July  28,  1864, 
graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts  from  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, 1888,  studied  law  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  1890. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Bar  Associa- 
tion, the  American  Bar  Association,  the  Penn- 
sylvania Society  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  and  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  of 
which  he  has  been  recording  secretary  from  1894 
to  the  present  time  (1905). 

Charles  Howard  Miner,  M.  D.,  born  July  5. 
1868,  graduated  Bachelor  of  Science  from 
Princeton  University,  1890,  and  Doctor  of  Med- 
icine from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  1893. 
He  also  studied  medicine  at  Heidelburg  and 
Vienna.  He  served  as  assistant  surgeon  in  the 
Ninth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  dur- 
ing the  Spanish- American  war,  1898.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Luzerne  County,  Pennsylvania 
State,  and  the  American  Medical  Associations, 
the  Military  Order  of  Foreign  Wars,  and  a  life 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 
ical Society.  On  June  1,  1904,  he  married  Grace 
Lea  Shoemaker,  daughter  of  Robert  C.  and 
Helen  Lea  (Lonsdale)  Shoemaker,  and  sister  of 
Mrs.  Asher  Miner.     (See  Shoemaker  family.) 

H.  E.  H. 

CHARLES  MINER,  second  son  of  Seth 
Miner  and  his  wife  Anna  Charlton,  and  descen- 
dant in  the  sixth  generation  of  Thomas  Miner, 
the  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  family  in  America, 
(See  Miner  family),  was  born  in  Norwich,  Con- 
necticut, February  1,  1780. 

His  early  education  was  limited  to  the  nar- 
row opportunities  afforded  in  the  common 
schools,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he 
went  to  New  London  and  was  apprenticed  to 
the  printer's  trade  in  the  office  of  The  Connec- 
ticut Gazette  and  Commercial  Intelligencer. 
In  February,  1790,  he  came  to  Pennsylvania  to 
take  chargfe  of  certain  lands  held  bv  his  father 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


97 


under  the  Connecticut  title  in  (now)  Jessup 
township,  Susquehanna  count)-,  but  then  a  part 
of  Luzerne  county.  Here  he  found  employment 
in  sugar  making,  and  gave  needful  attention  to 
the  lands  entrusted  to  his  charge,  but  his  efforts 
at  farming  were  accompanied  with  such  serious 
obstacles  and  disappointments  that  he  abandoned 
that  pursuit  in  the  summer  of  1800  and  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  his  elder  brother  Asher 
lived  and  with  him  he  made  his  home.  In  the 
fall  of  that  year  he  began  to  teach  school,  and 
devoted  his  leisure  hours  to  study.  He  was  thus 
employed  two  terms  (six  months),  after  which 
he  resolved  to  devote  his  attention  to  that  branch 
of  work  with  which  he  was  most  familiar,  print- 
ing, and  incidentally  aspired  to  the  higher  branch 
of  journalism,  the  editorial  chair.  With  him  in 
the  past  the  newspaper  had  been  his  best  teacher, 
and  his  early  endeavors  in  his  brother's  office 
were  rewarded  with  gratifying  success,  although 
the  proprietor  of  the  "Federalist"  (his  brother 
Asher)  consented  to  publish  his  first  contribu- 
tion with  some  hesitation ;  but  he  afterward  was 
gratified  to  learn  that  his  "article"  was  reprinted 
in  The  United  States  Gazette  of  Philadelphia. 
Soon  after  this  initial  success  (May  3,  1802), 
Charles  became  partner  with  his  brother,  and  the 
Federalist  was  printed  by  "A.  and  C.  Miner, 
Editors  and  Proprietors.''  In  May,  1804, 
Charles  became  the  sole  owner  of  the  establish- 
ment and  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  to  The 
Luzerne  County  Federalist  and  Susquehanna  In- 
telligencer. The  editor  soon  became  an  impor- 
tant figure  in  the  social  and  political  life  of 
Wilkes-Barre. 

He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  first  borough 
council ;  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  academy  in  1807,  and  served  one 
year  as  one  of  its  original  board  of  trustees.  In 
October,  1807,  he  was  elected  representative  in 
the  legislature,  was  re-elected  in  1808,  and  again 
in  1812.  In  the  legislature  he  early  became  a 
champion  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people  ; 
was  a  zealous  advocate  of  the  promotion  of  do- 
mestic manufactures ;  introduced  the  first  reso- 
lution to  exclude  from  circulation  in  Pennsyl- 
vania bank  notes  of  small  denomination  from 
7 


other  states,  which  imposed  a  heavy  tax  on  the 
people  of  the  poorer  classes  of  this  state.  Mr. 
Miner  advocated  the  encouragement  of  wool 
growing ;  he  helped  to  originate  and  warmly  sup- 
ported that  scheme  of  internal  improvement 
which  ultimately  led  to  the  construction  of  the 
North  Branch  canal ;  he  was  the  author  of  and 
introduced  a  bill  to  promote  the  comfort  of  the 
poor,  which  exempted  from  levy  and  sale  on  ex- 
ecution certain  articles  of  personal  property  of 
the  debtor ;  he  advocated  the  improvement  of  de- 
scending navigation  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Le- 
high rivers,  in  connection  with  the  grand  scheme 
of  internal  improvement  which  at  that  time  was 
being  seriously  considered  at  each  legislative 
session,  but  which  was  not  carried  into  effect 
until  about  twenty  years  later. 

From  1806  to  about  1810  Mr.  Miner  was  a 
member  of  the  military  organization  known  as 
the  "Wyoming  Blues,"  and  in  1808  was  first 
lieutenant  of  the  company.  In  1810  he  assisted 
in  taking  the  third  federal  census,  and  at  the 
same  time  he  had  a  contract  for  carrying  the 
mails  between  Wilkes-Barre  and  Northumber- 
land, Tunkhannock,  and  other  towns  interme- 
diate and  more  distant.  In  May,  1809,  Mr.  Miner 
transferred  the  Federalist  to  Sidney  Tracy  and 
Steuben  Butler,  but  in  September,  1810,  resumed 
the  editorial  chair,  then  being  partner  with  Steu- 
ben Butler.  This  partnership  was  dissolved  in 
1813,  and  Air.  Miner  conducted  the  paper  (then 
called  The  Gleaner)  alone  until  1816,  when  he 
sold  out  and  went  to  Philadelphia  to  become  ed- 
itor and  part  owner  of  The  True  American, 
where  he  gained  a  wide  reputation  as  a  writer 
and  occupied  a  high  position  in  social  and  politi- 
cal circles  in  the  city.  During  his  editorship  of 
The  Gleaner  he  published  a  series  of  articles 
under  the  nom  de  plume  of  "Poor  Robert,  the 
Scribe,"  which  were  afterwards  published  in 
book  form,  and  obtained  considerable  celebrity. 
This  work  is  now  very  rare.  In  the  early  part 
of  1817,  on  account  of  a  long  and  serious  ill- 
ness, he  severed  his  connection  with  The  True 
American  and  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre,  but  in 
the  same  year  he  purchased  The  Chester  and 
Delaware  Federalist,  and  soon  afterward  took  up 


ISO  /f  ^ 


98 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


his  residence  in  West  Chester.  The  paper  was 
published  as  the  Federalist  until  1818,  when  the 
name  was  changed  to  The  Village  Record.  It 
soon  became  as  popular  for  its  good  taste  and  del- 
icacy of  humor  as  the  Gleaner  had  been  afore- 
time. Poor  Robert  of  the  Gleaner  here  wrote 
under  the  nom  de  plume  of  "Poor  Robert,  the 
The  young  Yankee  printer,  ridiculed  by  the  De- 
mocracy of  Chester  county  as  a  "Yankee  tin  ped- 
dler," won  his  way  to  the  esteem  and  confidence 
of  the  plain  and  practical  Quakers,  then,  as  now, 
powerful  and  influential  in  that  old  county.  He 
was  beloved  while  he  lived  among  them  with 
an  unusual  affection,  only  less  if  possible  than 
that  kindly  regard  in  which  he  was  held  by  the 
people  of  Wyoming. 

In  1820  Mr.  Miner  was  the  federal  candidate 
for  a  seat  in  congress,  but  was  defeated  in  the 
election  by  his  Democratic  opponent,  Dr.  Will- 
iam G.  Darlington.  In  1824  he  was  again  a 
candidate  and  was  elected,  the  district  he  was 
chosen  to  represent  comprising  the  counties  of 
Chester,  Delaware  and  Lancaster;  and  his  col- 
league in  the  house  was  a  man  who  afterward  at- 
tained a  distinguished  prominence  in  our  national 
history.  James  Buchanan,  of  Lancaster  county. 
In  1826  Mr.  Miner  was  re-elected  and  served 
until  the  first  inauguration  of  President  Jackson. 
In  Washington  and  its  social  and  political  circles 
Mr.  Miner  was  the  friend  and  associate  of  sev- 
eral distinguished  men,  among  whom  was  Henry 
Clay,  who  regarded  the  representative  from  the 
interior  as  one  of  the  ablest  supporters  of  his 
measures  for  internal  improvement,  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  United  States  bank.  His  ac- 
quaintance and  intercourse  with  Webster  was 
familiar  and  pleasant ;  he  was  the  warm  friend  of 
John  Quincy  Adams,  and  in  later  years  Edward 
Everett  was  his  friend  and  correspondent,  as 
was  also  the  historian,  George  Bancroft.  Presi- 
dent Tyler  once  said  of  Charles  Miner  "that  he 
was  the  most  able  man  he  had  ever  met  with 
from  Pennsylvania." 

At  the  end  of  his  service  in  congress  Mr. 
Miner  returned  to  West  Chester  and  continued 
to  edit  The  Village  Record.  In  1832  he  deter- 
mined,  on   account   of   deafness   and   increasing 


age,  to  return  to  Wyoming  valley,  where  his  lit- 
erary career  had  been  begun,  and  where  he  had 
ever  hoped  to  pass  the  evening  of  his  days.  Here 
then  he  came,  laying  aside  editorial  honors  and 
political  preferments.  He  took  up  his  residence 
on  a  farm  which  his  wife  had  inherited  from  her 
father,  and  which  was  situated  in  Wilkes-Barre 
township,  in  what  now  is  the  borough  of  Miner's 
Mills.  He  called  his  new  home  "Retreat,"  and 
there  on  one  occasion  he  entertained  Bancroft, 
the  historian,  his  valued  friend.  But  even  in  re- 
tirement Mr.  Miner's  busy  mind  must  find  some- 
thing to  work  upon  and  his  ready  pen  some  sub- 
ject upon  which  to  expend  its  energies.  This 
was  found  in  earnest  efforts — begun  in  1833 — 
to  obtain  "all  the  facts  which  obliterating  time 
and  relentless  death  had  spared,  relating  to  the 
history  of  Wyoming.  During  the  next  two  or 
three  years  he  visited  and  conversed  with  "thirty 
or  forty  of  the  ancient  people  who  were  here  at 
the  time  of  the  expulsion,"  and  he  carefully  stud- 
ied and  examined  all  accessible  records  and  doc- 
uments relating  to  Wyoming.  The  earliest  re- 
sults of  his  efforts  were  recorded  in  "The  Hazle- 
ton  Travellers,"  a  series  of  historical  and  bio- 
graphical sketches,  written  for  the  Wyoming 
Republican  and  Farmers'  Herald,  Kingston,  the 
first  appearing  in  1837.  Subsequently  these  ar- 
ticles were  included  by  Mr.  Miner  in  his  "His- 
tory of  Wyoming,"  in  a  series  of  letters  to  his 
son,  William  Penn  Miner,  Esq.,  published  in 
1845.  This  history  was  the  last  great  effort  of 
his  life,  and  the  work  was  well  done.  The  his- 
tory has  always  been  considered  authentic  and 
reliable. 

Charles  Miner  died  at  his  home  in  Plains 
township,  October  26,  1865,  in  the  eighty-sixth 
years  of  his  life.  His  good  life  had  conformed 
to  the  laws  of  his  being,  and  he  died  because  he 
was  very  old.  Among  his  papers  was  found  a 
memorandum  requesting  that  his  body  be  buried 
in  the  old  graveyard  in  Wilkes-Barre  (corner 
Washington  and  Market  streets)  where  the 
mould  was  "soft  and  pleasant,"  and  where  he 
would  be  "surrounded  by  dear  friends"  who  had 
gone  before.  His  request  was  complied  with,  but 
subsequently  his   remains   were   removed  to  the 


THE    WYOMING.  AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


99 


Hollenback  cemetery.  Charles  Miner  married, 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  January  16,  1804,  Letitia 
Wright,  born  June  n,  1788,  died  in  Plains  town- 
ship, February  27,  1852,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Wright.     Their  children  were  : 

Ann  Charlton,  born  October  24,  1804,  mar- 
ried March  3,  1824,  Dr.  Isaac  Thomas,  born  Sep- 
tember 16,  1797,  died  May  16,  1879;  his  wife 
died  March  23,  1832. 

Sarah  K.,  born  June  4,  1806,  died  January- 
14,  1874.  She  was  blind  from  early  childhood. 
Her  father  taught  her  to  read  by  having  her 
learn  the  shape  of  large  wooden  job-type,  in  his 
printing  office.  When  sent  to  an  institution  for 
the  blind,  her  parents  were  informed  that  she 
was  the  first  child  ever  admitted  who  was  able 
to  read.  She  was  a  gifted  woman,  her  depriva- 
tion of  vision  being  counterbalanced  by  a  mar- 
velous memory.  When  her  father  was  collect- 
ing data  for  his  "History  of  Wyoming,"  she  ac- 
companied him,  listened  closely  to  all  that  was 
related,  and  repeated  the  stories  to  him  when  he 
wrote  them  at  home.  He  often  referred  to  her 
as  his  "literary  guardian." 

Mary  S.,  born  July  16,  1808,  died  October 
2y,  i860.  She  married  Joseph  J.  Lewis,  who 
died  in  April,  1883.  Mr.  Lewis  was  a  promi- 
nent attorney  and  during  the  administration  of 
President  Lincoln  was  commissioner  of  internal 
revenue.  Their  children  were :  Charlton  Thomas, 
a  graduate  of  Yale,  A.  B.,  1853,  M.  A.  1859, 
Ph.  D.,  University  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
1877;  he  was  a  scholar,  lexicographer,  editor  and 
successful  man  of  affairs.  (Extract  from  "Who's 
Who  in  America,"  1901-1902,  page  680).  Charl- 
ton Miner  Lewis,  son  of  Charlton  Thomas  Lewis, 
received  from  Yale  the  title  of  A.  B.,  1886,  LL. 
B.,  Columbia,  1889,  Ph.  D.,  Yale,  1898,  and  has 
served  as  professor  of  Yale  since  1899.  Wayne 
MacVeagh,  minister  to  Turkey,  1873,  United 
States  attorney  general,  1881,  later  embassador 
to  Italy,  married  as  his  first  wife  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  J.  and  Mary  S.   (Miner)   Lewis. 

Charlotte,  born  June  30,  1810,  died  July  8, 
1859.  She  married  Stephen  Fuller  Abbott,  born 
July  14,  1809,  died  February  11,  1856.  The  late 
Rev.  William  P.  Abbott,  D.  D.,  of  the  Methodist 


Episcopal  Church,  was  their  son.  (See  Abbott 
family. ) 

Ellen  Elizabeth,  born  August  14,  1814,  mar- 
ried June,  1838,  Jesse  Thomas,  born  October  27, 
1804,  died  February  14,   1876. 

William  Penn,  born  September  8,  1816,  died 
April  3,  1892.  He  was  educated  at  West  Ches- 
ter, read  law  with  his  brother-in-law,  Judge 
Lewis,  admitted  to  practice  in  Chester  county  in 
1840,  and  in  Luzerne  county  in  1841  ;  elected 
prothonotary,  1846,  for  three  years ;  was  clerk 
of  the  courts  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  and  Quarter 
Sessions,  and  of  the  Orphan's  court.  He  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  at  the  expiration  of  the  three 
years,  April  19,  1853.  He  purchased  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Adzvcatc  changing  the  name  to  The  Rec- 
ord of  the  Times.  The  daily  edition  of  the 
Record  of  the  Times  was  started  by  him  October 
5,  1870,  and  still  continues.  It  was  sold  to  a 
stock  company  in  1876,  and  in  1883  came  into  the 
hands  of  the  present  proprietors — Dr.  F.  C. 
Johnson,  (see  Johnson  family),  J.  C.  Powell  (see 
Powell  family),  and  C.  B.  Suyder.  This  paper 
has  ever  been  a  clean  paper,  "and  an  evidence  of 
the  highest  type  of  journalism."  (Kulp).  It  has 
always  given  every  possible  encouragement  to 
the  coal  trade,  and  in  that  as  in  other  ways  it 
has  greatly  accelerated  and  added  materially  to 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  Wilkes-Barre  and 
the  county  generally.  He  was  the  author  of  a 
remarkably  exhaustive  and  interesting  article  on 
the  "History  of  the  Coal  Trade  in  Luzerne  and 
Lackawanna  Counties  in  1880,"  and  other  papers. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society  from  1858  until  his 
death,  and  was  its  first  corresponding  secretary 
in  1858.  He  married  Elizabeth  Dewart,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Liggett,  of  West  Chester,  and  their 
children  were:  1.  Emily  Remington,  born  April 
5,  1845.  2-  Caroline  Thomas,  born  February  5, 
1847.  3-  Anna  Lewis,  born  June  17,  1852.  4. 
William  Beatty,  born  July  20,  1854,  died  1905, 
was  admitted  to  bar  January  11,  1881,  learned 
the  trade  of  printer  under  his  father,  became  a 
partner  with  him  under  the  firm  name  of  William 
P.  &  Son,  subsequently  went  to  Wisconsin  and 
became  editor  of  the  Grant  County  Herald.     In 


IOO 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


1889  he  married  Mrs.  Katherine  B.  McComb, 
who  had  by  her  first  marriage  one  child,  Marie 
Louisa  McComb ;  two  children  were  born  of  the 
second  marriage,  as  follows :  Ellen  Elizabeth, 
born  April  19,  1891  ;  and  Charles,  born  July  21, 
1893.  5.  Letitia  Wright,  born  February  25,  1859, 
married,  November  17,  1897,  John  Mortimer 
Miner,  and  they  are  the  parents  'of  one  child, 
Emily  Elizabeth,  born  April  29,   1902. 

H.  E.  H. 

ROSS  FAMILY.  The  ancestor  of  the  Ross 
family,  who  were  among  the  early  settlers  in  the 
Wyoming  valley,  was  Joseph  Ross  ( 1 ) ,  of  Ips- 
wich, Massachusetts,  whose  wife  was  named 
Mary,  born  1646.  They  were  of  English  ances- 
try, but  the  exact  date  of  the  Ross  emigration  to 
America  is  not  clear.  There  was  a  John  Ross  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  1640,  and  also  his 
brother  Thomas  Ross,  and  there  was  also  a  John 
Ross  in  Ashford  in  171 1.  Joseph  Ross  and 
Mary,  who  was  born  in  1646  and  died  in  Wind- 
ham, Connecticut,  November  5,  1725,  had  three 
sons — Jonathan,   Joseph   and   Daniel. 

Joseph  Ross  (2)  second  son  of  Joseph  Ross, 
of  Ipswich,  and  Mary  his  wife,  was  born  in  1683 
and  was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Ashford  in 
1716,  a  land  surveyor,  and  owner  of  several  val- 
uable town  lots.  He  married,  September  16, 
1716,  Sarah  Utley,  born  September  15,  1697,  the 
daughter  of  Samuel  Utley,  of  Scituate,  Massa- 
chusetts. The  name  Utley  was  variously  ren- 
dered in  early  colonial  times,  one  of  the  first  of 
tne  name  being  Samuel  .Utley,  of  Scituate,  Mas- 
sachusetts. Savage  suggests  that  the  name  may 
be  identical  with  that  of  the  Uxleys  of  Taunton, 
which  seems  improbable,  as  the  latter  are  ac- 
counted for  from  the  time  of  immigration.  Sev- 
eral Utleys  were  in  the  Revolution — two  Jere- 
miahs, John.  Philip,  Samuel,  Daniel,  Jacob  and 
Thomas — all  were  privates.  Jeremiah  was  "of- 
ficer, for  public  affairs,"  and  surveyor.  James 
signed  the  covenant  in  Canada  parish,  Windham 
county.  1725.  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Utley)  Ross 
had  ten  children ;  their  third  son, 

Jeremiah  Ross  (3),  was  probably  the  pioneer 
of   the   family   in    Pennsvlvania.      He   was   born 


July  26,  1721,  and  died  in  Wilkes-Uarre,  Penn- 
sylvania, hebruary  8,  1777.  He  married,  Octo- 
ber 31,  1744,  Ann  Paine,  born  February  11,  1720,. 
cued  at  Yvilkes-Barre,  March  22  1813,  aged  nine- 
ty-three years.  Ann  Paine  was  the  daughter  of 
Samuel  Paine  (4J  and  Ruth  Perrin ;  Samuel 
Paine  (4)  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Paine  (3;  and 
wife  Anna  Peck  who  owned  the  finest  house  in 
Woodstock  and  were  counted  wealthy ;  Samuel 
Paine  (3)  was  a  son  of  Stephen  Paine  (2)  and 
wife  Anne  Chickering ;  and  Stephen  Paine  (2) 
was  the  son  of  Stephen  Paine  (i),"the  emigrant," 
from  Great  Ellingham,  a  parish  in  the  hundred 
of  Shropham,  near  Hingham,  county  Norfolk,. 
England.  He  was  a  miller  and  came  to  New  Eng- 
land with  a  large  party  of  emigrants  in  1638  in 
the  ship  "Diligent."'  He  settled  first  at  Hing- 
ham, was  made  freeman  in  1639,  deputy  in  1641,. 
was  granted  permission  "to  sit  down  at  Sea- 
cunk"  (Sea  Ronk)  in  1641-42,  and  the  new  set- 
tlement was  soon  afterward  called  Rehoboth. 
Jeremiah  Ross  and  wife  Ann  Paine  had  the  fol- 
lowing children:  1.  Aleph.  2.  Ann.  3.  Perrirt 
(or  Peran),  who  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  army, his 
commission  being  in  the  Twenty-fourth  Regiment 
of  Infantry,  sometimes  called  the  "Westmoreland. 
Regiment;"  he  was  killed  in  the  massacre  at 
Wyoming.  4.  Sarah,  married  Giles  Slocum.  5. 
Diana.  6.  Mary.  7.  Lucy  married  Dr.  Davis.  8. 
Jeremiah,  who  was  killed  in  the  Wyoming  mas- 
sacre. 9.  William,  see  forward.  10.  Elizabeth,, 
who  married  John  Gore.  All  the  sons  of  Jere- 
miah Ross  were  participants  in  the  dreadful, 
scenes  of  the  Wyoming  massacre. 

William  Ross,  ninth  child  of  Jeremiah  and 
Ann  (Paine)  Ross,  was  born  in  Scotland  par- 
ish. Windham  county,  Connecticut,  March  29, 
1761.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  came  with  his 
father  and  family  from  Montville,  New  London: 
county,  Connecticut,  some  time  in  the  early  part 
of  1774.  to  Wyoming.  He  marched  with  a  party 
of  nearly  four  hundred  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Butler,  July  1,  1778,  from  Forty  Fort  to 
Exeter,  the  scene  of  the  massacre  of  the  Hard- 
ings,  which  occurred  June  30,  1778.  On  July  3,. 
being  without  arms,  (his  two  older  brothers  Per- 
rin and  Jeremiah,  both  of  whom  were  killed  frr 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


IOI 


the  battle,  having  taken  them),  he  remained  in 
the  fort.  On  receiving  word  of  the  defeat  he 
■and  all  his  family  fled.  He  and  his  mother  and 
sister,  Sarah  Slocum,  wife  of  Giles  Slocum,  took 
the  Nescopeck  path  through  Fort  Allen  to 
Strcudsburg,  where  they  met  their  sisters,  Aleph 
and  Polly,  (who  had  gone  down  the  river  to 
Harris  Ferry,  now  Harrisburg,  thence  via  Read- 
ing to  the  rendezvous),  and  the  other  four  sis- 
ters. All  except  his  mother  and  sister  Sarah  re- 
turned with  Captain  Spaulding  to  Wyoming  in 
the  following  August.  He  was  one  of  twenty- 
nine  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates 
under  command  of  a  lieutenant  who  marched 
October  22,  1778,  to  Forty  Fort  to  guard  the 
expedition  and  to  bury  the  dead.  They  settled 
down  again  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  fort,  William 
being  now  the  head  of  the  family.  He  kept  his 
fodder  about  half  a  mile  from  the  fort  and  al- 
ways went  armed  when  he  fed  his  cattle.  In- 
dians made  frequent  incursions  into  the  neigh- 
borhood, burning  the  hay  or  driving  off  the  cat- 
tle of  the  settlers.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  In- 
dians attacked  the  fort,  March  23,  1779,  but 
were  repulsed  with  the  help  of  the  only  cannon 
the  settlers  possessed. 

William  Ross  took  part  in  the  Pennamite  and 
Yankee  wars,  and  in  July,  1784,  marched  with 
twenty-nine  picked  men  under  Captain  John 
Swift  to  meet  an  armed  force  of  Pennamites  un- 
der command  of  Major  Moore,  who  were  re- 
ported to  be  at  Lanier's  on  their  way  to  attack 
the  Yankee  settlers.  They  met  on  Locust  Hill,  in 
Northampton  county,  near  Stoddartsville,  Au- 
gust 2,  where  one  of  the  Pennamites  was  killed 
and  several  wounded  on  each  side.  On  the  ar- 
rival at  Wyoming,  August  8,  of  John  Armstrong, 
■  secretary  of  the  supreme  executive  council,  and 
Hon.  John  Boyd,  a  member  of  the  same,  Mr. 
Ross  and  the  other  men  who  had  been  in  Swift's 
company,  by  Armstrong's  order  were  arrested  on 
the  charge  of  murder  at  Locust  Hill,  although  he 
had  promised  on  his  good  faith  as  a  soldier  and 
his  honor  as  a  gentleman  that  they  should  be 
protected.  They  were  bound  with  cords,  thrust 
into  the  guard  house  and  threatened  with  instant 
death  if  they  attempted  to  escape.     Later  they 


were  handcuffed  in  pairs  right  and  left,  all 
bound  together,  and  each  couple  tied  to  two  sol- 
diers with  ropes,  and  sent  to  Easton  under  a 
strong  guard,  Colonel  Armstrong  giving  the  or- 
der as  they  were  about  to  start  that  if  any  one 
of  the  prisoners  attempted  to  escape  the  whole 
number  were  to  be  put  to  death  immediately, 
adding  that  the  government  would  indemnify 
them  for  so  doing.  Going  up  the  mountain,  some 
hung  back  and  contrived  to  loosen  their  hands 
and  cut  the  cord.  Two  escaped  at  Larner's.  Mr. 
Ross,  "by  superior  activity  took  leave  at  Hell- 
er's." The  rest  reached  Easton  and  were  lodged 
in  jail. 

Later,  in  more  peaceable  times,  Mr.  Ross 
joined  the  militia  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  July, 
178S,  was  captain  of  a  company  located  at 
Wilkes-Barre.  This  company  with  three  others, 
including  a  troop  of  cavalrv  under  Captain  John 
Paul  Schott,  were  ordered  out  June  27,  when 
Colonel  Pickering  was  abducted,  for  the  purpose 
of  rescuing  him.  In  the  pursuit  Captain  Ross, 
with  fifteen  of  his  company,  in  ascending  the  east 
bank  of  the  Susquehanna,  near  Meshoppen,  en- 
countered a  party  of  Yankees  under  the  lead  of 
Gideon  Dudley.  In  the  action  which  ensued  Cap- 
tain Ross  was  hit  by  a  ball  which  passed  through 
his  body  and  lodged  in  the  skin  of  the  opposite 
side.  He  was  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where 
he  slowly  recovered.  In  recognition  of  his  ser- 
vices on  this  occasion  he  was  presented  by  the 
supreme  executive  council  of  the  commonwealth  • 
with  a  handsome  sword  engraved  with  the  fol- 
lowing inscription :  "Captain  Wm.  Ross,  The 
Supreme  Executive  Council  present  this  mark  of 
their  approbation  acquired  by  your  firmness  in 
support  of  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  on 
the  4th   of  July,    1788.   Charles   Biddle,   Sec'y." 

In  1789-90  William  Ross  was  captain  of  the 
Third  Company  of  the  First  Battalion  of  Lu- 
zerne County  Militia,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Col. 
Matthias  Hollenback.  In  1790  he  was  elected 
one  of  the  first  justices  of  the  peace  for  the  sec- 
ond district  of  Luzerne  county,  composed  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Hanover  and  Newport  townships, 
and  September  1,  1791,  was  appointed  for  the  dis- 
trict of  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  countv  of  Luzerne. 


102 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


His  commission  from  Governor  Mifflin  is  re- 
corded in  the  recorder's  office  in  deed  book  No. 
i,  page  409.  He  continued  in  the  office  for 
twenty  years  or  more.  He  was  appointed  brigade 
inspector  of  Northumberland,  Lycoming  and  Lu- 
zerne counties,  April  25,  1800,  to  hold  said  office 
for  the  term  of  seven  years  from  the  date  of  his 
commission  from  Governor  McKean,  which  is 
recorded  in  deed  book  No.  6,  page  537.  The  same 
day  he  was  appointed  brigadier-general  of  the 
same  brigade,  which  office  he  still  held  in  1812. 
"Having  a  taste  for  military  affairs  he  arose  by 
regular  gradations  from  major  to  brigade  in- 
spector and  general  in  the  militia.  He  was  tall, 
straight,  and  extremely  active."  (Aimer's 
"Wyoming,"  appendix,  page  4).  He  was  what 
was  known  in  those  days  as  a  Democrat.  In  1812 
he  was  chosen  senator  to  represent  the  district 
composed  of  Luzerne  and  Northumberland  coun- 
ties. "In  1814  when  the  British  threatened  an 
attack  on  Baltimore,  five  companies  of  militia 
from  Luzerne  and  adjoining  counties  marched," 
a  detachment  of  the  35th  Regiment,  P.  M.,  on 
the  roll  of  which  his  name  appears  as  a  private. 
On  their  arrival  at  Danville,  they  heard  of  the 
repulse  of  the  British  and  were  ordered  home. 
He  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Wilkes-Barre 
in  1832  and  held  the  office  until  1835.  In  1839 
he  acted  as  secretary  of  a  meeting  of  the  Luzerne 
bar,  and  in  1842.  when  he  died,  the  court  ad- 
journed to  attend  his  funeral.  He  died  August 
9,  1842,  and  was  buried  in  the  Ross  private  bury- 
ing ground  at  the  corner  of  South  Washington 
and  Hazel  streets,  and  his  body  afterwards  was 
removed  to  the  Hollenback  cemetery.  He  mar- 
ried. October  10.  1790,  Elizabeth  Sterling,  of 
Lyme.  Connecticut. 

In  1652  David  Sterling  came  from  Hertford- 
shire, England,  to  Charlestown,  Massachusetts. 
His  son.  William  Sterling,  moved  to  Lyme,  Con- 
necticut. His  son,  Daniel  Sterling,  born  1673, 
died  1747.  married  Mary  Ely  Fenwick,  widow 
of  Richard  Ely  who  was  born  1675,  died  October 
16,  1744.  Their  son  Joseph  Sterling,  born  1707, 
married  Sarah  Mack,  who  was  born  1706,  died 
1762.  Their  son,  Samuel  Sterling,  born  1732, 
married,  December  2,    1756,   Elizabeth   Perkins, 


born  October  14,  1737,  died  March  18,  1777. 
Their  daughter,  Elizabeth  Sterling,  born  Novem- 
ber 3,  1768,  married,  October  10,  1790,  Gen. 
William  Ross,  and  died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  May  16, 
1816. 

William  Ross  and  Elizabeth  Sterling  had  the 
following  children : 

Sarah  Sterling,  born  August  25,  1793,  mar- 
ried Dr.  Edward  Covell,  and  died  Julv  8,  1864. 

Eliza  Irene,  born  August  25,  1794,  married 
Peter  Loop.. 

Caroline  Ann,  born  February  24,  IJ97,  died 
August  18,  1885.  She  married  (first),  May  14, 
1815,  Samuel  Maffet,  born  July  7,  1789,  died  Au- 
gust 14,  1825,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  one 
son,  William  Ross  Maffet.  She  married  (sec- 
ond) February  3,  1828,  Elisha  Atherton,  born  in 
Wyoming,  May  7,  1786,  died  April  2,  1853,  son 
of  James  Atherton  and  his  wife  Lydia  Wash- 
burn. They  were  the  parents  of  one  daughter 
Eliza  Ross  Atherton,  who  married,  January  19, 
1853,  Charles  Abbott  Miner,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

William  Sterling,  born  August  11,  1802.  in 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  acquired  his  preparatory  ed- 
ucation in  the  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  this 
was  supplemented  by  attendance  at  the  College 
of  New  Jersey  (now  Princeton  University)  from 
which  institution  he  was  graduated.  During  his 
long  and  prosperous  life  he  followed  the  useful 
calling  of  agriculture,  which  occupation  was  best 
suited  to  his  temperament  and  disposition,  and  by 
practical  and  progressive  methods  he  produced 
excellent  crops.  Early  in  life  he  conceived  a 
fancy  for  military  affairs,  and  passed  through  all 
the  official  grades  from  that  of  a  captain  of  vol- 
unteers to  that  of  a  brigadier-general.  For  a 
period  of  three  decades  he  was  the  acknowledged 
head  of  the  volunteer  system  in  Luzerne  county, 
and  his  word  on  military  affairs  was  ever  re- 
garded as  an  authority.  At  his  drills  he  always 
wore  the  sword  which  the  executive  council  of 
Pennsylvania  had  presented  to  his  father  as  a  re- 
ward of  merit.  He  was  commissioned  associate 
judge  of  the  courts  of  the  county  in  1830.  which 
office  he  retained  until  1839,  the  time  of  the  adop- 
tion of  the  amended  constitution  of  the  state.  For 
a  number  of  vears  he  was  a  member  of  the  bor- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


103 


ough  council  and  generally  its  presiding  officer. 
He  represented  the  Luzerne  district  in  the  senate 
of  this  state  during  the  sessions  of  1845-46-47, 
being  speaker  of  that  body  during  the  last  named 
year.  He  was  also  elected  to  the  general  assem- 
bly for  the  session  of  1862.  For  many  years 
down  to  1840  he  was  a  director  and  general 
manager  of  the  Easton  and  Wilkes-Barre  Turn- 
pike Company,  the  only  great  thoroughfare  lead- 
ing easterly  to  the  seaboard  from  the  Susque- 
hanna. He  was  for  many  years  a  director  in  the 
Wyoming  Bank,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
the  president.  He  was  also  the  president  of  the 
Wyoming  Insurance  Company  at  his  decease, 
and  was  also  a  director  in  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Water  Company  and  the  Wilkes-Barre  Bridge 
Company,  and  a  trustee  of  the  Wyoming  Histor- 
ical and  Geological  Society  and  the  Home  for 
Friendless  Children.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  vestry  of  St.  Stephen's  Church.  He  was  a 
man  of  rare  ability  and  unblemisbed  integrity, 
of  charitable  impulses,  and  those  who  appealed 
to  him  in  trouble  and  adversity  almost  always 
met  with  a  liberal  response.  His  donations  to 
the  Home  for  Friendless  Children,  including 
the  bequest  of  his  last  will,  amounted  to  ten 
thousand  dollars,  and  his  gift  of  the  "Chambers" 
collection  of  coins  and  other  curiosities  to  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society  cost 
two  thousand  dollars.  He  also  contributed  gen- 
erously when  treason  walked  abroad  in  the  land 
and  threatened  the  overthrow  and  destruction  of 
the  Federal  Union,  he  being  among  the  first  to 
rise  up  in  its  defense. 

On  December  1,  1825,  in  the  Slocum  House 
on  the  public  square,  the  first  brick  building  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  by  the  Rev.  Enoch  Huntington, 
pastor  of  St.  Stephen's.  Episcopal  Church  from 
1824  to  1827,  William  Sterling  Ross  and  Ruth 
Tripp  Slocum  were  united  in  marriage.  She 
was  the  second  child  of  Hon.  Joseph  and  Sarah 
(Fell)  Slocum,  and  was  born  on  North  Main 
street,  near  Jackson,  Wilkes-Barre,  December  5, 
1804,  in  the  home  where  her  parents  began  their 
married  life.    She  was  a  descendant  in  the  eighth 

generation  from  Anthony  and  (Harvey) 

Slocum,  of  Taunton,  Massachusetts,   1637.    Her 


father,  Joseph  Slocum,  was  born  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
whither  his  father,  Jonathan  Slocum,  had  emi- 
grated from  Warwick,  Rhode  Island,  during  the 
Revolutionary  war,  April  9,  1777,  and  married 
in  the  year  1800  Sarah  Fell,  who  was  born  in 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  daughter  of  Jesse 
and  Hannah  (Welding)  Fell,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
the  former  named,  Jesse  Fell,  having  been  the 
one  to  whom  most  authorities  on  local  history 
ascribe  the  honor  of  discovering  the  use  of  an- 
thracite coal  for  domestic  purposes.  William 
Sterling  Ross  died  July  11,  1868,  lacking  just 
one  month  of  being  sixty-six  years  of  age,  in  the 
same  room,  the  southeast  part  of  the  Ross  fam- 
ily mansion,  in  which  he  was  born.  His  wife, 
Ruth  Tripp  (Slocum)  Ross,  passed  away  June 
23,  1882. 

Among  the  notable  characters  in  the  Ross 
family  was  Joseph  (3),  born  December  28,  1717, 
eldest  son  of  Joseph  Ross  (2)  and  wife  Sarah  Ut- 
ley.  In  early  New  England"  records  he  is  called 
"Colonel''  Ross,  having  won  that  title  through 
heroic  deeds.  He  was  the  most  intimate  friend  of 
Gen.  Israel  Putnam,  and  when  the  latter  crept  into 
the  wolf's  den — an  event  so  often  mentioned  in 
history — Colonel  Ross  held  the  rope  which  was 
fastened  to  Putnam's  waist  to  draw  his  body  out 
of  the  den  if  necessary.  Colonel  Ross  died  when 
quite  young.  Simeon  Ross,  born  February  12, 
1 7 19,  second  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah,  was  a 
patriot  of  the  Revolution.  He  enlisted  for  the 
war,  February  1,  1777,  and  fought  in  several  bat- 
tles. At  Germantown,  October  4,  1777,  he  was 
reported  missing,  and  never  again  was  heard  of. 
Benjamin  Ross,  of  Windham,  one  of  the  same 
family,  in  a  collateral  branch,  was  captured  by 
the  British  at  Bunker  Hill  and  died  a  prisoner 
of  war.  Sergeants  Ebenezer  and  Thomas  Ross 
and  Nathaniel  Ross,  all  Revolutionary  patriots, 
were  nephews  of  Joseph  Ross  (2)  and  his  wife 
Sarah  Uhley.  H.  E.  H. 

ATHERTON  FAMILY.  The  Athertons  of 
the  Wyoming  valley  trace  their  American  an- 
cestry to  James  Atherton  ( 1 )  a  member  of  a  dis- 
tinguished and  ancient  family  of  Lancashire, 
England.    His  wife's  name  was  Hannah.  He  was 


104 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


first  in  Dorchester.  Massachusetts,  and  after- 
ward in  Lancaster.  He  had  a  son  James  (2), 
who  had  a  son  James  (3),  who  had  a  son  James 
(4),  and  who  sold  his  lands  in  Lancaster,  1740, 
and  moved  away.  A  James  Atherton  was  in 
Coventry,  Connecticut,  about  that  time,  and  prob- 
ably was  identical  with  James  (3)  of  Lancaster, 
but  he,  too,  moved  away  to  some  place  unknown. 
A  James  Atherton  settled  in  Wyoming,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1762,  and  a  James  Atherton,  junior, 
settled  in  Kingston  in  1769.  They  were  un- 
doubtedly Connecticut  Athertons,  although  their 
connection  is  not  definitely  traced  in  family, 
town,  or  parish  records ;  but  the  James  Atherton 
who  died  in  1790  and  lies  buried  in  Forty  Fort 
is  probably  James  Atherton  (4)  born  in  1816, 
and  whose  father  sold  his  lands  in  Lancaster  in 
1740,  and  then  moved  away.  James  Atherton 
(4),  son  of  James  (3),  married  Elizabeth  Bor- 
den, born  September,  1718,  died  March  25,  1802. 
They  had  two  children,  the  second  being  James 
(5),  born  September  19,  1751,  died  May  5, 
1828,  buried  at  Galena, .  Ohio ;  married  May  3, 
1774.  Lydia  Washburn,  born  May  16,  1757,  died 
June  20,  1847,  buried  at  Galena.  Ohio.  James 
and  Lydia  had  thirteen  children,  of  whom  Elisha, 
born  in  Wyoming,  May  7,  1786,  died  April  2, 
1853,  was  the  sixth.  Elisha  married  February 
3,  1828,  Caroline  Ann  Ross,  daughter  of  Gen. 
William  Ross  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  Sterling, 
married  October  10,  1790.  Eliza  Ross  Atherton, 
daughter  of  Elisha  Atherton  and  Caroline  Ann 
Ross  his  wife,  married  Charles  Abbott  Miner,  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

ISAAC  M.  THOMAS.  Peter  Thomas,  of 
"Springtown."  Pennsylvania,  married  at  John 
Simcock's  house  in  Ridley,  February  15,  1686, 
Sarah  Stedman  and  afterwards  settled  in  Willis- 
town,  where  Peter  died  April  5,  1722.  Their  son 
Peter  married  in  171 1,  Elizabeth  Goodwin  and 
had  children,  among  whom  was  Isaac  Thomas, 
born  April  21,  1721.  married,  March  16,  1744. 
Mary  Townsend,  daughter  of  John  Townsend, 
of  Westtown.  Their  eleven  children  were : 
Phebe,    Enos,    Nathan,    Hannah,    Isaac,    Marv, 


Jonathan  Townsend,  Thomas,  Martha  and  Mor- 
decai  Thomas. 

Mordecai  Thomas,  born  July  21,  1767,  mar- 
ried, October  20,  1796,  Lydia  Hoopes,  daughter 
of  Ezra  and  Ann  Hoopes,  of  Westtown,  and  had 
children :  Isaac,  Ezra,  Emmor,  George,  Jesse, 
Hoopes,  Mary  Ann,  Lydia,  Eliza  and  Mordecai 
H.  Thomas. 

Isaac  Thomas,  M.  D.,  eldest  son  of  Mordecai 
Thomas  and  wife  Lydia  Hoopes,  born  in  Willis- 
town  township,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania, 
September  16,  1797.  He  married.  March  3. 
1824,  Ann  Charlton  Miner,  eldest  daughter  of 
Hon.  Charles  Miner,  and  wife  Letitia  Wright. 
He  died  at  West  Chester,  May  18.  1879.  Their 
children  were :  Caroline  Darlington  Thomas, 
married  John  Lent,  of  West  Chester,  but  had  no 
children,  and  Letitia  Miner  Thomas,  married 
Judge  William  Butler,  of  Chester,  Pennsylvania, 
and  had  these  six  children  :  Annie.  Mary.  Carrie, 
Nellie,  William  and  George  Thomas.  Dr. 
Thomas  was  never  physically  strong  and  was  un- 
fitted for  the  hard  work  of  the  farm  or  the  little 
woolen  factor)-  near  by,  in  which  occupation  his 
father  and  brothers  were  engaged.  It  was  there- 
fore decided  that  Isaac  should  be  fitted  for  a  pro- 
fession, and  by  the  united  efforts  and  loving 
sacrifice  of  all  he  was  enabled  to  study  medicine 
and  graduated  from  the  medical  department  of 
the  L'niversity  of  Pennsylvania,  in  1820.  His 
thesis  was  entitled  "Phlegmasia  Doleres."  He 
located  in  West  Chester,  Chester  county,  where 
he  practiced  his  profession  through  a  long  and 
useful  career,  and  finally  by  the  weight  of  years 
was  compelled  to  rest.  He  was  a  skillful  phy- 
sician, and  by  his  gentle,  kind  and  courteous  man- 
ners won  the  love  of  all  who  knew  him  to  a  de- 
gree that  rarely  falls  to  the  lot  of  man.  His 
brothers,  excepting  Jesse,  and  sisters  settled 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  old  homestead  farm  in 
Chester  county,  and  there  they  spent  their  lives, 
reared  their  children,  and  there  they  laid  clown 
the  cares  of  life. 

Jesse  Thomas,  youngest  of  Mordecai 
Thomas's  sons  who  grew  to  maturity,  was  born 
October  27,  1804;  married,  June  25,  1838,  Ellen 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


105 


Elizabeth  Miner,  youngest  daughter  of  Charles 
Miner  and  Letitia  Wright,  and  thus  the  houses 
of  Thomas  and  Miner  were  doubly  united.  Jesse 
Thomas  was  by  trade  a  tanner,  and  followed 
that  occupation  a  few  years.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, congenial  to  his  tastes  and  he  soon  aban- 
doned it  and  went  with  a  Mr.  Baker  to  what 
then  was  called  "the  west,"  then  a  dense  forest, 
but  now  is  the  flourishing  city  of  Altoona,  Blair 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  with  Mr.  Baker 
several  years  as  manager  of  his  iron  furnace, 
•  and  then  entered  the  iron  business  on  his  own 
account  at  the  Hope  furnace,  near  McVeytown, 
Juniata  county,  Pennsylvania.  Later  he  estab- 
lished the  Isabella  furnace  and  Ellen  forge  at 
McVeytown.  He  was  successful  in  his  business 
until  the  removal  by  congress  of  the  duty  on 
manufactured  iron  caused  the  crash  of  1846-47, 
which  swept  away  his  small  fortune,  but  with 
indomitable  courage  he  met  the  situation,  settled 
his  affairs  as  best  he  could,  placed  his  family 
under  the  protection  of  his  brother,  Dr.  Isaac 
Thomas,  of  West  Chester,  joined  the  tide  of  west- 
ward emigration  and  was  a  "49'er"  in  the  gold 
fields  of  California.  In  185 1  he  returned  to  the 
east.  In  the  spring  of  1852  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  Plains  township,  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  in  1868  removed  thence  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  where  he  died  February  14,  1876,  aged 
seventy-one  years.  He  was  a  man  of  unusual 
ability  and  good  practical  sense.  Mrs.  Thomas 
survived  him  and  still  lives  at  the  ripe  age  of 
ninety  years. 

Jesse  Thomas  and  Ellen  Elizabeth  Miner  had 
children,  as  follows:  Ann  Charlton,  born  April 
15,  1839,  cued  January  27,  1843.  Mary  Letitia, 
born  April  5,  1841,  married,  October  8,  1874, 
William  H.  Sturdevant,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  civil 
■engineer,  member  of  Wyoming  Historical-Geo- 
logical Society,  and  Pennsylvania  Society  Sons 
of  the  Revolution.  They  had  two  children : 
Thomas  Kirkbride,  born  August  27,  1876,  B. 
S.,  Princeton  University,  1901  ;  A.  M.,  Colum- 
bia University,  1904 ;  and  Jesse  Thomas,  born 
October  7,  1877.  Isaac  M.,  born  February  1, 
1844,  married,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  Sep- 
tember 11,  1872,  Sally  Hollenback  Dunlap  (after 


her  marriage  Mrs.  Thomas  dropped  the  "Hollen- 
back" and  wrote  her  name  Sally  D.  Thomas), 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Dunlap  and  Ellen 
E.  Cist.  Children :  Eleanor  Natalie,  born  Sep- 
tember 29,  1873,  married  May  1,  1900,  Dr. 
Maurice  B.  Ahlborn,  of  Wilkes-Barre  ;  they  have 
one  child,  Hervey  Dunlap  Ahlborn,  born  April 
14,  1901 ;  Hervey  Dunlap,  born  May  29,  1875, 
died  May  5,  1883;  Louise  Miner,  born  March  1, 
1879,  graduated  A.  B.,  1901,  Bryn  Mawr ;  Percy 
Rutter,  born  April  9,  1882;  Jessie  Dunlap,  born 
March  8,  1884.  Sally  Brinton,  born  June  29, 
1845.  Phebe  Rothrock,  born  February  17,  1847, 
died  June  26,  1890.  Ellen  Miner,  born  January 
25,  1852,  married,  April  25,  1877,  William  Mar- 
shall Fitts  Round;  they  are  residing  (1904)  at 
Nantucket,  Massachusetts.  William  M.  F. 
Round,  author,  was  born  at  Pawtucket,  Rhode 
Island,  March  26,  1845.  Received  an  academic 
education,  entered  Harvard  Medical  School,  but 
did  not  graduate  owing  to  ill  health.  He  was 
United  States  commissioner  to  World's  Fair  in 
Vienna  in  1873,  having  charge  of  the  New  Eng- 
land department.  Upon  his  return  to  his  native 
land  he  devoted  himself  to  journalism  and  litera- 
ture. He  gave  much  attention  to  prison  reform, 
and  in  1883  was  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
Prison  Association  of  New  York.  In  1885,  with 
Franklin  B.  Sanborn,  Francis  Wayland  and 
others  he  organized  the  National  Prison  Associa- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  was  elected  its 
secretary,  and  in  1886  was  sent  as  its  delegate 
from  the  United  States  to  the  International  Peni- 
tentiary Congress  in  Rome,  Italy.  In  1887-88 
he  laid  out  the  general  scheme  for  the  Burn- 
ham  Industrial  Farm,  an  institution  for  unruly 
boys,  based  upon  the  principles  that  have  domi- 
nated similar  institutions  in  France  and  Germany. 
Among  his  published  works  are :  "Achsah,  a 
New  England  Life  Study,"  1876 ;  "Child  Marion 
Abroad,"  1876 ;  "Torn  and  Mended,"  1877 ; 
"Hal,  the  Story  of  a  Clodhopper,"  1878 ;  "Rose- 
croft,"  1880.  No  children.  Elizabeth,  born  April 
12,  1857,  married  April  12,  1878,  Charles  F. 
Richardson,  professor  of  English  literature  at 
Dartmouth  College,  Hanover,  New  Hampshire. 
No  children.  H.  E.  H. 


io6 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


LOVELAND  FAMILY.  The  Lovelands  of 
the  Wyoming  valley  in  Pennsylvania  are  descen- 
dants of  Thomas  Loveland,  who  settled  at  Weth- 
ersfield  (now  Glastonbury)  Connecticut,  previous 
to  1670.  and  who  was  granted  in  1674  the  last 
piece  of  land  of  the  first  survey  in  Connecticut 
of  lands  purchased  from  the  Indians.  The  first 
Lovelands  in  New  England  of  whose  existence 
there  is  any  knowledge  were^Robert  of  Boston, 
-John  of  Hartford,  Mnomas  of  Wethersfield,  and 
the  "Widow"  Loveland  who  is  first  mentioned  in 
the  early  records  as  one  of  the  litigant  parties  in 
an  action  for  trespass.  Family  tradition  has  it 
that  Robert  and  John  were  sons  of  Widow  Love- 
land, and  that 'Thomas  was  the  son  of  John. 
Tradition  also  says  that  the  widow's  husband 
died  on  the  passage  to  America,  and  further,  that 
one  other  son  was  drowned  in  the  Connecticut. 
These  traditions  are  supported  by  evidences  of 
foundation  in  fact,  and  there  is  little  room  to 
doubt  that  Thomas  was  the  son  of  John  and  the 
grandson-  of  the  Widow  Loveland.  Thomas, 
however,  was  the  founder  of  that  branch  of  the 
Loveland  family  whose^  descendants  came  to  live 
in  the  Wyoming  region  of  Pennsylvania  and  from 
whom  there  have  descended  some  of  the  most 
worth}-  men  and  estimable  women  in  that  his- 
toric valley. 

From  Thomas  of  Wethersfield  and  Glaston- 
bury the  line  of  descent  is  to  John  (2),  1683- 
1750,  John  (3),  1710-51  ;  Joseph  (4),  1741-1813, 
the  latter  having  the  honor  of  being  the  first  rep- 
resentative of  his  family  surname  to  visit  the  re- 
gions of  Pennsylvania.  ■  He  came  twice  to  the 
Wyoming  valley  in  search  of  a  home,  once  before 
the  Revolution  and  once  afterward ;  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  uncertainty  of  the  Susquehanna 
Land  Company  titles,  and  the  contest  concerning 
them,  he  returned  to  Connecticut  and  sought  a 
home  elsewhere.  In  one  of  his  visits,  however, 
he  was  a  participant  in  some  of  the  skirmishes  so 
frequent  with  the  Pennsylvanians  and  the  Yan- 
kees, and  every  instinct  of  his  nature  impelled 
him  to  take  up  arms  with  the  latter.  He  re- 
moved from  Wethersfield  with  his  family  in 
1776  to  Hanover,  on  the  New  Hampshire  side 
of  the  Connecticut,   and  thence   in   1779  to  the 


town  of  Norwich,  on  the  Vermont  side  of  the 
river.  On  May  7,  1777,  while  living  in  New 
Hampshire,  he  enlisted  in  Col.  Jonathan  Chase's 
regiment  to  reinforce  the  continental  army  at 
Ticonderoga  and  other  points  in  the  Champlain 
valley.  There  were  many  Lovelands  who 
^exved  during  the  Revolution ;  the  early  Connec- 
ticut records  abound  in  them,  and  their  names 
are  found  in  all  branches  of  the  service  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  war.  There  was  Asa, 
died  in  the  army  at  Roxbury  in  1775  ;  and  David, 
Elisha,  Jr.,  Elisha  (enlisted  for  three  years)  ; 
Elizur ;  Gad  (died  in  the  army  in  New  York, 
September  6,  1776),  Joel  (made  a  prisoner  at 
Quebec,  1776),  Jonathan  (died  in  the  service  in 
New  York,  1776)  ;  Lazarus ;  Levi,  (enlisted  for 
three  years)  ;  Lot,  Jr.,  enlisted  in  militia ;  Pel- 
etiah,  Samuel,  Solomon;  Thomas  (enlisted  for 
three  years  or  during  the  war)  ;  and  Thomas,  Jr. 
These  were  of  the  Glastonbury  Lovelands,  while 
the  state  records  give  the  names  of  many  other 
patriots  of  the  same  family  name. 

Joseph  Loveland  (4),  was  born  Glastonbury. 
April  14,  1747;  married  November  12,  1772, 
Mercy  Bigelow,  and  died  Norwich,  Vermont, 
September  8.  1813.  Mercy  was  born  Marlboro, 
Connecticut,  November  23,  1753,  died  Norwich, 
August  3,  1832.  They  had  thirteen  children, 
nearly  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  married, 
and  with  their  families  settled  in  various  parts 
of  the  country.  Two  of  their  sons — William  and 
Elijah — came  to  the  Wyoming  valley  in  1812.  in 
the  early  part  of  the  second  war  with  Great 
Britain,  but  upon  the  death  of  his  father  in  that 
year  William  returned  to  Vermont,  and  to  the 
care  of  his  mother  and  her  young  children  and 
the  management  of  the  home  faim.  Elijah_  re- 
mained in  Pennsylvania  and  settled  at  Kingston, 
and  thus  was  the  pioneer  in  fact  of  the  Loveland 
family  in  the  valley,  although  his  father  had  vis- 
ited the  region  more  than  thirty  years  previous. 

Elijah  Loveland  (5),  eighth  child  of  Jo- 
seph and  Mercy  (Bigelow)  Loveland.  was  born 
in  Norwich,  Vermont,  February  5,  1788.  With 
his  elder  brother  William,  he  came  to  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1812,  settled  in  Kingston,  where  in  July, 
1812,  they  purchased  two  lots  of  land  for  S650. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


107 


In  the  next  year  Elijah  bought  his  brothers'  in- 
terest. A  little  later  another  brother,  John  Love- 
land,  came  into  the  valley,  but  soon  joined  with 
the  tide  of  westward  emigration  and  seated  him- 
self in  Huron  county,  Ohio.  Elijah  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  and  produced  from  his  lands  as 
fair  crops  as  did  his  neighbors,  but  beyond  the 
demand  for  farm  products  in  the  immediate  vi- 
cinity there  was  no  other  market  than  the  cities 
down  the  Susquehanna,  and  they  were  not  espec- 
ially profitable ;  so  Elijah,  with  true  Yankee  in- 
stinct, turned  his  attention  to  other  pursuits.  He 
understood  the  art  of  distilling,  and  supplied  the 
apothecaries  of  the  valley  with  peppexmint  and 
other  essences  ;  he  raised  broom,  corn,  and  made 
Tirooms  as  long  as  he  lived,  and  he  was  ajso  a 
brick  maker,  and  carried  mi  the  business  until 
1834.  No  man  in  the  township  was  more  indus- 
trious than  Elijah  Loveland,  and  he  succeeded  in 
gaining  a  fair  competency,  but  a  portion  of  his 
property  was  sacrificed  in  saving  his  brother-in- 
law  from  financial  ruin.  His  own  loss  was  se- 
vere, but  he  weathered  the  storm  and  eventually 
re-established  himself  in  comfort.  About  1835 
he  journeyed  into  the  west  with  a  view  to  chang- 
ing his  place  of  residence,  but  returned  to  Kings- 
ton, and  in  1836  purchased  the  Minor  ^Roberts 
farm  of  fifty  acres,  lie  was  the  firsl  elder  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  established  in  Kingston, 
J  which  was  the  first  church  of  that  denomination 
in  Wyoming  valley.  I  Elijah  Loveland jriarried  at 
Kingston,  June  1,  1815,  Mary  Buckingham,  born 
April  26,  1793,  died  Kingston,  March  24,  1855. 
LMary  Buckingham)  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Con- 
necticut, a  descendant  in  the  seventh  generation 
of  Thomas  Buckingham,  the  Puritan,  who  ar- 
rived in  Boston,  June  26,  1637,  from  England,  in 
company  with  Eaton  and  Hopkins,  London  mer- 
chants, and  Davenport  and.  Prudden,  who  were 
ministers  of  the  gospel.  Mary  either  accompan- 
ied her  brother  Henry  from  Connecticut  to 
Kingston  about  1804,  or  followed  him  a  few 
years  later,  crossing  the  mountains  on  horseback, 
and  remained  with  his  family  until  her  marriage 
with  Elijah  Loveland.  Later  on  two  of  her 
younger  sisters  came  to  Kingston  and  made  their 
home  with  Elijah  and  Mary  until  they  were  mar- 


ried;  Matilda  married  1822,  John  Bennett; 
Fanny  married  1832,  Stephen  Vaughn,  and  died 
1833.     (See  Vaughn   family.) 

Elijah  and  Mary  Loveland  had  eight  children, 
born  in  Kingston : 

1.  Thomas  Buckingham,  born  December  20, 
1817;  married  (first)  Sarah  Baird,  and  (second) 
Emily  Cady. 

2.  William,  born  August  5,  1821 ;  married 
Lydia  Hurlbut. 

3.  George,  born  November  5,  1823 ;  married 
Julia  Lord  Noyes. 

4.  Henry  Buckingham,  born  November  17, 
1825;  married  (first)  Mary  Alma  Baird;  (sec- 
ond )_JNfancy_JHurlbut ;  and  (third)  Flora  Amelia 
Loveland,  daughter  John  Loveland. 

5.  John,  born  June  23,  1828 ;  married  Helen 
M.  Strong. 

6.  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  April  20,  1833 ; 
married  Henry  Martyn  Hoyt  (late  Governor 
Hoyt). 

(Thomas  Buckingham  Loveland  (6),  eldest 
son  of  Elijah  (5),  and  Mary  Loveland,  was  born 
in  Kingston,  December  20,  1817,  died  June  11, 
1891  ;  married  first,  October  21,  1852,  Sarah 
Baird,  of  Hiner's  Run,  Pennsylvania,  at  Cook's 
Run,  August  16,  1817,  died  April  3,  1863;  mar- 
ried second,  at  Arkport,  New  York,  May  4,  1864, 
Emily  Cady,  born  August  16,  1843. 

The  early  life  of  Thomas  was  spent  in  the 
Wyoming  valley.  He  was  given  a  good  educa- 
tion in  the  old  Kingston  academy,  and  also  in 
Captain  Allen  Partridge's  famous  military  school 
in  Norwich,  Vermont.  When  he  first  ventured 
in  business  pursuits  he  was  employed  for  three 
years  by  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation  Com- 
pany (1836-38)  in  weighing  coal  and  measuring 
and  counting  lumber  along  the  Lehigh  river. 
Then  for  several  years  he  managed  and  worked 
the  farm  owned  by  his  uncle,  John  Bennett,  of 
Kingston,  and  upon  the  death  of  his  own  father 
he  and  his  brother  William  administered  the  es- 
tate and  carried  on  the  farm.  Chiefly  by  thrift 
and  partly  by  inheritance  he  acquired  some 
means,  which  he  invested  in  timber  land  in  the 
region  of  the  West  Branch  valley,  where  he  after- 
ward lived  for  several  vears.    He  became  an  ex- 


io8 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


tensive  lumberman,  and  also  was  the  owner  of  a 
grist  mill,  and  upon  his  removal  to  Lock  Haven 
in  1870  he  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  lumber, 
and  also  operated  a  general  woodworking  estab- 
lishment, having  for  a  time  a  business  partner, 
John  G.  Gessler.  Mr.  Loveland  died  June  11, 
1892.     His  children  were  : 

1.  Mary,  born  May  21,  1855;  married  He- 
man  Dowd. 

2.  Nannie,  born  June  7,  1858 ;  died  July  14, 
i860. 

3.  Edward  Cady,  born  February  17,  1866. 

4.  Helen  Stoddard,  born  February  3,  1868; 
Presbyterian  missionary  at  Kamazawa,  Japan. 

5.  Lester  Cady,  born  July  19,  1870;  died 
May  8,  1877. 

6.  Robert     Buckingham,     born     April     24, 

1873, 

7.  Ruth,   born   September  6,    1875. 

8.  Palmer  Cady,  born  October  25,  1877. 
William  Loveland,  second  son  of  Elijah  and 

Mary  (Buckingham)  Loveland,  was  born  Kings- 
ton, August  5,  1 82 1,  and  died  March  25,  1898. 
He  married  June  27,  1856,  Lydia  Hurlbut,  born 
May  20,  1829,  daughter  of  Christopher  Hurlbut, 
granddaughter  of  Christopher  and  great-grand- 
daughter of  DeaconMohu  Hurlbut,  a  patriot  of 
the  Revolution. 

William  Loveland,  during  a  long  and  success- 
ful career  as  a  farmer  and  business  man,  showed 
intelligence  and  thrift  in  all  his  undertakings. 
He  managed  his  farm  according  to  scientific 
principles  and  with  common  sense  and  business 
methods  that  would  assure  success  in  any  under- 
taking. Besides  this  he  was  an  untiring  worker, 
though  he  always  suffered  from  rheumatism,  the 
result  of  over-exertion  in  his  youth.  He  contin- 
ued the  business  his  father  had  been  engaged  in 
— farming  in  the  summer  and  broom-making  in 
the  winter,  which  developed  into  an  extensive 
business.  He  was  always  progressive,  and  was  the 
pioneer  market  gardner  in  Wyoming  valley.  He 
first  leased  and  afterward  purchased  the  interest 
of  most  of  the  other  heirs  in  his  father's  estate, 
and  to  this  added  by  the  purchase  of  adjoining 
lands.  He  was  generous  in  the  treatment  of  his 
family  and  friends  and  all  who  were  dependent 


on  him.  Living  at  the  homestead,  his  house  was 
always  the  center  for  the  family  life,  and  all  who 
came  received  an  hospitable  welcome.  He  was 
identified  with  all  movements  for  the  betterment 
of  the  community,  and  while  never  prominent  in 
politics  he  was  always  mindful  of  his  duties  as  a 
citizen.  He  was  a  leader  in  the  work  of  the 
church,  and  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Kingston  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
For  many  years  he  was  a  trustee  and  one  of  the 
largest  supporters  of  the  church.  His  charities 
were  many,  but  so  unobtrusive  that  even  his 
family  often  did  not  know  of  them.  He  was 
simple  and  frugal  in  his  manner  of  life.  He 
aimed  to  appear  only  what  he  was,  an  honest 
Christian  man,  employing  the  talents  with  which 
God  had  endowed  him  for  the  good  of  others. 
Mr.  Loveland  was  a  life  member  of  the  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

"Deacon"  John  Hurlbut,  the  grandfather  of 
■  Mrs.  William  Loveland,  was  a  descendant  in  the 
fifth  generation  of  Thomas  Hurlbut,  who  came  to 
America  in  1653  with  CaPtam  Gardiner,  an  en- 
gineer in  the  employ  of  the  Connecticut  patentees, 
to  build  and  take  charge  of  a  fort  at  Saybrook 
in  the  Connecticut  colony.  Thomas  served  under 
Gardiner  as  a  soldier  at  the  fort,  and  also  with 
the  Colonial  military  forces  in  the  expeditions 
against  the  Pequots,  1637.  "Deacon"  John  Hurl- 
but visited  the  Wyoming  Valley  as  early  as  May, 
1773,  having  bought  a  "right"  in  the  Connecti- 
cut Susquehanna  Company.  He  sold  his  farm  in 
Groton,  Connecticut,  in  the  summer  of  1777  and 
in  the  following  spring,  taking  with  him  his  wife 
and  family,  stock  and  household  goods,  left  his 
New  England  home  and  started  for  the  Connecti- 
cut colony  on  the  Susquehanna.  Camp  fever  at- 
tacking the  family,  they  were  delayed  on  the  way, 
and  so  escaped  the  Wyoming  massacre.  Meeting 
fugitives  leaving  the  valley,  he  turned  aside  with 
his  family  and  stayed  for  a  year  at  Shawangunk, 
New  York.  In  1779  they  proceeded  to  the  home 
prepared  for  them  by  the  older  sons  on  the  Sus- 
quehanna. John  Hurlbut  represented  the  county 
of  Westmoreland  as  deputy  to  the  Connecticut 
assembly  in  1779-80-81.  CJiristopher.  sonjafT^ohrL-- 
Hurlbut,  was  born  at  Groton,  Connecticut,  May 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


109 


3°;  J757-  Though  young  he  served  one  year  in 
the  Revolutionary  arm}-  with  Washington  in  New 
Jersey  in  1776,  and  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. He  came  to  the  Wyoming  valley  in  ad- 
vance of  his  father's  family  in  1779.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  surveyor,  and  made  some  of  the 
earliest  surveys  in  this  region.  His  work_was 
\_exact  and  his  notes  and  mags  are_yaluable.     He 


-^married    Elizabeth    Mann,    at    Wilkes-Barre,    in 


1782.  In  i7c^CJiri^orAejLzjilirlbiit  removed 
with  his  family  to  Arkport,  New  York,  taking 
with  him  his  son,  Christopher,  Jr.,  Lydia'"  s  father. 
Christopher,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Hanover,  Penn- 
sylvania, December  17,  1794.  He  was  a  farmer, 
and  lived  at  Arkport,  New  York,  until  his  death, 
February  1,  1875. 

William  and  Lydia  Loveland  had  seven  chil- 
dren : 

1.  Ellen  Tiffany,  born  August  31,  1857,  died 
October  31,  185S. 

2.  Alary  Buckingham,  born  September  16, 
1859,  died  1895;  married  October  4,  1894,  Rev. 
George  N.  Vakely. 

3.  Fanny  Vaughn,  born  July  23,  1861,  mar- 
ried May  22,  1889,  Robert  P.  Brodhead,  born 
October  12,  i860.    (See  Brodhead  family). 

4.  Elizabeth  Shepard,  born  March  6,  1864, 
of   Kingston. 

5.  Emelie,  born  August  25,  1865,  died  Oc- 
tober 14,  1898:  married  the  late  Loren  M.  Luke, 
both  drowned  in  the  sinking  of  the  "Mohegan" 
off  the  English  coast. 

6.  William,  born  February  15,  1869,  died 
February  28,  1870. 

7.  John  Walter,  born  September  28,  1870; 
(Fed  December  6,  1871. 

George  Loveland,  third  son  of  Elijah  and 
.Mary  (Buckingham)  Loveland,  a  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  Luzerne  county  bar,  although  now  re- 
tired from  active  professional  life,  was  born 
Kingston,  November  5,  1823;  married,  Lyme, 
Connecticut,  September  29,  1869,  Julia  Lord 
Noyes,  born  Lyme,  Connecticut,  September  23, 
1S33,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  June  18,  1885,  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Daniel  R.  and  Phebe  (Griffin) 
Lord  Xoyes.  Her  father  a  son  of  Col.  Thomas 
Noves  of  Westerly,  Rhode  Island,  born  there  Oc- 


tober 3,  1754,  died  September  19,  1819;  mar- 
ried January  3,  1781,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Will- 
iam and  Sarah  Rogers,  of  Newport.  Thomas  , 
served  as  colonel  in  the  Revolution,  at  White 
Plains,  Long  Island ;  Trenton,  Valley  Forge,  and, 
it  is  thought,  at  Germantown ;  was  representative 
to  the  general  assembly,  and  senator  twenty 
years,  and  also  was  president  of  a  bank.  His 
father  was  Capt.  John  Noyes,  owner  of  Stony 
Point ;  and  Captain  John  was  a  son  of  Rev.  John, 
a  Harvard  graduate,  1659,  pastor  at  Stonington 
fifty-five  years,  a  trustee  and  one  of  the  founders 
of  Yale  College.  Rev.  John  was  son  of  Rev. 
James  Noyes,  of  Newberry,  Massachusetts ;  born. 
Choulderstown,  England,  1608,  died  Newberry, 
October  16,  1656;  came  to  America  in  1634  in  the 
■"'Alary  and  John"  with  his  brother  Nicholas,  and 
settled  in  Newberry  in  1635.  These  brothers 
were  sons  of  Rev.  William  Noyes  of  Choulders- 
town in  England. 

Air.  Loveland  acquired  his  preparatory  edu- 
cation in  the  Dana  Academy,  after  which  he  was. 
sent  to  Lafayette  College.  After  leaving  the  col- 
lege he  taught  school  about  three  years,  and  then 
began  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Gen.  E. 
W.  Sturdevant.  He  was  admitted  to  practice 
August  19,  1848,  and  from  that  time  until  within 
quite  recent  years  has  been  closely  identified  with 
the  professional  life  of  Wilkes-Barre,  not,  how- 
ever, as  a  trial  lawyer  in  the  courts,  for  he  has  not 
aspired  to  special  prominence  as  an  advocate  at 
the  bar,  but  rather  as  a  counsellor  in  the  office. 
In  this  capacity  he  acquired  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion, and  sought  to  prevent  litigation  instead  of 
promoting  it.  In  his  intercourse  with  clients  he 
was  thoughtful  and  conservative,  and  his  coun- 
sel always  was  preceded  by  mature  deliberation 
and  as  its  result,  his  conclusions  were  found  to  be 
almost  invariably  correct.  He  has  proven  him- 
self a  useful  citizen,  a  conscientious  lawyer,  a 
faithful  friend,  and  an  honest  Christian  gentle- 
man. He  was  made  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  while  in  Kingston,  and  continued  to  fill 
that  office  after  his  removal  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  has  lived  so  long  in  the  enjoyment  of 
home  and  social  companionship,  and  provided 
with  all  that  is  desirable  of  this  world's  goods  to- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA 


make  life  comfortable  and  happy.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society,  and  has  been  for  many  years  a  director 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
George  and  Jnlia  Lord  (Noyes)  Loveland  had: 
i.  George,  born  October  25,  1871  ;  died  No- 
vember 30.  1 87 1. 

2.  Charles  Noyes,  born  November  26,  1872 ; 
married  June  7,  1900,  Mabel  Huidekoper  Bond, 
born  January  4,  1875.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Luzerne  county  bar  and  life  member  of  the  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

3.  Josephine  Noyes,  born  November  5,  1874. 
Henrv  B.  Loveland,  fourth  son  of  Elijah  and 

Mary  (Buckingham)  Loveland.  was  born  in 
Kingston,  November  2j,  1825.  He  was  brought 
up  on  the  farm,  educated  in  the  public  schools  and 
in  Wyoming  Seminary,  and  afterward  taught 
school  and  worked  as  clerk  in  a  mercantile  store 
in  Wilkes-Barre.  During  these  years,  however, 
he  was  incapacitated  for  hard  study  or  hard  work 
by  reason  of  poor  health.  He  entered  upon  the 
study  of  medicine,  but  was  compelled  to  abandon 
the  idea  of  becoming  a  physician  on  account  of  his 
health,  and  became  a  lumberman  in  the  West 
Branch  valley,  where  his  efforts  were  rewarded 
with  success  and  his  health  was  restored.  Later 
on  he  taught  village  school,  and  eventually  set- 
tled down  to  farm  life  in  the  town  of  Newark 
Valley,  Tioga  county,  New  York. 

Mr.  Loveland  was  thrice  married:  (first) 
July  12,  1854.  to  Mary  Alma  Baird,  born  August 
8,  1832,  died  September  24,  1857;  married  (sec- 
ond), January  31,  i860,  to  Nancy  Hurlbut,  born 
September  28,  1831,  died  April  20,  1876:  married 
(third).  May  3,  1877,  to  Flora  Amelia  Loveland 
(John  5.  Joseph  4),  born  October  25,  1849.  His 
children  were : 

1.  Henry  Buckingham,  born  December  9, 
i860;  married  Lucy  Sergeant  West. 

2.  Ellen  Hurlbut,  born  October  25,  1862: 
died  Julv  11.  1864. 

3.-  Christopher  Hurlbut,  born  March  16, 
1865. 

4.  William,  born  February  21,  1867. 

5.  Elizabeth  Horton,  born  January  5,  II 
married  Robert  Charles  Patch. 


operations. 

extending   his   business 


VALLEYS. 

6.  Helen   Strong,  born  December  29,   1870. 

7.  Mary  Hoyt,  born  March  18,  1873. 

8.  George  Edmond,  born  March  23,  1875. 
John  Loveland,  youngest  son  of  Elijah  and 

Mary  (Buckingham)  Loveland,  was  born  in 
Kingston,  June  23,  1828.  He  was  brought  up  on 
the  farm,  and  was  eiven  the  advantage  of  a  good 
education  in  the  Wyoming  Seminary ;  and  so  apt 
was  he  that  Dr.  Nelson,  then  principal,  offered 
inducements  to  the  young  student  to  prepare  him- 
self for  teaching,  but  he  was  dissuaded  from  this 
course  through  the  stronger  influence  of  his 
brother,  who  urged  health  considerations  as  the 
sole  ground  of  his  opposition.  Following  his 
brother's  advice,  he  became  a  lumberman,  select- 
ing the  vicinity  of  Pittston  as  the  field  of  his 
From  the  outset  he  was  successful, 
enterprises  into  other 
towns,  Scranton  and  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  for- 
tunate in  the  selection  of  a  partner — Joseph  E. 
Patterson — who  ultimately  purchased  the  Love- 
land interest  in  the  lumbering  business  after  the 
death  of  the  latter.  Mr.  Loveland  died  July  18, 
1871.  The  last  five  ye"ars  of  his  life  were  spent 
in  travel,  necessitated  by  failing  health.  He  was 
a  Christian,  and  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Scranton.  and  subsequently  of  the 
same  church  in  Pittston,  where  he  served  as  elder 
until  his  death.  He  married  at  New  Haven.  Con- 
necticut, March  14,  i860,  Helen  M.  Strong,  born 
Somers,  Connecticut,  May  30.  1830.  died  Pitts- 
ton, October  27,  1886.    They  had  four  children: 

1.  Edward  Strong,  born  December  12.  i860; 
died  September  19,  1861. 

2.  Nelson  H.  Gaston,  born  June  15.  1862; 
died  August  8,  1862. 

3.  George,  born  November  16,  1863 :  died 
July  14,  1865. 

4.  John  Winthrop,  born  October  1.  1866; 
married  Florence  Lee  Partridge. 

Mary  Elizabeth  Loveland.  youngest  child  and 
only  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Mary  (Bucking- 
ham.) Loveland,  was  born  Kingston,  April  20, 
1833  ;  married  September  25,  1855,  Hon.  Henry 
Martyn  Hoyt.  born  Kingston,  June  8,  1830. 
Mary,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  October  30.  1890.  (See 
Hovt  Family).     Thev  had: 


THE    — g    AXD    L 

i.     Henry  Martyn  Hoyt,  born  December   5, 
1856;  married  Nancy  McMichael. 

2.  Matilda  Buckingham  Hoyt,  born  July  12, 
1859. 

3.  George   Loveland   Hoyt,    born   February 
20,  1861  ;  died  March  20,  1862. 

4.  John    Sidney    Hoyt,    born    January    28, 
1866;  died  February  7,  1866. 

5.  .Helen  Strong  Hoyt,  born  May  28,  1871. 
Mary  Loveland  Hoyt  was  well  known  in  the 

vicinity  of  Kingston  and  Wilkes-Barre.  The 
field  for  the  display  of  her  best  qualities  was  her 
own  home.  Her  children  were  the  subject  of 
early  and  constant  instruction,  enforced  by  her 
personal  example.  She  had  serious  and  sincere 
vie,ws  of  life  and  its  duties,  and  never  allowed 
herself  to  trifle  with  the  solemn  truths  of  her  re- 
ligion ;  but  she  always  revealed  the  bright,  sunny 
side  of  her  nature,  both  at  the  home  fireside  and 
in  her  intercourse  with  friends  and  acquaintances 
in  the  social  circle  in  which  she  moved  and  which 
she  adorned.  She  was  truly  loyal  to  her  family 
and  friends,  and  extended  the  circle  of  her  in- 
fluence in  the  many  public  assemblages  she  was 
called  to  enter  by  reason  of  her  husband's  incum- 
bency of  the  governor's  chair,  and  the  military, 
political,  and  professional  world  in  which  his  lot 
in  life  was  cast.  H.  E.  H. 

DARLING  FAMILY.  So  far  as  obtainable 
records  indicate  the  American  ancestor  of  that 
branch  of  the  Darling  family  under  consideration 
was  Thomas  Darling,  of  English  parentage  and 
descent  and  one  of  the  Puritans  of  New  England. 
The  place  and  date  of  his  birth  are  unknown,  as 
also  is  the  year  of  his  immigration  and  his  place 
of  settlement  in  the  eastern  colonies.  This 
Thomas  married  Martha  Howe.  They  had 
children,  among  whom  was  a  son  Eliakim,  born 
New  Hampshire,  1767,  married  Ruth  Buck,  of 
Bucksport,  Maine,  born  1775,  died  1855.  After 
marriage  Eliakim  settled  at  Buckport,  where  he 
was  a  shipbuilder  and  owner,  and  engaged  exten- 
sively in  commerce.  He  was  a  man  of  means 
and  influence,  and  thoroughly  loyal  to  America 
in  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain.  During 
the  latter  part  of  the  war  of  1812-15,  while  at- 


ACKAWANNA    VALLEYS.  in 

tempting  to  run  the  British  blockade  of  the  New 
England  coast  he  was  captured,  but  was  soon 
afterward  released. 

William  Darling,  son  of  Eliakim  Darling  and 
Ruth  Buck,  was  born  in  Bucksport,  Maine,  and 
came  when  a  young  man  to  Reading,  in  Berks 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  read  law,  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice,  and  ultimately  was  appointed 
to  the  president  judgeship  of  the  Berks  county 
common  pleas.  He  is  remembered  as  a  lawyer 
of  splendid  ability,  but  he  retired  from  active 
practice  when  only  forty  years  old.  In  185 1  he 
was  United  States  commissioner  to  the  World's 
Fair,  Crystal  Palace,  London,  and  while  there 
delivered  a  series  of  addresses  on  the  relations  of 
Great  Britain  and  the  LJnited  States.  He  mar- 
ried, December  20,  1758,  Margaret  Yaughan 
Smith,  daughter  of  John  Smith1,  of  Berks  county, 


1.  John  Smith  was  the  son  of  Robert  Smith  and  the 
grandson  of  John  and  Susanna  Smith,  who  emigrated 
from  the  north  of  Ireland  and  settled  in  Uwchlan  town- 
ship, Cheseer  county,  Pennsylvania,  1720.  Robert  was 
born  at  sea,  during  the  voyage  to  America.  His  grand- 
father lived  in  the  northeastern  part  of  Ireland  about 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  his.  surname 
was  Macdonald,  he  being  of  that  numerous  family  of 
Scotchmen  who  had  crossed  over  the  north  channel 
into  Ireland  in  the  time  of  James  I  of  England.  "Just 
before  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  as  the  soldier  king.  Wil- 
liam III,  was  personally  reconnoitering  in  the  vicinity, 
which  was  soon  to  become  famous,  his  horse  cast  a 
shoe.  There  was,  of  course,  no  farrier  in  attendance 
to  replace  it,  but  Macdonald,  in  whose  neighborhood 
the  accident  occurred,  and  who,  like  man}'  other 
farmers  in  thinly  populated  districts  was  something  of 
a  mechanic,  volunteered  to  repair  the  injury,  shod  the 
horse,  and  so  enabled  the  king  to  proceed.  His  neigh- 
bors, who,  like  himself,  were  in  sympathy  with  the 
cause  of  which  William  was  the  champion,  dubbed 
Macdonald  'the  smith.'  in  allusion  to  the  service  ren- 
dered his  majesty."  "With  her  brother  John  came 
Mary  Smith,  who  married  Alexander  Fulton,  removed 
to  Little  Brittain,  Lancaster  county,  and  to  whom  in 
due  time  was  born  a  grandson,  Robert  JFulton,  who  has 
indissolubly  linked  his  name  with  the  history  of  steam 
navigation.  Sergeant  Robert  Smith  served  with  the 
colonists  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  and  after- 
wards during  the  revolution,  where  his  services  won 
for  him  an  expression  of  thanks  from  the  supreme  exec- 
utive council  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  delegate  in 
the  convention  of  1776  which  adopted  the  first  state 
constitution,    and    in    1777   he    was    commissioned   lieu- 


I  12 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


and  his  wife,  Eliabeth  Bull,  the  former  having 
been  proprietor  of  the  once  famous  Joanna  furn- 
ace, which  in  1832  was  operated  by  William 
Darling  and  furnished  employment  to  near 
two  hundred  workmen.  Elizabeth  Bull  was 
daughter  of  Colonel  Thomas  Bull,  and  grand- 
daughter of  William  Bull,  of  Chester  county. 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Thomas  Bull,  born  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania,  June  9,  1 744 ;  died  July 
13,  1837,  was  lieutenant-colonel  Fourth  Battalion 
Pennsylvania  Associators,  which  he  organized 
1776.  He  commanded  it  until  1783.  He  was 
taken  prisoner  at  Fort  Washington,  November, 
1776.  and  put  in  the  prison  ship  "Jersey,"  until 
discharged.  He  was  delegate  to  the  Pennsylvania 
convention  1787,  1789-90;  presidential  elector 
1792;  member  Pennsylvania  legislature,  1795- 
180.1. 

Children  of  William  and  Margaret  Vaughan 
(Smith)  Darling: 

1.  Henry  Darling,  D.  D.,  president  of  Ham- 
ilton College,  Clinton,  New  York,  from  1881  to 
the  time  of  his  death ;  moderator  of  the  Presby- 
terian general  assembly,   1881. 

2.  Mary,  married  Rev.  Mr.  Wilcox. 

3.  Thomas  Smith,  a  lawyer  of  Reading, 
Pennsylvania ;  died  1863. 

4.  Margaret,  died  unmarried. 

5.  Edward  Pay  son,  born  November  10, 
183 1  ;  died  October  19,  1889. 

6.  Elizabeth,  married  William  A.  Drown. 
(See  Phelps  Family). 


tenant  of  the  Chester  county  militia ;  was  commissioned 
sheriff  of  the  county,  also  justice  of  the  peace,  1777; 
re-elected  sheriff,  1778;  assemblyman,  1785;  retired 
from  his  military  office  as  colonel,  1786.  He  died  in 
1822.  His  son  Jonathan  was  long  honorably  connected 
with  the  First  and  Second  United  States  banks,  and 
with  the  banking  history  of  Pennsylvania ;  another  son, 
Joseph,  was  a  prominent  iron  and  shipping  merchant 
of  Philadelphia ;  another  son,  John,  was  the  iron  mas- 
ter who  owned  the  Joanna  furnace  in  Berks  county. 
General  Persifer  F.  Smith,  of  military  fame,  and  Per- 
sifer  F.  Smith,  once  reporter  of  the  state  supreme  court, 
were  grandsons  of  Robert  Smith.  One  of  his  daugh- 
ters married  Rev.  Levi  Bull,  D.  D.,  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  and  another  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Rev. 
Nathan  Grier. 


7.  John  Vaughan,  born  July  24,  1844:  died 
November  10,  1892. 

Edward  Payson  Darling,  third  son  of  William 
and  Margaret  Vaughan  (Smith)  Darling,  born 
Robeson  township,  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania, 
November  10,  183 1  ;  died  Wilkes-Barre.  October 
19,  1889 ;  married  September  29,  1859,  Emily  H. 
Rutter,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  January  21,  1882, 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Rutter.  Mr.  Darling  was 
for  many  years  a  leader  of  the  Luzerne  bar,  and 
was  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  safest  legal 
counsellors  in  Pennsylvania.  Himself  the  son  of 
a  lawyer  of  wide  reputation  in.  legal  circles,  he 
was  especially  fitted  for  professional  life  both  by 
natural  endowment  and  through  legal  training 
before  he  came  to  the  bar.  His  elementary  edu- 
cation was  required  in  public  and  private  schools, 
and  the  famous  New  London  Cross  Roads  Aca- 
demy, where  he  prepared  for  college  in  1851, 
read  law  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  the  courts  of  Berks  county, 
November  10,  1853.  He  practiced  two  years  in 
Reading,  and  then  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  Luzerne 
bar  in  1855.  From  that  time  until  his  death  he 
was  a  figure  of  commanding  importance  in  legal 
circles,  and  rose  in  the  ranks  of  the  profession 
until  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  foremost 
lawyers  in  the  state.  He  was  a  corporation  law- 
yer, and  also,  so  far  as  his  practice  would  ad- 
mit, a  counsellor  on  all  subjects  relating  to  the 
law  of  estates,  wills,  executors  and  trustees,  hav- 
ing an  inclination  for  the  equity  courts  rather 
than  the  general  turmoil  and  hard  legal  contests 
of  the  trial  courts.  Aside  from  his  practice, 
which  always  was  large,  he  was  identified  with 
some  of  the  substantial  institutions  of  the  city ; 
was  vice-president  of  the  Wyoming  National 
Bank  and  of  the  Miners'  Savings  Bank;  a  di- 
rector of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Gas  Company  ;  trustee 
of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Female  Institute,  of  the  Os- 
terhout  Free  Library,  of  the  Wyoming  Histor- 
ical and  Geological  Society  and  of  the  Young 
Mens'  Christian  Association  building  fund.  He 
was  also  an  attendant  at  St.  Stephen's  Church; 
and  during  his  younger  life  was  a  member  of  its 
choir.     The  law  partnership  of  E.  P.  and  J.  V. 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


"3 


Darling  was  formed  in  1874,  and  was  continued 
until  the  death  of  the  senior  member  of  the  firm 
in  1889.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  P.  Darling  had  three 
children  : 

1.  Mary   Rutter,   married   William    Thomas 
Smedley,  the  artist,  and  had  issue. 

2.  Thomas,   born  May  29,   1863,  lawyer  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

3.  Emily  Cist,  married   Arthur  Hillman,   of 
Wilkes-Barre;  had  issue.  (See  Hillman  Family.) 

John  Yaughan  Darling,  youngest  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Margaret  Yaughan  (Smith)  Darling, 
born  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  July  24,  1844,  died 
at  Westminister  hotel,  New  York  City,  November 
10,  1892 ;  married.  October  9,  1872,  Alice  Mary 
McClintock,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
January  31,  1848,  and  died  there  October  12, 
12,  1900,  daughter  of  Andrew  Todd  McClintock, 
LL.  D.,  and  wife  Augusta  Cist.  (See  McClin- 
tock Family).  Mr.  Darling  was  given  an  ex- 
cellent elementary  education,  fitted  for  college 
under  Professor  Kendall,  and  passed  the  Harvard 
examination  that  entered  him  in  the  junior  class, 
but  impaired  health  compelled  him  to  abandon 
the  university  course,  upon  which  he  turned  to 
journalism,  and  was  a  contributor  to  Lippin- 
cott's  Magazine,  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  and 
for  five  years  was  associate  editor  of  the  North 
American  Exchange  and  Review.  He  studied 
law  under  R.  C.  McMurtrie,  of  Philadelphia. 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1865.  He  prac- 
ticed in  that  city  in  partnership  with  Morton  P. 
Henry  until  1874,  when  he  removed  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  became  junior  partner  in  the  firm  of 
E.  P.  &  J.  Y.  Darling,  a  relation  which  was  main- 
tained until  1889.  As  early  as  1869  Mr.  Darling 
was  junior  counsel  for  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
Company  with  James  E.  Gowan,  and  later  on 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  corporation 
lawyers  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  cultured 
gentleman,  fitted  to  grace  social  as  well  as  pro- 
fessional life,  but  social  enjoyments  outside  the 
home  circle  or  the  agreeable  companionships  of 
the  profession  found  no  special  favor  with  him. 
He  was  a  fine  musician  and  passed  many  leisure 
hours  in  the  companionship  of  his  favorite  in- 
strument.    During  the  summer  he  went  abroad, 


hoping  in  vain  to  regain  his  health  at  the  hands 
of  the  best  medical  men  in  Baden,  .Germany. 
On  his  return  to  Xew  York  he  died  in 
the  Westminster  Hotel.  His  death  was  a  ser- 
ious loss  to  the  Luzerne  bar,  for  he  was  one  of  its- 
brightest  lights,  one  of  its  best  and  most  honor- 
able representatives,  its  recognized  authority  on 
"points  of  law." 

Thomas  Darling,  son  of  Edward  Payson  and 
Emily  H.  (Rutter)  Darling,  born  Wilkes-Barre, 
May  29,  1863 ;  married  June  3,  1902,  Emma 
Childs  McClintock,  born  September  25,  1874, 
daughter  of  Oliver  McClintock  and  Clara  C. 
Childs.  Oliver  McClintock  is  a  merchant  of 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania ;  a  man  of  influence  and 
social  position ;  a  man  of  strict  integrity  of  char- 
acter, a  philanthropist,  and  a  political  retormer ; 
without  political  ambition,  and  aiming  solely  to 
secure  an  honest  administration  of  government 
in  the  great  municipality  in  which  he  lives. 

Thomas  Darling  was  educated  in  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  public  schools,  the  Wilkes-Barre  Aca- 
demy, now  known  as  the  Harry  Hillman  Aca- 
demy, and  Yale  University,  where  he  graduated 
A.  B.  1886.  He  read  law  under  the  direction  of 
his  father,  and  came  to  the  bar  in  Luzerne  county 
in  April,  1889.  Upon  the  death  of  his  father, 
Edward  Payson  Darling,  in  October  of  that 
year,  Thomas  became  partner  with  his  uncle,  J. 
Yaughan  Darling,  as  junior  member  of  the  law 
firm  of  E.  P.  &  J.  V.  Darling.  At  the  same  time 
Frank  W.  Wheaton  ( now  Judge  Wheaton).  came 
into  the  firm  and  the  name  was  then  changed  to 
Darling  &  Wheaton.  J.  Yaughan  Darling  died 
in  1893.  and  John  Butler  Woodward  replaced 
him  in  the  firm,  which  then  became  Wheaton, 
Darling  &  Woodward.  Still  later  Judge  Wheaton 
was  elected  to  the  bench  of  the  common  pleas, 
and  when  the  former  retired  from  the  law  part- 
nership, the  latter  replaced  him,  and  established 
the  present  firm  of  Woodward,  Darling  &  Wood- 
ward. Mr.  Darling  is  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution, 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  So- 
ciety, of  the  Vestry  of  St.  Stephen's  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Bar  As- 
sociation, a  director  in  the  Bear  Creek  Ice  Com- 


H4 


THE  WYOMING   AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


panv.  and  was  for  some  years  a  member  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  city  council.  Air.  and  Airs.  Thomas 
26,  1903.  H.  E.  H. 

BEDFORD  FAMILY.  Of  five  generations 
of  the  Bedford  family,  four  have  been  a  part  of 
the  history  of  the  Wyoming  valley  for  more  than 
one  hundred  and  ten  years.  Stephen  Bedford, 
with  whom  our  record  begins,  was  a  native  of 
New  Jersey,  born  in  Succasunna,  Morris  county, 
and  was  of  English  ancestry.  After  his  death 
the  family  removed  to  New  York,  settled  in  Ul- 
ster county  and  remained  there  during  the  period 
of  the  Revolution. 

Jacob  Bedford,  son  of  Stephen  Bedford,  en- 
tered the  service  of  his  country  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  and  wTas  at  first  assigned  to  garrison 
duty.  Tradition  has  it  that  he  was  a  sturdy 
youngster,  not  large,  but  strong  and  well  able 
to  handle  a  musket,  and  his  service  counted  for 
as  much  as  that  of  many  men  of  more  mature 
years.  He  removed  to  Pennsylvania  in  1792, 
settled  in  the  Wyoming  valley,  spent  his  life  in 
the  region,  and  died  in  Waverly  at  the  house  of 
his  son  Andrew,  August  23,  1849,  a&ed  eighty- 
seven  years.  He  was  quite  a  figure  in  early 
Luzerne  county  political  history ;  wTas  coroner 
of  the  county,  appointed  November  3,  1804,  by 
Governor  McKean,  and  was  elected  sheriff  in 
1810  in  connection  with  Jabez  Hyde,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  the  governor's  commission. 
Jacob  Bedford  married  twice;  first,  a  daughter 
of  Benjamin  Carpenter,  and,  second,  May  16, 
1799,  with  Deborah  Sutton,  born  New  Castle, 
New  York,  February  8,  1773,  died  April  3,  1869, 
daughter  of  James  Sutton,  of  Exeter,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

May  27,  1787,  Benjamin  Carpenter  was  com- 
missioned justice  of  the  peace  and  also  judge 
of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  Luzerne  county. 
In  1794  he  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives. Elizabeth  Carpenter,  also  a  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin,  married  Lazarus  Denison,  son 
of  Col.  Nathan  Denison.  In  1810  Air.  Carpenter 
moved  to  Sunbury,  Delaware  county.  Ohio.  (See 
Denison).  Deborah  Sutton  Bedford  was  one  of 
the  most  devout  Christian  women  of  her  day, 
and  for  more  than  eisditv  vears  was  a  faithful 


member  of  the  Methodist  Church.  She  was  in 
Forty  Fort  at  the  time  of  the  massacre,  and  had 
the  misfortune  to  witness  all  the  distressing 
events  of  that  day.  Although  a  child  of  five 
years  at  the  time,  she  nevertheless  retained  all 
the  details  of  the  event  to  the  day  of  her  death. 
■Andrew  Bedford,  son  of  Jacob  and  Deborah 
Bedford,  was  born  at  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania, 
April  22,  1800.  He  was  educated  for  the  med- 
ical profession  and  graduated  from  Yale  College 
medical  department.  He  was  a  man  of  excel- 
lent understanding  outside  of  professional  sub- 
jects as  well  as  in  medical  circles,  and  was  fre- 
quently honored  with  appointment  to  positions 
of  trust.  His  Democracy  was  unquestioned,  and 
his  political  integrity  never  was  doubted.  He 
served  as  a  member  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention of  1838,  his  colleagues  in  the  conven- 
tion from  Luzerne  county  being  Hon.  George 
W.  Woodward,  Gen.  E.  W.  Sturdevant  and  Wil- 
liam Swetland.  From  1840  to  1846  Dr.  Bedford 
w-as  a  prothonotary,  clerk  of  the  court  of  quarter 
sessions,  the  oyer  and  terminer,  and  of  the 
orphans'  court,  and  was  the  first  officer  elected 
in  Luzerne  county  under  the  constitution  of  1838. 
Later  on  he  was  postmaster  at  Waverly,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of 
Madison  Academy  at  Waverly,  and  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  and  Providence  Plank  Road  Com- 
pany, and  also  of  the  Liggett's  Gap  Railroad 
Company,  which  eventually  became  a  part  of 
the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Rail- 
road Company's  system.  Dr.  Bedford  was  twice 
married,  first  to  Hannah  Reynolds,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Reynolds  and  his  wife  Lydia  Fuller 
(see  Reynolds  Family)  ;  second,  May  19,  1874, 
•to  Mary  Burtis,  widow  of  John  M.  Burtis  and 
daughter  of  Orlando  and  Olivia  Porter.  His 
children  wrere : 

1.  Benjamin  R.,   born    1828,  living  in   Ber- 
wick, Pennsylvania ;  retired. 

2.  James  S.,  born  1829,  died  in  Nebraska. 

3.  Theodore  W.,  born  1834,  died  Washing- 
ton, D.  C 

4.  Sterling,   born    1836,   living  in   Waverly, 
Lackawanna  county. 

5.  William  J.  born  1838,  died  young. 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


"5 


6.  George  R.,  born  November  22,   1840,  of 
whom  later. 

7.  Andrew    P.,    born    1845,    now    living    in 
Scranton,  Pennsylvania. 

8.  John,    born    of    second    marriage,    died 
young. 

9.  Harriet  E.,  wife  of  Edward  F.  Leighton, 
of  Binghamton,  New  York. 

George  Reynolds  Bedford,  sixth  child  of  Dr.  • 
Andrew  and  Hannah  Bedford,  was  born  Novem- 
ber 22,  1840;  married,  May  19,  1874,  Emily, 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Harriet  I.  (Fuller)  Mills. 
He  acquired  his  early  education  in  the  Madison 
Academy  at  Waverly,  after  which  he  read  law 
in  the  office  of  Samuel  Sherred,  of  Scranton. 
During  a  portion  of  this  time  he  was  clerk  in  the 
office  of  the  prothonotary  of  Luzerne  county. 
Later  on  he  entered  the  Albany  Law  School, 
where  he  completed  his  preliminary  studies,  and 
where  upon  examination  under  the  rules  of  the 
court  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts 
of  New  York  State  in  May,  1862.  He  returned 
to  Wilkes-Barre  and  became  a  student  in  the 
office  of  Hon.  Stanley  Woodward,  and  No- 
vember 10,  1862,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Lu- 
:erne  .county.  From  that  time  he  has  practiced 
in  the  courts  of  Pennsylvania,  a  constant  worker 
in  the  ranks  of  the  profession,  and  without  being 
led  away  by  the  distractions  of  politics  and  the 
desire  for  its  preferment.  However,  in  1863, 
and  at  a  time  when  the  commonwealth  of  Penn- 
sylvania was  in  need  of  the  service  of  every  loyal 
son  of  the  state,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany K,  Thirteenth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
unteer Militia,  and  served  in  the  field  for  a  period 
of  about  six  weeks.  Mr.  Bedford  is  a  Democrat, 
the  son  of  a  Democrat,  and  one  of  the  strongest 
exponents  of  his  party's  principles  in  the  Wyo- 
ming region.  In  1874  he  was  a  candidate  for 
nomination  for  the  office  of  additional  law  judge, 
but  the  votes  of  the  convention  were  ultimately 
delivered  to  another  aspirant.  Since  that  time 
he  has  "not  been  a  candidate  for  office,  although 
he  has  been  active  in  the  councils  of  his  party, 
and  not  infrequently  has  his  voice  been  raised 
in  advocating  its  principles  and  promoting  the 
candidacy  of  its  nominees.     But  he  himself  pre- 


fers the  practice  of  the  law,  in  the  office  and 
at  the  bar  of  the  courts,  where  he  is  known  as 
an  honorable  adversary  and  worthy  foeman.  Mr. 
Bedford  was  a  director  of  the  City  Hospital,  a 
trustee  of  the  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  later  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
also  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Female. Institute  and 
Hillman  Academy  and  is  a  life  member  of  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society.  For 
several  years  he  was  master  in  chancerv. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bedford  have  two  sons :  Paul, 
born  June  24,  1875  ;  graduated  A.  B.  Princeton 
University  1897;  graduated  LL.  B.  law  depart- 
ment University  of  Pennsylvania  1900 ;  is  now 
associated  with  his  father  in  his  profession. 
Bruce,  born  November  26,  1876,  graduated  A. 
B.,  Princeton  LJniversity,  1897 ;  is  an  electrical 
engineer  at   Princeton,   New  Jersey. 

'  H.  E.  H. 

PARRISH  FAMILY.  There  were  Par- 
rishes  in  New  England  in  the  early  years  of 
the  Colonies,  and  the}-  were  among  the  fore- 
most men  of  their  time,  active  in  affairs  of 
government,  prominent  in  promoting  the  wel- 
fare of  the  church,  and  earnest  in  their  en- 
deavors to  establish  their  families  in  comfort 
and  provide  an  inheritance  for  their  children. 

Among  the  early  immigrants  to  America 
was  one  Dr.  Thomas  Parish,  who  came  from 
England  in  the  ship  "Increase"  in  1635,  who 
is  mentioned  in  early  colonial  history  as  a 
physician  of  ability,  a  man  of  worth  and  a 
person  of  influence.  In  the  early  records  of 
Cambridge  this  Dr.  Parish  (or  Parris)  is  re- 
corded as  a  clothier,  aged  twenty-three  years, 
and  there  are  authorities  that  seem  to  con- 
nect him  directly  with  the  Parrish  line  under 
consideration  in  these  annals,  but  no  sjatis- 
factory  proof  of  this  statement  is  produced, 
wherefore  it  is  not  safe  to  assert  at  this  time 
that  Thomas  Parish  of  Cambridge  was  the  im- 
migrant American  ancestor  of  the  Parrish 
families  of  Pennsylvania,  and  particularly  of 
the  family  of  the  late  Charles  Parrish  of 
Wilkes-Barfe,  who  for  years  was  a  conspicu- 


YJ^W, 


'ip/6 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


117 


1.  Abigail,  born  December  25,  1763 ;  died 
single,  1S45. 

2.  Amy,  born  October  12,  1765 ;  married 
John  (or  Timothy)  Childs,  and  had  Bradley, 
who  died  young,  and  Archippus. 

3.  Althea,  born  September  29,  1770;  mar- 
ried James  Bingham,  of  Bloomingburg,  New- 
York,  and  had  three  daughters. 

4.  Archippus,  born  January  27,  1773  ;  mar- 
ried August  14,  1806,  Phoebe  Miller. 

5.  Abraham,  born  January  1,  177S;  married 
March  15,  1801,  Jemima  Wright,  born  August 
25,  1780,  died  January  n,  1823.  leaving  ten 
children,  of  whom  their  uncle,  Ralph  Storrs, 
who  married  Orilla  Wright,  took  six  with  him 
to  Connecticut.  Abraham  died  1848.  Of  his 
children  Rebecca  Wright  Parrish  married  John 
Sax,  whose-  daughter  Jemima  married  An- 
drew Jackson  Griffith  ( see  Griffith  family  of 
Pittston)  ;  Rebecca  died  single ;  Annie,  married, 
1796,  Elisha  Morgan,  born  January  28,  1773; 
settled  in  Scotland,  Connecticut,  and  died  1858. 
They  had  John,  married  Eunice  Kennedy,  and 
James  Lanman,  married  Rachel  Safford. 

(V)  Archippus  Parrish.  son  of  Archippus 
and  Abigail  Parrish,  born  Windham,  Connecti- 
cut. January  27,  1773,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, October,  1847;  married,  Morristown, 
New  Jersey,  August  14,  1806,  Phebe  Miller, 
born  February  7,  1785,  daughter  of  Eleazer  Mil- 
ler and  Hannah  Mills,  of  Morristown,  and 
granddaughter  of  Thomas  Miller  and  Margaret 
AYallace,  of  that  place.  Mr.  Parrish  was  for 
many  years  engaged  in  active  business  pursuits 
in  New  York  City,  where  he  accumulated  a  hand- 
some fortune.  In  1810  he  removed  to  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  made  large  in- 
vestments which  proved  unfortunate,  and  there- 
by much  of  his  property  was  swept  away.  He 
then  embarked  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  a  few 
years  later  became  proprietor  of  the  Black  Horse 
hotel  on  the  public  square  in  Wilkes-Barre,  where 
lie  continued  until  his  death  in  1847.     Children: 

1.  Mary  Ann,  born  July  3,  1807.     2.     Abigail, 
Tjorn  January  26,  1809.     3.     Eliza,  born  October 

2,  181 1,   died  December  3,    1846.     4.     Bradley, 


born  September  26,  1812.  5.  Archippus,  born 
June  26,  1814.  6.  Sarah  Althea,  born  May  10, 
1817;  married  Francis  William  Hunt  (see  Hunt 
Family).  7.  George,  born  May  17,  1820.  8. 
Gould,  born  May  11,  1822.  9.  Charles,  see 
forward.  H.  E.  H. 

CHARLES  PARRISH  (6),  youngest  child 
and  son  of  Archippus  and  Phebe  (Miller)  Par- 
rish, was  born  at  Dundaff,  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania,  August  27,  1826,  died  December 
27,  1896.  He  was  educated  in  Wilkes-Barre 
Academy,  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  became 
clerk  in  the  store  of  Ziba  Bennett.  After  he  had 
attained  his  majority,  he  became  a  partner  in  the 
firm  of  Ziba  Bennett  .&  Company,  and  was  a 
member  of  that  well  known  and  substantial  house 
until  1856,  when  he  withdrew  to  engage  in  coal 
operations  and  speculations  in  coal  lands.  He 
was  an  extensive  buyer,  a  fearless  investor  and 
a  good  seller.  His  transactions  were  large,  at 
times  bold,  and  he  was  a  splendid  developer. 
He  made  money  rapidly,  yet  he  had  not  the  for- 
tunate faculty  always  to  keep  it.  He  accumu- 
lated far  more  for  others  than  he  did  for  himself, 
and,  while  his  business  associates  benefitted 
largely  by  his  operations,  his  employees  enjoved 
a  full  share  of  benefits  at  his  hands.  He  organ- 
ized the  Lehigh  and  Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Com- 
pany, and  was  its  president  for  twenty  years,  and 
was  also  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Coal  and 
Iron  Company.  For  twenty  years  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  for  a  long  time  president  of  the  Par- 
rish and  Annora  coal  companies ;  a  director  of 
the  Northwest  Branch  Railroad ;  a  promoter  of 
and  stockholder  in  other  roads,  and  for  thirty 
years  a  director  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Naviga- 
tion Company.  For  seven  years  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  borough  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  al- 
ways manifested  a  deep,  wholesome  interest  in 
its  affairs  and  in  its  progress.  During  the  early 
part  of  the  Civil  war  he  took  an  active  part  in 
organizing  troops  for  the  service,  and  of  his 
means  gave  generously  for  whatever  work  in 
that  connection  was  necessary.     Mr.  Parrish  was 


u8 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


in  many  ways  identified  with  the  business  life  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  his  worth  and  popularity  as 
a  citizen  were  well  known  throughout  the  local- 
ity. It  was  he  who  induced  the  employees  of  his 
mines  to  allow  the  entire  proceeds  of  one  day 
each  year  to  be  retained  and  made  a  fund  for  the 
relief  of  disabled  miners  and  their  families  and 
to  this  fund  Mr.  Parrish  caused  to  be  added  the 
entire  proceeds  of  one  day's  operation  of  the 
mines.  Politically  he  was  a  Republican,  but  his 
interest  in  politics  was  that  of  the  citizen  and 
taxpayer  and  not  of  the  politician.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  the  Sons 
of  the  Revolution,  and  a  life  member  of  the  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  Geological  Society.1 

Charles  Parrish  married  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
June  21,  1864,  Mary  Conyngham,  born  February 
20,  1834,  daughter  of  Hon.  John  Nesbit  Conyng- 
ham, LL.  D.,  and  his  wife,  Ruth  Ann  Butler, 
daughter  of  General  Lord  Butler,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  of  the  Con- 
tinental line  (see  Conyngham  and  Butler  Fam- 
ilies).    Children 

1.  Anna  Conyngham  Parrish. 

2.  Eleanor  Mayer  Parrish,  born  ,  died 

Washington,  D.  C,  February  9,  1904;  married 
January  14,  1903,  Joseph  Habersham  Bradley 
Esq.,  of  Washington.  Had  Joseph  Habersham 
Bradley,  Jr. 

3.  Mary  Conyngham  Parrish,  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

4.  Katherine  Christine  Parrish,  married 
August  22,  1902,  Arthur  Augustine  Snyder,  M. 
D.,  of  Washington.  Had  Katherine  Conyngham 
Snyder,  born  August  31,  1903.  H.  E.  H. 

FREDERICK  BROWN  PARRISH  was  for 
many  years  a  leading  representative  of  the  busi- 
ness interests  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  vicinity, 
serving  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  the  capacity 
of  president  of  the  Hillman  Vein  Coal  Company 
and  the  Hanover  Coal  Company,  vice-president 
of  the  Red  Ash  Coal  Company,  director  of  the 


1.     Compiled    from  Rev.  Horace   E.  Hayden's   manu- 
scripts of  the  Parrish  Family. 


Pittston  Engine  and  Machine  Company,  and  a 
member  of  the  Western  Anthracite  Joint  Com- 
mittee. He  was  born  at  Pierremont,  Rockland 
county,  New  York,  November  27,  1849,  the 
eldest  son  of  the  late  George  H.  and  Charlotte 
M.  (Brown)  Parrish,  and  grandson  of  Archip- 
pus  Parrish  and  his  -wife.  (See  Parrish. 
Family). 

Frederick  B.  Parrish  spent  his  boyhood  days 
in  the  states  of  Kentucky  and  Wisconsin,  his 
father's  .business,  railroad  contracting,  making  it 
necessary  for  the  family  to  change  their  resi- 
dence. In  ,1862  the  family  moved  from  Beaver 
Dam,  Wisconsin,  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,, 
and  in  1866  to  Sugar  Notch,  Pennsylvania. 
Frederic  B.  attended  the  Wilkes-Barre  Institute 
and  the  Lawrenceville  (New  Jersey)  Academy,, 
and  thus  acquired  an  excellent  English  educa- 
tion. In  the  summer  of  1868,  during  his  vaca- 
tion from  school,  he  was  a  member  of  the  en- 
gineer corps  that  had  charge  of  the  construction 
of  the  Lehigh  and  Susquehanna  Railroad  from 
Mill  Creek  to  Green  Ridge.  During  the  years 
1869  and  1870  he  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the 
Ashley  machine  shops  of  the  Lehigh  and  Sus- 
quehanna Railroad,  and  in  the  spring  of  1870  be- 
gan work  with  the  engineer  corps  of  the  Lehigh 
and  Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Company.  In  1872  he 
was  promoted  to  be  chief  of  corps,  and  from  this 
responsible  position  was  advanced  to  assistant 
superintendent  under  his  father,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1873  to  general  superintendent  of  the  above 
named  company.  In  1881  Mr.  Parrish  was  asso- 
ciated with  his  father  and  Hon.  Morgan  B. 
Williams  in  the  organization  of  the  Red  Ash 
Coal  Company,  of  which  his  father  was  elected 
president.  Subsequently  he  served  in  the  capa- 
city of  general  superintendent  for  Charles  Par- 
rish &  Company,  he  being  a  nephew  of  Charles 
Parrish.  The  sound  wisdom,  rare  discernment 
and  excellent  judgment  displayed  in  the  fulfill- 
ment of  his  varied  and  responsible  positions  led 
later  to  his  appointment  to  the  presidency  of  the 
Hillman  Vein  Coal  Company  and  the  Hanover 
Coal    Company;    to    the   vice-presidency    of    the 


~^L^  £J£^tiz&&i 


The  Lewis  Puhlis'h-m  a .  Co 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


119 


Red  Ash  Coal  Company,  and  the  directorship  of 
the  Pittston  Engine  and  Machine  Company. 
Mr.  Parrish  was  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and 
business  ability  of  a  high  order,  was  energetic 
and  enterprising,  and  few  young  men  in  the 
community  achieved  such  marked  prominence  in 
business  circles.  An  untiring  and  indefatigable 
worker,  he  possessed  the  faculty  of  interesting 
others  in  their  work.  His  loyalty  and  patriotism 
were  very  marked,  and  those  who  knew  him  best 
esteemed  him  for  his  many  sterling  qualities. 
He  was  of  a  cheerful  disposition,  kind  and  con- 
siderate to  those  at  various  times  under  his 
charge,  and  his  death  was  looked  upon  by  them 
as  a  personal  bereavement.  He  was  a  consist- 
ent member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church..  Mr. 
Parrish  travelled  extensively  throughout  Europe, 
also  took  a  trip  to  the  Bahamas,  and  the  exper- 
iences thus  gained  considerably  broadened  his 
knowledge  of  men  and  affairs.  In  1875  Mr. 
Parrish  was  married  to  Ella  D.  Reets,  daughter 
of  the  late  Charles  E.  Reets,  for  many  years  one 
of  the  leading  business  men  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
Mr.  Parrish  died  September  3,  1885,  survived 
by  his  wife  and  son.  His  son,  Frederick  Par- 
rish, is  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,    1905. 

H.  E.  H. 

McCLINTOCK  FAMILY.  The  history  of 
the  McCIintock  family  of  the  line  here  under  con- 
sideration traces  to  James  McCIintock  and  his 
wife  Jean  Payne,  of  Raphoe,  county  Donegal, 
Ireland.  The  ancestors  of  James  McCIintock 
lived  originally  in  Argylshire,  Scotland,  whence 
three  sons  of  Gilbert  McCIintock  settled  near 
Londonderry,  Ireland,  from  one  of  which  sons, 
Samuel  and  James,  descended.  Samuel,  son  of 
James,  emigrated  to  America  in  1795  and 
settled  in  Northumberland  county,  Pennsylvania. 
James  McCIintock  followed  his  son  to  America 
and  settled  in  Lycoming  county.  Samuel  died 
in  1812  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years. 

Samuel  McCIintock  married,  July  15,  1806, 
Hannah  Todd,  daughter  of  Col.  Andrew  Todd, 
born  1752,  died  in  Providence,  Pennsylvania,  May 
5,  1833,  and  his  wife  Hannah  Bowyer,  born  1752, 


died  Providence,  Pennsylvania,  May  28,  1836, 
daughter  of  Stephen  Bowyer  and  Elizabeth  Ed- 
wards. Stephen  Bowyer  was  a  farmer  near 
Providence  Church.  His  wife  died  December 
17,  1794.  Col.  Andrew  Todd,  born  1749,  died 
1833,  was  an  extensive  land  owner  in  Trappe, 
Upper  Providence  township,  Montgomery 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  a  man  of  superior 
mechanical  skill ;  a  member  of  the  old  Providence 
Presbyterian  Church ;  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary army;  justice  of  the  peace,  May  22,  1800, 
to  1833.  Robert  Todd,  father  of  Andrew  Todd, 
was  born  in  Ireland,  1697,  died  in  Providence 
township  1790,  married,  in  county  Down,  Ireland, 
Isabella  Bodley,  born  1700.  They  had  nine  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Andrew  was  the  youngest.  Rob- 
ert Todd  and  his  wife  Isabella  and  their  six  chil- 
dren and  Andrew  Todd,  his  single  half-brother, 
came  from  county  Down,  Ireland,  to  New  York, 
and  thence  to  Trappe,  Pennsylvania,  in  1737. 
Three  of  these  children  were  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  when  Andrew  was  born  his  mother 
was  fifty-two  years  old.  Robert  Todd  was  the 
son  of  John  Todd,  whose  father  also  was  named 
John  Todd.  Samuel  and  Hannah  (Todd)  Mc- 
CIintock had  Andrew  Todd  McCIintock. 

Andrew  Todd  McCIintock,  LL.  D.,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Hannah  (Todd)  McCIintock,  born 
February  2,  18 10,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre  January 
14,  1891.  He  married,  May  11,  1841,  Augusta 
Cist,  born  1816,  died  September  24,  1895,  aged 
seventy-nine,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Sarah  (Hol- 
lenback)  Cist.  (See  Cist-Hollenback  Family). 
Andrew  Todd  McCIintock  was  only  two  years 
old  when  his  father  died.  His  early  education 
was  acquired  in  the  common  schools  and  also 
in  Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  where  among  his  fel- 
low-students were  the  late  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stan- 
ton, who  was  secretary  of  war  under  President 
Lincoln  ;  Judge  Frank  Hurd,  who  within  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century  became  a  conspicuous  figure 
in  Ohio  politics,  on  the  Democratic  side,  and 
Rufus  King,  who  was  a  dean  of  the  Law  School, 
Cincinnati. 

After  three  years  of  study  in  college  Mr. 
McCIintock  returned  to  Northumberland,  and 
soon   afterward  began  the  study  of  law   in  the 


120 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


office  of  James  Hepburn,  but  at  the  end  of  about 
a  year  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre  and  finished  his 
preliminary  studies  with  the  elder  Judge  Wood- 
ward, whose  law  partner  he  became  immediately 
upon  his  admission  to  practice,  August  8,  1836. 
The  firm  style  was  Woodward  &  McClintock, 
and  the  partnership  relation  was  maintained  un- 
til 1839,  when  Mr.  McClintock  was  appointed  dis- 
trict attorney  for  Luzerne  county.  He  discharged 
the  duties  of  the  office  with  entire  satisfaction, 
but  at  the  end  of  one  year  he  resigned,  and  re- 
turned to  his  regular  practice.  This  was  the 
only  political  office  Mr.  McClintock  ever  held. 
Other  and  higher  honors  of  a  political  character 
were  offered  him  and  were  easily  within  his 
reach,  but  he  declined  them  all  courteously  and 
firmly,  for  there  was  that  in  the  character  of  the 
man  that  made  the  allurements  of  politics  dis- 
tasteful to  him ;  he  even  declined  the  candidacy 
for  the  judgeship  of  the  Luzerne  common  pleas, 
and  that  notwithstanding  the  united  efforts  of 
his  warmest  friends  of  the  bar  and  others  who 
knew  his  quality  and  especial  fitness  for  the  po- 
sition. He  did,  however,  accept  Governor  Hart- 
ranft's  appointment  to  a  membership  of  the  com- 
mission charged  with  the  revision  of  the  consti- 
tution of  1873,  and  in  the  deliberations  of  that 
bcdy  of  eminent  jurists  and  legists  he  found  him- 
self associated  with  Chief  Justice  Agnew,  Ben- 
jamin Harris  Brewster,  Attorney  General  Sam- 
uel E.  Dimmick,  United  States  Senator  Wallace, 
Senator  Playford,  Henry  W.  Williams  and  the 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania ; 
and  in  the  proceedings  and  councils  of  the  com- 
mission the  opinions  of  Andrew  T.  McClintock 
were  of  as  great  weight  as  those  of  any  of  his 
colleagues. 

Mr.  McClintock  was  a  corporation,  lawyer, 
which  mere  statement  implies  that  he  was  thor- 
oughly versed  in  the  laws  relating  to  corpora- 
tions, and  that  his  clientage  was  largely  drawn 
from  the  associations  generally  known  as  corpo- 
rations. Still  he  enjoyed  an  extensive  general 
practice,  for  his  understanding  of  the  law  was 
by  no  means  limited  in  any  respect.  He  chose 
that  branch  of  the  practice  which  was  most  con- 
genial to  his  tastes,  and  which  fortunately  hap- 


pened to  be  the  most  profitable ;  hence  the  nat- 
ural corollary,  a  substantial  fortune  as  the  re- 
sult of  his  earnest  endeavors. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  professional  career 
to  the  time  of  his  death  he  always  manifested  an 
earnest  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  city,  its 
people  and  its  institutions,  and  identified  himself 
with  many  important  measures  and  enterprises 
which  would  advance  its  prosperity.  He  was  a 
director  of  the  Wyoming  National  Bank,  of  the 
City  HospitaJ  and  of  the  Home  for  Friendless 
Children,  president  of  the  Hollenback  Cemetery 
Association  and  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Law  and 
Library  Association ;  an  elder  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  was  several  times  a  dele- 
gate from  the  Luzerne  Presbytery  to  the  gen- 
eral assembly  of  that  church ;  a  member  of  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  of 
which  he  was  vice-president  i860,  1864,  1865, 
1869  to  1875,  and  president  1876,  1889-91.  The 
honorary  degree  of  LL.  D.  was  conferred  on  him 
by  Princeton  College  in  1870.  "His  life  work 
and  the  commanding  position  he  attained  at  the 
bar  and  in  the  community  where  he  lived  signify 
more  plainlv  than  words  the  measure  of  his  abil- 
ities and  the  nobleness  of  his  character.  In  stat- 
ure he  was  tall,  of  massive  frame  and  endowed 
with  great  strength  and  endurance,  dignified  in 
bearing,  vet  gentle,  genial  and  sincere  in  tem- 
perament ;  the  grace  of  his  presence  and  the 
charm  of  his  manner  impressed  every  one  who 
came  within  the  range  of  their  influence."  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  McClintock  had:  1.  Helen  Grinnan, 
born  Wilkes-Barre,  January  19,  1846,  died  Jan- 
uary 14,  1894.  2.  Alice  Mary,  born  January 
31,  1848,  died  October  12,  1900;  married,  Oc- 
tober 9,  1872,  John  Vaughan  Darling,  born  July 
24,  1844.  (See  Darling  Family).  3.  Andrew 
Hamilton,  born  December  12,  1852.  4.  Jean 
Hamilton,   born   February  22,    1855.  died  April 

Andrew  Hamilton  McClintock.  only  son  of 
Andrew  Todd  and  Augusta  (Cist)  McClintock, 
was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  Decem- 
ber 12,  1852;  graduated  from  Princeton  College. 
A.  B.  1872,  A.  M.  1875  I  read  law  with  his  father, 
Andrew   Todd    McClintock,   and   also   with   Ed- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


121 


ward  P.  and  J.  Vaughan  Darling,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  Luzerne 
county,  January  20,  1876.  He  began  his  profes- 
sional career  in  Wilkes-Barre  in  association  with 
his  father.  As  the  latter  gradually  withdrew 
from  the  arduous  work  of  the  office  the  son  suc- 
ceeded him,  and  when  Andrew  Todd  McClin- 
tock  died  Andrew  Hamilton  continued  the  busi- 
ness alone,  retaining  the  old  clientage,  represent- 
ing and  protecting  the  interests  which  in  former 
years  had  been  entrusted  to  his  distinguished 
father  in  the  capacity  of  attorney  and  counsellor 
at  law.  Like  his  father,  Mr.  McClintock  is  a 
Democrat,  but  without  ambition  for  political  pre- 
ferment. He  is  vice-president  of  the  Wyoming 
National  Bank,  a  director  of  the  Miners'  Savings 
Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  director  of  the  Title  Guar- 
anty and  Trust  Company  of  Scranton,  a  trustee 
of  the  Osterhout  Free  Library  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  the  Sons 
of  the  Revolution,  and  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society,  of  which  he  was 
librarian  1883-85  and  treasurer  1886-95. 

Mr.  McClintock  married,  December  1,  1880, 
Eleanor  Welles,  daughter  of  Charles  F.  Welles, 
Jr.,  and  Elizabeth  La  Porte.  Mrs.  McClintock 
is  a  descendant  on  her  paternal  side  from  Gov. 
Thomas  Welles,  of  Connecticut,  first  treasurer  of 
the  colony,  and  on  her  maternal  side  from  Bar- 
tholomew La  Porte,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
French  refugee  colony  at  Asylum,  Bradford 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  are :  An- 
drew Todd,  born  January  21,  1885;  Gilbert 
Stuart,  born  December  27,  1886.        H.  E.  H. 

CIST,  HOLLENBACK.  WEISS.  COCK 
FAMILIES.  Jacob  Cist  was  a  son  of  Charles 
Cist,  who  is  mentioned  at  length  elsewhere  in  this 
work  (See  Wright  family).  Jacob  Cist  was  born 
in  Philadelphia  March  13,  1782,  died  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  December  30,  1835.  Charles  Cist  was  born 
in  St.  Petersburg,  Russia,  August  15,  1738,  died 
Fort  Allen  December  1.  1805:  married,  Phila- 
delphia, June  7,  1787,  Mary  Weiss,  born  June 
22,  1762.  Charles  Cist  was  a  son  of  Charles 
and  Anna  Maria  (Thomassen)  Cist.  The  younger 
Charles  matriculated  at  the  University  of  Halle, 


Germany.  April  23,  1755;  was  exiled  to  Siberia, 
1767;  fled  a  political  refugee  to  America  1773, 
reaching  Philadelphia  October  25,  where  he  be- 
came printer,  publisher,  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
tion; was  private,  in  1777,  Capt.  George  Ester- 
ley's  company,  Col.  William  Bradford's  regiment, 
Philadelphia  militia. 

Sarah  Hollenback,  who  married  Jacob  Cist, 
was  great-granddaughter  of  George  Hollenback, 
died  July  23,  1736,  who  prior  to  1734  owned 
lands  and  paid  quit  rents  in  Hanover  township, 
Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania.  His  son, 
Johannes  Hollenback,  born  September  9,  1720, 
died  in  Martinsburg,  Virginia,  August  9,  1783, 
married  Eleanor  Jones.  Their  children  were 
baptized  by  the  Rev.  John  Casper  Stoever  and 
were:  Maria,  born  February  9,  1748;  Jenny 
Maria,  175 1;  John  Matthias,  bom  February 
17,  1752,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia. February  18,  1829 ;  Anna  Maria,  born  June 
13,  1761.  John  (Johannes)  Hollenback  took  up 
land  in  Lebanon  township,  Lancaster  (now  Leb- 
anon) county,  Pennsylvania,  1750,  and  removed 
thence  to  Martinsburg,  Virginia,  where  he  died. 
John  Matthias  Hollenback  (commonly  known  as 
Matthias  Hollenback)  came  to  Wyoming  in  1769 
and  became  a  wealthy  merchant ;  was  commis- 
sioned ensign  Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  Con- 
necticut, under  the  Crown,  October  17,  1775; 
commissioned  ensign  by  continental  congress 
August  26,  1776;  served  in  New  Jersey  and  at 
Wyoming,  1776,  1777  and  1778:  was  justice  of 
the  peace,  1790-1829;  lieutenant-colonel  Penn- 
sylvania militia.  1787,  1792-93;  associate  judge 
of  Luzerne  county,  1790-1829;  was  first  treas- 
urer of  Luzerne  county.  Judge  Hollenback  mar- 
ried, Wyoming,  April  20,  1788,  Sarah  Burritt, 
born  Stratford,  Connecticut,  November  19,  1750, 
died  Wilkes-Barre  July  21.  1833,  and  they  had 
children:  Mary  Ann,  married  John  Lanning; 
Eleanor  Jones,  married,  August  15,  18 16,  Charles 
F.  Welles ;  Sarah,  married,  August  25,  1807, 
Jacob    Cist,    and    George    Matson    Hollenback. 

Mary  Weiss  was  the  tenth  of  eleven  children 
of  John  Weiss,  born  Walheim,  WTurtemburg, 
Germany,  July  20,  1721,  died  Philadelphia,  Sep- 
tember 22,  1788;  married,  Philadelphia,  October 


122 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


24,  1746,  Rebecca  Cox,  born  Passyunk,  Pennsyl- 
vania, March  23,  1725,  died  Philadelphia  July 
3,  1808.  John  Jacob  Weiss  was  the  son  of  John 
Jacob  and  Mary  Elizabeth  Weiss,  of  Germany. 
He  was  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  1736; 
came  to  America  1740;  practiced  medicine  in 
Philadelphia ;  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
George  II  1750,  and  to  the  United  States  of 
America  1778;  died  September  22,  1788,  and  was 
buried  m  Philadelphia  in  the  old  Moravian  burial 
ground.  Col.  Jacob  Weiss,  brother  of  Mary 
Weiss,  third  child  and  eldest  son  of  John  Jacob 
and  Rebecca  (Cox)  Weiss,  was  one  of  the  con- 
spicuous characters  of  the  revolution  on  the 
American  side.  He  was  born  September  1,  1750. 
He  had  served  as  mercantile  apprentice  to  General 
Mifflin,  and  when  the  war  came  he  was  commis- 
sioned deputy  quartermaster-general  under  him, 
and  subsequently  was  transferred  to  General 
Greene's  army,  where  he  served  in  the  same  ca- 
pacity. In  1780  Colonel  Weiss  removed  with 
his  family  from  Easton  to  Nazareth,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  subsequently  built  a  house  on  the  site 
where  once  stood  Fort  Allen. 

Rebecca  Cock  (or  Cox),  mother  of  Colonel 
Weiss,  was  born  at  Passyunk,  Pennsylvania,  No- 
vember 23,  1725,  died  Philadelphia  June  3,  1808. 
She  was  descended  from  fine  ancestors,  including 
three  of  the  early  provincial  councillors  of  Penn- 
sylvania. She  was  a  daughter  of  Peter  Cock, 
born  1688,  died  1751,  and  his  wife  Margaret 
Dalbo,  born  February,  1692,  granddaughter  of 
Peter  Cock  and  his  wife  Helen  Helm,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Peter  Larrson  Cock,  born  in 
Sweden,  161 1,  who  came  to  Pennsylvania  in  the 
third  Swedish  expedition  to  New  Sweden,  1641, 
cultivated  tobacco  on  the  Schuylkill  1644,  became 
freeman  1648,  magistrate  for  South  River  1657, 
collector  of  tolls,  Philadelphia,  1663  ;  justice  for 
Upland  1674  and  1676,  and  provincial  councillor 
1667.  He  died  March,  16S8-89.  His  wife's  name 
was  Margaret. 

Margaret  Dalbo,  mother  of  Rebecca  Cox,  was 
a  daughter  of  Peter  Matson  (also  called  Peter 
Dalbo)  and  his  wife  Catherine  Rambo.  Peter 
Matson  received  by  the  name,  of  Peter  Dalbo 
from  George  Andros,  of  New  York,  1676,  three 


hundred  acres  of  land  in  Passyunk.  He  moved 
to  Gloucester  county,  New  Jersey,  before  1685 ; 
was  a  member  of  New  Jersey  assembly  as  Peter 
Dalbo,  1685,  and  as  Peter  Matson,  1697.  He 
died  1700.  His  wife  Catherine,  whom  he  mar- 
ried February  16,  T674,  was  a  daughter  of  Peter 
Gunnarson  Rambo,  or  Peter  Rambo,  Sr.,  who 
came  to  New  Sweden,  Pennsylvania,  1638-39, 
where  he  died  1698.  Peter  Rambo,  Sr.,  was  dep- 
uty from  John  Rising,  governor  of  New  Sweden, 
to  answer  Stuyvesant's  summons  for  the  surren- 
der of  Fort  Christina,  September  7,  1655  ;  mag- 
istrate for  the  South  River  (Delaware)  1657. 
and  one  of  those  who  met  Governor  Stuyvesant 
at  Tinicum  May  8,  1658,  and  presented  a  petition 
for  certain  privileges ;  commissary  of  the  colony 
on  the  Delaware  1660-61,  when  he  resigned; 
member  of  the  provincial  council  May,  1667 ; 
justice  of  the  peace  1674-80,  and  one  of  the  first 
who  sat  in  Upland  court,  1674. 

Helen  Helm,  grandmother  of  Rebecca  Cox, 
wife  of  Peter  Cock,  was  a  daughter  of  Israel 
Helm,  captain  and  trader  at  Passyunk  1661  ; 
superintendent  of  the  fur  trade  1664 ;  interpreter 
to  the  Indians;  justice  of  Upland  court  1674, 
1676,  1680 ;  provincial  councillor  May,  1667.  An- 
drew H.  McClintock,  Esq.,  possesses  in  his  fam- 
ily a  table  which  has  descended  to  him  from  his 
ancestor,  Peter  Larrson  Cock,  the  provincial 
councillor.  H.  E.  H. 

FARNHAM  FAMILY.  Among  the  early 
Farnhams  of  Hampton,  Connecticut,  and  of  all 
New  England,  were  those  who  wrote  their  sur- 
name Farnum,  and  also  Farnam,  but  they  were 
all  of  the  same  English  family,  and  all  doubtless 
descendants  of  Ralph  Farnham,  the  immigrant 
ancestor  of  the  Farnham  families  of  America  of 
the  particular  line  under  consideration  here. 

I.  Ralph  Farnham.  born  1603,  sailed  from 
Southampton,  England,  April  6,  1635,  in  the 
brig  "James,"  and  after  a  long  voyage  of  fifty- 
eight  days  landed  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  June 
3,  1635.  His  age  is  mentioned  on  the  ship's  rec- 
ord as  thirty-two  years,  and  that  of  his  wife 
Alice,  who  accompanied  him,  as  twenty-eight. 
Thev    had    five    children :    Mary,   born    England 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


123 


1628;  Thomas,  born  England  1631 ;  Ralph,  born 
England  1633,  of  whom  later ;  Ephraim,  born 
Andover,  Massachusetts,  1635 ;  Sarah,  born 
America,  date  unknown,  subsequently  married  in 
Andover.  Massachusetts,  April  26,  1658,  George 
Abbott. 

II.  Ralph  Farnham.  son  of  Ralph  and  Alice 
Farnham.  born  England,  1633,  died  Andover, 
Massachusetts,  January  8,  1692 ;  married,  Ando- 
ver. October  26,  1658,  Elizabeth  Holt,  daughter 
of  Nicholas  Holt,  who  came  to  America  in  the 
same  vessel  with  the  Farnhams.  Their  children 
were :  Sarah,  born  February,  1661 ;  married  Ben- 
jamin Abbott ;  Ralph,  born  June  1.  1662.  of  whom 
later;  John,  born  April  1,  1664,  married,  April, 
1684.  Elizabeth  Parker ;  Henry,  born  December 
2,  1666,  died  May,  1683;  Hannah,  born  Decem- 
ber 7,  1668 ;  Thomas,  born  July  14,  1670 ; 
Ephraim,  born  October  11,  1675,  married  Pris- 
cilla  Holt. 

III.  Ralph  Farnham,  eldest  son  of  Ralph 
Farnham  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  Holt,  born  June 
1.  1662,  married,  Andover,  Massachusetts,  Oc- 
tober 9,  1685,  Sarah  Sterling.  Their  children 
were :  Sarah,  born  May  5,  1686 ;  Henry,  born 
September  15,  1687,  removed  to  Windham,  Con- 
necticut; Ralph,  born  May  25,  1689;  Daniel,  born 
January  21,  1691  ;  Abigail,  born  May  3,  1692; 
William,  born  August  5,  1693,  of  whom  later; 
Nathaniel,  born  July  25,  1695  :  Barachias,  born 
March  16,  1697;  Benjamin,  born  March  14,  1699; 
Joseph  (or  Josiah),  born  February  4,  1701. 

IV.  William  Farnham,  fourth  son  of  Ralph 
Farnham  and  his  wife  Sarah  Sterling,  born  Au- 
gust 5,  1693.  was  the  father  of  the  Farnhams 
who,  with  their  sons,  were  such  active  figures  in 
colonial  history  during  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  but  of  this  William,  little  is  known.  He  re- 
moved to  Windham,  Connecticut,  and  as  his  will 
mentions  carpenter's  tools,  it  may  be  assumed 
that  he  was  a  mechanic.  He  married,  Windham, 
Connecticut,  1715,  Hannah  Flint,  of  Salem,  Mas- 
sachusetts. Their  children  were :  William  W., 
born  April  20,  1720,  of  whom  later ;  Zebediah, 
born  June  18,  1721,  of  whom  later ;  Hannah,  born 
October  27,  1723,  married  Jonathan  Rogers; 
Isaiah,  born  July  I,  1726,  died  November  I,  1729-; 


Elijah,  born  June  16,  1729,  will  probated  Feb- 
ruary 29,  1780;  Isaiah,  born  April  7,  1731 ; 
Eunice,   born  February  13,  1735. 

V.  William  \Y.  Farnham,  eldest  son  of  Wil- 
liam and  Hannah  Farnham,  born  April  20,  1720, 
died  March  14,  1777,  married,  June  23.  1742, 
Martha  Fuller,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Han- 
nah (Moulton)  Fuller,  of  Hampton,  Connecti- 
cut. This  Fuller  family  is  not  that  of  the  May- 
flower Fullers,  but  of  Lieut.  Thomas  Fuller,  who 
was  the  ancestor  of  Margaret  Fuller,  the  cele- 
brated authoress  who  married  the  Marquis 
D'Ossoli,  an  Italian  nobleman,  and  lived  in  Italy.  , 
On  her  return  to  America  the  vessel  was  wrecked 
at  sea  and  she,  with  her  husband  and  child,  were 
lost.  Lieut.  Thomas  Fuller  had  a  son  Thomas, 
who  had  a  son  Stephen,  who  married  Hannah 
Moulton.  July  16,  1698,  a  William  Moulton 
bought  land  in  Windham,  and  he  probably  was 
the  father  of  Hannah  Moulton,  who  married  Ste- 
phen Fuller,  whose  daughters  Martha  and  Mary 
married  Wilfiam  and  Zebediah  Farnham. 

William  W.  Farnham  and  his  sons  Ralph  and 
Daniel  were  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  army. 
William  was  taken-  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  was  confined  in  the  same  prison  ship  with 
his  nephew.  Sergeant  Daniel  Farnham,  and  died 
there.  Stephen  Farnham,  son  of  William  W.. 
enlisted  for  three  vears,  or  during  the  war.  in 
Captain  Parke's  company.  Second  Connecticut 
line,  and  was  taken  prisoner  July  2,  1777.  Ralph 
Farnham,  son  of  William,  called  the  "biggest 
man''  in  the  Connecticut  troops,  was  badly 
wounded  at  White  Plains  battle,  but  his  cousin, 
''Bijah"  Fuller,  a  private  in  the  same  company, 
much  smaller  but  noted  for  his  strength,  carried 
him  off  the  field  on  his  back.  Occasionally  he 
would  stop  to  rest,  would  point  his  rifle  with  un- 
erring precision  at  the  foe,  and  then  would 
"trudge"  on  with  his  burden,  finally  bearing  him 
away  in  safety.  "Diah"  (Zebediah)  Farnham  was 
called  the  "bully"  of  the  regiment,  not  in  an  op- 
probrious sense,  but  as  a  general  favor,  etc.  Wil- 
liam W.  and  Martha  ( Fuller)  Farnham  had 
among  other  children,  Stephen,  Ralph  and  Daniel. 

VI.  Lieut.  Zebediah  Farnham.  second  son 
of  William  and  Hannah  Farnham.  born  Tune  i8r 


124 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


1721,  died  August  8,  1814,  married,  July  27,  1743, 
Mary  Fuller,  sister  of  Martha  and  daughter  of 
Stephen  and  Hannah   (Moulton)   Fuller. 

Lieut.  Zebediah  Farnham  and  five  of  his  sons, 
Zebediah,  Jr.,  Levi,  Ebenezer,  Daniel  and  Thomas 
Farnham,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Zeb- 
ediah Farnham,  the  elder,  was  first  lieutenant  of 
the  Eighth  Connecticut  Militia  until  December, 
1775,  and  was  first  lieutenant  in  Colonel  Hunt- 
ington's Seventeenth  Connecticut  Regiment  until 
wounded,  and  afterward  was  lieutenant  of  ma- 
rines on  the  American  ship  "Providence"  from 
December,  1779,  to  the  close  of  the  war.  Zeb- 
ediah. Jr.,  was  private  in  the  company  of  which 
his  father  was  lieutenant.  Levi  was  corporal  in 
the  Seventeenth  Connecticut  Regiment,  was  made 
prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  and  died 
of  starvation  on  board  of  a  British  prison  ship 
on  Christmas  day,  1776.  Daniel  Farnham  was 
sergeant  in  the  Seventeenth  Connecticut  Regi- 
ment, was  made  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  and  died  of  ship  fever,  caused  by  foul  air, 
insufficient  and  bad  food,  January  9,  1777,  but  not 
in  the  same  ship  in  which  his  brother  Levi  was 
confined.  Ebenezer  Farnham  was  private  in  Cap- 
tain Branch's  company,  and  was  wounded  in  the 
retreat  from  New  York.  Thomas  Farnham  was 
private  in  a  company  at  the  "Lexington  Alarm," 
and  afterward  in  the  Seventeenth  Connecticut 
Regiment ;  was  wounded  in  the  arm  ;  subsequently 
was  appointed  by  Colonel  McClellan  first  ser- 
geant in  Captain  Durkee's  company  of  "Matross." 

Zebediah  and  Mary  (Fuller)  Farnham  had 
children:  Mary,  born  July  19,  1744.  died  June 
22.  1745  ;  Zebediah,  born  January  10,  1746,  mar- 
ried, November,  1768,  Mary  Hebard ;  Levi,  born 
August  13,  1748,  of  whom  later;  Ebenezer,  born 
December  17,  1750,  married,  March  3,  1773.  Jo- 
hanna Benjamin;  Daniel,  born  July  19,  1752, 
died  January  9,  1777 ;  Thomas,  born  November 
9,  1754,  died  March  6,  1842,  married  Benjamin 
Durkee,  and  had  ten  children  ;  Mary,  born  Au- 
gust, 1757,  married  Silas  Spencer;  Elijah,  born 
December  6,  1759;  Irene,  born  September  25, 
1761.  Calvin,  born  October  22,  1763,  married, 
1797,   Mrs.   Bathsheba  Jewell;  Olive,  born  No- 


vember 12,  1765,  died,  unmarried,  July  21,  1819; 
Elisha  born  September  24,  1768. 

VII.  Levi  Farnham,  second  son  of  Lieut. 
Zebediah  and  Mary  (Fuller)  Farnham,  born 
Windham,  Connecticut,  August  13,  1748,  died 
December  25,  1776,  a  prisoner  on  a  British  prison 
ship  in  New  York  harbor,  married,  about  1772, 
Dorcas  Moulton,  born  about  1748.  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Molly  (Haynes)  Moulton,  of  Wales, 
Massachusetts. 

Samuel  Moulton,  father  of  Dorcas,  who  mar- 
ried Levi  Farnham,  was  a  descendant  of  Robert 
Moulton,  who  emigrated  from  England  to  Amer- 
ica in  1629,  with  letters  to  Governor  Endicott 
commending  him  as  a  shipbuilder.  He  brought 
with  him  six  workmen,  and  was  at  once  put  in 
charge  of  shipbuilding  work  at  Salem,  which 
then  was  the  principal  maritime  port  of  the  col- 
ony. Robert  was  a  man  of  consequence  in  early 
Massachusetts  history,  and  was  deputy  and  rep- 
resentative of  Salem  in  1637.  He  evidently  was 
opposed  to  the  witchcraft  delusions  which  plagued 
the  Salem  people,  and  it  was  he  who  "watched'' 
Susannah  Sheldon,  "who  claimed  that  she  was 
bewitched  by  Rev.  George  Burroughs,"  and  dis- 
covered the  contradiction  in  her  actions  and  testi- 
mony. He  was  a  follower  of  Ann  Hutchinson, 
and  one  of  those  proscribed  from  April  6,  1637. 
He  died  1655.  Robert  Moulton,  Jr.,  son  of  Rob- 
ert, of  Salem,  came  accredited  from  Gravesend, 
England,  to  make  salt  and  plant  vineyards,  and 
he,  too,  became  a  prominent  man  in  Salem.  He 
removed  to  Brimfield,  Massachusetts,  and  was 
the  first  representative  from  that  town  in  the 
general  court,  and  a  member  of  Governor  Endi- 
cott's  council.  Robert,  Jr.,  had  a  son  Ebenezer, 
who  was  lieutenant  of  militia  and  commanded 
a  company  during  the  early  wars  with  the  In- 
dians. Ebenezer's  children  were  Samuel,  born 
June  14,  1714:  Freeborn,  born  April  3,  1717, 
and  John,  born  February  2,  1721.  Samuel,  the 
eldest  son,  married,  January  30,  1739,  Molly 
Haynes,  of  Wales,  Massachusetts,  and  had  chil- 
dren:  Mary,  Samuel,  born  February  24.  1742; 
Robert,  married  Judith  Morgan ;  Lois,  married 
Shubael  Wales ;  Dorcas,  married  Levi  Farnham, 


/g&^~_*-     &* 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  YALLEYS. 


12: 


supra;  Lydia.  born  April  30,  1753 ;  Solomon, 
born  January  29,  1758,  and  John. 

The  children  of  Levi  and  Dorcas  (Moulton) 
Farnham  were :  Levi,  born  March  20,  1774,  died 
May  10,  1853,  ten  children ;  Samuel,  born  De- 
cember 16,   1775,  of  whom  later. 

YIII.  Capt.  Samuel  Farnham,  second  son 
of  Levi  and  Dorcas  (Moulton)  Farnham,  born 
Hampton.  Connecticut,  December  16,  1775,  died 
August  20,  1822;  married  in  Oxford,  New  York, 
Sarah  Balcome,  daughter  of  Harry  Balcome, 
born  May  21,  1780,  died  February  6,  1859.  He 
removed  from  Hampton  to  New  London,  Con- 
necticut, and  thence  to  Oxford,  Chenango  county. 
New  York,  where  he  was  an  early  settler 'among 
the  New  Englanders  who  colonized  that  part 
of  the  state.  Captain  Farnham  was  stationed 
during  the  war  of  1812  at  Fort  Niagara,  New 
York.  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Balcom)  Farnham 
had  George,  born  May  5,  1800,  died  February 
4,  1859,  married  Susan  Gibson ;  Epaphras  Miller, 
born  September  14,  1801,  died  October  2,  1805  ; 
John  Perry,  born  November  12,  1803,  of  whom 
later;  Julia  Ann,  born  1806,  died  in  infancy; 
Alexander  H.,  born  December  29,  1807,  died 
April  19,  1858,  in  Pennsylvania;  Charles  Ed- 
ward, born  July  17,  1810,  died  October  2,  1811; 
Samuel  H.,  born  February  18,  1813  ;  Frederick 
W..  born  May  15,  1815,  died  March  10,  1897; 
Charles,  born  April  18,  1817;  Sarah  D.,  born 
August  24,  1819,  died  June  15,  1820;  Susan, 
died  1826. 

IN.  Dr.  John  Perry  Farnham,  third  son  of 
Samuel  and  Sarah  (Balcom)  Farnham,  was  born 
in  Oxford,  New  York,  November  12,  1803,  died 
in  Carbondale,  Pennsylvania,  February  20,  1871. 
He  became  a  practicing  physician.  He  removed 
when  a  young  man  to  Carbondale.  in  Luzerne 
(now  Lackawanna)  county,  where  most  of  his 
active  professional  and  business  life  was  spent. 
On  account  of  poor  health  he  gave  up  his  med- 
ical practice  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits. 
He  married,  July  22,  1827,  Mary  Frances  Steere, 
born  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  February  13, 
1808,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  April  8,  1888,  daughter 


of  Mark  Steere1  and  his  wife,  Miss  Eddy.  They 
had  children:  John  Steere,  born  July  21,  1828,. 
died  unmarried  1863 ;  Sarah,  born  February  2, 
1831,  died  Oxford,  New  York,  April  12,  1832;. 
Alexander,  born  January  12,  1834,  of  whom 
later;  Clarence,  born  July  15,  1837,  died  June 
17,  1900;  Sarah  Elizabeth,  born  February  21, 
1846,  married,  June  19,  1887,  Rev.  Benjamin 
Henry  Abbott,  born  Barre,  Massachusetts, 
graduated  A.  B.  Amherst  College,  1875  ;  a  cler- 
gyman of  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  ordained, 
deacon  i860,  priest  1861 ;  both  now  living  in. 
Carbondale,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Abbott  was  rec- 
tor of  Trinity  Church,  Carbondale,  1861-66 ;_ 
Grace  Church,  White,  Long  Island,  1866-78; 
St.  Johnland,  New  York,  1879-84;  in  charge  of 
churches  in  Susquehanna  and  Bradford  county,. 
Pennsylvania,  1884-1905. 

N.  Alexander  Farnham,  second  son  of  Dr. 
John  Perry  Farnham  and  his  wife,  Mary  Frances 
Steere,   born   in   Carbondale,  January    12,    1834, 


1.  Mark  Steere,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  and. 
afterwards  of  Norwich,  New  York,  for  several  years 
previous  to  the  war  of  1812-15  was  engaged  in  the  West 
India  trade,  and  during  that  war  was  captured  in  his 
own  ship,  the  "Comet."  He  was  ketp  a  prisoner  at 
Jamaica,  West  Indies,  for  about  a  year,  and  was  subse- 
quently released  by  reason  of  his  ship  being  captured, 
in- neutral  waters.  After  the  war  he  removed  to  Nor- 
wich, New  York,  where  his  father  owned  a  large  body 
of  land,  including  the  site  of  the  present  village. 
Stephen  Steere,  the  father  of  Mark  Steere,  was  one  of 
the  judges  of  Rhode  Island,  1787-95,  and  his  grand- 
father, Richard  Steere,  was  justice,  1765-80;  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  supreme  court  of  that  state,  1780-87.  Mark 
Steere,  born  Gloucester,  Rhode  Island,  August  11,  1772, 
married  October  1,  1795,  Betsy  Eddy,  daughter  of  Jon- 
athan. He  was  a  son  of  Stephen  and  Rizpah  (Smith) 
Steere,  the  son  of  Richard  and  Jean  (Aldrich)  Steere. 
This  Richard,  born  June  3,  1707,  died  October  16,  1797. 
aged  ninety  years,  four  months  and  thirteen  days.  He 
was  son  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Arnold)  Steere,  deputy 
of  the  general  court,  and  grandson  of  John  and  Hannah 
(Wickenden)  Steere,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  born 
1634,  died  August  27,  1724.  Mark  Steere  was  a  man 
of  large  heart  and  public  spirit.  Among  other  deeds 
of  kindness  he  generously  donated  to  Norwich,  New 
York,  for  the  erection  of  a  park  for  the  use  of  the 
public,  the  land  on  which  "East  Park,"  of  that  city,  is. 
laid  out. 


126 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


married,  July  18,  1865,  Augusta  Dorrance, 
daughter  of  Rev.  John  Dorrance,  D.  D.,  and  his 
wife  Penelope  Mercer.  (See  Dorrance  Fam- 
ily.) He  has  resided  in  Wilkes-Barre  since  No- 
vember, 1852.  He  was  educated  in  Madison 
Academy,  Waverly,  Pennsylvania,  and  Wyoming 
Seminary,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  The  late 
Hon.  Winthrop  W.  Ketchum,  who  during  the 
Civil  war  was  a  distinguished  member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  state  senate,  afterwards  a  mem- 
ber of  the  United  States  house  of  representatives, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1879  United 
States  judge  for  the  western  district  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  at  this  time  one  of  the  professors 
of  Wyoming  Seminary  and  was  Mr.  Farnham's 
first  Latin  teacher.  Mr.  Farnham  then  became 
a  student  in  the  State  and  National  Law  School, 
at  Ballston  Spa,  New  York,  where  he  graduated 
at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  later  read  law  in  the 
office  of  Fuller  &  Harding,  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
the  firm  consisting  of  the  late  Hon.  Henry  M. 
Fuller  and  the  late  ex-Judge  Garrick  M.  Hard- 
ing. He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  January  13, 
1855.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1857  he  and 
the  late  ex-Gov.  Henry  M.  Hoyt  formed  a  law 
partnership  which  continued  until  near  the  close 
of  i860.  From  the  time  of  his  admission  to 
the  bar  to  the  present  he  has  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  his  profession  in  Luzerne  county.  Mr. 
Farnham  served  as  first  sergeant  in  Capt.  Stan- 
ley Woodward's  company,  H,  Third  Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment  Militia,  Antietam  campaign, 
1862,  and  first  lieutenant  Capt.  Samuel  Finch's 
company,  Thirtieth  Regiment  Pennsylvania 
Militia,  1863.  He  was  also  assistant  adjutant 
general  to  Col.  William  Brisbane,  commanding 
a  Pennsylvania  brigade  in  Gen.  William  F. 
Smith's  division,  1863.  He  was  in  1870  the 
Republican  candidate  for  district  attorney,  but 
was  defeated  by  his  Democratic  opponent.  Three 
years  later  he  was  again  the  nominee  of  his  party 
for  the  same  office,  and  was  elected.  At  the  end 
of  his  term  his  name  was  presented  as  a  candidate 
for  the  Republican  nomination  for  congress,  but 
he  withdrew  his  name  before  the  convention  met.  ' 

Mr.  Farnham's  name  was  prominently  men- 
tioned in   1874-77-79  in  connection  with  the  of- 


fice of  additional  law  judge  both  in  Luzerne 
and  Lackawanna  counties,  and  again  in  connec- 
tion with  the  congressional  nomination,  but  these 
honors  he  also  declined.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  national  Republican  convention  at  Chi- 
cago in  1880  which  nominated  General  Garfield 
for  the  presidency,  and  was  an  ardent  supporter 
of  Mr.  Blaine's  candidacy.  On  the  death  of  the 
late  Hon.  A.  T.  McClintock,  in  1891,  Mr.  Farn- 
ham was  elected  to 'succeed  him  as  president  of 
the  Luzerne  Bar  Association,  and  he  has  held 
this  position  ever  since.  He  was  also  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Republican  national  convention  at 
Minneapolis  in  1892  which  nominated  President 
Harrison"  for  a  second  term,  and  was  the  Penn- 
sylvania member  of  the  committee  appointed  to 
notify  the  president.  Mr.  Farnham  is  a  life 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 
ical Society.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  Farnham 
had  the  following  children : 

1.  John  Dorrance,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  De- 
cember 28,  1867;  educated  Wilkes-Barre  public 
schools,  Harry  Hillman  Academy  and  Yale  Uni- 
versity; graduated  A.  B.  1890;  attended  Harvard 
Law  School  one  year,  1892-93;  read  law  with 
his  father,  and  admitted  to  practice  1893 ;  now 
practicing  with  his  father  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

2.  Stella  Mercer,  born  Wilkes-Barre  May 
4,  1873 ;  married  Samuel  Dexter  Warriner  and 
lives  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

3.  Hamilton,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  December 
16,  1877 ;  married  Laura  Hand ;  lives  in  New 
York  City.  H.  E.  H. 

HILLMAN  FAMILY.  Richard  Hillman, 
of  the  English  branch  of  the  Hillman  family  un- 
der consideration  here,  was  born  in  1659  an(^ 
died  in  1705.  He  went  from  Holland  to  London, 
England,  with  William  III  in  1687.  This  Rich- 
ard Hillman  had  a  son  John  Hillman,  born  in 
England,  1694,  died  there  1760,  who  had  two  sons 
— Henry  Hillman,  born  in  England,  1725,  died  in 
America,  1790,  and  Richard  Hillman,  born  in 
England,  1731,  died  in  America,  1773.  These 
sons,  Henry  and  Richard,  emigrated  to  America 
in  1748,  settled  in  Philadelphia,  and  were  the 
progenitors  of  this  branch  of  the  Hillman  family 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


127 


in  the  United  States,  Henry  being  the  ancestor  of 
the  particular  branch  treated  in  these  annals. 
Henry  married,  but  the  name  of  his  wife  is  not 
now  known.  He  had  five  sons,  the  youngest  of 
whom  was  Joseph  Hillman,  who  married  Mary 
Baker,  and  had  three  sons — Henry,  born  1795, 
George,  and  Herman  Baker  Hillman. 

Herman  Baker  Hillman  was  born  at  Mont- 
gomery Square,  Pennsylvania,  1807.  He  lived 
there  during  his  boyhood ;  as  a  young  man  he 
moved  to  and  lived  in  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  was  chiefly  educated ;  later  on,  when 
arrived  at  maturity,  he  removed  to  Mauch  Chunk 
where  he  was  general  storekeeper  for  the  Lehigh 
Navigation  Company,  and  was  the  business  as- 
sociate of  Asa  Packer.  Still  later  he  owned  and 
operated  a  line  of  packet  and  transportation  boats 
between  Mauch  Chunk  and  White  Haven,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  but  these  interests  were  sold  out,  and 
in  1842,  he  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  with  Judge  Samuel  Holland  began 
during  the  same  year  the  development  of  coal 
lands  in  the  vicinity  of  that  (then)  borough. 
They  opened  and  operated  the  vein  afterwards 
known  as  the  "Hillman  Vein,''  one  of  the  three 
largest  veins  of  coal  in  the  region,  and  in  1847 
they  shipped  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
markets  from  the  then  Blackmail's  and  Solomon's 
Gap,  or  Ross  mines,  ten  thousand  tons  of  an- 
thracite, which  then  was  the  greatest  shipment 
of  coal  product  sent  out  over  i.he  Lehigh  and  Sus- 
quenhanna  railroad. 

Colonel  Hillman — (he  was  best  known  by 
that  title,  having  held  a  colonel's  commission  of 
the  Lehigh  County  Militia  in  1836) — retired  from 
active  business  pursuits  with  a  competency  in 
1874.  He  was  variously  identified  with  Wilkes- 
Barre  interests  ;  was  at  one  time  proprietor  of  the 
old  Eagle  hotel,  which  stood  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Market  and  Franklin  streets,  where 
now  stands  the  Second  National  Bank  building; 
was  burgess  of  Wilkes-Barre  1853-54,  and  in 
1861  represented  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  lower 
house  of  the  state  legislature.  He  died  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  March  17,  1882.  He  married,  May  14, 
1831,   Elizabeth   White   Pryor,   born   Lehighton, 


Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  March  15, 
1812,  (still  living  1905),  daughter  of  John  and 
Keziah  (Weeks)  Pryor.  John  Pryor,  born  Bur- 
lington, New  Jersey,  February  14,  1 771,  died 
Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania,  May  29,  1838;  mar- 
ried, Haddonfield,  New  Jersey,  February  18, 
1892,  Keziah  Weeks,  born  September  19,  1771, 
died  Gloucester,  New  Jersey,  February  22,  1843. 
She  was  daughter  of  Richard  Weeks,  of  Burling- 
ton, New  Jersey,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution. 
Children  of  Colonel  Herman  Baker  and  Elizabeth 
White  (Pryor)   Hillman: 

1.     Henry  Baker,  born  Mauch  Chunk,  Penn- 
sylvania, April  12,  1834;  died  January  28,  1899; 
married,   February    12,     1862,    Josephine    Anna 
Hillman,  his  second  cousin,  daughter  of  Joseph 
H.  Hillman.     Joseph  H.  Hillman  was  born  near 
Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  March  30,   1801  ;  died 
at  Nazareth,  Pennsylvania,  July  20,  1854;  buried 
in  the  old  Moravian  cemetery  at  Nazareth.     He 
married    Anna    Christina    Beck,    born    Christian 
Springs,  near  Nazareth,  December  30,  1798,  died 
February  25,    1846.     Anna   Christina   Beck   was 
daughter    of    Christian    Henry    Beck,    who    was 
born,   Bethlehem,    Pennsylvania,   July    17,    1754; 
died  February  21,  1843;  buried  in  the.  old  Mor- 
avian cemetery  at  Nazareth,  Pennsylvania ;  mar- 
ried Nazareth,  September  26,  1790,  Anna  Chris- 
tina Eyerly,  born   Nazareth,  January   2j,    1764; 
died  November  2,  1833.    The  father  of  Christian 
Henry  Beck  was  Hein  Ferdin  Beck,  born  Wur- 
temburg,  Kingdom  of  Bavaria,  Germany,  March 
27,    1710;   died,    Bethlehem,    Pennsylvania,   Jan- 
uary 14,  1783;  buried  in  the  old  Moravian  cem- 
etery at  Bethlehem.    He  emigrated  to  America  in 
1738  and   settled  first  in  Georgia,  and  removed 
thence  to  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  in  1745.     He 
was  ordained  deacon  of  the  Moravian  Church  in 
1754,  and  was  a  missionary  among  the  Indians  in 
northeastern  Pennsylvania,  particularly  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Bethlehem.  Jacob  Eyerly,  father  of  Anna 
Christina  Eyerly,  was  educated  in  a  German  uni- 
versity,   and    emigrated    from    Wurtemburg    to 
London,  and  thence  came  to  America  in  the  ship 
"Irene,"  built  (and  christened  May  29,  1748)  by 
the  Moravians  for  the  transportation  of  their  own 


T28 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


people  to  America.  The  colony  of  which  Jacob 
Eyerly  was  a  member  was  under  the  leadership 
of  Gootlob  Koenigsdoerfer.  The  voyagers 
landed  at  New  York,  and  Jacob  arrived  at  the 
Moravian  settlement  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania, 
September  14,  1753.  He  married,  August  25, 
1755,  in  the  Moravian  Church  in  Bethlehem, 
Christina  Schwarz  (who  was  Dutch).  He  built 
a  mill  at  Friedenstahl  about  1755,  a  dwelling 
house  at  Nazareth  in  1774,  and  was  a  considerable 
land  owner.  He  was  a  candidate  for  the  legisla- 
ture in  1789,  but  as  he  was  of  a  sect  whose  mem- 
bers generally  were  scrupulous  of  bearing  arms 
he  was  defeated  in  the  election. 

2.  Herman  P.,  died  many  years  ago. 

3.  Mary,  married  Benjamin  Franklin  Van- 
Cleve,  and  now  lives  in  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

4.  Arthur  W.,  born  Mauch  Chunk,  Penn- 
sylvania, August  28,  1 84 1 ;  died  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  April  18,  1903. 

5.  George  Holland,  now  living  in  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

6.  Elizabeth,  married  Lewis  Bowers,  and 
lives  near  Philadelphia. 

7.  Andrew  Yohe,  now  deceased. 

Henry  Baker  Hillman,  eldest  child  and  son 
of  Colonel  Herman  B.  and  Elizabeth  White 
(Pryor)  Hillman,  was  educated  in  the  Wyoming 
Seminary  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  one 
of  the  most  earnest  friends  of  education  in  the 
borough  and  later  city  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He 
early  became  associated  with  his  father  in  coal 
operations,  and  in  1864  he  himself  developed  and 
brought  into  successful  operation  the  coal  prop- 
erty near  Miner"s  Mills.  This  he  managed  until 
1889,  when  he  leased  the  operation  to  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Coal  Company  and  then  retired  from  that 
branch  of  business,  having  earned  a  well  merited 
competency.  He  was  councilman  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  in  1870-71  ;  one  of  the  original  directors  of 
the  Peoples'  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  an  office  he 
held  until  his  death ;  secretary  and  director  of  the 
Vulcan  Iron  Works,  vice-president  and  director  of 
the  Glen  Summit  Hotel  and  Land  Company ;  life 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 
ical Society;  vestryman  of  St.  Stephen's  Church 


from  1885  until  his  death  ;  founder,  and  president 
of  the  board  of  trustees  until  his  death  of  the 
Harry  Hillman  Academy  at  Wilkes-Barre.  This 
now  famous  institution  was  the  free  and  volun- 
tary gift  of  H.  Baker  Hillman,  and  was  founded 
by  him,  its  property  procured  and  buildings 
erected  by  him,  at  his  own  expense,  and  deeded 
to  its  trustees,  as  a  memorial  to  his  eldest  son, 
Harry  Grant  Hillman,  a  student  at  Wilkes-Barre 
Academy,  who  died  in  the  prime  of  young  man- 
hood, February  4,  1883.  One  who  knew  Mr.  H. 
Baker  Hillman  well,  and  worked  for  him,  both 
as  a  driver  boy  and  miner  at  his  colliery,  says  of. 
him :  "As  a  driver  boy  I  worked  at  the  old  Hill- 
man colliery,  located  at  Miner's  Mills,  and  upon 
reaching  manhood  still  worked  there  as  a  miner. 
Such  a  thing  as  a  strike  was  unknown.  We  were 
the  happiest  lot  of  underground  workers  in  the 
region,  and  every  man  breathed  of  the  happy  in- 
fluence diffused  by  a  kind-hearted  and  benevo- 
lent employer.  It  was  considered  a  fortunate 
circumstance  to  get  work  at  Hillman's.  Not 
only  was  a  man  assured  of  good  wages,  but  gen- 
erally he  was  given  opportunities  not  afforded 
elsewhere.  I  knew  Mr.  Hillman  to  be  possessed 
of  rare  qualities  of  heart  and  mind.  Especially 
competent  was  he,  too,  in  the  management  of  his 
affairs.  Broad  minded  and  liberal,  he  was  easy 
to  approach  and  no  man  can  say  they  ever  re- 
ceived a  harsh  word  or  severe  reprimand.  His 
charity  was  a  byword  among  the  needy,  and  no 
deserving  person  ever  went  away  empty-handed," 
etc. 

Children  of  Henry  Baker  Hillman  and  Jos- 
ephine Anna  Hillman : 

1.  Elizabeth,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  1864;  died 
in  infancy. 

2.  Harry  Grant,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, April  10,  1865  !  died  February  4,  1883. 

3.  Frank  (twin)  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, May  21,  1867;  died  in  infancy. 

4.  George  Baker  (twin)  born  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  May  21,  1867;  member  of  Luzerne 
county  bar ;  educated  Wilkes-Barre  public  schools 
and  Harry  Hillman  Academy ;  graduated  there, 
1886;  law  student,  University  of  Pennsylvania, 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


129 


1887-S8;  admitted  to  practice  December  10,  i£ 
since  practiced  in  Wilkes-Barre  ;  law  partner  with 
his  brother,  Frederick  Hillman,  since  1893  ;  mem- 
ber Wilkes-Barre  city  council  from  April,  1897, 
to  April,  1901  :  member  Westmoreland  Club, 
Wyoming  Country  Club ;  life  member  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society ;  trustee  Harry 
Hillman  Academy :  a  Republican  in  politics  but 
in  no  sense  a  seeker  after  political  honors.  Mr. 
Hillman  married,  November  24,  1897,  at  George- 
town, D.  C,  in  Christ  Episcopal  Church,  Mary 
Hoover  Powell,  (see  Powell  Family),  daughter 
of  William  Thackara  and  Catharine  (Hoover) 
Powell.  Children :  Katharine  Josephine  Hill- 
man, born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  Novem- 
ber 4,  1900 ;  Henry  Baker  Hillman,  born  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  September  14,  1903. 

5.  Frederick,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, February  10.  1872;  member  Luzerne 
county  bar :  educated  Harry  Hillman  Academy ; 
read  law  with  Allan  H.  Dickson  and  Thomas  H. 
Atherton ;  admitted  to  practice  in  Luzerne  county 
April,  1893;  since  practiced  with  his  brother, 
George  Baker  Hillman  ;  life  member  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society ;  lives  in 
Wilkes-Barre  with  his  aunt,  Cornelia  E.  Hillman, 
who  is  known  best  in  Wilkes-Barre  through  her 
charitable  and  benevolent  work. 

Arthur  W.  Hillman.  fourth  child,  third  son, 
of  Col.  Herman  Baker  Hillman  and  wife  Elizabeth 
White  Pryor,  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, August  28,  1841,  and  died  there  April 
18,  1903.  The  greater  part  of  his  business  life 
was  spent  in  his  native  city,  where  he  was  chiefly 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  but  much  of  his 
time  during  the  twenty  years  previous  to  his  death 
he  held  various  clerical  positions  in  the  Luzerne 
county  court  house.  He  married  Josephine 
Wright,  daughter  of  Harrison  and  Emily  (Cist) 
Wright  and  had  five  children :  Clare  Hillman 
(Avers),  Ralph  Ridgway  Hillman,  Arthur  Hill- 
man, Emily  Hillman,  Edward  Darling  Hillman. 

Arthur  Hillman,  attorney  and  counsellor  at 
law  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  Arthur 
W.  and  Josephine  (Wright)  Hillman,  was  born 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  August  24,  1870.    He  was  edu- 


cated in  the  city  just  mentioned,  read  law  there 
in  the  office  of  Andrew  Todd  McClintock,  and 
came  to  the  bar  in  Luzerne  county  in  1893.  He 
married,  April  25,  1900,  Emily  Cist  Darling, 
youngest  daughter  of  Edward  Payson  Darling 
and  wife  Emily  H.  Rutter.  (See  Wright,  Cistr 
Darling  and  Rutter  Families.)  Arthur  Hill- 
man and  Emily  Cist  Darling  have  one  child :  Nat- 
alie McClintock  Hillman,  born  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  May  21,  1901. 

Three  generations  :  Herman  Baker  Hillman, 
Henry  Baker  Hillman,  and  Harry  Grant  Hillman 
are  buried  in  the  family  vault  built  by  Henry 
Baker  Hillman,  in  1884.  The  vault  is  located  in 
the  Hollenback  cemetery,  Wilkes-Barre. 

H.  E.  H. 

STRONG  FAMILY.  The  pioneer  ance'stor 
of  the  American  branch  of  the  Strong  family  of 
Xew  England  was  Elder  John  Strong,  born  in 
Taunton,  Somerset  county,  England,  1605,  son  of 
Richard  Strong,  of  same  place,  who  was  born  in 
'  1 561.  In  1630  John  Strong  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica in  the  ship  "Man-  and  John,"  as  a  member 
of  the  church  of  which  Rev.  John  Warham  was 
the  pastor.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  wife 
and  child,  (both  of  whom  died  shortly  after  land- 
ing in  this  country)  and  his  sister,  Eleanor 
Strong.  He  settled  at  Dorchester,  Massachu- 
setts. In  1636  he  became  freeman,  and  in  1638 
settled  at  Taunton.  Massachusetts,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  general  court  of  Massachusetts 
from  Taunton  from  1641  to  1644,  when  he  moved 
to  Windsor,  Connecticut,  and  from  thence  in  1657 
to  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  where  he  be- 
came the  first  ruling  elder  of  the  church.  For 
half  a  century  he  was  a  leading  man  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  church  and  town.  In  1630  he  mar- 
ried (second)  Abigail,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Ford,  who  was  a  member  of  the  same  company 
on  board  the  ship  "Mary  and  John,"  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  Dorchester,  and  a  deputv  to  the 
general  court  of  Connecticut  from  1637-40  and 
again  in  1654.  John  Strong  was  the  father  of 
eighteen  children,  sixteen  of  whom  married  and 
left  descendants.     He   was   the   ancestor   of  the 


130 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


families  of  Clapp,  Chauncey,  Parsons,  Tiler, 
Clark,  Bissell  and  many  others. 

Jedediah  Strong,  second  son  of  Elder  John 
and  Abigail  (Ford)  Strong,  was  born  May  7, 
1637,  died  May  22,  1733.  He  married,  Novem- 
ber 18,  1662,  Freedom  Woodward,  daughter  of 
Henry  Woodward,  of  Northampton,  one  of  the 
pillars  of  the  church,  by  whom  he  had  thirteen 
children.  She  was  born  and  baptized  1642,  and 
died  May  17,  1681.  Mr.  Strong  married  (sec- 
ond) December  19,  1681,  Abigail  Stebbins,  who 
died  July  15,  1689.  Mr.  Strong  married  (third) 
June  5,  1691-92,  Mary  (Hart)  Lee. 

Preserved  Strong,  twelfth  child  of  Jedediah 
and  Freedom  (Woodward)  Strong,  was  born 
March  29,  1680,  and  his  name  was  given  to  him 
from  the  fact  that  he  was  born  in  a  great  snow- 
storm and  preserved  a  life.  In  1714  he  moved  to 
Lebanon,  Connecticut,  and  in  1720  to  Coventry, 
same  State,  where  he  was  selectman  from  1730  to 
I735-  He  married,  October  23.  1701,  Bathia 
Lee,  born  1677-78,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
(Hart)  Lee,  of  Farmington,  Connecticut,  and 
they  had  eight  children.  Preserved  Strong  died 
September  26,  1765,  and  his  wife  died  June  23, 

1750. 

Noah  Strong,  eldest  child  of  Preserved  and 
Bathia  (Lee)  Strong,  was  born  in  Northampton, 
September   20,    1702,    died   June   23,    1771.     He 

married    (first),    1726,   Deborah   ,   who 

bore  him  five  children,  among  whom  was  General 
John  Strong,  of  Vermont,  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent men  in  the  State.  She  died  November  30, 
1739.  He  married  (second)  January  19,  1741, 
Lydia  (Dart)  Pierce  by  whom  he  had  three 
children,  and  who  died  December  23,  1757 

Colonel  Adonijah  Strong,  second  child  of 
Noah  and  Lydia  (Dart)  Strong,  was  born  in 
Coventry,  Conecticut,  July  5,  1743,  and  died  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1813.  He  was  a  lawyer  at  Salisbury. 
Connecticut.  He  was  commissioned  first  lieuten- 
ant of  the  Bigelow  Artillery  Company,  Connecti- 
cut Militia,  January  23,  1776.  It  is  said  that  he 
was  a  colonel  of  militia  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  also  served  as  commissary  general.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Society  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati, as  a  lieutenant  of  artillery.     He  received 


the  honorary  degree  of  M.  A.  from  Yale  College, 
1785.  He  married  (first)  March  8,  1770,  Abi- 
gail Hale,  of  Suffield,  Connecticut,  born  1744, 
died  September  5,  1772;  (second)  June  28,  1774, 
Mary  Pearce,  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  born 
1754,  died  September  24,  1775,  and  (third),  July 
28,  1777,  Abigail  Bates,  of  Hanover,  Xew  Jersey* 
born  1750,  died  March  15,  1834.  By  his  third 
wife  he  had  nine  children,  three  of  whom  attained 
years  of  maturity. 

Rev.  William  Lighthouse  Strong,  third  son 
of  Colonel  Adonijah  and  Abigail  (Bates)  Strong, 
was  born  October  18,  1782,  died  at  Fayetteville, 
New  York,  August  31,  1859.  He  graduated  as  B. 
A.  from  Yale  College,  1802,  M.  A.  1804,  studied 
theology,  and  was  for  twenty-four  years  in  charge 
of  the  church  at  Somers,  Connecticut,  retiring 
from  the  ministry  in  1834  on  account  of  impaired 
eyesight.  He  married,  June  8,  1807,  Harriet 
Deming,  of  Weathersfield,  Connecticut,  daugh- 
ter of  Harry  and  Ann  (Lord)  Deming,  born  No- 
vember 6,  1789.  They  had  eleven  children,  all 
born  in  Somers,  Connecticut : 

1.  William,  born  May  6,  1808.  (See  be- 
low). 

2.  Newton  Deming,  born  October  17,  1809, 
died  August  8,  1866;  married  September,  1844, 
Matilda  Rachel  Edwards,  born  1824,  died  with- 
out issue,  February  7,  1857.  Mr.  Strong  grad- 
uated B.  A.  Yale  College,  1831,  M.  A.  1833.  He 
studied  law  and  practiced  in  Alton,  Illinois.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Illinois  Legislature.  He 
removed  to  Reading;  Pennsylvania.  1847,  and 
entered  into  partnership  with  his  brother  Will- 
iam, which  connection  continued  until  1850,  when 
he  moved  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  con- 
tinued his  profession  until  his  death. 

3.  Harriet  Williams,  born  November  14. 
181 1,  died  without  issue,  Januarv  21,  1884;  mar- 
ried April  22,  1852,  Frederic  Pratt,  of  Fayette- 
ville, New  York,  born  1786,  died  January  18. 
1884.  He  was  a  farmer,  contractor  on  public 
works,  and  a  man  of  enterprise. 

4. '  Edward,  born  October  25,  1813.  (See 
below). 

5.  Mary,  born  August  27,  1815 :  married 
February  20,  1837,  Rev.  Robert  Edmund  Wilson, 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


131 


born  March  28,  1807,  graduated,  B.  A.,  Hamil- 
ton College,  1834,  and  Auburn  Theological  Semi- 
nary, 1837.     They  had  three  children. 

6.  Sarah  Elizabeth,  born  July  29,  181 7  ;  mar- 
ried Henry  X.  Coder,  born  March  25,  1798,  a 
hardware  merchant  of  West  Pittston,  Pennsyl- 
vania.    They  had  three  children. 

7.  Theodore,  born  January  25,  1820.  (See 
below). 

8.  Samuel  Worcester,  born  December  4. 
182 1.     (See  below). 

9.  Abigail  Bates,  born  September  13,  1823, 
married,  October  30,  1850,  Nelson  Hotchkiss 
Gaston,  born  August  16,  1804.  died  December 
23.  1856.     They  had  three  children. 

10.  Julia,  born  March  3,  1826,  died  without 
issue  June  25,  1851.  She  married.  September  1, 
1845,  Rev-  Henry  Darling,  D.  D..  born  in  Read- 
ing, Pennsylvania.  December  27,  1822.  son  of 
William  and  Margaretta  (Vaughan)  Darling. 
(See  Darling  Family).  He  graduated  B.  A.. 
Amherst  College,  1842.  and  in  Theology  at  Union 
Seminary,  New  York,  1842-43,  and  Auburn 
Theological  Seminary,  1843-45.  He  ministered 
in  Vernon,  New  York ;  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  and  Albany,  New  York,  with  eminent  suc- 
cess. He  was  elected  president  of  Hamilton  Col- 
lege, New  York,  1881,  and  in  the  same  year 
moderator  of  the  general  assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  He  received  the  honorary  degree 
of  D.  D.  from  Union  College  1880,  and  LL.  D. 
from  Hamilton  and  Lafayette  Colleges,  1881. 
He  has  published  several  works  of  value. 

11.  Helen  Maria,  born  May  30,  1830,  mar- 
ried, March  14,  i860,  John  Loveland,  of  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  who  was  born  in  Kingston,  Penn- 
sylvania, June  23,  1828,  son  of  Elijah  and  Mary 
(Buckingham)  Loveland.  (See  Loveland  Fam- 
ily). Their  children  are:  Edward  S.,  Nelson 
H.  George  and  John  Winthrop  Loveland. 

Hon  William  Strong,  LL.  D.,  eldest  son  of 
the  Rev.  William  L.  and  Harriet  (Deming) 
Strong,  was  born  May  6,  1808.  He  graduated 
Bachelor  of  Arts  from  Yale  College,  1828,  Master 
of  Arts,  183 1.  He  began  the  study  of  law.  pur- 
suing the  same  for  a  period  of  time  at  Burling- 
ton, Xew  Jersey,  where  his  legal  preceptor  was 


Garret  D.  Wall,  and  at  the  same  time  followed 
the  vocation  of  teaching.  He  completed  his  legal 
studies  by  a  six  months  course  in  the  Law  School 
of  Yale  College,  1832,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  Philadelphia,  October  3,  1832.  "Apple- 
ton's  Cyclopedia  of  American  Biography"  says  of 
him :  "He  located  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania, 
mastered  the  German  language,  then  much 
spoken  in  that  region,  and  soon  ranked  high  as  a  • 
lawyer.  In  1846  he  was  a  candidate  for  con- 
gress on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  was  twice 
elected,  serving  from  1847  until  1851.  In  his 
second  term  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  elections.  He  declined  a  third 
nomination  and  retired  from  active  politics. 
When  the  Civil  war  began,  though  then  occupy- 
ing a  high  judicial  position,  he  gave  all  his  sup- 
port and  influence  in  aid  of  the  government.  In 
1857  he  was  elected  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court 
of  Pennsylvania  and  served  eleven  years,  attain- 
ing a  high  reputation  as  a  jurist.  His  opinions  in 
volumes  30-60  of  the  State  Reports  exhibit  great 
care  in  preparation,  clearness  of  statement,  precis- 
ion and  vigor  of  style,  and  accurate  knowledge 
of  law.  In  1868  he  resigned  his  seat  on  the 
bench  and  opened  an  office  in  Philadelphia,  at 
once  obtaining  a  large  and  lucrative  practice.  In 
February,  1870,  he  was  appointed  a  justice  of 
the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  and 
served  until  December,  1880,  when  he  resigned. 
His  great  knowledge  of  law.  keen  discrimination 
and  sound  judgment  made  him  an  invaluable 
associate  in  consultation,  and  his  clear  and  mas- 
terly opinions  assisted  largely  to  sustain  the  dig- 
nitv  and  authoritv  of  the  court.  Of  his  opinions, 
those  in  the  legal  tender  cases,  the  state  freight- 
tax  cases,  and  the  civil-right  cases,  including 
Tennessee  vs.  Davis,  exhibit  in  an  eminent  degree 
his  great  power  of  analysis  and  rigorous  logic. 

"Justice  Strong  was  a  member  of  the  electoral 
commission  in  February,  1877,  and  in  his  opin- 
ions contended  that  congress  has  no  power  to 
canvass  a  state  election  for  presidential  electors 
(which  was  the  great  question  at  issue),  and  in 
the  cases  that  he  specially  reviewed  (those  of 
Florida  and  Oregon),  the  canvass  of  the  state 
authorities  was  clear  and  decisive.     Besides  his 


132 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


official  and  professional  labors,  Justice  Strong 
long  took  an  active  part  in  the  counsels  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 
He  was  for  years  president  of  the  American  Tract 
Society  and  of  the  American  Sunday  School 
Union,  and  was  a  factor  in  other  benevolent  en- 
terprises. He  delivered  many  public  addresses 
and  lectures,  and  frequently  contributed  to  maga- 
zines and  reviews.  In  1875  he  delivered  before 
the  Philadelphia  bar  and  the  American  Philosophi- 
cal Society,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  an  ad- 
dress on  the  "Life  and  Character  of  Horace  Bin- 
ney,"  and  in  1879  an  address  before  the  Law  De- 
partment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  on 
the  "Growth  and  Modifications  of  Private  Civil 
Law."  He  also  delivered  a  course  of  lectures 
to  the  professors  and  students  of  Union  Theolo- 
gical Seminary  of  New  York,  and  for  several 
years  lectured  to  the  Law  Department  of  Colum- 
bian University,  at  Washington.  Lafayette  Col- 
lege conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.,  in 
1867,  and  Yale  and  Princeton  in  1870." 

Justice  Strong  was  twice  married ;  first,  No- 
vember 28,  1836,  to  Priscilla  Lee  Mallery,  born 
October  5,  1816,  died  April  8,  1844,  daughter  of 
Hon.  Garrick  Mallery  and  his  wife  Silvina 
Pierce  Butler.  (See  Butler  Family).  They 
had:  Emily  Elizabeth,  born  February  5,  1838; 
Amelia  Mallery,  July  31,  1840;  and  William 
Deming,  born  December  25,  1841,  died  May  19, 
1849.  Justice  Strong  married  (second),  No- 
vember 22,  1849,  Rachel  Henderson  Davis,  born 
May  28,  1820,  widow  of  Levi  Bull,  of  Church- 
town,  Pennsylvania,  and  daughter  of  Hon.  Ed- 
ward and  Rachel  (Henderson)  Davis.  Their 
children  are :  Mary  Nelson,  born  November  16, 
1850 ;  Julia  Darling,  born  February  21,  1853  ;  Ed- 
ward Davis,  born  February  21,  1855,  died  July  6, 
1856;  and  William  Newton,  born  April  27,  1859. 

Rev.  Edward  Strong,  fourth  child  of  Rev. 
William  L.  and  Harriet  (Deming)  Strong,  was 
born  October  25,  1813.  Pie  married,  March  20, 
1843;  Margaret  Scott  Sherman,  of  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  born  June  24,  1820,  daughter  of 
Thaddeus  and  Eliza  (Taylor)  Sherman.  Their 
children  were  Harriet  Deming,  Edward  Sher- 
man,   and    William     Thaddeus.      Rev.     Edward 


Strong  graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Yale  Col- 
lege, 1838,  Master  of  Arts,  1841,  and  received 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Hamilton 
College,  1864.  He  was  tutor  at  Yale,  1840-42,. 
studied  theology  at  Union  Seminary,  New  York, 
and  New  Haven  Seminary.  He  was  pastor  of 
College  Street  Church,  New  Haven,  1842-62,  and 
of  South  Congregational  Church,  Pittsfield, 
Massachusetts,  1865. 

Theodore  Strong,  seventh  child  of  Rev.  Will- 
iam L.  and  Harriet  (Deming)  Strong,  was  born 
January  25,  1820.  He  married  (first)  October 
3,  1854,  Mary  Elizabeth  Benedict,  born  January 
11,  1832,  died  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  November 
29,  1869,  daughter  of  Hanford  and  Alary  Ann 
(Seymour)  Benedict.  He  married  (second) 
Elizabeth  D.  Wilson,  of  Pine  Plains,  Dutchess- 
county,  New  York. 

Theodore  Strong  was  educated  at  Bacon  Aca- 
demy and  the  Geneva  Lyceum  of  New  York. 
Subsequently  he  was  a  teacher  in  Lyme  Aca- 
demy, near  Saybrook,  Connecticut,  and  in  the 
Friends'  Boarding  School  of  Burlington,  New 
Jersey.  He  moved  to  Pittston,  Pennsylvania, 
1843,  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  con- 
necting himself  with  the  Butler  Coal  Company, 
the  only  coal  company  then  in  operation  in  that 
place.  He  later  became  superintendent  of  the 
mercantile  department  of  this  company,  holding 
the  position  for  five  years.  After  an  absence 
from  Pittston  for  a  year  he  returned  in  1850  and 
engaged  in  land  and  coal  operations,  being  at  one 
time  part  owner  of  two  thousand  acres  of  coal, 
covering  West  Pittston,  Pleasant  Valley,  etc.  He 
built  in  1856  a  large  steam  flour  mill,  which  he- 
managed  personally  for  six  years,  then  leased  it 
to  others.  In  1867  he  spent  the  year  in  Euro- 
pean travel.  Returning  home  he  was  in  1869 
nominated  on  the  Republican  ticket  for  congress 
from  the  Twelfth  District,  Luzerne  and  Susque- 
hanna counties.  Judge  G.  W.  Woodward  was 
the  successful  opponent,  though  Mr.  Strong 
largely  reduced  the  Democratic  majority.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Pittston,  July  1,  1864,  and  held  the  office 
of  president  till  resigning,  July  1,  1905,  after 
fortv-one  vears  of  service,  the  oldest  bank  officer 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


r33 


in  the  Wyoming  Valley.  A  strenuous  Repub- 
lican, he  was  a  member  of  the  electoral  college, 
1872.  He  was  a  partner  with  R.  J.  Wisner  in  a 
foundry  and  machine  shop  at  Pittston.  He  was 
president  of  the  Pittston  Bridge  Company,  and  a 
director  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Blooms- 
burg  Railroad,  and  several  others ;  was  for  many 
years  president  of  the  Bankers'  Association  of 
Luzerne  and  Lackawanna  counties.  He  is  a 
■member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geologi- 
cal Society. 

Theodore  Strong  had  by  his  first  marriage : 
1.  Theodore  Chester,  died  1878:  graduated  B. 
A,.  Yale  College,  1878.  2.  Emily  Seymour,- 
Superintendent  Moody  Bible  Institute,  Chicago, 
Illinois.  3.  Mary  Deming.  4.  Julia  Cham- 
pion, now  deceased.  5.  William  Lord,  grad- 
uated Yale  College  B.  A.,  1884:  in  business  at 
New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey.  Has  three  child- 
Ten,  Theodore,  William  L.  and  Dorothy.  By  his 
second  marriage  Mr.  Strong  had :  Helen,  mar- 
ried Charles  F.  Wray,  Rochester,  Xew  York,  and 
Lad  Theodore,  Cornelia,  Martin  and  Elizabeth 
Wilson ;  Caro  Reynolds. 

Rev.  Samuel  Worcester  Strong,  eighth  child 
of  Rev.  William  L.  and  Harriet  (Deming) 
Strong,  born  December  4,  1821,  died  April  16, 
1856.  He  married,  December  7,  1854,  Abiah 
Palmer  Root.  He  graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts, 
Yale  College.  1843,  Master  of  Arts,  1851.  He 
studied  theology  and  was  pastor  of  Olivet 
Church,  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  1850-52.  His 
health  failing,  he  resigned  and  studied  law,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Reading,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1855.  He  had  only  one  child,  Mary  Pal- 
mer, born  Reading,  January  20,  1856. 

~  H.  E.  H. 

HAYDEX  FAMILY.  William  Hayden  and 
Lis  brother,  John  Hayden,  came  to  America  in 
the  ship  "Mary  and  John,"  with  the  church  under 
Revs.  John  Warham,  and  Samuel  Maverick,  land- 
ing at  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  1630.  John 
and  William  have  always  been  recognized  as 
brothers  by  the  best  genealogists,  especially  by 
James  Savage,  and  the  descendants  of  the  two 
families.     Thev  were  both  made  freemen  in  Dor- 


chester, 1634.  It  is  known  that  the}"  both  came 
from  the  borders  of  Devonshire  and  Somerset- 
shire. John  Hayden  remained  in  Massachu- 
setts, at  Braintree  and  Haydenville.  For  his 
family  see  ''The  Vinton  Memorial." 

William  Hayden,  the  head  of  the  Connecticut 
line,  settled  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  about  1636, 
where  he  received  land  in  the  first  distribution, 
1639.  In  1637  he  served  under  Captain  John 
Mason  in  the  Pequot  war,  saving  the  life  of  Cap- 
tain Mason  in  the  fight  'at  Mystic  Fort,  by  cutting 
the  bowstring  of  an  Indian  who  had  drawn  his 
arrow  to  the  head  at  the  Captain.  For  this  gal- 
lantry he  received  special  mention  in  Mason's  re- 
port, and  was  granted  a  lot  at  Hartford  by  the 
court,  which  later  on  added  fifty  acres  more.  The 
sword  with  which  William  Hayden  performed 
this  deed  is  still  preserved  in  the  Connecticut  His- 
torical Society.  In  1642  he  sold  his  Hartford 
property  and  bought  land  at  Windsor,  Connecti- 
cut, which  land  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the 
Hayden  family,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hayden,  of  this 
sketch,  being  one  of  the  owners.  The  family 
tenure  has  thus  extended  over  264  years.  Will- 
iam Hayden  was  a  soldier  in  Major  Mason's 
Troop,  1657-58,  the  first  troop  of  horse  in  the 
colony.  Born  about  1600,  he  died  Kenilworth, 
Connecticut,  September  27.  1669.  He  married 
in  1639,  but  the  name  of  his  wife,  who  died  in 
1655,  is  not  known.  In  the  Windsor  Church 
record  her  death  is  recorded  as  "the  wife  of  Will- 
iam Hayden."  She  was  the  mother  of  all  his 
children.  He  married  in  1665  (second)  Mar- 
garet Wilcoxson,  widow  of  William  Wilcoxson, 
who  came  from  St.  Albans,  Hertfordshire,  Eng- 
land, in  the  ship  "Planter,"  1635,  and  became  one 
of  the  first  proprietors  and  a  prominent  man  in 
Stratford,  Connecticut,  and  a  deputy  to  the  gen- 
eral court  of  Connecticut,  1647. 

William  Hayden  was  a  deputy  from  Kenil- 
worth, (Killingworth)  to  the  general  court  of 
Connecticut  in  1667.  he  having  settled  there 
in  1665,  and  was  one  of  the  petitioners  for  au- 
thority to  organize  a  church  there,  leaving  all  his 
Windsor  lands  to  his  eldest  son  Daniel,  who  re- 
mained at  the  old  homestead  in  Windsor.  On 
the  two  hundred  fortv-fifth  anniversary  of  Dan- 


134 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


iel's  birth  a  large  flint  boulder  weighing  two  tons 
was  placed  on  his  land  at  Hayden  Station,  near 
Windsor,  inscribed  to  the  memory  of  his  father, 
William  Hayden.  William  Hayden  had  three 
children  : 

i.  Daniel,  born  September  2,  1640;  of  whom 
later. 

2.  Nathaniel,  born  February  2,  1643,  died 
April  20,  1706;  married,  January  17,  1677,  Sarah 
Parmelee,  daughter  of  John  Parmelee,  of  Guil- 
ford. Nathaniel  inherited  all  his  father's  land 
at  Killingworth. 

3.  Mary,  born  June  6,  1648;  married  Judah 
Evarts. 

Lieutenant  Daniel  Hayden,  eldest  son  of  Will- 
iam Hayden,  born  Hartford,  Connecticut,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1640,  died  Windsor,  March  22,  1712- 
13  ;  married,  March  17,  1664,  Hannah,  daughter 
of  William  and  Margaret  Wilcoxson,  of  Strat- 
ford. She  was  born  1641,  died  April  19,  1722. 
Her  mother,  Margaret,  after  her  husband's 
death,  became  the  wife  of  Daniel's  father.  Dan- 
iel Hayden  retained  the  homestead  at  Windsor, 
was  selectman  1698,  one  of  seventeen  troopers  in 
Windsor,  1675,  wno  engaged  in  King  Philip's 
war,  and  was  deputy  to  the  general  court,  1695. 
He  was  commissioned  lieutenant  of  the  Train- 
band, 1697,  of  the  Troop  of  Horse,  1698;  his  ori- 
ginal commissions  still  being  in  the  hands  of  his 
descendant,  Jabez  H.  Hayden,  of  Windsor  Locks. 
In  1708  he  divided  his  land  among  his  four  sons 
and  settled  them  thereon,  the  four  occupying 
about  three-fourths  of  the  main  street  of  what  is 
now  known  as  Hayden  Station,  two  miles  above 
Windsor.  Their  descendants  intermarried  with 
all  the  early  families  of  Windsor.  Daniel  and 
Hannah  Hayden  had : 

1.  Daniel,  born  October  5,  1666,  of  whom 
later. 

2.  Hannah,  born  October  9,  1668;  married 
January  4,  1693-4,  William  Phelps,  god-son  of 
William  Hayden,  and  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah 
Griswold  Phelps,  of  Windsor,  grandson  of  "Ould 
Mr.  William  Phelps,"  one  of  the  governing  mag- 
istrates of  Connecticut,  1636.  (See  Phelps  Fam- 
ily). 


3.  Nathaniel,  born  March  28,  1671,  died  in- 
fant. 

4.  William,  born  April  27,  1673 ;  died  June 
11,  1675. 

5.  William,    born   January    1,    1675-6;    died 
.July  3,  1713  ;  married  January  21,  1702-03,  Mir- 
iam  Gibbs,   of   Samuel,    son   of   Giles   Gibbs   of 
Windsor,  1633,  and  had  issue. 

6.  Samuel,  born  February  28,  1667-8 ;  died 
October  12,  1742;  married,  September  28,  1703-4, 
Anna  Holcomb,  daughter  of  Sergeant  Benajah, 
son  of  Thomas  Holcomb,  of  Dorchester,  1634, 
and  had  issue. 

7.  Ebenezer,  born  December  14,  1641 ;  mar- 
ried January  12,  1708,  Mindwell  Griswold, 
daughter  of  Edward  Griswold,  of  George,  of  Ed- 
ward, 1630 ;  deputy,  and  had  issue. 

8.  Mary,  born  September  28,  1688,  died  sin- 
gle October  21,  1708. 

Daniel  Hayden,  eldest  son  of  Daniel  and 
Hannah  (Wilcoxson)  Hayden,  born  October  5, 
1666,  died  December  22,  1759,  aged  ninety-three. 
Married,  1702,  Elizabeth  Gibbs,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Hepzibah  (Dibble)  Gibbs,  born  Jan- 
uary 30,  1668;  died  October  1,  1740,  age  seventy- 
two.  Samuel  Gibbs  was  son  of  Giles  Gibbs,  of 
Dorchester,  1633,  and  Windsor,  1641,  and  his 
wife,  Hepzibah,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Dibble, 
Dorchester,  1635.  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  Hayden 
had  :  1.  Daniel,  born  August  27,  1733  ;  of  whom 
later.  2.  Isaac,  born  July  3,  1706,  died  Sep- 
tember 20,  1777;  married  Hannah  Stiles,  daugh- 
ter of  "Mr."  John  Stiles,  of  John,  of  John,  of 
Windsor,  1635,  and  had  issue. 

Lieutenant  Daniel  Hayden,  eldest  son  of  Dan- 
iel and  Elizabeth  (Gibbs)  Hayden,  born  August 
27,  1703,  died  1790,  age  eighty-seven,  married 
(first)  December  31,  1735,  Esther  Moore,  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  and  Damaris  (Strong)  Moore, 
born  April  12,  1710,  died  November  2.  1747.  He 
married  (second)  1770,  Elizabeth  Mackmoran, 
died  February  17,  1776.  Samuel  Moore  was  son 
of  John  Moore, -Jr.,  1645-1700,  deputy  to  general 
court  of  Connecticut  1690-99,  and  member  of  the 
governor's  council,  1696-98,  whose  father,  Dea- 
con John   Moore,   1607  to   1677,  was  deputy  to 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


135 


general  court  of  Connecticut,  1643,  an(l  *66i  to 
1677.  Samuel  Moore's  wife,  Damaris  Strong, 
1674  to  175 1,  was  a  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Re- 
turn Strong,  cornet  1689,  lieutenant  1692,  de- 
puty to  general  court  1689  to  1690.  He  was  the 
son  of  Elder  John  Strong,  of  Windsor,  Connecti- 
cut, and  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  who  was 
deputy  to  general  court,  Massachusetts,  1641-44.  ■ 
Lieutenant  Strong's  mother  was  Abigail  Ford, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Ford,  of  Windsor,  deputy 
1637  to  1644,  and  1654.  The  wife  of  Lieutenant 
Return  Strong  was  Sarah  Warharh,  daughter  of 
Rev.  John  Warham,  M.  A.,  University  of  Ox- 
ford, 1619,  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England 
at  Exeter,  who  became  in  1629  ruling  elder  of  the 
first  church  in  Windsor,  Connecticut,  who  with 
Rev.  Samuel  Maverick,  the  teaching  elder  of  the 
same  church  and  also  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England,  were  the  first  clergymen  to  settle  in 
New  England,  coming  in  the  ship  "Mary  and 
John,"  1630.  Mr.  Warham  married  Mrs.  Jane 
Newberry,  widow  of  Thomas  Newberry  of  Wind- 
sor. She  was  the  mother  of  all  of  Mr.  War- 
ham's  children,  and  of  Thomas  Newberry's  child- 
ren. The  Rev.  Mr.  Warham  was  pastor  of  the 
Windsor  Church  until  his  death  in  1670,  over 
thirty  years.  He  had  three  daughters,  i.  e.. 
Sarah  Warham,  married  Lieutenant  Strong ; 
Abigail  Warham,  married  Captain  Allyn,  son  of 
Hon.  Mathew  Allyn,  and  Hester  Warham,  mar- 
ried Rev.  Eleazer  Mather  and  Rev.  Solomon 
Stoddard,  and  her  daughter  Esther  married  Rev. 
Timothy  Edwards.  Thus  his  three  daughters 
became  ancestresses  of  a  distinguished  line  of 
descendants  who  are  scattered  all  over  the 
United  States.  Mr.  Hayden  was  a  well  edu- 
cated and  enterprising  man,  a  large  dealer  in  real 
estate  and  timber,  and  lived  at  "Hayden  Station." 
He  was  considered  a  man  of  large  means.  His 
house  built  in  1740  still  stands  at  "Hayden  Sta- 
tion." Lieutenant  Daniel  and  Esther  (Moore) 
Hayden  had : 

1.  Esther,  born  November  28,  1736;  married 
June  24,  1756,  Captain  Ebenezer  Fitch  Bissell, 
prominent  in  Windsor  and  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  of  John  Bissell,  Windsor,  1640.  They  left 
issue.     (See  Stiles'  "Windsor.") 


2.  Elizabeth,  born  June  6,  1738,  died  single, 
September  2,  1772. 

3.  Jerusha,  born  November  23,  1739,  died 
March  20,  1830;  married  March  10,  1763,  Major 
General  Roger  Eno,  of  Connecticut,  of  James 
Eno,  1635,  whose  patriotic  and  military  service 
extended  from  1756  to  1792.  (See  Eno  Family, 
also  "Magazine  of  American  History;'  May, 
1885,  and  "Arnold's  Expedition  to  Quebec,  by 
Codman  and  Abbott."  1903,  pp.  344-363.)  They 
left  issue.  (See  Stiles'  "Windsor,"  Hayden's 
"Virginia  Genealogies.") 

4.  Daniel,  born  November  10,  1740;  died 
1742. 

5.  Daniel,  born  November  10,  1742;  died 
March  30,  1815  ;  married  1767,  Tirzah  Zeruiah 
Loomis,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Deborah 
Loomis,  of  Nathaniel,  Josiah,  Nathaniel,  Joseph, 
1638,  and  had  issue. 

6.  Thomas,  born  January  14,  1745  ;  of  whom' 
later. 

7.  Sybil,  born  December  28,  1746;  died 
single. 

Adjutant  Thomas  Hayden,  third  son  of  Dan- 
iel and  Esther  (Moore)  Hayden,  born  January 
14,  1745,.  baptized  January  16,  1745,  died  Wind- 
sor, December  28,  1817,  married  November  19, 
1767,  his  cousin,  Abigail  Parsons,  born  April  28, 
1747,  baptized  June,  1747,  died  November  7, 
1817,  age  seventy-two.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Moses  Parsons,  born  Durham,  Connecticut,  Oc- 
tober 19,  1710,  died  February,  1791,  and  his  wife 
Elizabeth  Ventrous,  born  East  Haddam,  Connec- 
ticut, 1710-12,  died  May  10,  1790,  age  eighty. 
Moses  Parsons  was  a  son  of  Moses  and  Abigail 
(Ball)  Parsons.  His  father  was  deputy  to  the 
general  court  of  Connecticut  from  Durham,  1732- 
34-38.  He  was  the  son  of  Hon.  Joseph  Parsons, 
of  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  and  his  wife 
Elizabeth  Strong,  daughter  of  Elder  John  Strong 
and  a  sister  of  Lieutenant  Return  Strong,  men- 
tioned above.  Hon.  Joseph  Parsons  was  deputy 
to  the  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  1693  to 
1695,  and  1706  to  1729;  captain  of  Hampshire 
county  militia.  1697  to  1727;  justice,  1696  to 
1702,  also  1729;  judge  of  court  of  common 
pleas,   1696  to   1719;  commissioner  of  oyer  and 


136 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


terminer,  1696  and  1718.  He  was  one  of  the 
earliest  lawyers  in  Massachusetts.  He  inherited 
from  his  father  much  valuable  land,  and  was  a 
man  of  unusual  prominence  in  Hampshire 
county  courts.  He  was  the  son  of  Cornet  Jo- 
seph Parsons,  of  Northampton  and  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  the  son  of  Richard  Parsons,  who 
was  at  Windsor  before  1640,  but  returned  to 
England.  Cornet  Joseph  Parsons  was,  next  to 
William  Pynchon,  the  wealthiest  man  in  Hamp- 
shire county.  He  was  born  at  Great  Torrington, 
Devonshire,  England,  about  1600,  and  died  at 
Springfield,  Massachusetts,  March  25,  1684,  aged 
eighty-four  years.  He  declined  every  civil  and 
military  office  in  his  colony  on  account  of  his 
other  duties,  but  accepted  the  commission  of  cor- 
net of  Hampshire  county  troops,  1678,  during 
the  early  French  and  Indian  wars.  He  was  the 
brother  of  Benjamin  Parsons,  of  Springfield,  as 
the  records  of  that  town  prove,  the  statement  be- 
ing several  times  officially  recorded.  The  con- 
trary deductions  made  on  that  point,  at  a  great 
expense  to  the  family  of  Benjamin,  bv  the  late 
Colonel  Lemuel  Chester,  are  proven  to  have  no 
foundation  in  fact,  his  records  showing  that  he 
never  visited  or  made  research  at  Great  Torring- 
ton. (See  Parsons  Family).  Cornet  Parsons 
married,  November  16,  1646,  Mary  Bliss,  born 
England,  1620,  died  Springfield,  January  29, 
1711-12,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Margaret 
Bliss.  ( See  "Cornet  Joseph  Parsons,  one  of  the 
founders  of  Springfield  and  Northampton,  Mass- 
achusetts, 1636  and  1655,"  by  Henry  M.  Burt 
and  Albert  Ross  Parsons,  1898). 

Lieutenant  Thomas  Hayden,  when  his  school 
days  were  ended,  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpen- 
ter, which  occupation  in  those  days  necessarily 
included  that  of  architect  and  builder.  Two  of 
the  houses  planned,  built  and  owned  by  him  over 
a  hundred  years  ago,  still  stand,  admirable  and 
substantial  monuments  of  his  ability.  One  lo- 
cated st  Palisado  Green,  Windsor,  is  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  granddaughter,  Sarah  Hay- 
den, widow  of  the  late  General  Amos  Fowler. 
He  also  owned  and  cultivated  his  parental  farm 
at  "Haydens,"  but  was  not  permitted  to  spend  his 
entire  life  in  peaceable  pursuits.     When  the  clash 


of  arms  occurred  at  Lexington.  April  19.  1775, 
and  the  news  reached  Windsor  the  following 
day.  he  was  plowing  in  the  field.  Loosening  his 
horse  from  the  plow  and  harness,  he  sprang  upon 
its  back  and  rode  express,  earning  the  news  to 
Sufneld  as  fast  as  his  steed  could  bear  him.  He 
was  one  of  the  "Lexington  Alarm"  partv  which 
left  Windsor  for  Lexington,  Massachusetts,  the 
next  day,  under  command  of  his  cousin.  Captain 
Nathaniel  Hayden;  he  served  until  July,  1775, 
when  he  became  sergeant  in  the  Simsbury  com- 
pany, commanded  by  his  brother-in-law,  Captain 
Ebenezer  Fitch  Bissell.  His  skill  as  a  builder 
led  to  his  selection  as  superintendent  of  part  of 
the  fortifications  erected  at  Roxbury,  Massachu- 
setts, during  the  siege  of  Boston.  He  was  ap- 
pointed sergeant-major,  Eighth  Continental  Reg- 
iment, August  11,  1775,  second  lieutenant  Seven- 
teenth Regiment,  January  1,  1776,  first  lieuten- 
ant, January  1,  1777.  These  two  commissions 
were  made  bv  congress,  and  signed  by  John  Han- 
cock. He  was  also  made  adjutant  to  Colonel 
Huntington,  October  20,  1776.  At  Danbury,April 
8,  1777,  he  was  appointed  adjutant  to  Colonel 
Zebulon  Butler,  then  in  command  of  Connecticut 
troops  at  that  point.  The  very  handsome  sword 
which  he  purchased  on  this  occasion,  and  which 
he  used  to  the  end  of  the  war.  may  be  seen  in  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 
In  August.  1777.  he  was  on  recruiting  service  at 
Windsor.  In  1778.  after  three  years  active  serv- 
ice, owing  to  the  suffering  for  the  necessaries 
of  life  then  prevailing  at  Windsor,  he  resigned 
and  was  honorably  discharged.  After  this  neces- 
sity had  passed  he  entered  the  service  again  as 
lieutenant  in  Provisional  Connecticut  Regiment, 
178 1.  He  was  made  first  lieutenant  Connecticut 
Regiment,  June  20,  1782,  and  was  honorably 
discharged  with  that  command,  1783.  His  com- 
missions, sword,  watch,  ink-horn  and  orderly 
book  used  in  the  Revolutionary  war  are  in  the 
hands  of  his  great-grandson.  Rev.  Mr.  Hayden. 
(See  "Proceedings  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society,"  IN,  217).  Thomas  and  Abi- 
gail (Parsons)  Hayden  had  eleven  children. 

Horace  H.  Hayden,  M.    D.,    D.    D.    S..    eld- 
est son  of  Thomas  and  Abigail  (Parsons)   Hay- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


137 


den,  was  born  at  "Hayden,"  near  Windsor,  Con- 
necticut, October  12,  1769,  died  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, January  26,  1844 ;  married,  Baltimore,  Feb- 
ruary 2$,  1805,  Marie  Antionette  Robinson,  born 
Dover,  Delaware,  July  22,  1778,  died  Baltimore, 
March  28,  i860,  daughter  of  Lieutenant  Daniel 
and  Rachel  (Nixon)  Robinson,  of  Dover.  Dr. 
Hayden  was  only  fourteen  years  old  when  the 
Revolutionary  war  ended.  His  childhood  was 
thus  passed  amid  stirring  scenes.  Windsor  was 
then  largely  destitute  of  men  and  he,  like  all  other 
boys  in  Windsor,  had  to  aid  his  mother  to  har- 
vest the  crops  on  the  farm.  He  was  said  to  have 
been  born  before  his  time,  for  the  varied  work 
and  discoveries  which  marked  his  life.  Rev. 
Thomas  E.  Bond,D-  D.,  LLD.,  his  associate,wrote 
of  him  in  1844:  "He  was  remarkable  from  his 
childhood.  He  learned  to  read  almost  as  soon 
as  he  did  to  talk,  and  at  once  contracted  that 
fondness  for  books  which  was  so  remarkable  in 
all  his  subsequent  life.  Such  was  his  industry 
and  systematic  application  that  at  the  age  of  four 
years  he  had  read  the  Bible  regularly  through, 
and  from  early  childhood  to  the  day  of  his  death 
the  Bible  was  his  favorite  book."  Schools  were 
not  numerous  in  that  day,  and  Hayden  began  to 
study  the  classics  himself  at  the  age  of  ten.  At 
fourteen,  1783,  he  made  two  voyages  to  the  West 
Indies  as  cabin  boy.  At  sixteen  he  began  to 
learn  his  father's  trade,  and  in  1790,  when  of  age, 
he  located  at  Point  Petre,  Guadaloupe,  W.  I.,  as 
an  architect,  but  after  two  years  was  driven  home 
by  the  fever  and  settled  in  New  York  City,  about 
1796.  In  those  days  few  buildings  were  erected 
in  the  winter,  so  that  during  the  winter  of  1798 
he  became  the  first  teacher  of  the  First  North 
School  District  of  Hartford.  In  1799  he  had  oc- 
casion to  visit,  for  professional  services,  Dr. 
Greenwood,  of  New  York  City,  then  the  only 
regular  dentist  in  the  United  States,  and  the 
friend  of  Washington.  He  was  so  pleased  with 
what  he  saw  and  learned  that  he  borrowed  from 
Dr.  Greenwood  the  few  books  then  extant  on  the 
science  ,and  prepared  to  enter  the  profession  him- 
self. He  removed  to  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in 
1800.  and  continued  his  studies  so  assiduously 
that  in  1802  he  was  able  to  begin  his  practice,  the 


only  dentist  in  that  city.  He  also  entered  the 
University  of  Maryland  and  studied  medicine. 
At  the  same  time,  in  1800,  he  put  into  practice 
his  limited  knowledge  of  geology,  then  in  its  in- 
fancy in  this  country,  and  began  his  collection  of 
minerals,  the  first  known  south  of  New  England, 
where,  at  Yale  College,  a  candle  box  was  able  to 
hold  every  mineral  then  in  that  institution.  Dr. 
Hayden's  collection  is  now  a  part  of  the  mineral- 
ogical  collection  of  Roanoke  College,  Virginia. 
Such  was  his  proficiency  in  that  embryo  day  of 
science  in  America  that  in  18 10  he  received  the 
first  license  to  practice  his  profession  from  the 
Medical  and  Chirurgical  Faculty  of  Maryland. 
His  geological  writings  at  that  time  attracted  the 
attention  of  European  geologists.  He  mastered 
the  French  language  to  enable  him  to  study  this 
science  in  that  tongue.  He  served  at  the  battle 
of  North  Point,  1814,  as  orderly  sergeant  of  the 
Thirty-ninth  Regiment,  Maryland  militia,  and 
such  was  his  medical  standing  that  after  .the  bat- 
tle he  was  sent  into  the  hospitals  as  assistant  sur- 
geon. In  1821  he  published  a  volume  of  "Geolo- 
gical Essays,"  the  first  general  work  on  that 
science  ever  issued  in  the  United  States,  pro- 
nounced by  his  friend,  Professor  Benjamin  Silli- 
man  of  Yale  College,  as  worthy  of  being  a  text 
book  in  colleges.  This  book  he  dedicated  to  his 
personal  friend,  Judge  Thomas  Cooper,  of  the 
Pennsylvania  judiciary,  and  distinguished  as  a 
scientist,  but  Dr.  Hayden's  faith  was  ever  proof 
against  the  assaults  of  Cooper,  with  whom  in 
religion  he  had  no  sympathy.  He  also  wrote  on 
the  "Flora  of  Maryland,"  "Silk  Worm  Culture," 
"Intonation,"  "Pathology,"  and  various  other 
subjects,  with  all  of  which  he  was  familiar.  It 
is  noteworthy  that  he  left  among  his  very  early 
writing  a  manuscript  lexicon  of  architectural 
terms,  and  many  very  fine  drawings  pertaining 
to  his  work.  In  1840  he  was  associated  with  Dr. 
Chapin  Harris,  of  Baltimore,  in  founding  the 
Baltimore  College  of  Dental  Surgeons,  the  re- 
sult of  years  of  private  lecturing  on  the  science 
to  his  own  classes.  He  was  the  first  president  of 
this  college,  and  professor  of  pathology  from 
1840  until  his  death.  This  was  the  first  dental 
college  in  the   United   States.     There  are  sixty 


i38 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


such  institutions  in  1906.  Dr.  Hayden  was  also 
the  founder  and  first  president  of  the  American 
Society  of  Dental  Surgeons,  and  has  been  long 
recognized  as  the  father  of  American  dentistry. 
He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  from  the  University  of  Maryland,  and 
from  Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Maryland  Medical  and 
Chirurgical  Faculty,  a  founder  of  the  Maryland 
Physical  Association  ( now  the  Maryland  Aca- 
demy of  Science),  member  of  the  American  Geo- 
logical Society  (now  the  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science),  of  the  Western  Academy 
of  Natural  Science,  honorary  member  of  the  Med- 
ical Society  of  Baltimore,  the  Medical  Society  of 
Orange  county,  New  York,  the  Western  Museum 
Society,  the  Dental  Society  of  Virginia,  etc.,  etc., 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  been  elected 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Anti- 
quaries, Copenhagen,  Denmark.  Dr.  Hayden 
was  a  musician,"  a  lover  of  the  gun  and  the  rod, 
and  a  devout  communicant  and  vestryman  of  St. 
Peter's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  Baltimore. 

Lieutenant  Daniel  Robinson,  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Hayden,  descended  from  Daniel  Robinson, 
of  Delaware,  lieutenant  and  quartermaster  in  the 
Pennsylvania  navy,  1776,  succeeding  Hon.  John 
Dickenson  in  1777  as  member  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee of  the  state  of  Delaware,  and  in  later  life 
a  lieutenant  in  the  revenue  service  of  the  United 
States,  son  of  Samuel  Robinson,  high  sheriff  of 
Kent  county,  1741,  of  George,  of  George  Rob- 
basson,  of  Dover,  1685,  justice,  1702.  Mrs.  Hay- 
den was  a  devout  '"mother  in  Israel,"  her  family 
in  its  various  lines  being  church  members  and 
prominent  in  church  and  state.  Dr.  Horace  H. 
Hayden  had  six  children,  born  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land. 

Edwin  Parsons  Hayden,  son  of  Horace  and 
Maria  A.  (Robinson)  Hayden,  was  born  August 
7,  181 1,  died  Howard  county,  Maryland,  May 
10.  1850;  married.  Philadelphia,  September  15, 
1832,  Elizabeth  Hause,  born  Philadelphia,  Au- 
gust 23,  1810,  died  Baltimore,  July  3.  1887.  He 
was  educated  at  Baltimore  College  (then  Uni- 
versity of  Maryland),  studied  law  at  Yale  Col- 
lege under  Judge  David  Daggett   (then  profes- 


sor of  Jurisprudence)'  1830-31.  The  Yale  Law 
School  conferred  no  degrees  until  1836.  Mr. 
Hayden  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Baltimore, 
1832,  but  continued  his  law  studies  under  Hon. 
Hugh  Davy  Evans,  of  Baltimore,  the  eminent 
ecclesiastical  lawyer  of  his  day.  He  located  on 
his  farm  at  Catonsville,  Maryland,  and  practiced 
in  Baltimore  and  Ellicotts  Mills  until  1840,  when 
he  removed  to  the  latter  place,  sold  his  farm,  and 
built  his  future  home.  His  practice  was  so  suc- 
phia,  whose  land  is  still  held  in  the  family,  after 
cessful  that  he  left  a  good  estate,  when  he  died 
in  his  thirty-ninth  year.  He  was  a  staunch 
Whig,  but  was  elected  by  the  Democratic  vote  to 
the  Maryland  legislature  on  the  Whig  ticket, 
1846,  and  appointed  March  10,  1847,  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  Maryland,  clerk  of  Howard  county 
court  for  the  regular  term  of  six  years,  the 
county  clerks  of  Maryland  being  then  selected  by 
the  Governor  from  the  members  of  the  bar  in- 
stead of  being  elected.  Mr.  Hayden  was  a  com- 
municant and  a  vestryman  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church.  Mrs.  Hayden  was  daughter 
of  William  and  Catherine  (Hull)  Hause,  edu- 
cated at  private  schools  in  Philadelphia.  She 
was  descended  from  Conrad  Abel,  of  Philadel- 
150  years,  from  Michael  Hause,  of  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  Jacob  Hull,  of  Phil- 
adelphia, all  soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 
in  the  Pennsylvania  militia.  Her  father  was  an 
extensive  builder  and  merchant  in  Philadelphia. 
She  was  also  a  communicant  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  Edwin  and  Elizabeth  Hayden  had  seven- 
children,  of  whom 

Rev.  Horace  Edwin  Hayden.  M.  A.,  third 
son,  was  born  Catonsville,  Baltimore  county, 
Maryland,  February  18,  1837.  married,  Point 
Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  November  30,  1868. 
Kate  Elizabeth  Byers,  daughter  of  John  A.  Byers 
and  his  wife  Charlotte  Mary  Davis,  of  Hancock. 
Maryland.  Mr.  Hayden  lived  in  Howard  county. 
Maryland.  He  was  educated  at  St.  Timothy's 
Military  Academy,  Baltimore  county.  Maryland, 
and  Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  from  which  college 
he  received  his  degree  of  M.  A.  and  graduated 
from  the  Virginia  Theological  Seminary,  1867. 
In  1859  he  left  college  and  engaged  in  teaching 


is  Puhlisl 


^^r-fitzL&L  Cc6c&~t>^   c^iy^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


130 


to  finish  his  education,  but  when  the  Civil  war 
began,  and  his  school  was  disturbed  thereby,  he 
entered  the  Confederate  States  army,  enlisting 
for  one  year,  June  i,  1861,  in  the  Howard  county 
cavalry,  at  Leesburg,  that  company  being  com- 
posed of  his  own  associates  splendidly  equipped 
and  trained.  It  was  attached  to  the  regiment  of 
Colonel  Angus  McDonald  until  July  20,  1861, 
when  it  became  Company  K  of  the  First  Vir- 
ginia Regiment,  under  Col.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  Col. 
Fitzhugh  Lee,  and  Col.  William  E.  Jones,  until 
in  March,  1862,  this  regiment  was  reorganized, 
when  with  one-half  his  company  he  aided  in 
forming  the  First  Maryland  Battalion  of  Cav- 
alry, and  re-enlisted  for  two  years  from  June  1, 
1862.  He  served  in  the  field  with  his  command 
until  after  the  second  battle  of  Manassas,  Au- 
gust, 1862,  when,  having  had  some  knowledge 
of  medicine,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
wounded  of  his  command  at  Buckland,  Virginia. 
In  November  he  was  relieved  from  this  charge  by 
the  recovery  of  his  comrades,  and  returned  to  his 
company  for  the  valley  campaign.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1863  Mr.  Hayden  was  appointed  hospital 
steward  in  the  field  and  hospital,  and  ordered  to 
Richmond,  where  the  rest  of  his  service  was  per- 
formed in  active  duty  in  the  defences  of  that  city. 
He  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  termination 
of  his  enlistment,  July  6,  1864,  but  remained  a 
volunteer  in  the  Third  Virginia  Infantry  until 
December  31,  1864,  when,  finally  discharged,  he 
entered  the  A^irginia  Theological  Seminary  to 
prepare  for  ordination  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  having  been  for 
five  years  a  candidate  for  orders.  After  the 
abrupt  ending  of  the  war  he  remained  at  the  sem- 
inary until  his  graduation.  He  was  ordained 
deacon,  by  his  cousin,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Johns, 
D.  D.  LL.  D.,  June,  1867,  and  priest  by  Rt. 
Rev.  F.  M.  Whittle,  D.  D.,  August,  1868.  He 
was  rector  of  Christ  Church,  Point  Pleasant, 
diocese  of  Virginia,  from  1867  to  J873,  and  rec- 
tor of  St.  John's  Church,  West  Brownsville,  dio- 
cese of  Pittsburgh,  1873  to  1879.  He  became  as- 
sistant minister  to  Rev.  Henry  L.  Jones,  S.  T. 
D.,  rector  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  Wilkes-Barre, 


Pennsylvania,  November  1,  1879,  which  position 
he  still  holds  after  more  than  twenty-six  years 
of  service,  at  Plymouth,  Laurel  Run,  Ashley  and 
St.  Clement's  Church,  Wilkes-Barre.  He  has 
been  one  of  the  examining  chaplains  of  his  dio- 
cese for  over  twenty  years. 

Mr.  Hayden  has  been  much  interested  in 
American  history  and  genealogy,  having  pub- 
lished quite  a  number  of  titles,  especially  a  work 
of  eight  hundred  pages  entitled  "Virginia  Gen- 
ealogies," which  has  brought  him  no  little  rep- 
utation as  a  g'enealogist.  He  has  been  for  some 
years  a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society,  filling  at  this  time  the 
offices  of  corresponding  secretary  and  librarian, 
historiographer,  and  curator,  and  has  since  1894 
edited  all  its  publications.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  many  historical,  scientific  and  other  societies, 
viz. :  the  Historical  Societies  of  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  Georgia,  Kansas,  Buffalo, 
etc.  etc. ;  the  American  and  Southern  His- 
torical Associations,  Southern  Historical  Society, 
New  England  Historical  Genealogical  Society, 
Maryland  Academy  of  Science,  Anthropological 
Society  of  District  of  Columbia,  Numismatic  and 
Archaeological  Society  of  New  York,  Antiquar- 
ian and  Numismatic  Society  of  Philadelphia,  etc., 
etc.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Society  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  Military  Order 
of  Foreign  Wars,  Naval  Order  of  Colonial 
Wars,  War  of  1812;  Delaware  State  Society  of 
the  Cincinnati ;  Society  of  the  Army  and  Navy, 
C.  S.  A.,  in  Maryland ;  Franklin  Buchanan  Camp 
United  Confederate  Veterans ;  member  of  the 
Free  Library  Commission  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
many  other  organizations.  He  is  also  an  honorary 
member,  by  right  of  long  service,  of  Brownsville 
Lodge,  No.  60,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  hav- 
ing been  made  a  Mason  in  Lodge  No.  10,  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  1863. 

Mr.  John  A.  Byers,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Hay- 
den, grandson  of  Dr.  John  Byers,  of  Delaware, 
who  came  to  America  from  Scotland  after  the 
Revolutionary  war,  was  a  prominent  civil  en- 
gineer on  the  West  Branch  Canal,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal,   Mary- 


140 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


land  ;  and  superintendent  of  the  Western  branch 
James  River  and  Kanawha  Canal  Company,  Vir- 
ginia, which  the  United  States  is  now  completing 
on  the  basis  of  his  surveys.  He  was  a  master  in 
every  branch  of  his  profession.  To  him  is  due 
the  fact  that  his  family  gave  eight  civil  engineers 
to  Pennsylvania,  including  his  nephews,  Charles 
Byers,  until  his  death  chief  engineer  of  the  Phil- 
adelphia and  Reading  Railroad ;  Joseph  Byers,  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  at  the  time  of  his 
death  chief  engineer  of  Coast  Defenses,  Empire 
of  Brazil ;  John  M.  Byers,  who  assisted  the  work 
•of  laying  out  the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jer- 
sey from  Ashley  and  died  superintendent  of  the 
Pittsburg.  Virginia  and  Charleston  Railroad; 
Henry  M.  Byers,  long  superintendent  of  the 
Pittsburg  and  Erie  Railroad ;  Morton  L.  Byers, 
now  engineer  of  maintenance  of  way,  Missouri 
and  Pacific  Railroad  system ;  and  Maxwell  L. 
Byers,  now  assistant  manager  Frisco  System, 
Rock  Island  Railroad.  Mrs.  Hayden  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  Colonial  Dames 
by  right  of  her  colonial  and  Revolutionary  ances- 
tors, and  of  the  Black  Horse  Chapter.  United 
Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  by  right  of  her 
husband,  and  also  her  brother,  James  Byers,  who 
fell  in  battle  at  Newtown,  Virginia,  September, 
1863,  gallantly  serving  as  color  bearer  of  the 
Eighth  A^irginia  Regiment  Cavalry,  C.  S.  A. 
Mrs.  Hayden's  ancestor,  John  Weitzel,  Esq.,  of 
Sunbury,  was  county  commissioner  at  nineteen, 
justice  of  the  peace  at  twenty-one,  justice  of  the 
quarter  sessions  at  twenty-two.  a  member 
county  committee  of  safety,  1776,  and  of  the 
Provincial  "Conference  of  Pennsylvania  which 
framed  the  constitution  of  1776,  when  he  was 
twenty-three  years  old,  the  youngest  of  the  nine- 
ty-six delegates. 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  Hayden  had  two  children : 
Mary  Elizabeth,  born  at  Point  Pleasant,  Octo- 
ber  15,   1875,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  December  26, 

1879. 

Horace  Edwin,  Jr.,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Jan- 
uary 6,  1884,  graduate  of  Harry  Hillman  Acad- 
emy 1900 ;  graduated  A.  B.,  Princeton  Univer- 
sity, 1905  ;  now  post-graduate  in  geology.  Uni- 


versity of  Virginia.  He  is  a  communicant  of  St. 
Stephen's  Church,  Wilkes-Barre ;  member  of  St. 
Andrew's  Brotherhood ;  and  of  R.  E.  Lee  Camp, 
Richmond,  Virginia,  Sons  of  U.  C.  Veterans. 

WARREN  F.  GOFF,  a  member  of  a  prom- 
inent business  firm  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Monroe 
township,  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania,  April 
7,  1835,  son  of  William  and  Anna  (Decker) 
Goff,  and  grandson  of  William  Goff,  a  native  of 
Connecticut. 

William  Goff,  Sr.,  of  Connecticut,  resided 
many  years  in  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
clearing  and  cultivating  a  large  farm  in  Monroe 
township,  where  he  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-seven  or  ninety-eight  years.  His  wife  died 
aged  ninety-four  years.  They  had  nine  children : 
William,  James,  Hiram,  George,  Warren,  Harry, 
Wellington,  Lucinda  and  Christina,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Samuel  Dimmick. 

William  Goff,  son  of  William  Goff,  Sr.,  was 
born  and  reared  in  Bradford  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  fol- 
lowed farming  throughout  the  active  years  of  his 
life,  purchasing  a  farm  when  he  was  a  young  man 
and  residing  thereon  until  a  few  years  prior  to  his 
death,  when  he  located  in  Canal  Dover,  Ohio. 
He  married  Anna  Decker,  whose  father,  Mr. 
Decker,  was  one  of  the  first  surveyors  in  Brad- 
ford county,  Pennsylvania,  which  he  laid  out,  and 
where  he  resided  until  his  death,  in  the  early- 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  he  was  in 
the  prime  of  life.  Mr.  Decker  had  five  children, 
namely :  James,  Wilson,  William,  Anna,  and 
Maria.  William  and  Anna  (Decker)  Goff  had 
seven  children,  all  of  whom  are  living.  Miller, 
who  is  now  leading  a  retired  life  in  the  west ; 
Warren  F.,  mentioned  hereafter ;  Maria,  married 
Orrin  Montgomery,  deceased,  she  resides  in  the 
west;  Simeon  D.,  a  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre; 
Jane,  married  James  King  and  resides  in  the  west ; 
Lucinda,  married  Freeman  Campbell,  and  resides 
in  the  west ;  and  Rose  B.,  who  also  resides  in  the 
west.       William   Goff,  father  of  these  children. 


OAA^l^t^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


14* 


died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.       His  wife, 
who  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal . 
church,  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years. 

Warren  F.  Goff,  second  child  of  William  and 
Ann  Goff,  was  reared  in  Bradford  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  there  obtained  a  common  school 
education.  In  early  manhood  he  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  remaining  on  the  farm  with  his 
father  until  he  was  twenty-six  years  old.  In 
1863,  he  located  in  New  York  City,  and  for  the 
three  succeeding  years  was  engaged  as  a  con- 
tractor on  sewer  building.  He  removed  to  Ma- 
hoopany,  Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  1866, 
and  engaged  in  railroad  contracting  for  the  Le- 
high Valley  Railroad,  also  in  the  lumber,  mercan- 
tile and  milling  business, in  which  he  achieved  con- 
siderable success.  Mr.  Goff  removed  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  1869,  where  he  engaged  in  the  lumber 
business,  forming  a  partnership  with  Col.  Sam- 
uel A.  Sturdevant,  and  the)-  conducted  the  estab- 
lishment under  the  firm  name  of  Sturdevant  & 
Goff  for  thirty-three  years,  or  until  the  death  of 
Colonel  Sturdevant,  when  Mr.  Goff  disposed  of 
his  interest.  From  the  outset  the  firm  of  Stur- 
devant &  Goff  met  with  unqualified  success,  due 
in  a  great  measure  to  the  straightforward  and 
honest  manner  in  which  all  their  business  deal- 
ings were  conducted.  Mr.  Goff  organized  the 
firm  known  as  the  Morgan  &  Goff  Lumber  Com- 
pany in  1900,  consisting  of  Charles  and  Ben- 
jamin Morgan  and  William  Goff,  son  of  Warren 
F.  Goff.  This  continued  until  1904,  when  War- 
ren F.  Goff  purchased  the  interest  of  the  Mor- 
gan brothers,  and  with  his  son  William,  afore- 
mentioned,organized  the  Goff  Lumber  Company, 
in  which  he  is  interested  at  the  present  time.  He  is 
one  of  the  oldest  dealers  in  lumber  in  the  city  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  having  one  of  the  largest  yards  and 
planing  mills  there,  and  the  stock  carried  is  prob- 
ablv  the  most  complete  in  the  Wyoming  valley. 
They  handle  everything  which  is  used  in  the 
building  of  a  house.  Warren  F.  Goff  is  a  director 
in  a  number  of  enterprises  outside  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  including  the  Lake  Transit  Boat  Company 
at  Harvey's  Lake.       Although  seventy  years  of 


age  he  is  still  hale  and  hearty,  and  seemingly  ini 
the  prime  of  life. 

Politically  Mr.  Goff  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  al- 
ways taken  an  active  interest  in  the  success  of  the 
principles  advanced  by  that  organization,  but. 
votes  for  the  man  who  in  his  opinion  is  best: 
qualified  for  office.  He  has  served  two  successive- 
terms  as  councilman  of  the  fifteenth  ward  oF 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Central 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  of 
which  he  has  been  one  of  the  trustees  for  a  long- 
period.  He  was  a  member  of  the  building  com- 
mittee of  the  present  church,  which  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  $100,000,  one  of  the  most  complete 
and  beautiful  churches  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Goff  married,  February  7,  1866,  Har- 
riet M.  Sturdevant,  daughter  of  L.  D.  and  Ada. 
(Morley)  Sturdevant,  of  Braintrim,  Wyoming 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  she  was  born.  L. 
D.  Sturdevant  (see  Sturdevant  family),  was  a 
farmer  and  foundryman,  and  one  of  the  promi- 
nent and  active  men  of  Braintrim,  where  he  died 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  His  wife,  Ada 
(Morley)  Sturdevant,  was  born  in  Braintrim,  and 
her  father  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  that 
section  of  the  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sturdevant 
had  eight  children :  Col.  Samuel  H.,  now  de- 
ceased ;  Warren,  a  resident  of  Vermont ;  Mrs. 
James  Robinson  of  Skinner's  Eddy,  Wyoming 
county ;  Mrs.  Warren  F.  Goff,  of  Wilkes-Barre ; 
Martha,  deceased ;  Sinton,  deceased,  his  widow 
resides  in  Wilkes-Barre ;  Dunning,  a  resident  of 
Wilkes-Barre ;  and  Ella,  widow  of  Jerome  Swart- 
wood,  now  resides  in  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Goff  had  one  son,  William  S.,  of  whom 
later. 

William  S.  Goff,  only  child  of  Warren  F. 
and  Harriet  M.  (Sturdevant)  Goff,  was  born 
April  9,  1866.  He  was  three  years  old  when 
his  parents  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  his 
education  was  acquired  in  the  public  schools  of 
that  city,  Harry  Hillman  Academy,  and  Wyom- 
ing Seminary.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of 
the  lumber  firm  of  Sturdevant  &  Goff,  in  which 
his  father  was  a  partner  and  served  in  the  capac- 


142 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ity  of  clerk,  at  the  same  time  becoming  familiar 
with  all  the  practical  departments  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  eventually  was  taken  into  the  office  to 
assist  in  that  part  of  the  work.  He  continued 
thus  engaged  until  he  went  to  Bear  Creek  with 
Albert  Lewis,  the  great  lumber  merchant  of  that 
place.  March  i,  1900,  the  Morgan  &  Goff  Lum- 
ber Company  was  organized,  and  he  became  a 
member  of  that  corporation.  In  April,  1904,  his 
father  purchased  the  interest  of  the  Morgan 
Brothers,  and  the  present  company  known  as  the 
Goff  Lumber  Company  was  formed,  consisting  of 
Warren  F.  and  William  S.  Goff,  father  and  son. 
Mr.  Goff  is  a  member  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  He  married,  October  15,  1895, 
Mary  E.  Morgan,  and  had  one  son,  Warren  Mor- 
gan Goff,  born  February  7,  1903.       H.  E.   H. 

JAMES  LINCOLN  MORRIS,  of  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  a  member  of  the  Luzerne  county 
bar,  was  born  in  the  city  where  he  now  resides, 
May  12,  i860,  a  son  of  Michael  W.  and  Bridget 
E.  (Mulligan)  Morris. 

Michael  W.  Morris,  a  son  of  James  and  Sarah 
(Fahey)  Morris,  was  born  in  Kinvarra,  county 
Galway,  Ireland,  March  1,  1830.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  years  his  ambition  led  him  to  emigrate 
to  the  United  States.  Locating  in  Hawley,  Penn- 
sylvania, he  found  employment  in  a  store,  where- 
in was  located  the  postoffice,  and  he  remained 
in  this  service  for  a  period  of  six  years.  For 
two  years  following  he  performed  clerical  duty 
in  the  office  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company, 
then  relinquishing  his  place  to  enter  upon  busi- 
ness for  himself.  After  a  year  he  removed  to 
Pittston  (in  1856),  which  has  ever  since  been 
his  place  of  residence,  and  where  he  made  for 
himself  a  most  honorable  and  successful  inde- 
pendent career.  For  thirty-seven  years  he  was 
senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Morris  &  Walsh, 
proprietors  of  the  Keystone  Roller  Mills  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  after  the  dissolution  of  this 
partnership  he  conducted  the  business  upon  his 
own  account.  His  integrity  and  ability  found 
recognition  in  his  being  called  to  numerous  po- 
sitions of  trust  and  responsibility.  For  fifteen 
vears   he   was   a   director   and   treasurer   of   the 


Pittston  Street  Railway  Company  ;  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  Miners'  Savings  Bank  of 
Pittston,  and  served  upon  its  directorate  for 
eighteen  years.  He  was  treasurer  of  the  borough 
of  Pittston  for  five  years.  Mr.  Morris  was  one 
of  the  original  incorporators  of  the  Second  Na- 
,  tional  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  of  which  he  is 
now  a  director,  and  of  the  Union  Savings  and 
Trust  Company  of  Pittston,  of  which  he  is  like- 
wise a  director.  He  was  particularly  efficient 
with  reference  to  educational  affairs,  serving-  as 
a  member  'of  the  Pittston  school  board  for  fif- 
teen years,  and  as  its  treasurer  for  five  years  of 
this  time;  and  it  was  during  this  period  that 
all  the  school  buildings  in  the  borough  were 
erected,  a  work  which  enlisted  his  most  inter- 
ested and  intelligent  effort.  In  186 1  he  was  the 
Republican  candidate  for  treasurer  of  Luzerne 
county,  and  polled  a  sufficiently  large  vote  to  en- 
title him  to  the  office.  As  it  transpired,  the  vote 
cast  for  him  by  the  Luzerne  county  soldiers  ab- 
sent in  the  field  was  thrown  out  under  the  plea 
of  unconstitutionality,  and  his  Democratic  oppo- 
nent, James  Walsh,  was  awarded  the  certificate 
of  election.  An  ardent  personal  admirer  of  Hor- 
ace Greeley,  Mr.  Morris  gave  an  active  support 
to  the  great  journalist  in  his  presidential  candi- 
dacy, and  when  he  was  defeated  became  an  ad- 
herent of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party, 
with  which  he  has  ever  since  been  identified. 
He  has  always  been  a  staunch  and  foremost  ad- 
vocate of  total  abstinence,  dating  his  interest  in 
the  cause  from  the  year  1842,  in  Ireland,  when  he 
listened  to  the  fervent  addresses  of  Father 
Matthew,  from  whom  he  took  the  pledge  known 
by  the  name  of  that  sainted  man.  For  eighteen 
years  Mr.  Morris  served  as  treasurer  of  the  Cath- 
olic Total  Abstinence  Union  of  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  Morris  married,  June  11,  1857.  Bridget  E. 
Mulligan,  daughter  of  James  Mulligan,  and  of 
this  union  were  born  the  following  children : 
1.  Alice,  who  became  the  wife  of  Eugene  W. 
Mulligan,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  2.  James  Lincoln, 
whose  second  name  was  given  him  in  honor  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  whom  the  father  held  in  deep 
reverence.     3.  Mary.     4.  John  W.  Morris. 

James  Lincoln  Morris,  eldest  son  of  Michael 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


'43 


W.  and  Bridget  E.  (Mulligan)  Morris,  received 
an  excellent  education,  being  in  turn  a  student 
in  the  Academy  of  the  Immaculate  Heart  at  Pitts- 
ton,  the  public  schools  of  that  borough,  the  Col- 
lege of  St.  Hyacinthe,  near  Montreal,  Canada, 
which  he  attended  for  three  years,  and  George- 
town (D.  C. )  University,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1882.  He  was  for  one 
year  a  student  in  the  law  department  of  the  last 
named  institution,  and  completed  his  professional 
studies  in  the  office  of  E.  P.  and  J.  V.  Darling, 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
April  22,  1889.  In  addition  to  the  practice  of 
the  profession  for  which  he  is  amply  equipped 
he  has  for  six  years  rendered  efficient  service 
as  one  of  the  court  clerks.  He  is  now  a  mem- 
ber of  the  law  firm  of  Woodward,  Darling  & 
Woodward,  which  represents  the  largest  and 
strongest  corporate  interests  in  Luzerne  county. 
He  is  a  forceful  writer,  and  was  for  years  a 
valued  correspondent  of  the  Scranton  Republican, 
the  Union  Leader  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  editor 
of  the  Hasleton  Plain-Speaker.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Democrat,  and  in  1888  he  served  as  secretary 
of  the  Democratic  county  committee. 

June  3,  1902,  Mr.  Morris  married  Miss  Mary 
M.  Mulligan,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  born  May  30, 
1867,  a  daughter  of  James  and  Caroline  (Earl) 
Mulligan,  of  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  where  Mr. 
Mulligan  was  a  superintendent  of  the  Reading 
Railroad.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mulligan  had  the  fol- 
lowing children :  Eva,  Edward  L.,  Eugene  W., 
of  Wilkes-Barre;  Ella  K.,  James,  Caroline  and 
Mary,  the  last  named  being  the  wife  of  James 
L.  Morris.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  are  the  parents 
of  one  child,  Michael,  born  March  16,  1904,  in 
Pittston,  Pennsylvania.  H.  E.  H. 

HON.  HENRY  W.  PALMER,  now  a  mem- 
ber of  the  national  house  of  representatives  from 
the  Twelfth  congressional  district  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, comes  of  ,an  honored  ancestral  lineage, some 
of  whom  distinguished  themselves  in  the  Revo- 
lution, while  others  have  occupied  positions  of 
honor  and  trust  in  civil  life.  He  is  ninth  in  descent 
from  that  William  Palmer  who  came  from  Eng- 


land   in    the    ship    "Fortune,"    and    arrived    at 
Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  in  1623. 

Major  Gideon  Palmer,  father  of  Hon.  Henry 
W.  Palmer,  was  a  son  of  Gideon  and  Clarissa 
(Watkins)  Palmer,  of  Hopkinton,  Rhode  Island. 
He  went  from  that  state  to  Pennsylvania  when 
nineteen  years  old  and  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  also  operating  a  sawmill.  He  was  a 
man  of  ability  and  was  called  to  various  impor- 
tant public  positions.  He  was  at  one  time  sheriff 
of  the  county  of  Luzerne,  Pennsylvania,  repre- 
sented his  district  in  the  lower  house  of  the 
state  legislature,  and  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of  1872-73.  During  the 
Civil  war  he  served  as  paymaster  in  the  army, 
with  the  rank  of  major.  At  the  same  time  his 
brother  Nathaniel  served  as  chief  of  scouts,  was 
taken  prisoner  and  was  confined  for  a  year  in 
the  notorious  Libby  Prison,  in  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia. Major  Gideon  Palmer  married  Elizabeth 
Burdick,  daughter  of  Billings  and  Mary  (Cot- 
rill)  Burdick,  of  Mansfield,  Connecticut.  She 
was  of  the  Tift  family,  of  Huguenot  ancestry. 
Her  father  was  a  son  of  Billings  and  Hannah 
(Babcock)  Burdick,  of  Hopkinton,  Rhode 
Island;  he  was  an  officer  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
the  family  have  in  their  possession  a  sword  which 
he  wore  at  that  time.  Hannah  Babcock  was  a 
daughter  of  General  Babcock,  of  Hopkinton, 
Rhode  Island.  Major  Gideon  and  Elizabeth 
(Burdick)  Palmer  were  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren :  Henry  W.,  of  whom  later ;  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried Orlando  H.  Jadwin,  a  wholesale  druggist 
of  New  York  City ;  Louisa,  widow  of  George 
Smith,  a  lawyer  of  Wilkes-Barre,  now  deceased ; 
Sarah,  wife  of  Robert  H.  Sherwood,  of  New 
York  City,  and  Winfield  Scott  Palmer,  who  re- 
sides in  the  family  homestead  in  Glenburn.  Lack- 
awanna county,  Pennsylvania.  Major  Palmer 
died  in  Glenburn  in  1886,  and  his  wife  survived 
him  several  years,  dying  in  1895. 

Hon.  Henry  W.  Palmer,  son  of  Gideon  and 
Elizabeth  Palmer,  was  born  in  Clifford,  Susque- 
hanna county,  Pennsylvania,  July  10,  1839.  His 
early  education  was  acquired  in  the  public  schools, 
and  he  pursued  advanced  studies  in  the  Wyo- 


J  44 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ming  Seminary  and  the  Fort  Edward  ( New 
York)  Institute.  He  began  preparation  for  the 
legal  profession  under  the  tutorship  of  Garrick 
M.  Harding,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  completed  his 
studies  at  the  State  National  Law  School  in 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  i860,  the  year  in  which  he  attained 
his  majority.  In  September  of  the  following 
year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  from  that  time  has 
continuously  practiced  law  in  Wilkes-Barre,  with 
the  exception  of  a  period  of  eighteen  months 
during  the  Civil  war,  when  he  served  in  the 
army  as  paymaster's  clerk.  For  four  years  he 
was  associated  with  his  legal  preceptor,  Mr. 
Harding,  but  for  the  major  part  of  his  long  and 
honorable  connection  with  the  legal  profession, 
amounting  to  considerably  more  than  forty  years, 
he  has  practiced  alone.  He  rapidly  acquired 
and  constantly  maintained  an  unusually  large 
general  law  business.  Much  of  his  time  during 
the  past  quarter  of  a  century  has  been  devoted 
to  the  trial  of  cases  before  juries  and  in  the  su- 
preme court.  Early  in  his  career  he  developed 
abundant  strength  as  well  as  other  superior  qual- 
ifications as  a  trial  lawyer,  and  a  pre-eminent  po- 
sition among  his  profession  in  the  state.  Re- 
sourceful and  alert,  with  a  subservient  memory, 
retentive  of  precedent  and  authorities,  which  he 
aptly  applies  at  the  opportune  moment,  he  has 
been  frequently  known  to  obtain,  by  ready  and 
accurate  application  of  these  invaluable  adjuncts, 
a  favorable  decision  in  the  face  of  seemingly  in- 
surmountable obstacles.  His  standing  in  his  pro- 
fession found  recognition  in  his  appointment  by 
President  Roosevelt  as  a  delegate  to  the  Con- 
gress of  Lawyers  and  Jurists  which  met  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  in  1904,  and  also  as  a  delegate 
to  the  Inter-Parliamentary  Union  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  Peace  at  Brussels,  in  August,  1905, 
by  Hon.  Richard  Barthold,  president  of  the 
American  group. 

In  addition  to  his  long  and  large  practice 
Mr.  Palmer  holds  active  connection  with  va- 
rious important  business  interests,  being  vice- 
president  of  the  Miners'  Savings  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  ;  a  director  in  the  North  and  West  Branch 


Railroad  Company,  and  stock  interests  in  other 
enterprises,  financial  and  industrial,  all  of  which 
are  important  factors  in  the  business  of  the  city 
and  its  vicinage.  In  his  political  affiliations  he 
is  an  uncompromising  Republican,  and  he  has 
been  actively  identified  with  the  party  almost 
from  its  birth,  and  his  activities  in  public  affairs 
have  ever  been  based  upon  principles  of  patriot- 
ism and  good  citizenship.  He  has  frequently 
served  as  a  delegate  in  state  conventions,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  national  convention  at  Cincin- 
nati in  1876  which  nominated  Rutherford  B. 
Hayes  for  the  presidency.  From  1879  to  1883 
he  rendered  efficient  service  as  attorney-general 
of  Pennsylvania,  under  appointment  by  Gov- 
ernor Hoyt,  and  in  the  latter  year  was  a  member 
of  the  constitutional  convention,  in  which  body 
he  afforded  valuable  aid  to  the  formulation  of 
many  of  the  most  important  provisions  in  the  or- 
ganic law  then  presented.  In  1900  he  was 
elected  to  the  national  house  of  representatives 
from  the  Twelfth  congressional  district  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  his  course  so  highly  commended 
him  to  his  constituency  that  he  has  been  contin- 
ued in  his  seat,  having  been  twice  re-elected. 

Although  his  professional  and  private  busi- 
ness affairs  and  public  duties  are  both  numerous 
and  urgent,  his  broad  public  spirit  is  manifested 
in  the  active  interest  which  he  takes  in  philan- 
thropic and  other  community  concerns.  Among 
the  institutions  which  are  particularlv  dear  to 
him  are  the  Westmoreland  Club,  of  which  he  is 
president,  and  the  Boys'  Industrial  Association, 
which  he  aided  in  organizing,  and  which  is  to 
be  further  mentioned  in  this  narrative. 

At  Plattsburg,  New  York,  in  1861,  Mr.  Pal- 
mer was  married  to  Ellen  Marv  AYebster.  a  na- 
tive of  that  city,  daughter  of  George  W.  and 
Lucy  Diana  ( Bradley )  Webster.  The  latter 
named  was  a  daughter  of  Baird  and  Lucy 
(Dewey)  Bradley.  Lucy  (Dewey)  Bradley 
was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Anna 
(Allen)  Dewey,  and  a  direct  descendant  of  Si- 
meon Dewey,  who  was  created  baronet  of  Stone 
Hall  in  1629;  the  name  was  originally  Daine 
(Huguenots).  Anna  (Allen)  Dewey,  mother  of 
Lucy  (Dewey)   Bradley,  was  a  cousin  of  Ethan 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


H5 


Allen,  of  Ticonderoga  fame.  Joseph  Bradley, 
father  of  Baird  Bradley,  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tion under  Captain  Bridsey,  of  Ripton,  Connecti- 
cut, and  was  afterwards  promoted  to  captain. 
Admiral  George  Dewey  is  also  a  conspicuous 
member  of  this  family.  William  and  Julia  Web- 
ster, maternal  grandparents  of  Ellen  Mary  (Web- 
ster) Palmer,  went  as  pioneers  from  Montreal, 
Canada,  to  Vermont,  where  they  passed  some 
years  upon  a  farm,  eventually  returning  to  Mon- 
treal, where  they  resided  during  the  remainder 
of  their  lives.  They  were  the  parents  of  five 
sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whim  are  de- 
ceased. George  W.  Webster  was  a  native  of 
Williston,  Vermont.  In  his  day  he  was  a  promi- 
nent merchant  of  Plattsburg,  New  York,  and 
largely  interested  in  shipping  on  Lake  Champlain. 
He  was  the  father  of  six  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living:  Mrs.  James  L.  Reynolds,  of  Auburn, 
New  York ;  Mrs.  Henry  W.  Palmer,  see  for- 
ward, and  Mrs.  Sandford  Potter,  of  Whitehall, 
New  York.  Mrs.  Palmer's  father  died  in  Platts- 
burg, New  York,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years, 
and  her  mother,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy- 
six  years,  died  at  the  residence  of  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  Palmer,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Mrs.  Palmer  has  long  been  prominently  iden- 
tified with  religious,  educational,  charitable  and 
philanthropic  work,  both  in  an  individual  ca- 
pacity and  also  in  association  with  her  husband. 
She  has  effectively  championed  many  worthy 
causes  in  private  gatherings  and  upon  the  public 
platform,  and  has  given  liberally  of  her  time  and 
means  in  forwarding  movements  conducive  of 
benefit  to  the  community  at  large.  The  Boys' 
Industrial  Association  and  its  Industrial  School 
for  Boys,  both  of  which  were  established  in  large 
degree  through  her  instrumentality,  will  perpet- 
ually remain  as  a  monument  to  her  solicitude  for 
the  future  welfare  of  boys  whose  circumstances 
make  it  necessary  for  them  to  begin  the  battle 
for  existence  at  an  early  age,  and  in  this  widely 
benevolent  and  unique  undertaking  she  received 
the  earnest  co-operation  of  her  husband,  who 
not  only  cordially  approved  her  plans  but  r°^- 
it  his  personal  service,  acting  as  president,  ad- 
vising in  its  management  and  rendering  gener- 
10 


ous  financial  assistance.  The  school  building 
erected  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars  on  land 
provided  by  the  city,  is  fully  equipped  for  man- 
ual training  and  offers  excellent  opportunities  for 
acquiring  the  elementary  principles  of  various 
useful  occupations,  including  carpentering,  shoe- 
making,  chair-seating,  drawing,  modeling,  etc. 
Exhibitions  are  given  at  stated  intervals,  show- 
ing the  marked  proficiency  which  many  of  the 
pupils  attain  in  the  different  trades,  and  not  a 
few  of  them  who  are  now  filling  positions  of  use- 
fulness in  the  community  may  attribute  their 
success  in  life  to  the  kindly  interest  and  foster- 
ing aid  extended  in  their  behalf  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Palmer,  and  the  work  of  the  latter  especially, 
along  these  lines,  can  not  be  too  highly  esti- 
mated. Airs.  Palmer  has  been  for  many  years 
president  of  the  local  Women's  Christian  Tem- 
perance LTnion,  has  been  vice-president  of  its 
county  organization  since  1891  and  is  untiring  in 
her  efforts  in  behalf  of  temperance,  morality 
and  religious  work.  In  the  Sunday  school  of  St. 
Stephen's  (Protestant  Episcopal)  Church,  of 
which  she  and  her  husband  are  both  members. 
Mrs.  Palmer  is  a  leading  teacher,  having  a  class 
numbering  one  hundred,  its  members  varying  in 
age  from  fifteen  to  twenty  years. 

The  children  of  Hon.  and  Mrs.  Henry  W. 
Palmer  are  as  follows  : 

1.  Louise  Mary,  who  married  Prof.  George 
Edgar  Vincent,  a  son  of  Bishop  Vincent,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  now  occupying 
the  chair  of  sociology  in  the  Chicago  University. 
They  have  three  children :  Isabel,  John  and  Eliz- 
abeth. 

2.  Bradley  W.  Palmer,  a  graduate  of  Har- 
vard University,  and  also  of  its  law  school,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Story,  Thorndike 
&  Palmer,  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

3.  Ella  Constance,  who  resides  at  home. 
She  completed  her  musical  studies  abroad  at  the 
London  (England)  Conservatory  of  Music. 

4.  Madeline,  who  married  Prof.  Charles  M. 
Bakewell,  Ph.  B.,  formerly  of  the  University  of  • 
California,  and  now  senior  professor  of  philos- 
ophy at  Yale  University. 

5.  Henry  Webster  Palmer,  who  graduat  ;d 


146 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


from  the  academic  and  law  departments  of  Har- 
vard University.  He  is  practicing  law  in  Boston. 
Of  the  daughters,  Louise  Mary  and  Madeline 
■are  graduates  of  Bryn  Mawr  College,  and  Ella 
Constance  of  Wellesley  College.  H.  E.  H. 

BEAUMONT  FAMILY.  William  Bement 
(or  Beaman)  of  Saybrook,  who  married  Lydia 
Danforth,  December  9,  1643,  was  tne  nrst  °f  tne 
name  in  the  colony  of  Connecticut  and  was  at 
Saybrook,  1635,  was  made  freeman  there,  1652. 
He  died  February  4,  1698.  She  died  August  16, 
1686. 

Lydia  Danforth  was  daughter  of  Nicholas 
Danforth,  "the  progenitor  of  a  family  in  New 
England  whose  successive  representatives  have 
been  more  than  ordinarily  distinguished  in  their 
■day  and  generation,  and  whose  name,  honorable 
alike  in  church  and  state,"  *  *  *  "has 
"been  worthily  perpetuated  even  to  our  own 
day."  Nicholas  Danforth  was  born  in  the 
county  of  Suffolk,  England,  "A  Gentle- 
man of  such  Estate  and  Repute  in  the  World," 
says  Cotton  Mather,  "that  it  cost  him  a  consid- 
erable sum  to  escape  the  knighthood  which  King 
Charles  II  imposed  upon  all,  and  at  so  much  per 
annum ;  and  of  such  Figure  and  Esteem  in  the 
Church  that  he  procured  that  Famous  Lecture 
at  Framlingham  in  Suffolk,  where  he  had  a  fine 
Manour."  His  wife  died  1629,  and.  in  1634  he 
came  to  New  England,  was  admitted  freeman  o~f 
the  Massachusetts  colony  with  some  twenty 
others  of  Cambridge,  March  3,  1635-6;  was  dep- 
uty to  the  general  court,  1636;  died  April,  1638, 
leaving  five  children  :  Elizabeth,  who  by  her  mar- 
riage with  Andrew  Belcher,  became  grandmother 
of  Governor  Jonathan  Belcher ;  Thomas,  born 
1622 ;  Samuel,  born  1626,  graduated,  Harvard 
College,  1643  •  Jonathan,  born  February  29,  1628: 
Ann,  wife  of  Matthew  Bridge ;  Lydia,  wife  of 
William  Beamen. 

William  Bement  and  his  wife  Lydia  Danforth 
had  issue:  Lydia,  born  March  9,  1644;  Mary, 
born  November  12,  1645  or  47  >  Elizabeth,  born 
March  2,  1649 ;  Deborah,  born  November  29, 
165 — ;  Abigail,  born  February  20,  1654,  died 
September    29,    1683 ;    Samuel,    born    February, 


1656,  of  whom  later;  Rebecca,  born  September 
7,  1659. 

Samuel  Bement,  sixth  child  of  William  and 
Lydia  (Danforth)  Bement,  born  February,  1656, 
had  a  son,  Samuel  Bement,  who  in  1725  had  a 
son  William  Bement,  who  died  August  22,  1812. 
He  married  Sarah  Everett,  of  Windham  ( or 
Lebanon),  Connecticut,  and  settled  in  Lebanon. 

Isaiah  Beaumont,  son  of  William  and  Sarah 
(Everett)  Bement,  was  a  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier, having  enlisted  December  1,  1775,  in  Col. 
John  Durkee's  regiment ;  was  at  the  siege  of  Bos- 
ton, served  with  the  army  in  New  York,  and  dur- 
ing its  retreat  across  Jersey  to  Pennsylvania.  His 
term  of  service  expired  just  before  the  battle  of 
Trenton,  but  he  was  among  the  few  who  volun- 
teered for  further  service,  and  was  in  that  fight, 
and  a  short  time  afterward  in  the  battle  of  Prince- 
ton, where  he  was  severely  wounded.  Later  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  war  he  was  again  in  the 
service,  on  temporary  duty  to  repel  an  invasion 
in  Connecticut.  He  became  a  pensioner  and  in 
1791  removed  to  Wyalusing  Creek.  Isaiah  Beau- 
mont had  four  brothers,  all  of  whom  are  said  to 
have  served  in  the  Revolutionary  arm.  One, 
William  Beaumont,  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fifth 
Regular  Connecticut  Continental  Infantry  De- 
cember, 1777,  to  January  1,  1783 ;  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Connecticut  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 
The  wife  of  Isaiah  Beaumont  was  Fear  Alden. 
Capt.  Jonathan  Alden,  fourth  son  of  John  and 
Priscilla  (Mullins)  Alden,  had  four  children, 
and  Andrew,  his  eldest  child,  married  Lydia 
Stanforth,  February  4,  1714,  and  they  had  eight 
children.  They  resided  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut, 
and  there  Fear  Alden,  his  daughter,  married 
Isaiah  Beaumont. 

Andrew  Beaumont,  son  of  Isaiah  and  Fear 
(Alden)  Beaumont,  born  Connecticut,  1791,  died 
Wilkes-Barre,  September  30,  1853,  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  in  1808,  a  youth 
of  seventeen  years,  to  obtain  an  education,  and 
attended  the  Old  Academy  for  several  terms,  pay- 
ing his  way  by  his  labor  in  the  meantime.  He 
soon  became  a  teacher  where  he  had  before  been 
a  student,  and  for  some  time  he  and  the  late  Hon. 
Garrick  Mallery  taught  the  old  school.     In  Jan- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


147 


uar)',  1814,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Mad- 
ison collector  of  revenue,  direct  taxes  and  inter- 
nal duties  for  the  Twentieth  Collection  District 
of  Pennsylvania,  which  included  Luzerne  county. 
This  office  he  held  until  1816.  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed prothonotary  and  clerk  of  the  courts  of 
Luzerne  county,  which  offices  he  held  until  1819. 
In  1821  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  re- 
elected in  1822 ;  in  1826  he  was  appointed  post- 
master at  Wilkes-Barre,  holding  the  office  until 
1832.  During  the  latter  year  he  was  a  candidate 
for  congress  from  the  district  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Luzerne  and  Columbia.  The  candi- 
dates were  Mr.  Beaumont,  Dr.  Thomas  W.  Miner 
and  James  McClintock,  Mr.  Miner  being  a  Whig, 
"the  other  two  Democrats.  This  was  a  noted 
campaign  and  triangular  fight,  spirited  and  bit- 
ter, but  Mr.  Beaumont's  plurality  was  eighty- 
eight  votes.  He  was  re-elected  to  his  second 
term  in  1834.  During  his  service  in  congress 
the  celebrated  contest  of  President  Jackson 
against  the  United  States  Bank  occurred,  and 
Mr.  Beaumont  was  a  distinguished  figure  in  up- 
holding the  hands  of  the  President  in  this  cele- 
brated contest  of  opposition  to  the  support  of 
private  institutions  by  the  general  government. 
His  constitutents  warmly  sustained  him  in  this 
course.  His  course  in  congress  brought  him 
into  the  closest  confidence  with  Presidents  Jack- 
son, Van  Buren  and  Polk,  Vice-Presidents  King 
and  Lewis  Cass.  He  declined  a  renomination, 
and  in  1840  was  tendered  by  President  Van  Bu- 
ren the  appointment  of  treasurer  of  the  United 
States  Mint  at  Philadelphia,  which  he  declined, 
believing  that  his  services  were  more  needed  at 
home.  In  1847  ne  was  tendered  the  appointment 
by  President  Polk  of  commissioner  of  public 
buildings  and  grounds  for  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, at  that  time  an  office  of  great  responsibility 
and  requiring  executive  ability  of  a  high  order  in 
the  incumbent.  He  accepted  this  office,entering  ac- 
tively on  his  duties,  but  his  nomination  was  re- 
jected by  the  senate  through  the  influence  of  Sen- 
ator Benton,  of  Missouri,  who  opposed  him  on 
personal  grounds.  During  the  year  1849  he  suf- 
fered from  protracted  illness.  However,  during 
'this  year  "he  was  elected,  against  his  will,  to  the 


state  legislature.  Enfeebled  as  he  was  he  re- 
paired to  Harrisburg  and  entered  upon  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duties,  apparently  with  the  vigor 
that  characterized  his  former  life.  Mr.  Beau- 
mont was  the  first  man  in  the  legislature  to  pro- 
pose the  establishing  of  direct  relations  between 
the  state  and  the  general  government,  and  through 
his  exertions  and  arguments  the  committee  on 
federal  relations  was  finally  created ;  he  was  ap- 
pointed chairman,  and  made  the  first  report  ever 
presented  to  the  Pennsylvania  legislature  on  that 
subject — a  state  paper,  so  thoughtful,  strong  and 
suited  to  the  time  that  it  may  appropriately  be 
called  a  "landmark  in  the  history  of  the  law- 
making of  the  country." 

"In  early  life  it  was  Mr.  Beaumont's  desire 
to  qualify  himself  for  the  practice  of  the  law.  At 
this  period  he  had  become  a  thorough  classical 
scholar,  and,  quitting  his  school  for  a  more  lu- 
crative employment,  he  enrolled  his  name  as  a 
student  in  the  law  office  of  Judge  Mallery,  and 
devoted  every  moment  of  his  leisure  to  the  ac- 
quisition of  that  profession.  At  the  termination 
of  the  usual  period  of  study  he  was  pronounced 
by  a  competent  committee  fully  qualified  for  ad- 
mission to  the  bar,  but  the  presiding  judge  de- 
clined to  admit  him,  alleging  as  the  reason  that 
his  reading  had  not  been  pursued  for  what  he 
deemed  a  necessary  period  in  the  office  of  an  in- 
structor. Mr.  Beaumont  and  his  friends  always 
regarded  this  as  a  mere  pretext,  but  it  had  the 
desired  effect,  and  drove  this  bright  young  man 
from  the  profession."  Mr.  Beaumont  was  well 
known  for  a  period  of  more  than  forty  years  in 
Pennsylvania  as  a  political  writer,  and  was  recog- 
nized as  a  political  economist  of  wide  repute. 
"His  writings — terse,  energetic,  and  clear  in 
style — would  fill  volumes.  He  wrote  some  poetry 
and  one  of  his  poems,  'Sons  of  Wyoming,'  was 
very  popular  as  a  song  when  it  was  written,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  departure  from  Wilkes-Barre 
of  the  Wyoming  Artillerists'  for  the  Mexican 
war."  Mr.  Beaumont  became  a  member  of 
Lodge  61,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  1816; 
was  senior  warden  181 7- 19,  and  worshipful  mas- 
ter 1820,  1 82 1,  1826,  and  again  in  1844,  upon  the 
revival  of  the  lodge.    In  1831  he  fitted  up  a  lodge 


148 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


room  in  his  own  house,  where  during  the  period 
of  suspension  Masonic  meetings  were  frequently 
held,  and  where  in  January,  1844,  the  lodge  was 
revived  and  reconstituted. 

Mr.  Beaumont  was  married  in  1813,  to  Julia 
Colt,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  October  13,  1872,  sec- 
ond daughter  of  Arnold  Colt,  who  was 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  Wyoming 
valley.  Arnold  Colt  was  born  in  Lyme, 
Connecticut,  in  1870,  and  married  Lucinda 
Yarrington,  by  whom  he  had  seven  chil- 
dren. He  was  a  son  of  Harris  and  Elizabeth 
(Turner)  Colt,  a  grandson  of  Benjamin  and  Mi- 
riam (Harris)  Colt,  who  was  a  son  of  Harris, 
who  was  a  son  of  Benjamin,  who  was  a  son  of 
John,  born  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  1658.  The 
last  named  was  a  son  of  John  Colt,  of  Colchester, 
England.  Nearly  all  the  Colt  families  of  Amer- 
ica are  branches  of  this  family.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Beaumont  had  children :  John  Colt,  born  August 
27,  1821,  of  whom  later;  William  Henry,  born 
November  27,  1825,  of  whom  later;  Andrew  B. ; 
Eugene  Beauharnais,  born  August  2,  1837,  of 
whom  later ;  Elizabeth  Colt,  married  Samuel  P. 
Collins ;  Sarah  Griswold,  married  George  W. 
Leuffer ;  Julia  B.,  married  Dr.  Cyrus  D.  Glon- 
inger  ;  Eleanor  B. ;  Hortense. 

Admiral  John  Colt  Beaumont,  U.  S.  N.,  eld- 
est son  of  Hon.  Andrew  and  Julia  (Colt)  Beau- 
mont, was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  August  27, 
182 1,  and  was  appointed  acting  midshipman 
March  1,  1838.  He  served  on  the  sloops-of- 
war  "Ontario"  and  "Erie"  1838-40;  and  on  the 
frigate  "Constitution"  during  her  cruise  around 
the  world,  1840-44.  He  was  promoted  to  passed 
midshipman  1844,  appointed  to  sloop-of-war 
"Jamestown,"  serving  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  and 
was  acting  master  1844-46.  In  the  latter  year 
he  was  sent  to  the  ship-of-the-line  "Ohio,"  West 
India  Squadron,  and  was  present  at  the  bom- 
bardment and  fall  of  Vera  Cruz.  He  was  made 
acting  lieutenant  1847,  and  assigned  to  the  fri- 
gate "Columbia."  He  was  on  duty  at  the  Naval 
Observatory,  Washington,  in  1848.  In  1849-50 
he  was  on  the  razee  "Independence,"  Mediter- 
ranean squadron,  as  master  and  acting  lieutenant. 
He  was  promoted  to  lieutenant  1852,  and  was  on 


duty  at  the  Naval  Observatory  again,  1852-54. 
He  was  on  the  U.  S.  steamer  "San  Jacinto,"  oa 
the  coast  of  Europe  anjl  the  West  Indies,  1854- 
55 ;  on  frigate  "Potomac,"  Home  Squadron, 
1856;  on  steam-frigate  "Wabash,"  Home 
Squadron,  1857;  receiving-ship  at  New  York, 
1857-58;  steam-sloop  "Hartford,"  East  India 
Squadron,  China  Sea,  1859-60;  sloop-of-war 
"John  Adams,"  executive  officer,  1860-61  ;  1862. 
promoted  to  lieutenant-commander,  commanding 
U.  S.  steajner  "Aroostook,"  North  Atlantic 
Squadron,  and  was  an  active  participant  in  the 
engagements  with  the  enemy's  batteries  in  the 
James  river  and  at  Fort  Darling  in  May,  1862.. 
In  the  same  year  he  was  promoted  to  commander ; 
he  commanded  the  steam-gunboat  "Sebago"  in, 
1863,  in  various  engagements  in  Charleston  har- 
bor, and  took  a  leading  part  in  the  capture  of 
Fort  Wagner.  He  commanded  the  U.  S.  steamer 
"Mackinaw"  1864-65,  in  the  North  and  South 
Atlantic  Squadrons,  and  participated  in  all  the- 
attacks  on  Fort  Fisher,  where  his  vessel  was. 
badly  cut  up  by  the  enemy's  shell,  and  though  sig- 
nalled that  he  could  retire  from  the  action  de- 
clined to  do  so ;  he  participated  in  all  the  subse- 
quent engagements  with  the  Confederate  batter- 
ies on  Cape  Fear  river.  In  1866-67  he  had  the 
distinguished  honor  to  command  the  famous, 
double-turreted  monitor,  "Miantonomah,"  and 
took  her  safely  to  Europe  and  back,  being  every- 
where received  with  special  honors.  He  was  re- 
tired in  1868,  and  was. restored  to  the  active  list 
in  1873  as  captain,  commanding  U.  S.  steamer 
"Powhatan"  on  special  service  in  1873-74.  He- 
was  promoted  to  commodore  1874,  and  from  1875 
to  1879  was  chief  signal  officer  of  the  navy.  In 
November,  1881,  he  was  promoted  to  rear-ad- 
miral, and  was  retired  February  3,  1882,  after- 
serving  a  tour  of  duty  as  commandant  at  the 
Portsmouth  navy  yard.  He  died  in  Durham, 
New  Hampshire,  August  2,  1882.  Admiral 
Beaumont  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife- 
was  Fanny  Dorrance,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, daughter  of  Rev.  John  Dorrance.  She  was 
a  woman  of  rare  beauty  and  great  intelligence. 
Many  years  after  her  death  he  married,  in  1874, 
Fanny  King,  of  Washington  City,  who  survived' 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


149 


him.  Three  children  were  born  of  the  latter 
marriage — Ethel  Agnes,  Amraen,  and  John,  now 
living  in  Hagerstown,  Maryland. 

■William  Henry  Beaumont,  second  son  of  An- 
drew and  Julia  A.  (Colt)  Beaumont,  was  born 
Wilkes-Barre,  November  27,  1825,  died  there 
June  19,  1874.  He  read  law  with  Charles 
Denison  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Luzerne  county,  April  8.  1851.  He 
served  throughout  the  whole  Mexican  war, 
and  was  first  sergeant,  Company  I,  First 
Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  In  1852,  in 
association  with  M.  P.  Barnum,  he  established 
in  Wilkes-Barre  the  True  Democrat,  which,  as 
its  name  indicates,  was  an  orthodox  organ  of 
democracy,  but  which  unfortunately  suspended 
publication  at  the  end  of  about  one  year.  Mr. 
Beaumont  was  a  great  reader,  had  a  splendid 
memory,  and  was  one  of  the  wittiest  and  most 
popular  men  in  Wilkes-Barre.  His  humor  was 
bright  and  sparkling,  his  powers  of  mimicry  ad- 
mirable, and  his  hearty  laugh  was  contagious. 

Lieut.  Col.  Eugene  Beauharnais  Beaumont, 
U.  S.  A.,  youngest  son  of  Hon.  Andrew  and  Julia 
A.  (Colt)  Beaumont,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, August  2,  1837,  graduated  at  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  and 
■commissioned  second  lieutenant  First  U.  S.  Cav- 
alry, May  6,  1861,  and  was  detailed  to  drill  vol- 
unteers at  Washington,  D.  C.  At  the  first  battle 
■of  Bull  Run  he  was  aide-de-camp  to  General 
Burnside,  and  was  highly  complimented  by  that 
officer  in  his  official  report.  He  was  commissioned 
first  lieutenant  September  14,  1861.  He  served 
during  1861  and  in  1862  as  aide  on  the  staff  of 
General  Sedgwick,  on  the  upper  Potomac,  in  the 
Shenandoah  valley,  and  on  the  Peninsula,  but, 
afflicted  with  typhoid  fever,  he  was  obliged  to 
quit  the  field.  In  the  winter  of  1862- 1863  he  was 
aide-de-camp  to  Major-General  Halleck.  In 
May,  1853,  he  was  cemmissioned  captain  U.  S. 
volunteers,  and  was  ordered  to  duty  with  Major- 
General  Sedgwick,  commanding  Sixth  Corps, 
as  aide-de-camp ;  served  in  the  Gettysburg  cam- 
paign, and  participated  in  the  battles  of  Rappa- 
hannock Station,  Mine  Run,  Wilderness,  Spott- 
sylvania  Court  House  and  Cold  Harbor.     After 


Sedgwick's  death  Beaumont  was  ordered  by  Gen- 
eral Grant  to  report  to  Gen.  J.  H.  Wilson,  com- 
manding Third  Cavalry  Division,  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  and  was  in  all  the  battles  and 
operations  of  the  division  around  Richmond, 
in  the  raid  and  destruction  of  the  Danville 
&  Southside  Railroad,  and  the  campaign 
against  Early  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 
In  October,  1864,  he  accompanied  Gen.  J.  H. 
Wilson  to  Nashville,  having  been  commissioned 
major  and  assistant  adjutant  general  and  served 
as  such  with  the  cavalry  corps  of  the  military 
division  of  the  Mississippi,  and  was  compli- 
mented for  efficient  services  in  the  organization 
of  the  corps.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of 
Nashville  and  the  pursuit  of  Hood ;  the  fight  at 
Hollow  Tree  Gap,  Richland  Creek,  Little  River, 
Pulaski,  and  in  various  skirmishes  was  with  his 
corps  on  its  march  through  Alabama  and  Geor- 
gia, taking  part  in  the  battles  of  Montevallo, 
Ebenezer  Church,  storming  of  Selma,  capture  of 
Montgomery,  Columbus,  and  Macon,  Georgia. 
He  received  Jefferson  Davis  at  Macon  on  his 
arrival  as  a  prisoner  after  capture,  and  remained 
on  duty  at  Macon  until  November,  1864.  He  was 
mustered  out  of  the  volunteer  service  March  19, 
1866.  He  was  commissioned  captain  Fourth 
Cavalry,  July  25,  1865.  He  was  several  times 
brevetted :  captain,  November  7,  1863,  for  gal- 
lant and  meritorious  service  in  the  battle  of  Rap- 
pahannock Station,  Virginia;  major.  April  2, 
1865,  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the 
capture  of  Selma,  Alabama ;  lieutenant-colonel 
of  volunteers,  March  13,  1865,  for  gallant  and 
meritorious  service  during  the  war  in  Tennessee ; 
and  colonel  of  volunteers,  April  2,  1865,  for  gal- 
lant and  distinguished  service  in  the  battle  of 
Selma.  He  was  awarded  the  congressional 
medal  of  honor,  March  30,  1898,  for  most  dis- 
tinguished gallantry  in  action  at  the  Harpeth 
river,  Tennessee,  December  17,  1864,  where  he 
led  the  attack  upon  a  battery  and  captured  the 
guns :  and  at  Selma,  Alabama,  April  2,  1865, 
when'  he  charged  with  his  regiment  into  the  en- 
emy's works,  while  major  and  assistant  adjutant 
general  of  volunteers,  serving  with  the  cavalry 
corps,  army  of  the  Mississippi.     In  April,   1866, 


*50 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


he  took  command  of  Troop  A,  Fourth  Cavalry, 
at  San  Antonio,  Texas,  and  commanded  a  battal- 
ion of  four  troops  in  the  fight  at  Palo  Dura 
Canon,  September  28,  1874,  Red  River,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  defeat  of  the  Comanches,  the  de- 
struction of  their  camps,  and  the  capture  of 
1,700  horses  and  mules.  He  was  promoted  to 
major  November  12,  1879,  anc^  lieutenant-colonel 
Third  Cavalry,  January  14,  1892.  He  was  re- 
tired May  6,  1892.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Commandery,  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion;  the  Society  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac ;  the  Society  of  the  Sixth  Corps ; 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ;  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Society,  Sons  of  the  Revolution ;  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and 
the  Westmoreland  Club  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

He-  married  (first)  Wilkes-Barre,  September 
8,  1861,  Margaret  Rutter,  who  died  April  2, 
1879.  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Rutter.  (See  Rutter 
family.)  He  married  (second),  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  December  20,  1883,  Maria  Linds- 
ley  Orton,  who  died  at  Wilkes-Barre.  She  was 
daughter  of  Dr.  Milton  Pardee  Orton,  of  Law- 
renceville,  Pennsylvania,  a  graduate  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, and  a  surgeon  U.  S.  V.,  dying  while  in 
charge  of  Hatteras  Inlet.  He  married  (third) 
September  28,  1905,  Mrs.  Stella  Shoemaker 
(Orton)  Rusling,  sister  of  his  second  wife. 

Colonel  Beaumont  had  children  only  by  his 
first  marriage,  viz. : 

1.  Natalie  Sedgwick  Beaumont,  married 
Gen.  George  Forsythe,  U.  S.  A.,  April  24,  1885, 
and  had  Alexander  Beaumont,  born  August  5, 
1888,  died  1890;  and  George  Beaumont,  born 
July  5,  1894,  died  in  infancy.  General  Forsythe 
is  one  of  the  most  gallant  officers  who  ever 
adorned  the  army.  He  made  a  splendid  record 
during  the  Civil  war,  and  in  subsequent  service 
against  the  Indians.  He  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  private  Chicago  (Illinois)  Dra- 
goons, April  19-August  18,  1861 ;  first  lieutenant 
Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry,  September  18.  1861  ; 
captain,  February  12,  1862 ;  major,  Sep- 
tember i,  1863;  brevet  colonel  volunteers  Oc- 
tober 19,  1864,  for  gallant  and  meritorious 
services  battles  Opequan  and  Middletown,  Vir- 


ginia;  brevet  brigadier-general  volunteers  March 
13,  1865,  for  distinguished  services  and  conspic- 
uous gallantry ;  mustered  out  February  1,  1866. 
Appointed  major  Ninth  L'nited  States  Cavalry 
July  28,  1866;  brevet  lieutenant-colonel  March  2,. 
1867,  for  gallant  and  meritorious  service,  battle 
Dinwiddie  C.  H,  Virginia ;  brevet  colonel  same 
date  for  same,  battle  Five  Forks,  Virginia  ;  brevet 
brigadier-general  September  17,  1868,  for  gallant 
conduct  and  meritorious  service  in  engagement 
with  hostile  Indians,  Arickaree  Fork  of  Republi- 
can river,  that  year ;  lieutenant-colonel  and  mili- 
tary secretary  to  Lieutenant-General  Sheridan, 
November  13,  1869;  relieved  March  17,  1873; 
lieutenant-colonel  and  aide-de-camp  April  9, 1878  ; 
lieutenant-colonel  Fourth  U.  S.  Cavalry  June  26, 
1881  ;  retired  for  disability  March  25,  1890. 

2.  Hortense  Darling  Beaumont,  of  whom 
later. 

3.  Eugene  Beauharnais  Beaumont,  farmer  and 
editor,  Lawrenceville,  Pennsylvania,  born  Octo- 
ber 2,  1868 ;  married,  June,  1896,  Josephine  F. 
White,  of  Philadelphia.    They  had  Eugene  B.  Jr. 

4.  Andre  Alden  Beaumont,  born  August  4, 
1870 ;  married,  April  20,  1899,  Elsie  Butler, 
daughter  of  Edwin  Griffin  Butler,  Esq.  (See 
Butler  family).  The}-  had  Andre  Alden.  Air. 
Beaumont  is  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  So- 
ciety, Sons  of  the  Revolution. 

Hortense  Darling  Beaumont,  daughter  of 
Col.  Eugene  B.  and  Margaret  (Rutter)  Beau- 
mont, married  Capt.  Charles  Pinckney  Elliott, 
U.  S.  A.,  born  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  March 
^5,  i860,  son  of  General  Stephen  Elliott,  Jr.,  C. 
S.  A.,  and  his  wife,  Charlotte  Stuart,  and  grand- 
son of  Rev.  Stephen  Elliott,  Protestant  Episco- 
pal Church,  Georgia,  and  his  wife,  Anna  Hutson 
Habersham,  daughter  of  Major  John  Haber- 
sham, member  Continental  Congress  from  Geor- 
gia. Rev.  Stephen  Elliott  was  son  of  William 
Elliott,  of  William,  of  Thomas,  an  early  settler 
of  Georgia.  General  Stephen  Elliott  Jr.,  C.  S.  A. 
entered  the  Confederate  States  Army  as  captain, 
and  rose  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  May,. 
1864.  He  died  at  Aikens,  South  Carolina,  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1866,  of  wounds  received  at  Peters- 
burg, Virginia,  1864. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


151 


Captain  Elliott  was  educated  at  West  Point 
Military  Academy ;  cadet,  July  1,  1878 ;  second 
lieutenant.  Thirteenth  Infantry,  January  13, 
1882  ;  transferred  to  Fourth  U.  S.  Cavalry,  June 
7,  1883 ;  first  lieutenant,  October,  1888 ;  retired 
with  rank  of  captain,  July  9,  1898.  He  joined 
Thirteenth  Infantry  in  the  field  at  Fort  Seldon, 
New  Mexico,  September,  1882,  transferred  to 
Fourth  Cavalry,  engaged  in  campaign  against 
Apache  Indians ;  at  camp  at  Richmond,  Arizona, 
in  June,  1883  ;  at  Fort  Cummings,  New  Mexico; 
in  the  field  during  winter  of  1883-84 ;  at  Fort 
Bayard,  New  Mexico,  until  June,  1884 :  trans- 
ferred to  Arizona  with  regiment,  remaining  at 
Fort  Lowell  for  one  month ;  reported  to  Capt. 
Emmet  Crawford  for  duty  as  provost  marshal  of 
San  Carlos,  Indian  Reservation,  and  for  duty 
with  Indian  scouts,  July,  1884;  remained  on  duty 
with  Indians,  participating  in  Apache  campaign 
in  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and  Old  Mexico,  where 
he  was  attacked,  captured  and  imprisoned  by 
Mexican  troops,  August  23,  1885.  He  was  highly 
complimented  by  Captain  Crawford  for  conduct 
in  that  affair.  He  was  relieved  at  his  own  re- 
quest to  take  command  of  Troop  H,  October, 
1885,  joined  in  Guadaloupe  Canon,  Mexico, 
where  he  remained  until  forced  by  sickness  to 
leave  for  treatment,  April,  1886.  Joined  at 
Huachuca,  Arizona,  October,  1886 ;  transferred 
to  Fort  Myer,  Virginia,  January  1,  1888;  to  Co- 
lumbia, South  Carolina,  October,  1888,  to  Fort 
Myer  Virginia,  March,  1889 ;  Fort  Sherman, 
Idaho,  November,  1890;  Fort  Walla  Walla, 
Washington,  April,  1891  ;  absent  sick  November, 
1891,  to  Juh',  1893;  joined  at  Vancouver  bar- 
racks and  participated  in  rescue  of  hunters  lost 
in  Bitter  Root  mountains,  Idaho,  November  and 
December,  1893  ;  complimentary  order  from  post 
commander,  letter  from  General  Carlin,  and  order 
from  War  Department.  Was  engaged  in  explor- 
ation and  survey  in  Bitter  Root  mountains,  and 
summer  and  autumn  of  1894 ;  exploration  and 
survey  of  Mount  St.  Helens,  Washington,  sum- 
mer and  autumn  1896 ;  absent  sick  since  October 
19,  1896.  He  was  complimented  in  person  by 
Capt.  Emmet  Crawford  for  conduct  under  fire 
in  affair  of  August  23,   1885,  near  San  Buena- 


ventura, Chihuahua,  Mexico;  and  received  hon- 
orable mention  by  Brig.-Gen.  George  Crook,  in 
report  of  Apache  campaign  of  1885-86,  and  in 
orders  of  War  Department  covering  same  cam- 
paign. 

Capt.  Charles  P.  and  Hortense  B.  Elliott 
have  eight  children :  Margaret  Rutter,  born  Oc- 
tober 7,  1887;  Stephen,  born  August  23,  1889; 
Charlotte  Stuart,  born  September  19,  1891 ; 
Eugene  Beaumont,  born  August  29,  1893  ;  Isabel 
Stuart,  born  August  1,  1895;  Nathaniel  Rutter, 
born  July  15,  1897;  Charles  Pinckney,  born  Sep- 
tember 22,  1901  ;  John  Beaumopt,  born  January 
2,  1904.  H.  E.  H. 

DENISON  FAMILY.  The  Denisons  of  the 
Wyoming  valley  in  Pennsylvania  are  direct  lin- 
eal descendants  of  William  Denison  (George  i, 
George  2,  Joseph  3,  Nathan  4,  Colonel  Nathan 
5),  who  was  born  in  England  about  1580.  came 
to  America  in  1630231  the  "Lion,"  and  settled  in 
the  Roxbury  plantation  in  the  colony  of  Massa- 
chusetts. With  the  immigrant  came  his  wife 
Margaret,  his  three  sons — Daniel,  Edward,  and 
George,  and  also  Rev.  John  Eliot,  who  seems  to 
have  been  a  tutor  in  his  family,  and  who  after- 
ward gained  wide  celebrity  as  a  missionary 
worker  among  the  Indians  of  New  England  and 
New  York,  and  who  in  his  special  field  of  re- 
ligious labor  translated  the  Bible  into  the  Indian 
^language. 

William  Denison  was  a  deacon  of  the  Rox- 
bury church,  and  gave  careful  attention  to  the 
education  of  his  children.  He  died  in  Roxbury 
in  1653.  George  (1)  son  of  William,  was  born 
1618;  married  (first)  1640,  Bridget  Thompson, 
daughter  of  John  Thompson,  gentleman,  of  Pres- 
ton, Northamptonshire,  England,  whose  widow 
Alice  had  come  to  America  and  settled  in  Rox- 
bury.. Bridget  died  1643.  George  then  returned 
to  England,  served  under  Cromwell  in  the  army 
of  the  parliament,  won  distinction,  was  wounded 
at  Naseby,  was  nursed  at  the  house  of  John  Boro- 
dell  (1),  Cork,  Ireland,  by  his  daughter  Ann, 
married  her,  returned  to  America,  visited  the 
Roxbury  plantation,  and  afterward  joined  the 
colony  at  Stonington,  Connecticut.     He  died  in 


152 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Hartford,  Connecticut,  October  23,  1694,  while 
there  on  a  business  errand.  His  wife  Ann  died 
September  6,  1712. 

Capt.  George  Denison  has  been  described  by 
historians  as  "the  Myles  Standish  of  the  settle- 
ment" at  Stonington.  Miss  Calkins  in  her  "His- 
tory of  New  London,"  says  of  him :  "Our  early 
history  presents  no  character  of  bolder  and  more 
active  spirit  than  Capt.  George  Denison."  After 
leaving  Roxbury  in  1651  with  his  wife  and  four 
children,  he  went  first  to  the  Pequot  settlement  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  Thames  (New  London), 
where  a  house  lot  was  given  him  by  the  town. 
This  he  occupied  until  1654,  then  sold  out,  re- 
moved to  Stonington  and  settled  on  lands  which 
have  been  in  possession  of  some  generation  of 
his  descendants  from  that  to  the  present  time. 
He  accumulated  a  vast  estate  in  lands  in  Ston- 
ington, in  Norwich,  in  Windham,  and  also  in 
Rhode  Island,  much  of  which  was  voted  to  him  in 
consideration  of  his  valorous  deeds  during  the 
wars  with  the  Indians.  He  was  representative 
from  Stonington  to  the  general  court  at  Hart- 
ford between  1671  and  1694;  was  magistrate;  se- 
lectman, and  indeed,  held  almost  every  important 
office  in  the  town.  But  it  was  as  a  soldier  and 
Indian  fighter  that  he  was  most  renowned,  in 
which  respect  he  is  ranked  by  historians  with 
John  Mason. 

George  Denison  (2),  fourth  child  of  Captain 
George  and  Ann  (Borodell)  Denison,  was  born 
1653  ;  married  Mercy  Gorham,  daughter  of  Capt. 
John  Gorham,  and  his  wife  Desire  Howland, 
daughter  of  John  Howland,  of  the  "Mayflower." 
She  was  born  in  Barnstable,  Massachusetts,  Jan- 
uary 20,  1658,  died  September  24,  1725.  George 
died  December  27,  171 1.  They  had  nine  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Joseph  (3)  was  the  second. 

Joseph  Denison   (3)   was  baptized  November 
14,  1683;  married  February  17,   1707,  Prudence; 
Minor,   daughter   of  Dr.   Joseph   Minor.   Joseph, 
died  February  18,   1725  ;  his  wife  died  May  26." 
1726.    They  had  nine  children,  of  whom  Nathan 
(4)  was  the  fifth. 

Nathan  Denison  (4)  born  February  20,  1716; 
married,  1736,  Ann  Carey,  daughter  of  Eleazer 
Carey  of  Windham,  Connecticut.    She  died  Mav 


16,  1776.  She  was  a  descendant  in  the  fourth 
generation  of  John  Carey  (originally  spelled 
Carew),  who  came  from  Somersetshire,  near 
Bristol,  England,  about  1634  and  joined  the 
Plymouth  colony.  His  name  is  among  the  orig- 
nal  proprietors  and  first  settlers  of  Duxbury  and 
Bridgewater,  Massachusetts,  and  occurs  in  the 
original  grant  and  subsequent  deed  made  by 
Ousamequin,  the  chief  sachem  of  the  Pocko- 
nocket  Indians  in  1639.  John  Carey  was  con- 
stable in  Duxbury  in  1639 ;  the  first  town  clerk 
and  served  until  168 1.  He  was  deacon  in  the 
church,  and  a  man  of  consequence  in  earl}'  town 
affairs.  Tradition  says  he  taught  the  first  Latin 
class  in  the  colony.  Nathan  Denison  married 
(second)  March  15,  1778,  Hannah  Fuller,  and 
about  1800  removed  to  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  died  March  10,  1803.  His  children,  all 
by  his  first  wife,  were:  1.  Joseph,  born  Novem- 
ber 2,  1738;  was  a  clergyman.  2.  Colonel  Nathan, 
born  January  25,  1740;  married  Elizabeth  Sill. 
3.  Ann,  born  November  19,  1742;  married  Solo- 
mon Huntington.  4.  Eleazer,  born  December  24, 
1744;  married  Susanna  Elderkin.  5.  Lydia,  born 
April  27,  1747 ;  married  Joshua  B.  Elderkin. 
6.  Amos,  born  May  31,  1749;  died  young. 

Col.  Nathan  Denison  (5),  second  child  of 
Nathan  and  Ann  (Carey)  Denison,  born  Janu- 
ary 25.  1741,  married,  Wilkes-Barre,  April  1, 
1769.  Elizabeth  Sill,  born  November  22.  1750, 
eldest  daughter  of  Jabez  Sill.  Colonel  Nathan 
died  Kingston,  January  25,  1809.  He  came  to 
Pennsylvania  in  1769.  John  Sill  came  to  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  before  1638,  and  that  year  was 
made  a  freeman.  His  son  Capt.  Joseph  Sill, 
of  Lyme,  was  born  in  England  about  1636. 
His  son  Joseph,  born  January  6,  1679,  mar- 
ried at  Lyme,  1705,  Phebe  Lord,  second 
daughter  of  Lieut.   Richard   Lord   and  his  wife 

.Elizabeth  Hyde.  Jabez  Sill,  the  father  of  Eliz- 
abeth, was  born  in  Lyme,  August  4,  1722:  mar- 
ried December  28,  1749,  Elizabeth  Noyes.  daugh- 
ter of  Moses  Noyes  and  his  wife  Mary  Ely.  of 
Lvme,  and  lived  in  Lyme  until  1770,  when  the)' 

"- removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,   where  Jabez  died  in 

'  1790- 

Col.  Nathan  Denison  was  the  pioneer  of  his 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


153 


family  in  the  wilderness  regions  of  Wyoming, 
in  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna.  He  was  the 
worthy  descendant  of  patriotic  New  England  an- 
cestors, the  worthy  great-grandson  of  Capt. 
George  Denison,  whose  deeds  of  valor  challenged 
the  admiration  of  all  loyal  New  Englanders, 
much  as  did  those  of  the  equally  loyal  Nathan  a 
century  afterward.  When  he  came  into  the 
Wyoming  valley  as  a  settler  under  the  Connecti- 
cut colony,  it  was  with  the  intention  to  live  a 
farmers  life,  but  destiny  decreed  otherwise,  for, 
almost  from  the  beginning  of  his  residence  there, 
('his  fellow  settlers  made  him  their  counsellor  and 
called  him  into  service  in  official  capacity.  He 
was  a  man  of  substance  and  education,  and  from 
the  first  was  looked  upon  as  the  guiding  spirit 
of  the  community.  In  1774  he  was  appointed 
justice  of  the  peace  of  the  town  of  Westmore- 
land in  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  and  on  June  1, 
1778,  was  made  one  of  the  judges  for  the  county 
of  Westmoreland,  for  the  same  colony.  In  1776- 
78-79  and  1780  he  represented  the  county  in  the 
Connecticut  general  assembly.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  council  of  Pennsylvania  from  Lu- 
zerne county  for  the  years  1787-89,  previous  to 
the  reorganization  of  state  government  under  the 
constitution  of  1790.  August  17,  1791,  Colonel 
Denison  was  appointed  one  of  the  associate 
judges  of  Luzerne  county.  From  this  and  his 
earlier  appointment  to  magisterial  office  under 
the  Connecticut  colony  he  acquired  the  title  of 
"Judge,"  by  which  he  was  afterward  known,  al- 
though he  always  retained  the  military  title  of 
"Colonel."  This  title  was  a  deserved  honor  and 
was _f airly  won.  Colonel  Denison  commanded 
the  left  wing  of  the  patriot  forces  in  the  battle 
and  massacre  of  Wyoming.  July  3,  1778,  and  he 
signed  the  articles  of  capitulation  by  which  the 
property  and  defenses  of  the  settlers  were  yielded 
to  the  conquering  Britons,  their  Tory  followers 
and  their  inhuman  Indian  allies.  The  seventh 
section  of  the  terms  of  surrender  read  as  follows : 
"That  the  inhabitants  that  Colonel  Denison  now 
capitulates  for,  together  with  himself,  do  not 
take  up  arms  during  the  present  contest." 

Colonel  Denison  died  January  25,  1809,  aged 


sixty-eight  years.  In  writing  of  him,  Miner 
said.  "The  universal  respect  and  confidence  that 
attended  Colonel  Denison,  from  the  battle  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  attest  the  high  estimation  in 
which  his  character  was  held  among  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Wyoming  who.  were  witnesses  of  and 
affected  by  his  conduct."  Again,  the  same  writer 
says :  "His  conduct  on  that  day  was  that  of  a 
faithful  and  brave  officer.  Outflanked  and  over- 
powered by  a  vast  superiority  of  numbers  the 
change  of  position,  wisely  ordered,  became  a  re- 
treat— the  retreat,  a  rout — the  battle,  a  massacre." 
The  children  of  Colonel  Nathan  and  Eliza- 
beth (Sill)  Denison  were: 

1.  Lazarus  Denison  (6)  born  December  5, 
1773,  married  February  14,  1802,  Elizabeth  Car- 
penter. He  lived  in  Kingston,  and  died  there 
March  15,  1841.  Children:  1.  Hiram,  born  Jan- 
uary 9,  1803 ;  died  1868.  2.  Mary,  born  Septem- 
ber 22,  1804;  married  Chauncey  A.  Reynolds. 
3.  Wayman,  born  April  21,  1806 ;  died  1828.  4. 
Nathan,' born  May  22,  1808;  died  1831.  5.  Ben- 
jamin C,  born  July  22,  1810;  married  Florence 
Johnson.  6.  Sarah,  born  March,  1812;  married 
Gilbert  Reilay.  7.  Elizabeth,  born  April  12,  1814; 
married  William  Hancock.  8.  Charles,  born  Jan- 
uary 23,  1816 ;  married  Ellen  E.  Hidings,  daugh- 
ter of  Judge  Hidings  of  Lewistown. 

2.  Elizabeth  S.  Denison  (6)  born  March  7, 
1777,  married  May  28,  1800,  Elijah  Shoemaker. 
(See  Shoemaker  family.) 

3.  Mary  Denison  (6),  born  January  2,  1779, 
married  about  1802,  Thomas  Patterson,  born 
Ireland,  July  7,  1775.  They  lived  in  Huntington, 
Luzerne  county,  where  he  was  a  farmer  and 
school  teacher.  He  died  April  29,  1844 ;  she 
died  June  1,  1858.  Children:  1.  Nathan,  born 
May  5,  1803:  married  Susan  Letchworth.  2. 
Thomas,  born  February  15,  1806;  married  Anna 
M.  Haff.  3.  Elizabeth,  born  March  17,  1808; 
married  D.  A.  Bowman.  4.  Ezekiel  M.,  born  May 

6,  1810 ;  married  Henrietta  Deeth,  5.  Marv  Ann, 
born  January  22.  1812;  married  John  D.  Thomp- 
son. 6.  Robert  S.,  born  May  22,  1816 ;  married 
Minerva  D.  Trescott.  7.  Sally  D.,  born  June  27, 
1819;    married    Richard    Sharpe.     (See    Sharpe 


^54 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


family).  8.  John  D.,  born  December  23,  1821 ; 
married  (first)  Margaret  Reilay  and  (second) 
Charlotte  Shotwell. 

4.  Ann  Denison  (6),  born  February  22, 
1783,  died  Kingston,  June  4,  1823  ;  married  Dan- 
iel Turner,  died  November  5,  1863 ;  one  child : 
George  D.,  born  December  27,  1809 ;  a  merchant 
at  Mt.  Hope,  New  Jersey. 

5.  John  Denison  (6)  born  June  20,  1787; 
died  July  27,  1840;  married  (first)  Laura  Fel- 
lows, died  February  20,  1824;  married  (second) 
Mary  Watkins,  died  November  22,  1850.  Chil- 
dren: 1.  Stanley,  born  February  13,  1815  ;  mar- 
ried September  12,  1849,  Jane  Haughn.  2.  Eliza- 
beth, born  June  12,  1816 ;  married  William  A. 
McGriffe.  3.  Amanda,  born  August  16,  1817; 
married  Rev.  Isaac  Swisher.  4.  Wesley,  born  De- 
cember 6,  1818;  married  Ann  M.  Loomis.  5. 
Samanthe,  born  September  26,  1820 ;  died  De- 
cember 6,  1839.  6.  Orville,  born  August  4,  1822 ; 
married  Marinda  Haltsman.  7.  Howton,  born 
January  22.   1844;  died  young.     8.  Emily,  twin, 

Jjorn  January  1,  1825;  married  John  Thorp.  9. 
Laura,  twin,  born  January  1,  1825;  married  J. 
P.  Niman.  10.  Henry,  born  January  22,  1827; 
died  April  5,  1856;  11  Asa  C,  born  October  11, 
1829;  died  August  15.  1854. 

6.  George  Denison  (6),  born  February  22, 
1790 ;  married  1814,  Caroline,  daughter  of  Eben- 
ezer  Bowman.  He  died  August  20,  1831 ;  she 
died  July  1,  1833.  Children:  1.  Charles,  born 
January  23,  1816;  died  June  27,  1867.  2.  Harriet, 
born  1818.  3.  George,  born  July  27,  1820;  gradu- 
ated Dickinson  College,  1841 ;  died  May  11, 
1843.  4-  Henry  M.,  born  August  1,  1822:  was  a 
Clergymen.  5.  Mary  W.,  born  July  2,  1824 ;  died 
unmarried  August  19,  1843. 

George  Denison  was  register  and  recorder  of 
Luzerne  county,  1812-15;  clerk  of  Wilkes-Barre 
borough  council,  1812-14;  president  of  the  coun- 
cil, 1823-24 :  was  six  times  elected  to  the  legisla- 
ture— 1815-16,  1827-30:  was  in  congress  from 
1818  to  1822:  was  appointed  deputy  attorney 
general  of  Pennsylvania  1824 ;  was  presidential 
elector  1828:  was  burgess  of  Wilkes-Barre  bor- 
ough 1829-30. 

Charles  Denison,  youngest  son  and  child  of 


Lazarus  and  Elizabeth  Denison,  was  born  Janu- 
ary 23,  1816,  died  June  27,  1867;  married  May  7, 
1845,  Ellen  E.  Hulings  of  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
daughter  of  David  W.  Hulings,  and  wife  Maria 
Patten.  Charles  was  educated  at  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  graduated,  1838 ; 
read  law  in  Wilkes-Barre  with  George  W.  Wood- 
ward;  admitted  to  the  bar  August  13,  1840,  and 
practiced  in  Wilkes-Barre  until  1863,  from 
which  time  until  his  death  he  represented  Lu- 
zerne countyin  congress.  On  the  occasion  of  his 
death  Senator  Buckalew  said  of  Mr.  Denison : 
"He  was  able  to  concentrate  upon  himself  a 
large  measure  of  popular  favor,  and  possessed 
some  marked  qualities  of  mind  and  character  for 
commanding  it.  His  will  was  firm,  his  industry 
constant,  his  temper  steady,  though  sometimes 
pronounced,  and  his  courage  unquestionable." 
Others  of  his  eulogists  were  Simon  Cameron  and 
Samuel  J.  Randall. 

Children  of  Charles  and  Ellen  E.  Denison 
were:  1.  Charles,  born  April  12,  1846,  mar- 
ried Matilda  Steinhardt,  April  30,  1873.  2. 
George,  born  August  28,  1848,  died  August  28, 
1850.  3.  Elizabeth,  born  October  11,  1851  ;  mar- 
ried George  A.  Brett,  of  Isle  of  Wight,  England. 
4.  Henry  G,  born  January  28,  1854,  died  April 
6,  1856.  5.  Maria,  born  November  13.  1856,  mar- 
ried son  of  Sir  Hugh  Daily,  acting  Governor- 
general  of  India.  6.  Hiram,  bom  May  21,  1859, 
died  July  31,  1863.  7.  Mary  H.,  born  May  20, 
1861  ;  married  (first)  Richard  Winslow  and 
(second)  Mons  Brule  de  St.  Germain. 

Charles  Denison,  eldest  son  and  child  of 
Charles  Denison  and  Ellen  (Hulings)  Denison, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  also  in  the 
Baptist  College  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Subse- 
quently he  matriculated  at  the  Philadelphia  Den- 
tal College,  and  for  a  time  studied  law  with  his 
uncle,  Lloyd  W.  Williams.  He  practiced  den- 
tistry for  several  years,  but  retired  compara- 
tively early  from  professional  work.  From  1870 
to  1874  he  travelled  extensively  in  Europe.  Chil- 
dren of  Charles  and  Matilda  (Steinhardt)  Deni- 
son were:  1.  Anna  Matilda,  born  March  4, 
1876.  2.  Charles  F.  Denison,  born  October  14, 
1877. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


I5S 


XESBITT  FAMILY.  James  Nisbet,  the 
third  of  his  name  in  the  Loudoun  family  of  Nis- 
bets,  set  sail  from  Leith,  September  5,  1685,  in 
the  ship.  "Henry  and  Francis,"  and  landed  at 
Perth  Amboy,  New  Jersey,  December  20  of  the 
same  year.  James  Nisbet,  says  Harvey,  began 
his  life  in  the  new  world  in  the  same  month  that 
his  uncle,  Capt.  John  Nisbet,  came  to  a  martyr's 
end  on  the  scaffold  in  Edinburgh — fifth  and  last 
of  the  Nisbets  in  Loudoun  to  suffer  violent  death 
for  conscience's  sake.  This  James  Nisbet  re- 
remained  only  a  short  time  in  Perth  Amboy,  and 
then  settled  in  Woodbridge,  New  Jersey,  remov- 
ing thence  in  1690  to  Newark.  From  the  best 
evidence  obtainable  it  is  quite  certain  that  he  mar- 
ried in  Newark,  1695  or  1696,  and  that  he  died 
there  about  1720,  leaving  one  son 

Samuel  Nesbitt,  born  Newark,  1697,  and  who 
was  frequently  mentioned  as  'the  son  of  the  exile 
from  Scotland."  "Whether  or  not,"  says  Mr.  Os- 
car Jewell  Harvey,  the  genealogist  of  the  family 
''James  Nisbet,  'the  exile'  changed  the  spelling  of 
his  surname  when  he  changed  his  home  and  coun- 
try, can  not  now  be  ascertained,  but  it  is  certain 
that  by  his  son  the  family  name  was  spelled 
'Nesbitt.'  "  Samuel  Nesbitt  was  by  trade  a 
weaver.  In  17 17  he  married  Abigail  Harrison, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Harrison  and  Mary  Ward. 
Samuel  Nesbitt  died  in  Newark,  March  12,  1733. 
His  children  were:  1.  James,  born  June  15,  1718, 
died  July  2,  1792;  Abigail,  born  1720.  3.  Sam- 
uel, born  1723:  a  settler  with  his  elder  brother 
James  under  The  Susquehanna  Company  at 
Wilkes-Barre ;  returned  in  1773  to  Newark  and 
died  there.  4.  John,  born  1725,  died  Newark, 
New  Jersey,  December  13,  1812. 

James  Xisbitt,  eldest  son  and  child  of  Sam- 
uel Nesbitt.  and  Abigail  Harrison,  was  a  soldier 
in  the  colonial  army  during  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish wars,  which  were  renewed  in  1744.  and  was 
one  of  the  six  hundred  troops  sent  by  the  prov- 
ince of  New  Jersey  in  the  spring  of  1746  to  Al- 
bany, New  York,  to  take  part  in  the  campaign 
proposed  for  the  reduction  of  Canada.  In  1748 
he  married,  and  in  1760  removed  with  his  wife 
and  four  children  to  Fairfield  county,  Connecticut ; 
thence  in   1763  to  "Greycourt,"   Orange  county, 


New  York,  and  thence  in  1769  to  the  Wyoming 
valley  in  Pennsylvania,  he  being  one  of  the  one 
hundred  and  ninety-six  settlers  enrolled  at 
Wyoming  June  2,  1769,  "to  man  their  rights."  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  controversy  between  the 
Pennsylvania  authorities  and  the  Connecticut  set- 
tlers at  Wyoming,  and  also  was  a  participant  in 
the  events  of  the  Revolutionarv  war  which  were- 
enacted  in  that  historic  region.  (For  a  more  par-, 
ticular  account  of  his  life  and  service,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  the  published  work  of  Oscar  Jewell 
Harvey,  entitled  "The  Harvey  Book".) 

James  Nisbitt  was  one  of  the  first  justices  of 
the  peace  under  the  Connecticut  sovereignty  in  the 
Wyoming  region,  and  also  was  one  of  the  first 
judges  of  the  common  pleas  under  Pennsylvania 
authority.  He  served  in  both  offices  until  Juner 
1788,  when  he  resigned.  He  died  at  his  home  in 
Plymouth,  July  2,  1792.  He  married,  in  New- 
ark, New  Jersey,  1748,  Phebe  Harrison,  born: 
'1728,  died  February  17,  1802,  his  second  cousin, 
daughter  of  Stephen  Harrison ;  and  they  had 
children:  1.  Jonas,  born  February  7,  1749,  died 
young.  2.  Abigail,  born  November  12,  1750,  died 
young.  3.  Hannah,  born  November  18,  1752,  died 
before  1792.  4.  Elizabeth,  born  November  11, 
1754.  5.  Samuel,  born  December  20,  1756,  died" 
young.  6.  Phebe,  born  February  18,  1759.  7. 
Abigail,  born  June  6,  1761.  8.  Abram,  born  Sep- 
tember 12,  1763,  died  January  2,  1847.  9.  Mary, 
born  September  18,  1765,  died  August  11,  1824. 
10.  Sarah,  born  September  8,  1767,  died  February 
15,  1824.  11.  Rachel,  born  January  8,  1770,  died 
young.  12.  James,  born  May  7,  1773,  died  Au- 
gust 16,  1837. 

Abram  Nisbitt,  eighth  child  of  James  Nisbitt 
and  wife  Phebe  Harrison,  was  born  in  Fairfield 
county,  Connecticut,  September  12,  1763,  and 
removed  with  other  members  of  his  father's  fam- 
ily to  Orange  county,  New  York,  and  thence  to 
Plymouth  in  the  Wyoming  valley  in  the  spring 
of  1773.  He  was  hardly  more  than  fourteen 
years  old  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Wyoming, 
vet  he  was  left  with  other  boys  and  a  few  old  men 
to  garrison  Shawnee  Fort.  He  fled  with  his 
mother  and  others  on  the  day  of  the  battle  and 
returned    to    Wyoming    late    in    1779;     and    in' 


t.56 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


March,  1780,  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Captain 
Franklin's  company  of  Connecticut  militia.  His 
military  service  from  that  time,  together  with  his 
subsequent  achievements  in  the  more  peaceful 
avocations  of  life,  are  fully  set  forth  in  "The 
Harvey  Book,"  to  which  the  reader's  attention 
is  directed.  Abram  Nisbitt  always  spelled  his 
surname  as  here  given.  He  married,  in  Plym- 
outh, Pennsylvania,  May  25,  1787,  Bethiah 
Wheeler,  born  January  1,  1770,  died  January  15, 
1861,  daughter  of  David  Wheeler  and  wife  Sarah 
Banks.  David  Wheeler,  born  May  11,  1746,  was 
son  of  Lemuel  Wheeler  and  Bethiah  Bronson; 
Lemuel  Wheeler  was  son  of  Thomas  Wheeler 
•and  wife  Sarah  Stiles ;  Thomas  Wheeler  was  son 
of  John  Wheeler  of  Fairfield,  Connecticut  (and 
Ruth  his  wife),  who  was  son  of  John  Wheeler 
of  Concord,  Massachusetts,  and  of  Fairfield,  Con- 
necticut, 1644.  Children  of  Abram  and  Bethiah 
(Wheeler)  Nisbitt:  1.  James,  born  October  15, 
1790,  died  October  9,  1840.  2.  Sarah,  born  Janu- 
ary 3.  1792>,  died  October  1,  1866;  married  Ben- 
jamin Harvey.  3.  Mary,  born  August  27,  1795, 
died  December  3,  1797.  4.  John,  born  March  2, 
1798,  died  December  7,  1808.  5.  Bethiah,  born 
June  28,  1800,  died  March  21,  i860.  6.  Abner, 
born  September  13,  1808,  died  October  12,  1824. 
7.  Abram,  born  November  1,  1803,  died  Septem- 
ber 4,  1834.  8.  Luther,  born  July  19,  1806,  died 
in  Ohio,  December  1,  1881.  9.  John  Wheeler, 
"born  September  13,  1808,  died  October  12,  1824. 
10.  Charles  Miner,  born  December  28,  1810,  died 
August  12,  1884,  in  Indiana. 

James  Nesbitt,  eldest  son  and  child  of  Abram 
and  Bethiah  (Wheeler)  Nisbitt,  was  born  in 
Plymouth,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  Octo- 
ber 15,  1790,  and  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, October  9,  1840.  He  was  brought  up  on  his 
father's  farm  and  lived  at  home  with  his  parents 
until  he  was  married.  He  was  well  educated  for 
his  time,  having  been  a  student  under  Jonah 
Rogers  in  the  old  Plymouth  academy.  He  took 
much  interest  in  early  militia  affairs,  and  was 
lieutenant  of  the  Plymouth  company  in  the  first 
battalion,  second  regiment,  ninth  division  of  state 
militia.  After  about  five  years  service  he  was 
promoted  captain,  and  thus  acquired  the  title  by 


which  he  was  afterward  known.  In  1816  he  was 
tax  collector,  and  in  1824  was  assessor  of  Plym- 
outh township ;  and  was  one  of  the  first  board  of 
directors  of  the  old  Wyoming  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  In  1832  he  was  the  anti-masonic  candi- 
date for  sheriff  of  Luzerne  county,  and  was 
elected ;  and  in  1835  he  was  elected  to  the  legis- 
lature ;  but  was  defeated  when  he  was  a  candidate 
for  re-election  in  1836.  When  he  was  elected 
sheriff  he  removed  with  his  family  from  his  farm 
in  Plymouth. to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  when  his  term 
of  office  had  expired,  he  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits. 

When  Captain  Nesbitt  died,  Colonel  Wright 
wrote  of  him :  "He  was  a  man  of  unusual  busi- 
ness qualifications,  and  left  a  large  estate  to  his 
son  and  his  daughter."  James  Nesbitt  married, 
Plymouth,  November  12,  1815,  Mary  Shupp, 
born  June  2,  1791,  died  December  3,  1864,  eld- 
est child  of  Col.  Philip  Shupp  and  wife  Catharine 
Everett.  Philip  Shupp  was  born  about  1754  in 
Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  of  German 
parents.  About  1806-7  he  removed  to  Plymouth, 
Pennsylvania,  and  about  1808  erected  on  the 
creek,  which  was  named  for  him,  a  grist  mill. 
This  mill  he  operated  until  181 7,  when  his  son 
Philip  became  his  partner  and  continued  it  until 

1822.  Colonel  Shupp  died  in  Plymouth,  March 

1823.  Children  of  James  and  Mary  (Shupp) 
Nesbitt : 

1.  Mary  Ann,  born  September  15,  1826,  died 
May  4,  1857 .'  married  Wilkes-Barre,  September 
9,  1845,  Samuel  Hoyt,  born  Kingston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, November  2,  18 16,  second  child  of  Elias 
Jnoyt,  who  was  fourth  child  of  Deacon  Daniel 
Hoyt  and  wife  Anne  Gunn  of  Danbury,  Connec- 
ticut, who  settled  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1794.  Daniel  Hoyt  was  a  descendant  of  the  sixth 
generation  of  Simon  Hoyt,  one  of  the  founders  of 
Windsor,  Connecticut,  1636.  Samuel  Hoyt  and 
Mary  Ann  Nesbitt,  had  children :  James  Nesbitt 
Hoyt,  born  June  28,  1846,  died  July  12,  1847; 
Emily  Hoyt,  born  August  15,  1849,  died  June 
24,  1889,  unmarried  ;  Lydia  Hoyt,  born  October 
18,  1 85 1 ,  died  March  5,  1874,  unmarried;  War- 
ren N.  Hoyt,  born  September  20,  1854,  died 
March  1,  1877 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


!57- 


2.  Abram,  born  December  29,  1831,  married 
September  2,  1862,  Sara  M.  Goodwin,  born  Sep- 
tember 30,  1832,  died  February  22,  1894,  third 
and  youngest  daughter  of  Abram  Goodwin  and 
wife  Sarah  Myers.  Abram  was  born  Kings- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  July  6,  1790,  died  May  15, 
1880,  son  of  Abraham  and  Catherine  (King) 
Goodwin.  Abraham  Goodwin  was  the  first  of  his 
surname  in  the  Wyoming  valley.  In  1794  he 
bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in 
Exeter  township,  and  there  moved  and  lived  un- 
til his  death,  July  18,  1822.  Abraham  and  Cath- 
erine had  children :  John,  Catherine,  Abraham 
(Abram),  Amos,  William,  Henry,  Isaac,  Benja- 
min, Charlotte,  Eliza  and  Polly  (Mary). 

Abram  Nesbitt,  youngest  child  and  only  son 
of  Captain  James  and  Mary  (Shupp)  Nesbitt,  was 
born  in  Plymouth,  Luzerne  county,  and  for  more 
than  half  a  century  has  been  an  important  factor 
in  the  business  and  industrial  history  of  that 
township,  of  Kingston,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  in- 
deed of  several  other  of  the  more  prominent  com- 
mercial centers  of  the  anthracite  coal  region  of 
Pennsylvania.  A  proper  narrative  of  the  work 
of  achievement  wrought  by  him  during  his  fifty 
and  more  years  belongs  to  a  volume  rather  than 
a  condensed  genealogical  sketch  which  is  in- 
tended chiefly  as  a  family  record. 

When  he  was  less  than  a  year  old  Abram's 
parents  removed  from  Plymouth  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  in  which  place  (then  a  borough),  his 
youth  was  spent.  He  attended  school  at  "Dea- 
con" Dana's  academy,  and  in  1845  entered 
Wyoming  Seminary,  but  soon  returned  to  the 
academy,  and  afterward  attended  the  seminary, 
when  he  moved  with  his  mother  to  Kingston. 
But  he  soon  left  school  and  took  up  land  sur- 
veying with  his  brother-in-law,  Samuel  Hoyt, 
and  became  an  expert  civil  engineer  and  sur- 
veyor. This  profession  occupied  his  time  for 
something  like  eight  or  ten  years,  but  in  the 
meantime  he  drifted  into  various  other  business 
enterprises ;  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  first 
directors  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  its  vice-president  from  1871  to  1877,  and 
its  president  since  that  time;  was  first  chosen 
member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  central 


poor  district  of  Luzerne  county,  and  still  serves. 
in  that  capacity.     He  has  been  closely  associate 
with  the  municipal  history  of  Kingston  since  the- 
borough  was  incorporated  in  1857,  and  with  its 
institutions,  its  schools,  its  churches,  as  well  as. 
its  business  interests.     He  has  been  trustee  and. 
treasurer  of  the   Forty  Fort  Cemetery  Associa- 
tion;  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley    Coal    Company,    of    the    Spring    Brook 
Water   Company,   and   its   successor  the   Spring 
Brook  Water  Supply  Company,  the  latter  a  heav- 
ily capitalized  corporation.     In  a  prominent  way- 
he  has  been  identified  with  numerous  other  en- 
terprises,  public   and   private,   among  them   the 
Consumers  Gas  Company,  the  Gas  Company  of" 
Luzerne  County,  the  Wilkes-Barre  Electric  Light 
Company,  the  Wilkes-Barre  Hotel  Company,  the- 
Vulcan  Iron  works,  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
Company,   the    Wyoming   Valley   Cutlery    Com- 
pany,  the   Wilkes-Barre   Theatre   Company,   the 
People's  Telephone  Company,  and  other  similar- 
concerns.     Since   1883   Mr.   Nesbitt  has  been  a 
trustee  of  Wyoming  Seminary,  one  of  its  life  di- 
rectors,  and   for  several  years  vice-president  of" 
its  board  of  trustees.     Nesbitt  Hall,  erected  by 
Abram  Nesbitt  an   1884,  was  his  voluntary  and 
generous  gift  to  the  trustees  of  the  famous  insti- 
tution.    The   building   is    of  brick   construction, 
with  red  sandstone  trimmings,  one  hundred  feet, 
long,  seventy  feet  deep,  three  stories  high.     Its 
cost  was  forty  thousand  dollars. 

Children  of  Abram  and  Sarah  Myers  (Good-. 
win)   Nesbitt:  1.  Walter  J.,  born  September  22, 
1863,   died   April   20,    1864.   2.   George   Francis,. 
born  January  24,  1865,  died  November  27,  1900. 

3.  Abram   Goodwin,  born   November   18,    1866. 

4.  Ralph,  born  January  9,  1869,  died  February 
18,  1875.  5.  Sara,  born  September  12,  1872;  mar- 
ried March  28,  1904,  Hugh  Clayton  Smythe,  of" 
Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  a  lawyer  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  ;  they  have  one  child,  Abraham  Nesbitt 
Smythe,  born  March  3,  1905.  6.  Fred,  born  June 
23>  IS75  ;  is  treasurer  of  the  Easton  Foundry  and" 
Machine  Company ;  married,  November  20,  1900, 
Margaret  K.  Lachenour,  daughter  of  the  late- 
Dr.  H.  D.  Lachenour,  of  Easton,  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.    and    Mrs.    Nesbitt    and    children — George,. 


i<8 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Abraham,  Sara  and  Fred,  are  all  life  members 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  So- 
ciety. H.  E.  H. 

ANSART  FAMILY.  The  first  of  the  name 
in  this  country  was  Colonel  Louis  (Ansart)  de 
Maresquelle,  a  member  of  the  French  nobility. 
His  full  name  was  Marie  Louis  Armand  Ansart 
■  de  Maresquelle.  His  father,  Robert  Xavier  An- 
sart, was  a  marquis,  (seigneur  du  petit  vendin) 
his  mother,  Quiellemine  de  Ware,  daughter  of 
Jacques  Francis,  baron  de  Ware,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Jacques  de  Ware,  who  had 
been  embassador  to  the  King  of  Spain,  and  her 
great-grandmother  was  daughter  of  Baron 
Parker. 

He  was  born  in  France  (1742)  probably  in 
Hesdin  in  the  north  of  France  or  in  that  vi- 
cinity. He  was  a  captain  in  the  French  army, 
and  came  to  this  country  in  1776  and  when  in 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  the  council  of  Massachu- 
setts, the  2d  of  November,  1776,  passed  a  resolu- 
tion relative  to  erecting  a  furnace  for  casting 
cannon,  etc.,  and  appointed  a  committee  with 
authority  "to  employ  Monsieur  de  Maresquelle, 
a  French  Engineer  now  in  Boston"  and  on 
the  9th  of  December,  1776,  the  following  agree- 
ment between  De  Maresquelle  and  the  state  of 
Massachusetts  was  ratified :  "The  State  to  fur- 
nish the  land  and  everything  necessary  for  build- 
ings, and  cannon ;  he  to  construct  the  furnace 
and  direct  the  buildings  and  everything  relating 
to  the  foundry ;  to  furnish  one  cannon  ready  for 
service  every  twenty-four  hours,  out  of  the  com- 
mon ore  of  Massachusetts ;  to  prove  his  cannon 
before  commissioners  appointed  by  the  State ;  to 
disclose  all  his  knowledge  in  the  premises  at 
any  time  to  those  designated  by  the  state  and 
to  none  others ;  to  forfeit  his  pay,  and  1000 
pounds  sterling  in  addition,  if  he  did  not  fully 
comply  with  this  agreement ;  to  receive  $300  in 
hand  to  defray  expenses  of  removal  hither  and 
$1000  yearly  during  the  continuance  of  the  war, 
and  $666.66  yearlv  thereafter,  during  his  life  if 
he  did  comply,  finally  to  have  a  colonel's  commis- 
sion to  give  him  rank,  but  without  command  or 
pay  in  virtue  of  said  commission."     He  imme- 


diately entered  on  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and 
so  continued  until  the  end  of  the  war.  The  exe- 
cutive council  of  Massachusetts  appointed  Col- 
onel de  Maresquelle  as  engineer  August  31,  1778, 
to  oversee  and  direct  the  erection  of  such  works 
as  Vice  Admiral  Count  D'Estang  should  think 
necessary  to  secure  his  ships  lying  in  Nantasket 
Roads,  Boston  harbor,  against  the  enemies  sup- 
posed to  be  in  the  bay.  Said  Louis  de  Mares- 
quelle reported  as  "Colonel  of  Artillery  and  In- 
spector General  of  Founderies." 

The  record  dated  June  10,  1783,  also  shows 
account  of  said  Maresquelle  for  services  as  col- 
onel from  August  5,  1782,  to  February  5,  1783. 
He  continued  in  the  service  of  the  state  until  the 
end  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 

He  was  married  September  9,  1781,  to  Cath- 
erine Wimble,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  After 
the  war,  by  authority  of  the  legislature,  he 
omitted  de  Maresquelle,  under  which  name  he 
was  known,  and  retained  the  name  of  Louis  An- 
sart, Ansart  being  the  family  name.  The  record 
of  his  services  during  the  war  was  under  the 
name  of  Maresquelle,  and  it  was  under  this  name 
that  he  was  married.  Physically  he  was  large, 
six  feet  in  height,  with  a  handsome,  pleasing 
face,  as  a  miniature  in  possession  of  the  family 
shows.  In  1784  he  went  to  Dracut,  Massachu- 
setts, and  lived  there  on  his  farm  until  his  death, 
the  22d  of  May,  1804.  During  this  time  he  made 
three  visits  to  France.  The  Massachusetts  So- 
ciety Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  is  about 
to  place  a  tablet,  if  it  has  not  already  done  so, 
and  one  of  its  official  markers,  at  his  grave  in 
Dracut,  Massachusetts. 

Louis  Ansart  de  Maresquelle's  ancestry  in 
France  has  not  been  carefully  traced  by  his  de- 
scendants, but  from  papers  left  by  him  and  vari- 
ous letters  passed  from  one  to  another  of  the 
family,  the  line  appears  to  start  with  Jean  An- 
sart, whose  son  Michael  married  Anna  Zobide, 
and  had  Robert  Ansart,  who  married  Antoinette 
Perin,  and  had  Jaques  Francois  Ansart,  who 
married  Petronville  Gery,  and  had  Robert 
Xavier  Ansart  (Seigneur  du  petit  vendin),  who 
married  Ouiellimine  Catherine  de  Ware,  whose 
son  was  Louis  Ansart  de  Maresquelle. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


159 


Catherine  Wimble,  wife  of  Col.  Louis  Ansart, 
born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1762,  was  mar- 
ried December  9,  1781,  in  Boston,  died  in  Dra- 
cut.  Massachusetts,  January  27,  1849,  aged 
eighty-six  years  and  ten  months.  Her  line  is  1. 
James  Wimble  and  wife  Rebecca  (Waters) 
Wimble,  married  March  26,  1723,  in  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  by  Dr.  Tim.  Cutler.  Had  Wil- 
liam Wimble,  born  28th  January,  1726,  in  Bos- 
ton; married,  August  23,  1748,  by  Andrew  Eliot, 
to  Elizabeth  Wright.  They  had  Catherine  Wim- 
ble, who  became  wife  of  Colonel  Ansart. 

The  Wright  family  line  is:  1.  Samuel 
Wright  and  Mary  (Pym)  Wright  married  in 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  September  22,  17 14,  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Cotton  Mather.  2.  Elizabeth  Wright, 
born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  twin  with  Mary, 
24th  January,  1724,  married  to  William  Wimble. 
They  had  a  daughter  Catherine,  who  married 
Colonel  Louis  de  Maresquelle.  Their  children 
were  Robert,  Louis,  Julia,  married  to  Bradley 
Varnum ;  Betsey,  married  to  Jonathan  Hildreth, 
removed  to  Ohio  and  died  at  Dayton ;  Sophia, 
married  Peter  Hazelton,  and  after  his  death  a 
Mr.  Spaulding ;  Harriet,  'married  Samuel  N. 
wood ;  Felix ;  Catherine,  married  Mr.  Layton ; 
Atis ;  Abel,  who  lived  to  be  ninety-two  years  old ; 
Fanny,  who  died  aged  seven  years,  and  Aline, 
who  died  aged  eight  years. 

Felix  Ansart,  son  of  Col.  Louis  Ansart,  and 
his  wife  Catherine  Wimble,  was  borri  at  Dracut, 
Massachusetts,  January  26,  1793,  and  died  at 
New  London,  Connecticut,  January  14,  1874.  He 
attended  school  in  Boston,  and  then  worked  in  a 
mercantile  house.  Early  in  the  war  with  Great 
Britain,  July  6,  1812,  he  (  was  commissioned  sec- 
ond lieutenant  of  the  Third  Regiment,  United 
States  Artillery.  He  became  first  lieutenant  Jan- 
uary 30,  1815  ;  captain,  July  10,  1820  ;  then  major 
by  brevet  to  rank  from  November  28,  1829. 
During  the  war  he  served  on  the  Canada  fron- 
tier. In  1813  he  was  with  the  expedition  under 
General  Wilkinson  down  the  St.  Lawrence  des- 
tined for  Montreal ;  was  in  the  battle  at  Sacketts 
Harbor,  under  General  Brown ;  and  in  the  battle 
at  Oswego,  New  York,  18 14,  under  Colonel 
Mitchell.    After  the  war  he  was  ordered  to  Fort 


Washington,  Maryland,  on  the  Potomac,  and  re- 
mained there  for  eight  years.  While  there,  about 
the  year  18 16,  he  married  Martha  Lavinia 
Brown,  daughter  of  Alexander  Brown,  of  Prince 
William  county,  Virginia,  who  died  at  Fort  Con- 
stitution, New  Hampshire,  March  14,  1828,  aged 
twenty-nine  years,  leaving  no  children. 

From  Fort  Washington  he  was  ordered  to  a 
fort  in  North  Carolina,  below  Wilmington,  then 
to  Fortress  Monroe,  then  to  Fort  Moultrie,  Sul- 
livan's Island,  South  Carolina,  and  at  each  of 
these  stations  remained  about  two  years. '  About 
the  year  1830  he  was  ordered  to  Fort  Constitu- 
tion, Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  and  was  in 
command  of  the  post  about  six  years.  He  was 
selected  by  General  Winfield  Scott,  June  20,  1836, 
for  acting  inspector  general  on  his  staff,  and  to 
report  to  him  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Army 
of  the  South  at  Columbus,  Georgia.  When  the 
campaign,  against  the  Creek  Indians  was  ended, 
and  the  volunteers  mustered1  out,  he  with  a  num- 
ber of  other  officers  resigned.  His  resignation  was 
accepted  to  take  effect  August  31,  1836.  He  then 
removed  to  New  London,  Connecticut,  and  re- 
mained there,  with  the  exception  of  a  year,  until 
his  death.  For  many  years  he  was  a  director  in 
the  Union  Bank  of  that  city,  and  vice-president 
of  the  Savings  Bank. 

He  married  (second)  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  January  13,  1834,  Mary  Elizabeth 
Shannon  Prescott,  born  August  31,  181 1,  Ports- 
mouth, New  Hampshire,  died  July  9,  1846,  New 
London,  Conn.  (Daughter  of  Captain  Henry 
Prescott  and  Abigail  Shannon  Prescott.)  They 
had  the  following  children : 

Mary  Elizabeth,  born  at  Fort  Constitution, 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  April  9,  1835 ; 
died  at  San  Francisco,  California,  November  12, 
1901 ;  married  at  New  London,  Conn.,  Captain 
Henry  Chapell  and  had  Edith  Chapell  and  Henry 
Chapell. 

Felix,  born  at  New  London,  Connecticut, 
January  28,  1837;  lawyer,  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Charles  Burroughs,  born  New  London, 
Connecticut,  February  5,  1839,  cnecI  Oil  City, 
Pennsylvania,  March  1,  1886;  married  but  had  no 


I  DO 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


children.  Private  in  Ringgold  Light  Artillery 
Company,  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  mustered 
April  18,  1861,  into  United  States  three  months 
service,  then  second  lieutenant  Company  C, 
Twenty-fifth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, three  months  service. 

Louis  Henry,  born  New  London,  Con- 
necticut, August  21,  1842,  died  at  Pepperell, 
Massachusetts,  July  26,  1844. 

Virginia,  born  New  London,  Connecticut, 
September  n,  1845,  died  July  29,  1846. 

Mary  Elizabeth  Shannon  Prescott,  born 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  August  31,  1811, 
was  a  descendant  in  the  paternal  line  of  Jona- 
than Prescott,  of  Concord,  Massachusetts,  by 
his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Hoar,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  John  Hoar,  whose  brother,  Dr. 
Leonard  Hoar,  was  president  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege. Benjamin  Prescott,  son  of  Jonathan,  was 
born  in  Concord,  Massachusetts,  September  16, 
1687.  He  graduated  A.  B.  at  Harvard  College, 
1709;  ordained  pastor  of  the  Third  Church  in 
Salem,  Massachusetts,  September  23,  1713,  he 
afterwards  moved  to  Danvers,  Massachusetts, 
and  died  there  the  28th  day  of  May,  1777.  He 
was  the  author  of  a  number  of  works,  to  mention 
one,  "A  Free  and  Calm  Consideration  of  the 
Unhappy  Misunderstandings  and  Debates  Be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  the  American  Colonies." 
(Salem,  1768).  He  married  (1)  October,  1715, 
Elizabeth  Higginson,  born  June  28,  1696,  died 
March  20,  1722-3;  married  (2)  June  15,  1732, 
Mercy  Gibbs,  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry  Gibbs, 
pastor  of  the  church  in  Watertown,  Massachu- 
setts, born  December  23,  1696,  died  1744,  mar- 
ried (3),  October  6,  1748,  Mrs.  Mary  Coleman, 
daughter  of  William  Pepperill,  widow  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Coleman,  and  who  was 
first  married  to  the-  Hon.  John  Frost,  of  New 
Castle,  New  Hampshire.  Mary  Prescott,  the 
third  wife,  died  April  18,  1766,  aged  eighty 
years,  seven  months  and  three  days.  Henry 
Prescott,  son  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Prescott  by  his 
second  wife,  Mercy  Gibbs,  was  born  July  25, 
1737,  married  October  9,  1760,  Mary  Newmarch, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Joseph  Newmarch  of  New 
Castle,   New   Hampshire.    Captain  Henry   Pres- 


cott, fourth  son  of  Henry  and  Mary,  just  men- 
tioned, was  born  September  17,  1769.  Cutts 
Shannon  and  Richard  (Cutts J  Shannon  were 
lawyers  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 
Cutts  Shannon  married  December  3,  1741,  Mary 
Vaughan,  daughter  of  George  Vaughan  and 
wife  Elizabeth  Elliott,  and  great-granddaughter 
of  Richard  and  Elinor  Cutts,  of  Portsmouth,  and 
their  son,  Richard  Cutts  Shannon,  born  May  9, 
1743,  married  Elizabeth  Ruggles,  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  July  23,  1773;  and  their  daughter 
Abigail,  born  October  21,  1780,  married  Captain 
Henry  Prescott,  July  30,  1810,  and  their 
daughter,  Alary  Elizabeth  Shannon  Prescott, 
married  Major  Felix  Ansart. 

Felix  Ansart,  eldest  son  of  Major  Felix  An- 
sart and  his  wife  Mary  Elizabeth  Shannon 
Prescott,  lawyer,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
was  born  in  New  London,  Connecticut,  January 
28,  1837.  He  there  attended  the  primary  schools 
and  high  school,  finishing  his  preparatory  studies 
at  Williston  Seminary,  East  Hampton,  Massa- 
chusetts. Was  a  student  at  Amherst  College, 
1855-1857,  at  Yale  1857-1859,  graduating  A.  B. 
in  the  class  of  1859.  '  He  studied  law  at  Yale  Law 
School,  New  London,  Connecticut,  and  at  Utica, 
New  York,  1859-1861.  April  4,  1861,  was  ad- 
mitted at  the  general  term  of  the  supreme  court, 
held  at  Syracuse,  to  practice  law  in  all  the  courts 
of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  then  opened  a  law 
office  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  In  the  fall  of 
1862  he  taug-ht  Latin  and  Greek  in  the  school  of 
M.  Churchill,  Sing  Sing,  New  York.  1863- 
1865  principal  of  St.  Mark's  parish  school, 
Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania.  October,  1865, 
took  up  civil  engineering,  became  a  member  of 
the  engineer  corps  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Rail- 
road Company,  then  constructing  a  line  over  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Mountain;  March,  1867,  to  Oc- 
tober, 1869,  was  assistant  engineer  in  charge  of 
a  division  of  the  railroad  then  building  from 
Tunkhannock  to  Laceyville  in  Wyoming  county, 
Pennsylvania ;  October,  1869,  March.  1870,  was 
a  student  in  the  Polytechnic  School  Philadelphia ; 
1 870- 1 882  was  practicing  attorney  at  Tunkhan- 
nock, and  also  engaged  in  civil  engineering.  In 
May,  1 87 1,  was  appointed  chief  engineer  of  the 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


161 


Montrose  Railway  Company,  and  had  charge  of 
the  location  and  construction  of  said  railroad ; 
1 872- 1 874  was  district  attorney  of  Wyoming- 
county,  Pennsylvania.  1882-1884  was  assistant 
engineer  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  his  di- 
vision extending  from  Penn  Haven  to  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  after  that,  for  a  time,  he  was  in 
mercantile  pursuits,  but  resumed  law  practice  in 
Tunkhannock  in  1888.  Incidental  to  his  resi- 
dence there,  he  had  an  active  interest  in  local 
affairs ;  he  was  burgess  of  Tunkhannock,  council- 
man, president  of  the  school  board,  and  principal 
of  the  high  school  for  one  year.  In  1896  he  re- 
moved to  Wilkes-Barre  and  has  since  been  iden- 
tified with  the  practice  of  law  in  that  citv. 

Felix  Ansart  married,  Tunkhannock,  Penn- 
sylvania, September  16,  1874,  Harriet  Rowena 
Loomis,  born  January  23,  1849,  m  Springville, 
Susquehanna  county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of 
Horatio  Porter  Loomis  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
Adams.  Their  children,  born  in  Tunkhannock, 
Pennsylvania,  are : 

Louis  Loomis  Ansart,  graduate  of  Tunkhan- 
nock high  school ;  graduated,  1894,  at  State  Nor- 
mal School,  Bloomsburg,  Pennsylvania  ;  graduate 
of  Pennsylvania  State  College,  B.  S.,  1898,  post- 
graduate student  there ;  member  mining  engineer 
corps,  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company;  instructor 
in  mathematics,  Pennsylvania  State  College. 

Mary  Ansart,  graduate  Tunkhannock  high 
school ;  graduate  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston, 
Pa.,  department  of  typewriting  and  stenography. 

The  name  Loomis  originally  was  Lummus. 
Edward  Lummus  was  of  Ipswich,  Massachu- 
setts, 1635.  and  from  him  the  line  runs  to  Samuel, 
then  to  Samuel,  to  John  to  Porter,  to  Horatio 
Porter  Loomis,  who  married  Elizabeth  Adams 
in  1840  or  1841,  and  to  Harriet  Rowena  Loomis, 
who  married  Felix  Ansart. 

Porter  Lummus,  born  Ipswich,  Massachusetts, 
1763,  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  B.  A.,  1786, 
later  A.  M.,  died  November  2,  1852 ;  married 
Susanna  Ashley,  of  Claremont,  New  Hamp- 
shire, a  descendant  of  Robert  Ashley  of  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  and  of  David  Ashley,  his 
son,  of  Westfield,  Massachusetts,  whose  son 
Samuel  had  a  son  Daniel,  who  had  a  son  Colonel 
11 


Samuel  Ashley,  who  married  Eunice  Doolittle, 
and  had  Susanna,  their  youngest  daughter,  born 
December  16,  1766,  died  December  1,  1846.  (See 
Ashley  family  genealogy.) 

Horatio  Porter  Loomis,  above  mentioned,, 
born  in  Portland,  Maine,  January  22,  1801,  died 
in  Tunkhannock,  Pennsylvania,  February  27,. 
1 88 1,  married  Elizabeth  Adams,  November  14,. 
1840  or  1841,  was  first  farmer,  then  engaged 
on  public  works.  In  1833-34  was  foreman  in 
charge  of  three  hundred  men  engaged  in  con- 
strucing  the  work  at  the  head  of  the  Delaware 
and  Raritan  canal  feeder.  In  1836-37  was  a 
contractor  on  the  Delaware  division  of  the  Xew 
York  and  Erie  Railroad.  In  years  1838-39-40, 
he  was  employed  in  the  building  of  the  Croton 
aqueduct  in  and  near  New  York  city,  part  of  the 
time  as  contractor,  part  of  the  time  as  inspector. 
He  then  moved  to  his  farm  in  Springville,  Su- 
quehanna  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  1S69  re- 
moved to  Tunhannock,  Wyoming  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. His  wife,  Elizabeth  Adams,  daughter 
of  David  Adams  and  Elizabeth  (Sterling) 
Adams,  granddaughter  of  David  Adams  on  pa- 
ternal side,  Samuel  Sterling  and  Mary  (Greg- 
ory) Sterling  on  the  maternal  side,  was  born 
May  26,  1808,  in  Northumberland  township,  Lu- 
zerne (now  Wyoming)  county,  Pennsylvania ; 
died  April  6,  1900,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania. H.  E.  H. 

HARVEY  FAMILY— The  Harveys  of  New 
England  in  the  colonial  period,  from  whom  the 
Harveys  of  the  Wyoming  region  are  descended, 
and  from  whom  also  numerous  other  families 
of  that  surname  in  various  parts  of  America  are 
likewise  descendants,  were  of  English  ancestry, 
some  of  them  of  the  nobility  and  of  the  gentry, 
and  others  of  the  yeomanry  and  the  middle 
classes.  The  line  of  Harveys  under  considera- 
tion here  were  direct  descendants  of  Thomas 
Harvey,  and  were  a  daughter,  whose  christian 
name  is  not  known,  but  who  married  in  England 
Anthony  Slocum ;  a  son,  William  Harvey,  and 
another  son,  Thomas  Harvey,  born,  as  were  the 
others,  in  Somersetshire,  England,  came  with 
them  to  New  England  in  1636,  and  settled  first 


1 62 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA  'VALLEYS. 


in  the  colony  of  Dorchester,  Massachusetts. 
This  Thomas  was  the  progenitor  of  the  branch 
of  the  Harvey  family  in  these  annals.  He  re- 
moved from  Dorchester  to  Taunton,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  died,  165 1.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth 
Andrews,  and  their  youngest  son  John  had  a 
son  John,  who  had  a  son  Benjamin,  who,  in  1772 
made  a  settlement  in  the  town  of  Plymouth,  in 
the  Wyoming  valley  in  Pennylvania,  where  he 
was  a  man  of  consequence  and  influence  among 
the  Connecticut  colonists  who  occupied  that  re- 
gion. 

Benjamin  Harvey,  son  of  John  Harvey  and 
his  wife  Sarah,  was  born,  Lyme,  Connecticut, 
July  28,  1722,  died  at  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania, 
November  27,  1795  ;  married  (first)  1745,  Eliz- 
abeth Pelton,  born  1720,  died  December  3,  1771-, 
daughter  of  John  and  Jemima  Pelton.  He  mar- 
ried (second),  about  1786,  Catherine  Draper, 
widow  of  Major  Simeon  Draper.  Children  of 
Benjamin  Harvey  and  Elizabeth  Pelton:  Mary, 
born  1746,  died  (unmarried)  October  27,  1767. 
Benjamin,  born  1747,  died  March,  1777.  Seth, 
born  1749,  died  (unmarried),  November  22, 
1769.  Silas,  born  1754,  died  July  3,  1778.  Lois, 
born  1756,  died  1808.  Elisha,  born  1759,  died 
March  14,  1800.     Lucy,  born  1760. 

Elisha  Harvey,  seventh  child  of  Benjamin 
and  Elizabeth  Pelton  Harvey,  was  born  in  Lyme, 
New  London  county,  Connecticut,  1758.  He  was 
fourteen  years  when  he  moved  with  his  parents  to 
Pennsylvania,  but  almost  from  the  time  of  the 
family  settlement  in  the  Wyoming  valley  he  was 
a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  stirring  events  of  the 
years  preceding  and  until  the  close  of  the  revolu- 
tion and  the  final  settlement  of  the  conflicting 
claims  of  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania  regard- 
ing land  titles.  He  served  during  the  war,  and 
was  a  soldier  under  Sullivan  in  the  memorable 
campaign  of  1779,  which  resulted  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Indian  villages  of  the  Genesee  coun- 
try. He  was  captured  by  the  British  rangers 
and  Indians  in  December,  1780,  and  taken  to 
Montreal.  Here  he  was  given  into  custody  of 
a  Seneca  chief,  and  was  taken  to  the  Green 
Bay,  Wisconsin,  with  a  trapping  and  hunting 
party.     He  returned  with  his  dusky  companions 


late  in  1781,  and  finally  was  given  over  to  a 
Scotch  trader  in  exchange  for  a  half  barrel  of 
rum.  In  the  late  summer  of  the  next  year  he 
was  exchanged  for  one  Adam  Bowman  and  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Plymouth.  Elisha  Harvey 
married  November  27,  1786,  Rosanna  Jameson, 
daughter  of  Robert  Jameson  and  Agnes  Dixon. 
They  had  children:  Benjamin,  born  August  10, 
1787,  died  March  18,  1788.  Sarah,  born  May  4, 
1789,  died  October  11,  1832.  Elizabeth,  born 
September .20,  1790,  died  May  26,  1868.  Benja- 
min, born  May  9,  1792,  died  March  3.  1873. 
Nancy,  born  March  19,  1794,  died  January  15, 
1795.  Jameson,  born  January  1.  1796,  died  July 
4,  1885.  Silas,  born  December  17,  1797,  died 
May  10,  1824. 

Benjamin  Harvey,  fourth  child,  second  son, 
of  Elisha  and  Rosanna  (Jameson)  Harvey,  was  a 
merchant  and  miller,  a  thorough  business  man, 
and  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  He  removed  from  Plymouth  to 
Huntington  township  in  1816,  and  the  scene  of 
his  active  business  career  was  laid  in  the  town- 
ship last  mentioned.  He  was  postmaster  at  Har- 
veyville  1829-49;  justice  of  the  peace,  1849-54; 
vice-president  of  the  Luzerne  County  Agricult- 
ural Society,  1848;  and  as  early  as  1824  was  lieu- 
tenant of  militia.  He  married,  July  9,  1815,  Sarah 
Nesbitt,  born  January  3,  1793,  daughter  of  Ab- 
ram  Nesbitt  and  wife  Bethiah  Wheeler.  They 
had  children :  Bethiah  Wheeler,  born  June  15, 
1817,  died  November  21,  1884.  Elisha  Boaner- 
ges, born  October  1,  1819,  died  August  20.  1872. 
Caroline  Arista,  born  May  13,  1822,  died  No- 
vember 7,  1846.  Mary  Jameson,  born  August  22, 
1824,  died  November  13,  1892.  Abram  Nesbitt, 
born  April  4,  1827,  died  October  5,  1890.  Ro- 
sanna. born  September  12,  1831,  died  October  3, 
1864. 

Jameson  Harvey,  sixth  child,  third  son  of 
Elisha  Harvey  and  wife  Rosanna  Jameson,  was 
born  in  Plymouth  township,  near  what  is  now 
West  Nanticoke.  He  was  a  farmer,  successful 
in  his  business  endeavors,  and  a  man  whose  in- 
fluence was  always  for  good.  In  1828  his 
coal   mining   operations   were    begun,   and   were 


w 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


163 


continued  for  a  number  of  years.  He  became  an 
operator  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  introduce 
improved  methods  in  carrying  on  the  work  of 
preparing  coal  for  market.  He  also  engaged  in 
lumbering  enterprises,  and  chiefly  devoted  his 
energies  in  that  direction  after  1863  when  he 
turned  over  his  mining  interests  to  his  sons.  In 
January,  1869,  he  removed  to  WiJkes-Barre, 
where  he  afterward  lived,  and  where  he  died, 
July  4,  18885.  Jameson  Harvey  married  De- 
cember 28,  1832,  Mary  Campbell,  born  Septem- 
ber 12,  1801,  daughter  of  James  Campbell  and 
wife  Margaret  Stewart.  They  had  children :  Mar- 
garet Campbell,  born  October  13,  1835.  William 
Jameson,  born  May  13,  1838.  Henry  Harrison, 
born  September  30,  1840.    Mary,  born  September 

6,  1843. 

Colonel  Elisha  Boanerges  Harvey,  second 
child  and  eldest  son  of  Benjamin  Harvey  and  his 
wife,  Sarah  Nesbitt,  was  born  in  Harveyville, 
Huntington  township,  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, October  1.  1819.  He  graduated  at 
Wesleyan  University,  A.  B.,  1845  ;  A.  M.  1848, 
and  in  August,  1845,  became  teacher  of  ancient 
languages  in  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania,  remaining  in  that  capacity  until 
the  following  year,  when  he  resigned  and  opened 
a  private  school  in  Kingston.  During  this  time 
he  read  law,  and  November  4,  1847,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  the  courts  of  Luzerne 
county.  He  then  took  up  his  residence  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  afterward  an  important 
factor  in  the  life  of  that  borough  and  subse- 
quent city.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of 
1861-65  he  was  active  in  the  organization  of 
companies,  and  was  made  captain  of  the 
'Wyoming  Bank  Infantry,"  afterward  Company 
F,  Seventh  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Reserve 
Volunteer  Corps,  Thirty-sixth  Regiment,  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers  in  the  United  States  ser- 
vice. On  June  26,  1861,  Captain  Harvey  was 
elected  colonel  of  the  regiment  and  served  with 
that  command  until  July,  1862,  when  he  resigned 
because  of  ill  health.  He  returned  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  to  his  profession  in  part,  but  more 
particularly  to  his  earlier  avocation  of  teaching. 
Both  before  and  after  he  entered  the  army  Colo- 


nel Harvey  was  identified  in  many  ways  with  the 
civil  and  political  history  of  Wilkes-Barre  and 
of  Luzerne  county.  He  was  a  good  lawyer,  an 
educator  of  wide  repute,  and  a  man  of  unques- 
tioned integrity  of  character.  He  died  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  August  20,  1872. 

Elisha  Boanerges  Harvey  married  (first), 
October  8,  1845,  Phebe  Maria  Frisbie,  born  Jan- 
uary 16,  1821,  died  June  7,  1849;  married  (sec- 
ond), July  8,  1850,  Sarah  Maria  Garretson,  born 
August  25,  1824,  died  August  22,  1875.  Their 
children :  Olin  Frisbie,  born  September  28,  1846. 
Oscar  Jewell,  born  September  2,  185 1.  Ella, 
born  October  7,  1853,  died  January  22,  1900. 
Elizabeth,  born  August  31,  1855.  Caroline 
Arista,  born  September  10,  1857,  died  January  8, 
1867.  Benjamin  Nesbitt,  born  November  15, 
1859,  died  May  16,  1867.  Edith,  born  July  13, 
1862.  Charles  Elisha,  born  January  23,  1865, 
died  November  7,  1869.  Gilbert  Alexander,  born 
January  9,  1869. 

William  Jameson  Harvey,  second  child,  first 
son  of  Jameson  Harvey  and  wife  Mary  Campbell, 
born  in  West  Nanticoke,  Luzerne  county.  He 
was  educated  at  the  Wyoming  Institute,  Wyom- 
ing, Pennsylvania,  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kings- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  Professor  Chase's  Academy, 
Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  at  Edgehill  School, 
Princeton,  New  Jersey.  He  at  first  intended  to 
enter  college,  but  changed  his  plans  and  began 
active  business  pursuits  in  1859,  as  superintend- 
ent of  his  father's  coal  mining  operations  at 
West  Nanticoke.  In  1861  he  entered  the  mili- 
tary service,  began  the  work  of  recruiting,  and 
on  October  15  of  that  year  was  mustered  as 
private,  Company  F,  Seventh  Regiment,  Penn- 
sylvania Reserve  Volunteer  Corps ;  elected  first 
lieutenant  Company  I,  November  7 ;  promoted 
adjutant  November  20;  resigned  November  25, 
1862. 

On  his  return  from  the  South  it  was  the  in- 
tention of  Adjutant  Harvey  to  re-enter  the  service 
in  some  other  command,  but  he  was  persuaded  by 
his  father  to  remain  at  home  and  relieve  him  of  a 
portion  of  the  responsibilities  in  connection 
with  his  mining  operations.  Accordingly  in  the 
spring  of  1863  he  took  charge,  with  his  brother 


1 64 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Henry  Harrison  Harvey,  of  the  mining  works 
at  West  Nanticoke,  which  were  thereafter  car- 
ried on  under  the  firm  style  of  Harvey  Broth- 
ers until  1871,  when  the  property  was  sold. 
During  a  part  of  this  time  the  firm  also  engaged 
in  the  lumbering  business  at  Plymouth,  and  this, 
after  the  sale  of  the  coal  property,  was  materi- 
ally increased  by  the  new  partnership  of  Har- 
vey Brothers  &  Co.  This  business  was  sold  out 
in  1886. 

Mr.  Harvey  was  a  director  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Plymouth  in  1865-66.  In  1870, 
he,  with  two  others,  secured  control  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston  street  railway,  which, 
under  his  personal  management,  was  developed 
into  an  excellent  means  of  travel  between  those 
points,  becoming  in  1892,  a  part  of  the  street  rail- 
way system  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  and  Wyoming 
Valley  Traction  Company.  He  is  now  a  di- 
rector of  this  company,  and  has  considerable  in- 
terests in  similar  companies  in  other  cities. 

Since  the  summer  of  1871  Mr.  Harvey  has 
lived  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  has  been  a  promi- 
nent factor  in  the  civil  and  political  history  of 
the  city.  He  was  an  independent  candidate  for 
the  mayoralty  in  1874;  was  elected  school  di- 
rector in  1875  and  served  in  that  capacity  until 
188 1,  being  president  of  the  board  five  years; 
was  elected  to  the  city  council  in  1885,  and  served 
in  that  body  until  April,  1898;  was  president  of 
the  council  from  1886  to  1891,  and  from  1894 
to  1898.  He  was  a  presidential  elector  in  1892, 
when  Harrison  and  Reed  were  the  candidates  of 
the  national  Republican  convention,  and  also 
served  in  a  similar  capacity  in  1901.  He  was  a  di- 
rector of  the  Miners  Savings  Bank,  president  of 
the  Wyoming  Valley  Lace  Mills,  president  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Grand  Opera  House  Company, 
a  member  of  Conyingham  Post  No.  97,  G  A.  R., 
a  member  of  the  military  order  of  the  Loyal  Le- 
gion, and  for  more  than  thirty  years  a  Free  and 
Accepted.  Mason.  He  is  the  oldest  living  past 
eminent  commander  of  Dieu  Le  Veut  Command- 
ery,  No.  45,  Knights  Templar,  also  a  thirty-sec- 
ond degree  Mason,  A.  and  A.  S.  Rite,  and  a 
member  of  Irem  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  of  the  Mys- 


tic Shrine,  and  member  of  B.  P.  Order  of  Elks.. 
William  Jameson  Harvey  married  ( first) 
December  9,  1869.  Jessie  Wright,  born  July  20,. 
1848,  died  June  29,  1877.  He  married  (second) 
October  21,  1880,  Amanda  Mary  Laning, 
daughter  of  Augustus  C.  Laning  and  wife 
Amanda  Christel,  widow  of  Rodman  Merritt. 
Children :  William  Jameson,  born  September  6, 
1870,  died  July  16,  1 87 1.  Robert  Rieman,  born 
December  1,  1871,  graduate  Lehigh  University^ 
1895,  E.  E. ;  superintendent  Wyoming  Valley 
Lace  Mills.  Edward  Darling,  born  February  15,. 
1873,  died  July  16,  1878.  Emily  Cist,  born  June 
13,  1877,  died  June  16,  1877.  Laning,  born  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1882.  H.  E.  H. 

BRIGADIER  GENERAL  C.  BOW 
DOUGHERTY,  late  colonel  of  the  Ninth  Regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania  National  Guard,  chief  clerk 
and  purchasing  agent  of  the  Coal  Companies  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  was  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  September  3,  i860.  He  is  a  son  of  Charles 
and  Julia  (Collings)  Dougherty.  His  father  was  a 
native  of  Albany,  New  York,  and  his  wife  is  a 
lineal  descendant  of  John  Blackman. 

John  Blackman,  born  in  England,  came  to 
America  prior  to  1640.  The  Rev.  Adam  Black- 
man,  with  his  family,  came  to  America  about  the 
same  time,  both  landing  at  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, the  latter  settling  at  Stratford,  Connecticut,, 
being  the  minister  there  when  the  town  was  set- 
tled. John  Blackman,. from  whom  the  Wyoming 
valley  family  is  descended,  took  up  land  at  Dor- 
chester, Massachusetts,  now  a  part  of  Boston. 
He  married  Mary  Pond,  and  had  the  following 
children;  John,  born  August-  10,  1656  (O  S.)  ; 
Jonathan,  born  December  1,  1658  (O.  S.)  ; 
Joseph,  born  June  27,  1661  (O.  S.)  ;  Benjamin, 
born  November  25,  1665  (O.  S.).    His  wife  died 

about    1667,  and   he  married   Sarah  ,  by 

whom  he  had  two  children,  Adam  and  Abraham. 
John  Blackman  died  April  28,  1675.  Joseph 
Blackman,  his  third  son,  married  at  Dorchester, 
November  12,  1685,  Elizabeth  Church,  a  daugh- 
ter   of    Joseph    Church,    of    Little    Compton,    a 


THE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


i65 


brother  of  the  redoubtable  fighter  and  lively 
chronicler,  Captain  Benjamin  Church,  who  on 
August  12,  1676.  with  his  gallant  band  pursued 
King  Philip,  the  son  of  Massasoit,  and  ended  the 
life  of  that  crafty  barbarian,  as  well  as  King 
Philip's  war.  Joseph  and  Benjamin  were  sons 
-of  Richard  Church,  a  soldier  in  the  Pequot  war. 
which  ended  in  the  extermination  of  the  Pequot 
Indians  and  their  raids  on  the  settlers.  The  wife 
•of  Richard  Church  was  Elizabeth  Warren, 
daughter  of  Richard  Warren,  one  of  the  passen- 
gers on  the  "Mayflower,"  which  landed  at  Plym- 
outh Rock  in  November,  1620.  Thus  comes 
descent  from  the  pioneers  of  the  valiant  and 
mighty  host  who  have  had  so  much  to  do  with 
founding  and  peopling  the  LTnited  States.  Rich- 
ard Warren  was  one  of  the  forty-one  signers  to 
the  compact  drawn  up  on  board  the  "Mayflower" 
before  landing,  said  to  be  the  first  constitutional 
covenant  ever  written  bv  men  for  the  govern- 
ment of  a  people.  Joseph  Blackman  and  his  wife 
Elizabeth  (Church)  moved  to  Little  Compton. 
Rhode  Island. 

Elisha  Blackman.  one  of  his  nine  children, 
was  born  there  September  23.  1699.  He  mar- 
Tied  Susanna  Higley,  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  to 
which  place  his  father  had  removed  in  17 17. 
where  he  purchased  120  acres  of  land  for  £600. 
Susanna  Higley  was  a  sister  of  Hannah  Higley, 
who  married  Captain  Joseph  Trumbull,  the 
famous  governor  of  Connecticut  during  the  Rev- 
olution, the  friend  and  adviser  of  Washington, 
and  whom  the  latter  called  "Brother  Jonathan." 
Elisha  Blackman  and  wife  Susanna  Higley  had 
among  other  children.  Elisha,  born  September  19, 
1727.  He  married  on  March  22,  1753,  Lucy 
Polly,  widow  of  Ebenezer  Smith,  and  thev  had : 
Lucy,  born  September  7,  1755,  married  Titus 
Darrow:  Lovina.  born  September  7.  1757.  mar- 
ried (in  Wilkes-Barre)  Darius  Spafford :  Elisha, 
born  April  4.  1760.  married  Anna  Hurlburt, 
January  10,1788;  Ichabod.  born  March  2.1.  1762, 
married  Elizabeth  Franklin  1786:  Eleazer,  born 
May  31,  1765,  married  Clarinda  Hyde.  1787. 

Elisha   Blackman.    who   married   Lucy    Polly 
'{the  widow  Smith),  emigrated  to  the  Wyoming 


valley  in  1772.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  com- 
pany commanded  by  Capt.  William  Hooker 
Smith,  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Connecticut  Line, 
stationed  in  the  fort  at  Wilkes-Barre  at  the  time 
of  the  Wyoming  massacre.  His  son,  Elisha 
Blackman,  was  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  escaped 
the  massacre  and  swam  the  river,  and  fled  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  joined  his  father,  the 
only  man  left  in  the  fort  at  Wilkes-Barre,  the 
others  having  gone  with  the  women  and  chil- 
dren to  the  mountains  to  show  them  the  way 
towards  Stroudsburg  and  Connecticut.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  father  and  son  fol- 
lowed. In  August  young  Elisha  returned  to 
Wyoming  with  Captain  Spalding's  company,  and 
in  October  helped  to  bury  the  dead  at  Wyoming. 
Later  he  served  two  years  with  the  arm}"  in 
Cherrv  Valley  and  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, in  New  York  state,  and  in  1781  en- 
listed in  Colonel  Sherman's  regiment  on  the  Hud- 
son, being  discharged  in  1783.  Major  Eleazer 
Blackman,  his  brother,  was  thirteen  years  old  at 
the  time  of  the  invasion  of  the  valley  in  1778  by 
the  British  and  Indians  under  John  Butler,  and 
assisted  in  building  the  fort  at  Wilkes-Barre  by 
hauling  the  logs.  They  were  all  of  the  stuff  that 
good  men  honor.  Their  lives  were  true,  and  tried 
in  the  faith  of  patriots.  In  the  search  for  free- 
dom's holy  light  on  the  then  western  frontier 
their  souls  were  seared  with  the  trials  that  befell. 
Nobly  the}-  lived  their  lives  and  played  their  parts 
with  the  mighty  host  of  pioneers  who  shared  the 
perils  with  them. 

Major  Eleazer  Blackman,  son  of  Elisha  and 
Lucy  Pollv  Blackman,  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Con- 
necticut, May  31,  1765.  He  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1772,  but  fled  with 
his  mother  and  family,  July  4,  1778,  across  the 
mountains  and  through  the  "shades  of  death"  to 
Stroudsburg,  where  they  were  joined  by  his 
father,  and  they  then  made  their  way  to  Lebanon, 
Connecticut,  where  he  was  reared.  He  returned 
to  Wilkes-Barre  with  his  brothers  in  1786.  and 
the  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in  that  place. 
In  1787  he  married  Clarinda  Hyde,  daughter  of 
John  Hyde.     He  died  September  10.  1843.  age(L 


i66 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


seventy-eight  years,  and  his  wife  passed  away 
January  25,  1830,  aged  sixty  years.  Their 
daughter  Melinda,  born  May  4,  1793,  became 
the  wife  of  Daniel  Collings  in  1812,  and  eleven 
children  were  born  to  them,  Julia  Collings, 
mother  of  C.  Bow  Dougherty,  being  the  tenth 
child.  Daniel  Collings  died  in  1861,  aged  sixty- 
eight  years. 

C.  Bow  Dougherty  was  reared  in  WilkesT 
Barre,  and  his  education  was  acquired  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  city  and  at  Emerson  In- 
stitute, Washington,  D.  C.  He  began  his  busi- 
ness career  as  a  clerk  in  the  offices  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna Coal  Company,  in  whose  service  he  re- 
mained twelve  years.  He  has  held  his  present 
position  as  chief  clerk  and  purchasing  agent  of 
the  C°al  Companies  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road (which  includes  the  company  above 
named)  since  1885,  a  period  of  two  decades.  The 
fact  of  his  having  retained  both  positions  for  so 
long  a  time  is  ample  proof  of  his  capability,  in- 
tegrity and  fidelity  to  every  duty  entrusted  to  him. 

August  1,  1881,  he  enlisted  as  a  private- in 
Company  B,  Ninth  Regiment,  National  Guard  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  detailed  as  regimental 
clerk  August  12,  1881 ;  appointed  principal  musi- 
cian July  27,  1882;  sergeant-major  May  9,  1883; 
reappointed  November  7,  1884;  commissioned 
first  lieutenant  June  20,  1885  ;  inspector  of  rifle 
practice  April  28,  1887 ;  and  reappointed  June 
23,  1890.  He  was  elected  major  of  the  regiment 
November  3,  1892 ;  lieutenant-colonel  June  22, 
1894 ;  and  colonel  July  14,  1897,  and  was 
unanimously  re-elected  July  14,  1902.  During 
his  incumbency  of  the  office  of  colonel  the  regi- 
ment steadily  progressed,  and  is  rated  as  one  of 
the  best  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  On  April 
9,  1906,  Colonel  Dougherty  was  appointed  briga- 
dier-general of  Third  Brigade,  N.  G  P.,  to  suc- 
ceed General  Gobin. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish-American 
war  the  Ninth  Regiment  above  named  was  "mus- 
tered into  the  United  States  service,  and  became 
the  Ninth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  A^olunteers. 
The  regiment  left  Wilkes-Barre  April  27,  1898, 
and  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service 


at  Alt.  Gretna,  Pennsylvania,  May  11,  1898,  and 
ordered  to  Camp  George  H.  Thomas,  Chicka- 
mauga,  Georgia,  where  upon  its  arrival,  May  20, 
Colonel  Dougherty  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  Third  Brigade,  Third  Division,  First 
Army  Corps,  and  retained  command  of  the  brig- 
ade until  July  4,  1898,  being  relieved  by  the 
assignment  of  Brigadier-General  John  N.  An- 
drews. He  resumed  command  of  the  brigade  on 
August  25,  retaining  it  until  the  regiment  was 
mustered  out  of  service.  The  regiment  reached 
Wilkes-Barre  on  September  19,  1898,  was  fur- 
loughed  for  thirty  days,  and  was  finally  mustered 
out  of  service  October  29,  1898.  Before  being 
mustered  out  the  regiment  participated  in  the 
Peace  Jubilee  in  Philadelphia,  October,  27th. 

General  Dougherty  is  a  member  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution, 
the  Military  Order  of  Foreign  Wars,  and  the 
Naval  and  Military  Order  of  the  Spanish- 
American  War,  of  which  he  was  the  first  state 
commander,  and  also  the  junior  vice-commander 
of  the  national  commandery  for  two  years,  and 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club,  and 
the  Country  Club,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  the  Wyo- 
ming Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and 
Lodge  No.  61,  F.  and  A.  M.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat. 

In  1883  General  Dougheity  married  Anna  D. 
Posten,  daughter  of  M.  Brown  and  Anna  M. 
(Palmer)  Posten,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  They  have 
two  children,  Helen  and  Marion.        H.  E.  H. 

NINTH  REGIMENT  INFANTRY  holds  a 
foremost  place  in  the  National  Guard  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  has  received  cordial  recognition 
from  the  executive  of  the  commonwealth  for  ex- 
cellent service  in  the  maintenance  of  law  and 
order  in  times  of  unusual  turbulence,  and  from 
the  War  Department  of  the  LJnited  States  for 
the  part  it  took  during-  the  Spanish-American 
war.  That  it  was  not  privileged  to  go  abroad 
during  that  conflict,  detracts  nothing  from  the 
credit  due  for  its  exhibition  of  patriotism,  and  for 
the  fine  soldierly  spirit  and  ability  which  charac- 
terized both  rank  and  file. 


NINTH   REGIMENT   ARMORY 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


167 


The  Ninth  Regiment  is  distinctively  identified 
with  the  Wyoming  valley,  and  more  immediately 
with  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre.  It  had  its  incep- 
tion in  that  city,  which  has  been  its  headquarters 
to  the  present  time,  and  whose  people  cherish  it 
with  deepseated  sentiments  of  local  pride.  The 
nucleus  of  the  regiment  was  the  old  Wilkes-Barre 
Fencibles,  organized  in  1878  through  the  effort 
of  Henry  Crandall  and  others.  Under  Captain 
Oscar  J.  Harvey  the  Fencibles  gave  such  stimula- 
tion to  military  spirit  in  and  about  Wilkes-Barre 
that  in  the  following  year  another  company  was 
formed  in  that  city,  with  D.  S.  Bennett  as  cap- 
tain, and  in  that  same  month  and  year  were  also 
formed  companies  at  Pleasant  Valley  and  Nanti- 
coke.  There  were  companies  of  prior  existence 
at  Pittston,  Towanda  and  Berwick,  and  all  these 
made  eight  companies  in  the  city  and  neighbor- 
hood of  Wilkes-Barre,  so  located  as  to  suggest 
the  desirability  of  their  union  in  a  regimental  or- 
ganization, in  the  conviction  that  this  would  prove 
conducive  to  the  highest  military  interests — tech- 
nical proficiency,  esprit  de  corps,  and  efficiency  in 
the  field  in  case  of  necessity.  Moved  by  these 
considerations,  the  officers  of  the  companies 
above  named  brought  the  matter  to  the  attention 
of  Governor  Hoyt  (see  sketch  elsewhere),  and 
their  views  were  further  urged  upon  him  by  a 
number  of  influential  citizens  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
The  governor  quickly  appreciated  the  force  of 
their  suggestions,  and  gave  assurance  of  carrying 
them  into  effect  as  soon  as  he  could  discover  a 
commander  who  should  possess  sufficient  force  of 
character  and  military  capability  to  ensure  the 
stability  of  the  proposed  regiment.  In  reply,  the 
company  officers  and  others  of  wise  judgment 
in  the  valley,  recommended  G.  Murray  Rey- 
nolds, of  Wilkes-Barre  (sketch  elsewhere),  for 
the  colonelcy,  and  tie,  after  a  personal  interview 
with  Governor  Hoyt  and  Colonel  Conyngham,  the 
governor's  aide-de-camp,  agreed  to  accept  the  ap- 
pointment. To  consummate  the  plans  thus  form- 
ulated, the  governor,  on  June  24,  issued  through 
his  adjutant  general,  Colonel  James  W.  Latta,  an 
order  creating  the  Ninth  Regiment,  to  be  com- 
posed of  the  following  companies  : 


Company  K,  Twelfth  Regiment,  Towanda, 
Capt.  J.  Andrew  Wilt,  organized  January  20, 
1876,  to  be  Company  A. 

Wilkes-Barre  Fencibles,  Capt.  O.  J.  Harvey, 
organized  November  28,  1878,  to  be  Company  B. 

Company  C,  Twelfth  Regiment,  Pittston, 
Capt.  James  Ginley,  organized  January  19,  1866, 
to  be  Company  C. 

Company  D,  Twelfth  Regiment,  Berwick, 
Capt.  Samuel  Simpson,  organized  August  15, 
1870,  to  be  Company  D. 

Pleasant  Valley  Company,  Capt.  Charles  A. 
Jones,  organized  July  1,  1879,  to  be  Company  E. 

Wilkes-Barre  Independent  Company,  Capt.  D. 
S.  Bennett,  organized  July  7,  1879,  to  be  Com- 
pany F. 

Nanticoke  Company,  Capt.  John  Dunn,  or- 
ganized July  7,  1879,  to  be  Company  G.    .  • 

Company  H,  Twelfth  Regiment,  Hazelton, 
Capt.  W.  W.  Wenner,  organized  July  21,  1877, 
to  be  Company  H. 

Jul)-  25th,  the  company  officers  met  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  with  entire  unanimity  elected  G.  Mur- 
rav  Reynolds  as  colonel.  In  his  absence  there 
was  no  election  for  other  field  officers,  it  being 
held  that  his  views  in  the  matter  should  be  con- 
sidered. It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  during 
this  meeting  the  officers  visited  the  market  house 
on  Northampton  street  (now  used  by  the  Trac- 
tion Company  as  a  car  house)  and  discussed  its 
desirability  as  an  armory.  While  there  they  suf- 
fered detention  owing  to  a  severe  thunder  storm, 
and  they  utilized  the  time  by  going  into  line  for 
drill  by  Captain  Ginley,  this  being  the  first  drill 
of  the  officers  of  the  new  regiment,  and  in  the 
building  which  was  destined  to  be  its  headquar- 
ters for  a  number  of  years. 

Colonel  Reynolds  on  assuming  command  ap- 
pointed Lieutenant  A.  D.  Moore  as  adjutant.  In 
September,  1879,  the  regiment  rendezvoused  at 
Bloomsburg  as  a  part  of  the  Third  Brigade,  and 
on  that  occasion,  notwithstanding  its  brevity  of 
service,  made  an  average  of  88.1,  next  to  the 
highest  in  the  brigade.  Shortly  afterward  a  new 
company  was  organized  in  Wilkes-Barre,  under 
Captain  Augustus  H.  Rush,  which  was  mustered 


1 68 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


into  service  October  28  as  Company  I.  On  the 
30th  of  the  same  month  thd  regimental  organiza- 
tion was  perfected  by  the  election  of  the  follow- 
ing officers  :  Morris  J.  Keck,  lieutenant-colonel, 
and  Daniel  S.  Bennett,  as  major.  In  1882  Com- 
pany E  was  disbanded,  and  was  replaced  by  a 
new  company  recruited  at  Parsons,  under  Capt. 
John  D.  Colvin ;  and  Company  C,  also  disbanded, 
was  replaced  by  a  new  Pittston  company  under 
Capt.  William  J.  Hughes.  Company  H  at 
Hazleton  was  mustered  out  the  same  year,  reduc- 
ing the  regiment  to  seven  companies,  but  in  Jan- 
uary the  next  year  another  company  was  formed 
to  take  its  place,  under  Capt.  James  Ginley.  May 
11,  1885,  Colonel  Reynolds  resigned,  and  this 
occasioned  the  following  promotions :  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Keck  to  be  colonel;  Major  Stark  to 
be  lieutenant-colonel ;  and  Captain  Hughes  to  be 
major.  Lieut.  J.  Ridgway  Wright  (sketch  else- 
where), had  succeeded  Lieutenant  Moore  in  the 
adjutancy  in  the  previous  year.  In  1885  Company 
A  was  disbanded.  In  1890  Colonel  Keck  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Stark  were  recommissioned, 
and  Lieut.  John  S.  Harding  (sketch  elsewhere), 
was  appointed  adjutant,  succeeding  Lieutenant 
Wright,  promoted  to  major  and  inspector  Third 
Brigade.  In  1894  Colonel  Keck  resigned,  and 
the  following  promotions  were  made :  Lieut. -Col. 
William  C.  Price  to  be  colonel;  Major  C.  Bow 
Dougherty  (sketch  elsewhere),  to  be  lieutenant- 
colonel;  and  Capt.  George  Wallace,  Jr.,  to  be 
major.  Colonel  Price  resigned  in  1897,  and 
Lieut. -Col.  C.  Bow  Dougherty  was  advanced  to 
the  colonelcy,  Major  Wallace  to  lieutenant-col- 
onel and  Frank  L.  McKee  to  major. 

The  Ninth  Regiment  has  participated  in  num- 
erous notable  events,  but  it  is  not  within  the  prov- 
ince of  this  narrative  to  present  them  in  detail, 
but  only  to  epitomize  its  history  in  the  large.  De- 
cember 16,  1879,  it  paraded  with  the  Third  Bri- 
gade at  the  reception  given  by  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia to  General  Grant  on  the  occasion  of  his 
return  from  his  tour  of  the  world.  At  the  sum- 
mer encampment  of  1884,  with  the  division  to 
which  it  was  attached,  it  was  reviewed  by  Gen. 
Phil  H.  Sheridan  and  Hon.  Robert  T.  Lincoln, 


secretary  of  war,  and  on  the  following  day  by 
Governor  Pattison.  In  1885  it  attended  the-  in- 
auguration of  President  Cleveland,  and  it  has 
taken  part  in  ever  presidential  inaugural  proces- 
sion from  that  time  to  the  present.  It  also  par- 
ticipated in  the  centennial  celebration  in  New 
York  City  in  honor  of  the  inauguration  of  Wash- 
ington as  the  first  president  of  the  United  States. 
In  1880  Reig's  Band  of  Wilkes-Barre  was  at- 
tached to  the  regiment,  remaining  with  it  until 
the  following -year,  when  regimental  bands  were 
abolished  by  act  of  the  legislature.  In  1887 
the  Ninth  Regiment  Band  was  formed — a  most 
excellent  organization,  comprising  thirtv-three 
pieces. 

The  excellency  of  the  regiment  in  target  prac- 
tice dates  from  an  early  day,  though  the  begin- 
ning was  inauspicious.  In  1879  (the  year  of  its 
organization)  Captain  Daniel  S.  Bennett,  of  Com- 
pany F,  was  detailed  as  acting  inspector  of  rifle 
practice  for  the  regiment,  but  no  practice  was 
held  until  1881  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  se- 
curing a  suitable  rifle  range.  In  1880  a  num- 
ber of  citizens  of  Wilkes-Barre  provided  a  suit- 
able trophy,  a  shield  of  value  and  beautiful  ar- 
tistic design,  to  be  awarded  to  the  best  drilled 
company  in  the  regiment,  and  to  be  contested  for 
anuallv.  Interest  in  rifle  practice  lagged  until 
1887,  when  the  legislature  created  the  position  of 
regimental  inspector  of  rifle  practice,  to  which 
position  was  appointed  Sergeant  Major  C.  Bow 
Dougherty,  who  was  thus  advanced  to  the  rank 
of  first  lieutenant.  In  1900  a  first  class 
rifle  range,  one  of  the  best  in  the  state, 
was  laid  out  at  a  cost  of  $1,200,  but 
was  abandoned  in  1893  on  account  of  the  danger 
to  people  living  in  its  vicinity.  In  1891  the  regi- 
ment had  qualified  fifty-nine  sharpshooters  and 
372  marksmen,  a  total  of  431,  and  the  member- 
ship made  the  high  percentage  of  93.3.  In  1888 
the  regiment  was  first  represented  at  the  state 
rifle  matches  at  Mount  Gretna. 

In  1880,  on  Decoration  Day,  the  regiment 
(with  the  exception  of  Company  D)  assembled  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  this  was  practically  its  first 
parade  in  that  city.     On  that  day  it. took  posses- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


169 


sion  of  its  first  armor)' — the  market  house  before 
referred  to,  and  which  had  been  leased  for  a  term 
of  years  and  refitted  to  suit  its  new  purpose.  In 
1883  removal  was  made  to  a  new  armory — the 
old  Atlantic  Garden  Hall  on  Northampton 
street.  In  1885  the  Officers"  Association  of  the 
Ninth  Regiment  was  formed,  and  entered  upon 
the  task  of  procuring  funds  for  the  building  of  an 
armory.  In  the  following  year  a  fair  was  in- 
augurated for  this  purpose,  which  resulted  in  net 
proceeds  amounting  to  $30,513.20.  The  present 
armory  site  on  South  Main  street  was  purchased 
at  an  outlay  of  $8,919.82.  The  building  was 
completed  in  1887,  and  was  dedicated  October  26, 
in  the  presence  of  Governor  Beaver  and  a  brilliant 
array  of  military  men  and  civilians  from  all  por- 
tions of  the  state.  This  was  at  the  time  the 
finest  edifice  of  its  kind  in  the  state.  The  total 
•cost,  site  included,  amounted  to  $53,503.01,  and 
the  last  of  the  outstanding  indebtedness  was  liqui- 
dated June  24,  1905. 

The  principal  interest  attaching  to  the  Ninth 
Regiment  lies,  however,  in  its  active  service,  and 
its  first  effort  was  in  the  interest  of  humanity. 
Following  the  disastrous  fire  in  Wilkes-Barre  on 
August  9,  1890,  the  regiment  guarded  the  city 
for  three  clays  and  nights,  protecting  life  and 
property  against  the  miscreants  who  seek  such 
an  opportunity  to  pillage  and  work  revenge. 

In  1892  the  regiment  was  arranging  for  its  en- 
campment at  Berwick  when  (July  10)  it  was  or- 
dered to  move  to  the  support  of  the  sheriff  of  Al- 
legheny county  at  Homestead,  "in  order  that 
peace  might  be  maintained,  and  all  persons  pro- 
tected in  their  rights  under  the  constitution  and 
"laws  of  the  state."  In  this  movement  the  Ninth 
Regiment  made  a  record  second  to  none  other  in 
the  state,  parading  ninety-two  per  cent,  of  the 
regimental  strength  within  six  hours  and  twenty 
minutes  after  the  receipt  of  the  order,  and  leav- 
ing Wilkes-Barre  at  11. 14  a.  m.  on  July  nth. 
The  regiment  was  on  duty  at  Homestead  for  nine- 
teen days,  and  the  lines  were  of  necessity  tightly 
drawn  in  the  presence  of  open  hostility  on  every 
side.  That  there  were  not  many  open  conflicts 
in  the  face  of  the  menacing;  attitude  of  the  strik- 


ers and  their  sympathizers  is  one  of  the  marvels 
of  that  military  occupancy.  Tact,  discretion  and 
a  strict  observance  of  duty  on  the  part  of  both 
officers  and  men  prevailed  against  actual  conflict. 

Quick,  forceful  acts  of  courage  upon  the 
part  of  the  provost  guard  suppressed  outbreak, 
and  convinced  the  reckless  that  there  would  be 
no  trifling,  and  so  well  was  this  fact  impressed 
that  during  the  presence  of  the  troops  at  Home- 
stead not  one  human  life  was  sacrificed. 

On  the  night  of  September  10,  1897,  the  regi- 
ment was  suddenly  ordered  to  Hazleton  by  Gov- 
ernor Hastings,  to  assist  in  quelling  the  riotous 
disturbances  growing  out  of  the  labor  troubles 
at  Lattimer  and  other  towns  in  the  Lehigh  region. 
That  afternoon,  September  10th,  the  sheriff  of 
Luzerne  county  (James  Martin)  with  a  posse  of 
sixty  deputies  had  a  clash  with  the  strikers  and 
twenty-five  or  thirty  men  were  killed  at  Lattimer. 
The  whole  Third  Brigade  of  the  National  Guard 
was  that  night  ordered  to  Hazleton.  The  Ninth 
Regiment,  on  this  occasion,  answered  the  call 
to  duty  with  a  remarkable  demonstration  of  their 
ability  to  mobilize  quickly.  Within  four  hours 
and  twenty  minutes  after  Governor  Hastings  had 
given  his  order  to  Colonel  Dougherty,  the  regi- 
ment was  entrained  and  on  its  way  to  Hazleton. 
The  most  flattering  commentation  from  the  press 
and  the  higher  officers  of  the  Guard  was  given  to 
the  regiment  for  its  splendid  and  quick  response 
on  this  occasion. 

In  1898,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with 
Spain,  the  regiment  comprised  the  following 
companies :  Companies  A,  B,  D  and  F  at 
Wilkes-Barre ;  Companies  C  and  H  at  Pittston ; 
Company  E  at  Parsons ;  and  Company  I  at 
Plymouth. 

On  April  26th  Colonel  Dougherty  received 
from  Gen.  J.  P.  S.  Gobin,  commanding  brigade, 
telegraphed  orders  to  assemble  the  Ninth  Regi- 
ment and  proceed  to  Mount  Gretna.  At  9  o'clock 
p.  m.,  next  day  the  regiment  left  its  armory,  and 
arrived  at  the  rendezvous  next  morning  at  6 
o'clock,  in  the  midst  of  a  blinding  snow  storm. 
On  May  4th  it  was  paraded  to  admit  of  its  mem- 
bers declaring  their  intentions  as  to  volunteering 


170 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


for  active  service  under  the  general  government. 
The  regiment  at  this  time  comprised  the  follow- 
ing companies : 

Co.  A,  Wilkes-Barre,  Capt.  Henry  R.  Wil- 
liams ; 

Co.  B,  Wilkes-Barre,  Capt.  Denison  Stearns ; 

Co.  C,  Pittston,  Capt.  Erastus  G.  Gage; 

Co.  D,  Wilkes-Barre,  Capt.  Oliver  H.   Bell; 

Co.  E,  Parsons,  Capt.  Darius  L.  Miers ; 

Co.  F,  Wilkes-Barre,  Capt.  George  S.  Mc- 
Cleery ; 

Co.  H,  Pittston,  Capt.  John  T.  Flannery; 

Co.  I,  Plymouth,  Capt.  Harry  W.  Pierce. 

These  eight  companies  numbered  37  officers 
and  481  men,  of  whom  34  officers  and  417  men 
volunteered  for  war  service,  and  of  these  two 
officers  and  61  men  were  rejected  on  account  of 
physical  disability.  Company  F  volunteered  to 
a  man,  and  all  of  Company  I  save  one.  The  total 
number  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States  was  32  officers  and  345  men.  The  field 
and  staff  officers  were  as  follows :  C.  Bow 
Dougherty,  colonel ;  George  W.  Wallace,  lieu- 
tenant-colonel ;  John  S.  Harding  and  Frank  L. 
McKee,  majors;  William  Sharpe,  adjutant;  Ed- 
mund N.  Carpenter,  quartermaster ;  William  G. 
Weaver  and  Charles  H.  Miner  (sketch  else- 
where), assistant  surgeons;  Walter  De  F.  John- 
son, chaplain ;  George  F.  Buss  and  Robert  S. 
Mercur,  battalion  adjutants. 

May  1 2th  Colonel  Dougherty  reported  to  the 
adjutant-general  of  the  army  that  his  regiment 
had  been  properly  mustered  into  the  service  of 
the  United  States,  and  next  day  he  received  tele- 
graphic orders  to  proceed  to  Chickamauga,  Geor- 
gia. Delay  in  provision  of  transportation  held 
the  movement  in  abeyance  until  May  17,  when 
the  regiment  took  train  in  three  sections,  and 
reached  its  destination  about  noon  on  May  20th. 
It  was  at  once  assigned  to  the  Third  Brigade, 
Third  Division,  First  Army  Corps.  Shortly 
afterward  Colonel  Dougherty  was  given  com- 
mand of  the  brigade  and  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Wallace  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the  regi- 
ment. 

Under  the   second  call   of  the  President  for 


troops,  the  Ninth  regiment  recruited  through  its 
own  officers  an  additional  battalion,  bringing  its 
total  strength  up  to  1,323  officers  and  men.  The 
additional  companies   were  as  follows : 

Co.  G,  Reading,  Capt.  Henry  D.  Green  ; 
Co.  K,  South  Bethlehem,  Capt.  Henry  Adams ; 

Co.  L,  Summit  Hill,  Capt.  Robert  S.  Mercur; 
.  Co.  M,  Towanda,  Capt.  Frank  N.  Moore. 

From  the  day  it  went  into  camp  at  Chicka- 
mauga the  regiment  was  busily  employed  under 
theoretical  and  practical  instruction — in  practice 
marching,  outpost  duty,  battle  maneuvres,  pa- 
rades, inspections  and  reviews,  and  rifle  practice. 
Through  improper  sanitary  conditions  there  was 
much  sickness,  and  Colonel  Dougherty,  through 
personal  solicitation,  procured  an  order  to  move 
to  a  new  camping  ground.  Between  July  2  and 
October  22  there  were  twenty-nine  deaths.  As 
Colonel  Dougherty  truthfully  observed  in  his 
report:  "These  men  gave  up  their  lives  for  their 
country  as  truly  as  did  they  who  fell  at  San  Juan, 
El  Caney  and  Santiago.  Death  came  not  upon 
the  battlefield,  it  is  true,  but  in  the  line  of  duty, 
in  the  service  of  their  country,  in  a  war  for 
humanity,  and  they  fell  with  the  honor  which 
comes  to  men  who^  serve  their  country  well." 

August  25th  the  regiment  marched  to  Ross- 
ville,  near  Chattanooga,,  a  distance  of  eight  miles. 
The  regiment  was  now  reduced  to  32  officers  and 
984  men'  present.  August  26th  the  command 
took  train  for  Camp  Hamilton,  five  miles  from 
Lexington,  Kentucky,  ■  arriving  there  August 
27th.  The  war  was  now  practically  over,  and 
preparations  were  made  for  the  muster-out  of  the 
regiment  under  orders  from  the  War  Department. 
September  17th  it  took  train  for  home,  its 
strength  being  35  officers  and  865  men,  10  offi- 
cers and  396  men  being  absent  sick  or  on  fur- 
lough. September  19th  the  regiment  reached 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  nearly  one  hundred  thous- 
and people  were  assembled  to  meet  the  gallant 
lads.  Leave  of  absence  for  thirty  days  was  given 
the  officers,  and  the  men  were  furloughed  for 
the  same  period.  During  this  time  the  regiment 
(on  September  27th)  participated  in  the  Peace 
Jubilee  in  Philadelphia.     It  was  finally  mustered 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


1 7  if 


out  of  the  service  of  the  United  States  on  Octo- 
ber 29,  1898,  after  a  term  of  service  of  nearly 
four  months. 

The  foregoing  narrative  of  service  may  well 
be  supplemented  with  the  fervent  but  entirely 
truthful  tribute  from  the  pen  of  Colonel  Dough- 
erty in  his  report  to  the  adjutant-general  of  the 
state : 

"Throughout  the  entire  term  of  service,  the 
officers  and  men  of  this  command  were  actuated 
by  a  high  sense  of  patriotism  and  devotion  to 
their  country,  and  under  the  many  trying  cir- 
cumstances which  must  perforce  be  the  lot  of 
the  American  volunteer  soldier,  no  serious  breach 
of  discipline  ever  occurred  which  was  sufficient 
in  consequence  to  remand  a  single  man  to  trial 
by  general  court  martial.  The  discipline  was  at 
all  times  maintained  and,  though  firm,  never  did 
it  reach  the  stage  of  severity.  No  man  of  the 
Ninth  Pennsylvania,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end,  deserted  his  post  or  his  regiment.  It  is  my 
pleasure  to  testify  to  the  patience,  forbearance 
and  strict  devotion  to  duty  of  the  field,  staff  and 
line  officers  of  my  regiment  in  a  south- 
ern camp,  where  existed  evils  of  mismanage- 
ment which  were  plainly  apparent,  but  which 
were  borne  courageously  and  uncomplainingly. 
The  hardships  which  they  underwent  they  felt 
to  be  part  of  the  fortunes  of  war,  and  perhaps 
but  a  tithe  of  that  which  might  be  expected  in  a 
more  active  and  extensive  campaign." 

The  reorganization  of  the  Ninth  Regiment 
Infantry,  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  after 
its  return  to  duty  at  its  home  station,  was  effected 
during  the  month  of  January,  1899.  Four  of 
the  original  companies  of  the  Seventh  Regiment, 
Colonel  Asher  Miner  (sketch  elsewhere),  were 
attached  to  the  Ninth  Regiment,  making  it  a 
twelve  company  regiment.  These  companies 
were  located  as  follows,  and  were  assigned  to 
the  regiment  with  the  following  named  officers : 

Co.  G,  Hazleton,  Capt.  Andrew  Lee ; 

Co.  K,  Wilkes-Barre,  Capt.  Arthur  Jackson  ; 

Co.  L,  Wanamie,  Capt.  James  A.  Dewey ; 

Co.  M,  Pittston,  Capt.  George  W.   Simpson. 

The  regiment  from  that  time  to  the  present 
has  performed  the  usual  routine  duties  of  a  regi- 
ment in  the  National  Guard,  and  in  1902  served 
for  forty  clays  during  the  industrial  disturbance 
of  that  year,  being  located  during  the  time  at  its 


armory  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  at  West  Side  Park,. 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  it  maintained  the  peace  in 
the  community  until  augmented  by  detachments 
of  the  Fourth  and  Eighth  Regiments,  which 
arrived  in  the  valley  about  the  middle  of  Oc- 
tober. 

On  May  n,  1900,  there  was  placed  in  the- 
armory  at  Wilkes-Barre  a  beautiful  bronze  tablet, 
presented  by  Major  Irving  A.  Stearns  to  the- 
memory  of  the  members  of  the  Ninth  Regiment- 
Infantry,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  who  died 
during  the  regiment's  service  in  the  war  with 
Spain,  at  which  time  the  governor  of  the  com- 
monwealth, the  adjutant-general  and  the  brig- 
ade commander  were  present,  and  the  tablet  was- 
dedicated  with  proper  and  fitting  ceremonies. 

WADHAMS     FAMILY.     The     family     of 
Wadhams   had   its    origin    in   Devonshire.    Eng- 
land,  and  its  name   from  the  place  of  its  resi- 
dence, Wadharn,  which  signifies    "home    by    the- 
ford,"  in  the  parish  Knowston,  near  the  incor- 
porated town  of  South   Molton.     Lyson,  in  his 
"Magna  Britannica,"  says:  "The  manor  of  Wad- 
ham,   at  the  time   of  the   Domesday   survey,   in 
10S6,  belonged  to  an  old  Saxon  by  the  name  of 
Ulf,  who  held  it  in  demesne   since  the  time  of 
Edward  the   Confessor,    1042.     It  was   not   im- 
probable that  he,  Ulf,  might  be  the  ancestor  of 
Wadham,  of   which   this   was   the   original  resi- 
dence.    William  De  Wadham  was  freeholder  of 
this  land  in  the  time  of  King  Edward  I,   1272,. 
and  both  East  and  West  Wadham  descended  in-: 
his  name  and  posterity  until  the  death  of  Nich- 
olas Wadham,  founder  of  Wadham  College,  Ox- 
ford, in  1609,  when  it  passed  to  his  sister's  fam- 
ilies, and  is  still  in  possession  of  their  descend- 
ants.    Merrifield,     in     Somersetshire,     came     in 
possession  of  Sir  John  Wadham,  Knight,  by  his- 
marriage  with  Elizabeth,  daughter   and  heir  of 
Stephen  Popham,  and  was  inherited  by  their  son, 
Sir   John    Wadham,    whose    descendants    were- 
called  "Wadham  of  Merrifield."     The  principal 
places  of  residence  of  this   family    in    England 
were   in   the   counties   of   Devon,   Somerset  and' 
Dorset. 

John  Wadham,  or  Wadhams,  as  the  name  is- 


172 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


now  spelled,  came  from  Somersetshire,  England, 
as  early  as  1650,  and  settled  in  Wethersfield, 
Connecticut,  his  name  being  on  the  deeds  of 
purchase  of  lands  and  other  records  of  the  town. 
His  death  occurred  there  in  1676. 

John  Wadhams  (2),  sOn  of  John  Wadhams 
(1),  was  born  at  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  July 
8,  1655,  resided  there  all  his  life  and  died  in 
>that  town. 

Noah  Wadhams  (3),  son  of  John  Wadhams 
(2),  was  born  in  Wethersfield,  Connecticut, 
August  10,  1695.  He  removed  to  Middletown, 
Connecticut,  in  1736,  thence  to  Goshen,  Connec- 
ticut, about  1773,  where  he  died  in  1783. 

Rev.  Noah  Wadhams  (4),  son  of  Noah 
Wadhams  (3),  was  born  in  Middletown,  Con- 
necticut, May  17,  1726.  He  graduated  from 
the  College  of  New  Jersey,  B.  A.,  September  25, 
1754.  His  diploma  is  now  in  possession  of  Ray- 
mond L.  Wadhams,  his  great-great-grandson.  It 
has  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Aaron  Burr  (father  of 
Aaron  Burr,  who  was.  in  1801,  vice  president 
of  the  United  States),  as  president  of  the  col- 
lege. Mr.  Wadhams  studied  theology  at  New 
Haven,  Connecticut,  receiving  the  degree  of  M. 
A.  from  Yale  College,  1758.  He  was  ordained 
a  minister  of  the  Congregational  Church,  and 
settled  as  the  first  pastor  of  the  New  Preston 
Society  in  the  towns  of  New  Milford  and  Wash- 
ington, Connecticut,  at  its  organization,  in  1757, 
and  continued  his  pastoral  relations  to  that  so- 
ciety for  eleven  years.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna Company,  in  Connecticut,  in  1768,  "the 
standing  committee  was  directed  to  procure  a 
pastor  to  accompany  the  second  colony,  called 
the  'first  forty,'  for  carrying  on  religious  wor- 
ship and  services,  according  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  in  the  wilderness  country,"  and  the  Rev. 
Noah  Wadhams  was  chosen  for  that  purpose. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Ingersoll,  of  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  November  8,  1758,  and  died  Plym- 
outh. Pennsylvania,  May  22,  1806.  She  was  born 
October  9,  1731,  and  died  Plymouth  February 
11.  1793.  Their  children  were :  Noah  Ingersoll, 
Taorn  October  14.  1761,  died  May  12.  1845.  Anna, 
".born  November  20,  1763,  died  December  5,  1799. 


Calvin,  born  December  22,  1765,  died  April  22, 
1845.  Samuel,  born  April  27,  1767,  died  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1785.  Noah,  born  June  6,  1770,  died 
September  30,  1846.  Moses,  .born  February  8, 
1773,  died  September  26,  1804. 

Leaving  his  family  at  their  home  in  Litch- 
field Rev.  Mr.  Wadhams  embarked  with  his  flock 
in  1769,  amid  the  perils  which  lay  before  them 
on  the  distant  shore  of  the  Susquehanna,  in  a 
wilderness  made  more  forbidding  because  of  the 
savage  people  who  were  in  possession  of  the  val- 
ley. He  continued  his  pastoral  relations  until 
the  year  succeeding  the  Wyoming  massacre, 
when  he  removed  his  family  to  Plymouth,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Calvin  Wadhams  ( 5 ) ,  second  son  of  the 
Rev.  Noah  and  Elizabeth  (Ingersoll),  Wad- 
hams, married  February  10,  1791,  Esther  Waller 
of  Connecticut,  born  June  10,  1768,  died  Febru- 
ary  19,   1818.     Their  children  were: 

Elijah,  born  January  3,  1792,  died  February 
13,  1810. 

Susannah,  born  April  18,  1796,  married  a 
Mr.  Turner,  and  died  January  2,  1833. 

Clarany,  born  April  29,  1801,  died  April  2, 
1805  ;  and  Samuel,  born  August  21,  1806. 

Calvin  Wadhams  married  for  his  second  wife 
Lucy  Starr  Lucas,  born  August  13,  1762,  died 
September  21,  1840.  He  was  a  prominent  busi- 
ness man  of  the  county,  also  a  religious  man, 
whose  charity  and  hospitality  were  all  embracing. 
He  died  April  22,  1845.  ' 

Samuel  Wadhams  (6)  youngest  son  of  Cal- 
vin and  Esther  (Walter)  Wadhams,  was  born, 
Plymouth,  August  21,  1806.  He  was  a  man  of 
good  business  qualities,  and  inherited  largely  the 
energy,  character  and  views  of  his  father.  He 
married  April  7,  1824,  Clorinda  Starr  Catlin,  of 
New  Marlboro,  Massachusetts.  Their  children 
were:  Elijah  Catlin.  born  July  17,  1825.  married 
Esther  French.  Esther  Waller,  born  December 
13,  1826,  became  the  wife  of  Hon.  L.  D.  Shoe- 
maker. An  infant  daughter,  born  October  4, 
1829,  died  the  same  day.  An  infant  son,  born 
May  27,  183 1,  died  the  same  day.  Calvin,  born 
December      14,      1833,     mentioned     hereinafter. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


173 


Moses,  born  November  23,  1836,  married  Jennie 
Morse.  An  infant  daughter,  born  March  3, 
1838,  died  the  same  day. 

Samuel  Wadhams  died  December  15,  1868, 
in  the  house  in  which  he  was  born,  and  his  wife 
died  in  Plymouth,  April  28,  1870. 

Calvin  Wadhams  (7),  third  son  of  Samuel 
and  Clorinda  S.  (Catlin)  Wadhams,  was  born 
at  Plymouth,  December  14,  1833,  and  died  at 
Harvey's  Lake,  Pennsylvania,  July  20,  1883. 
He  graduated  from  Princeton  College,  June  28, 
1854,  just  one  hundred  years  after  his  great- 
grandfather. He  studied  law  with  Hon.  L.  D. 
Shoemaker.  Admitted  to  the  bar  April  6.  1857. 
He  was  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  Wyom- 
ing Historical  and  Geological  Society,  from  1858 
until  his  death,  and  was  recording  secretary  1862- 
1865,  1870-1871,  and  president  of  the  society 
1873.  He  was  one  of  the  corporators  and  first 
managers  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Hospital.  He 
married,  October  8,  1861,  Frances  Delphine 
Lynde,  and  their  children  were  Mary  Catlin, 
Lynde  Henderson,  Frank  Cleveland,  all  dying 
in  infancy,  and  Raymond  Lynde.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wadhams  erected  a  memorial  church,  at  a  cost 
of  $125,000,  this  being  one  of  the  principal  church 
edifices  in  Wilkes-Barre.  Their  object  in  so  doing 
is  fully  set  forth  in  the  following  extract  from 
the  deed  conveying  the  property :  "Whereas, 
Mary  Catlin  Wadhams,  who  was  born  July  20, 
1862,  and  who  died  January  16,  1871 ;  Lynde 
Henderson  Wadhams,  who  was  born  April  8, 
1864,  died  February  9,  1871,  and  Frank  Cleve- 
land Wadhams,  who  was  born  May  7,  1868, 
died  January  14,  1871,  were  all  children  of  Cal- 
vin Wadhams  and  Frances  D.  L.  Wadhams,  and 
were  taken  away  by  death  in  early  life,  leaving 
their  parents  at  the  time  childless.  And  the  said 
Calvin  Wadhams  and  Frances  D.  S.  Wadhams  de- 
siring to  commemorate  the  brief  lives  of  their  chil- 
dren, and  feeling  accountable  as  parents,  not  only 
for  the  influence  exerted  by  their  children  while  on 
earth,  but  for  the  perpetuation  of  good  influences 
after  they  have  gone  to  their  reward,  and  anxious 
to  do  some  act  as  representing  the  good  works 
which  they  hoped  of  and  from  their  children  had 
the  latter  attained  mature  years,  have  erected  in 


the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre  a  church  for  the  wor- 
shop  of  Almighty  God,  intended  as  a  house  of 
prayer  for  all  people.  And  in  connection  there- 
with a  congregation  was  gathered  and  a  church 
organization  duly  effected  February  24,  1874^ 
the  membership  numbering  forty-two." 

In  the  fall  of  1870  Mr.  Wadhams  organized 
a  Sunday  school  in  the  upper  part  of  town,  which 
rapidly  increased  in  membership,  and  at  the 
organization  of  the  church  became  attached 
thereto,  he  remaining  superintendent  a  number 
of  years.  The  work  on  the  church  was  begun  oa 
Tuesday,  May  21,  1872,  and  on  Saturday,  July 
20,  same  year,  the  tenth  anniversary  of  Mary  Cat- 
lin's  birth,  the  cornerstone  was  laid  with  appro- 
priate religious  services.  The  motives  actuating 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wadhams  in  erecting  this  church 
are  very  clearly  expressed  in  a  paper  which  was 
read  on  the  occassion  of  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone. 

"These  children  were  not  permitted  to  live 
long  enough  to  exert  much  influence  for  good 
in  the  world.  We,  therefore,  desire  to  enlarge 
that  influence  by  erecting  this  edifice  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God.  We  feel  that  as  our  children  can 
no  more  speak  for  Jesus  here,  they  may  have  a 
representative  to  do  it  for  them;  and  as  they 
cannot  go  about  doing  good,  the  money  that 
would  have  been  theirs  may  be  profitably  spent 
in  getting  others  to  go  about  doing  good  for 
them." 

The  church  was  publicly  dedicated  to  the 
worship  of  Almighty  God  April  8,  1874,  the- 
tenth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Lynde  Hender- 
son Wadhams.  Mr.  Wadhams  formally  pre- 
sented the  church  to  the  board  of  trustees,  by 
whom  it  was  accepted,  subject  to  the  following 
conditions  : 

1st.  That  the  same  shall  be  kept  and  main- 
tained as  a  place  for  the  worship  of  Almighty 
God  agreeably  to  the  principles  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
in  its  doctrines,  ministry,  forms,  and  usages. 
2d.  That  the  same  shall  be  used  only  for  relig- 
ious purposes,  and  shall  not  be  used  for  any 
secular  purpose  whatever.  3.  That  said  Memor- 
ial Church  shall  keep  and  maintain  the  buildings 
and  premises  in  thorough  order  and  repair.  4th. 
That  the  buildings  and  furniture  be  kept  reason- 
ably insured.  5.  That  every  tenth  pew  in  the 
church    edifice    shall    remain    forever    free,    and 


■174 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA     VALLEYS. 


shall  not  be  liable  to  any  charge  or  assessment 
for  any  purpose  whatever.  6.  That  the  said 
Memorial  Church,  in  case  of  the  death  of  in- 
ability of  the  said  grantors,  shall  keep  in  thor- 
ough order  the  lot  in  Hollenback  Cemetery  in 
which  lie  buried  the  said  three  children  of  the 
.  said  Calvin  Wadhams  and  Fanny  D.  L  Wad- 
hams,  his  wife. 

On  May  7,  1874,  the  sixth  anniversay  of  the 
birth  of  Frank  Cleveland  Wadhams,  the  first 
pastor  was  installed. 

The  genealogy  of  Frances  (Lynde)  Wad- 
hams, wife  of  Calvin  Wadhams,  is  as   follows : 

(Deacon)  Thomas  Lynde,  born  in  England, 
January,  1593-94,  settled  in  what  is  now  Char- 
lestown,  Alassachusetts,  1634,  and  died  Decem- 
ber 30,  1671.  He  was  married  three  times.  In 
1634  he  married  for  his  second  wife  Margaret 
(Martin)  Jordan,  widow,  who  was  born  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1599  or  1600,  died  August  3,  1662. 
Their  children  were:  Thomas  (Henry),  Mary, 
William,   Joseph,   Sarah,    Hannah,   and   Samuel. 

Hon.  Joseph  Lynde,  merchant,  third  son  of 
Thomas  and  Margaret  Lynde,  was  born  June 
3,  1636,  at  Charlestown,  and  died  in  the  same 
town,  January  29,  1726.  He  was  married  three 
times.  His  first  wife  was  Sarah  Davison,  of 
Boston,  whom  he  married  March  24,  1665, 
and  her  birth  occurred  December  31,  1647,  m 
Charlestown.  They  resided  in  Charlestown. 
Their  children  were :  Nicholas,  Sarah,  Mar- 
garet, Joseph,  Nicholas,  Anna,  Joanna,  _  and 
Thomas. 

Nicholas  Lynde,  merchant,  fifth  son  of  Joseph 
and  Sarah  Lynde,  was  born  July  1,  1672,  in 
Charlestown.  He  graduated  from  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1690,  and  died  at  Jamaica,  West  Indies, 
in  October.  1703.  He  married  Dorothy  Stanton, 
of  Stonington,  Massachusetts,  May  9,  1696. 
Their  children  were :  Sarah,  born  February  23, 
1700,  at  Charlestown,  and  Joseph. 

Joseph  Lynde,  only  son  of  Nicholas  and 
Dorothy  Lynde,  was  born  at  Stonington,  Jan- 
uary I,  1702.  He  graduated  from  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1723,  was  a  merchant  in  Boston,  and  re- 
sided at  Charlestown  until  1775,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Worcester,  where  he  died  December, 
1788.  He  married  Mary  Lemmon,  February 
24,  1736-37.  She  was  born  at  Charlestown, 
October  19,  1717,  died  at  Worcester,  Massachu- 
setts, November  12,  1798.  Their  children  were : 
Mary,  Elizabeth,  deceased ;  Joseph,  deceased ; 
Nicholas,  Elizabeth,  Sarah,  Thomas,  Dorothy, 
Anna,  Joseph,  Jonathan,  William,  Jonathan, 
"Margaret,  Elizabeth,  Lemmon,  and  Hannah. 


Jonathan  Lynde,  hardware  merchant  in  Bos- 
ton, moved  to  Putney,  Vermont,  thence  to  Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts,  thence  to  Whitestone, 
Oneida  county.  New  York,  thence  to  '  )wego, 
New  York.  He  was  the  seventh  son  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  Lynde,  born  January  25,  1753,  at 
Charlestown,  died  April,  1822,  at  Oswego,  New 
York.  He  married,  April  26,  1778,  Rhoda 
(Warner)  Mclntyre,  widow,  a  daughter  of  Gen- 
eral Warner,  of  the  revolutionary  army,  who 
resided  at  Hardwich,  Alassachusetts.  She  was 
born  November  11  or  17,  1754,  and  died  Decem- 
ber 12,  18 18,  at  Oswego,  New  York.  Their  chil- 
dren were :  '  William,  Augustus,  Joseph  Lem- 
mon, and  Jonathan  Warner. 

Jonathan  Warner  Lynde,  jeweler,  third  son 
of  Jonathan  and  Rhoda  Lynde,  was  born  at  Put- 
ney, Vermont,  December  19,  1788,  died  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  July  17,  1875,  hav- 
ing resided  in  that  city  since  1830.  He  married 
Mary  Ann  Jerusha  Alice  Cleveland,  in  Oswego. 
New  York,  May  20,  1830.  She  was  born  July 
3,  1809,  died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  September  21. 
1837,  and  was  a  granddaughter  of  Captain  Josiah 
Cleveland,  of  the  revolutionary  army,  and  Alice 
(Dyer)  Cleveland,  a  descendant  of  Governor 
William  Bradford,  of  the  Plymouth  Colony. 
Their  children  were :  Edward  Cleveland,  Mary 
Eloise ;  Frances  Delphene  (mother  of  Raymond 
Lynde  Wadhams),  who  was  born  June  25,  1835, 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  married  in  that 
city,  October  8,  1861,  to  Calvin  Wadhams.  law- 
yer, and  their  children  were :  Mary  Catlin,  born 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  July  20,  1862,  died  Januarv  16, 
1871 ;  Lynde  Henderson,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
April  8,  1864.  died  February  9,  1871  ;  Frank 
Cleveland,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  May  7,  1868, 
died  January  14,  1871  ;  and  Raymond  Lynde, 
born  at  Wilkes-Barre,  September  25,  1872,  men- 
tioned hereinafter. 

Dorothy  Lynde,  fifth  daughter  and  eighth 
child  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Lemmon)  Lynde. 
was  born  May  23,  1746,  at  Charlestown,  died 
April  29,  1837,  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 
She  married  Dr.  Elijah  Dix,  October  1,  1771, 
who  was  born  at  Watertown,  Alassachusetts, 
August  14,  1747.  died  in  Dixmont.  Maine,  May 
28,  1809.  They  resided  in  Worcester  and  Bos- 
ton. Their  children  were :  William.  Joseph, 
Mary,  Joseph,  Clarendon,  John,  Alexander, 
Henry,  and  Elijah. 

Joseph  Dix.  son  of  Elijah  and  Dorothy  Dix, 
was  born  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  March 
28,  1778.  He  married  Mary  Bigelow,  and  their 
daughter,  Dorothea  (christened  Dorothy)  Lynde, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


171 


born  April  4,    1802,   in  Hampden,   Maine,   died 
July  17,   1887,  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey. 

Mary  Dix,  daughter  of  Dr.  Elijah  and 
Dorothy  (Lynde)  Dix,  is  the  grandmother  of 
Edward  D.  Harris,  of  New  York  City. 

Governor  William  Bradford,  a  lineal  ancestor 
of  Raymond  L.  Wadhams,  was  governor  of 
Plymouth  Colony  in  1 62 1,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  for  thirty-one  years.  He  married  for 
his  second  wife  Alice  Carpenter  Southworth  in 
1623. 

Major  William  Bradford,  son  of  Gov.  William 
and  Alice  Carpenter  (Southworth)  Bradford,  was 
born  June  17,  1624.  In  King  Phillip's  war  he 
commanded  fhe  Plymouth  troops,  and  in  the 
Narragansett  fort  fight,  December  19,  1675,  re- 
ceived a  ball  in  his  body  which  he  bore  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  was  an  assistant  to  his 
father,  and  deputy-governor  of  the  colony  from 
1682  to  1686  and  from  1689  to  1692.  He  mar- 
ried for  his  first  wife,  Alice  Richards. 

Alice  Bradford,  daughter  of  Major  William 
and  Alice  (Richards)  Bradford,  became  the  sec- 
ond wife  of  the  Rev.  William  Adams,  the  second 
minister  of  Dedham.  Mr.  Adams  died  August  17, 
1685.  His  widow  married  Major  James  Fitch, 
May  8,  1687.  Major  Fitch  was  the  son  of 
the  Rev.  James  Fitch,  the  first  minister  of  Say- 
brook,  Connecticut,  in  1646.  In  1660  he  removed 
with  the  greater  part  of  his  church  to  Norwich, 
Connecticut.  Major  James  Fitch  was  a  deputy  to 
the  general  assembly  for  several  years,  and  one 
of  the  assistants  of  the  colony,  1681.  His  first 
wife  was  the  daughter  of  Major  General  John 
Mason;  she  died  October  8,  1684. 

Abigail  Fitch,  daughter  of  Major  James  and 
Alice  (Bradford)  Adams  Fitch,  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1688.  On  October  22,  1713,  she  mar- 
ried Colonel  John  Dyer,  of  Canterbury,  Con- 
necticut, grandson  of  Thomas  Dyer,  Weymouth, 
Massachusetts.  Thomas  Dyer  was  appointed 
a  commissioner  for  the  trial  of  small  causes  at 
Weymouth  in  1646,  and  from  time  to  time,  reap- 
pointed until  1656.  He  was  a  deputy  to  the  gen- 
eral court  of  Massachusetts  sixteen  years  be- 
tween 1646  and  1676,  inclusive.  Colonel  John 
Dyer  was  a  deputy  to  the  general  court  of  Con- 
necticut for  twenty-four  years,  between  1723  and 


1760.  He  was  appointed  a  lieutenant  colonel  of 
the  Eleventh  Connecticut  Regiment,  1739,  and 
colonel,  1748,  which  office  he  resigned  in  May, 
1 77 1.  He  was  judge  of  the  county  court  from 
1746  to  1772. 

Elijah  Dyer,  son  of  Colonel  John  and  Abi- 
gail (Fitch)  Dyer,  was  born  September  10,  1716. 
He  was  appointed  lieutenant  of  the  troop  of 
horse  in  the  Eleventh  Connecticut  Regiment,  Oc- 
tober, 175 1,  and  captain  May,  1754.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Williams,  November  16,  1752. 

Alice  Dyer,  daughter  of  Captain  Elijah  and 
Elizabeth  (Williams)  Dyer,  was  born  February 
28,  1754.  She  married  Captain  Josiah  Cleveland 
January  3,  1778. 

Dyer  Cleveland,  son  of  Captain  Josiah  and 
Alice  (Dyer)  Cleveland,  was  born  March  3,  1780. 
He  married  Mary  Austin,  September  9,  1808. 

Mary  Ann  Jerusha  Alice  Cleveland,  daughter 
of  Dyer  and  Mary  (Austin)  Cleveland,  was  born 
July  3,  1809,  and  married  May  20,  1830,  Jona- 
than Warner  Lynde. 

Raymond  L.  Wadhams  (8),  youngest  son  of 
Calvin  and  Frances  D.  (Lynde)  Wadhams,  was 
born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  September 
25,  1872.  Educated  at  the  Harry  Hillman 
Academy,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Princeton  College, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  B.  A.,  June  7,  1895, 
and  in  October,  1895,  matriculated  in  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York  city, 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  June  7, 
1899.  On  July  1,  same  year,  he  was  appointed 
resident  physician  of  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital, 
remaining  there  until  July  1,  1900,  when  he  en- 
gaged in  private  practice  at  72  North  Franklin 
street,  Wilkes-Barre.  In  November,  1901,  he 
was  elected  to  the  medical  staff  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  City  Hospital.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Luzerne  County  Medical  Society,  the  American 
Medical  Association,  the  Zeta  Psi  Fraternity  and 
life  member  of  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society.  He  is  a  Presbyterian  in  religion 
and  a  Republican  in  politics. 

Dr.  Wadhams  married,  1901,  Mary  Bergmann 
Dobbs,  only  living  child  of  Charles  Gordon  and 
Agnes  Elizabeth  (Bergmann)  Dobbs,  who  re- 
sided   at    298    West    End    avenue,    New    York 


176 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


City.  Their  children,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  are : 
Dorothy  Lynde,  born  April  28,  1902;  Agnes 
Elizabeth,  born  November  7,  1903. 

H.  E.  H. 

PAYNE  FAMILY— This  family  was 
founded  in  America  by  Stephen  Paine,  a  native 
of  Great  Ellingham,  near  Attlebury,  county 
Norfolk,  England,  where  he  followed  the  trade 
of  miller.  In  1638  he  arrived  in  New  England, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  three  children,  and  four 
servants,  making  the  voyage  in  the  ship  'Dili- 
gent,-' of  Ipswich,  which  brought  a  large  com- 
pany of  emigrants  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Hingham.  He  settled  in  Hingham,  Massachu- 
setts, but  about  1634  removed  to  Rehoboth,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  he  was  one  of  the  founders 
and-  first  proprietors  of  the  town.  He  was  the 
owner  of  large  estates  in  that  and  adjoining 
towns,  was  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  church 
and  colony,  was  representative  to  the  general 
court  for  Hingham  in  1641,  and  also  acted  in  a 
similar  capacity  for  the  town  of  Rehoboth  up  to 
the  time  of  his  decease,  August,  1679.  The  will 
of  Stephen  Paine  is  on  file  in  the  Boston  State 
House. 

Stephen  Paine,  eldest  son  of  Stephen  Payne, 
the  emigrant,  was  born  in  England  about  1629, 
and  in  1638,  when  nine  years  of  age,  accompan- 
ied his  parents  to  America.  He  was  admitted 
freeman  in  1657,  owned  extensive  tracts  of  land 
in  the  towns  of  Rehoboth,  Swanzey  and  Attle- 
boro,  and  besides  being  an  active  participant  in 
King  Philip's  Indian  war  contributed  liberally 
toward  its  cost.  He  married  Ann  Chickering, 
1652,  daughter  of  Francis  Chickering,  of  Ded- 
ham,  Massachusetts.  He  died  in  Rehoboth, 
1679. 

Stephen  Paine,  son  of  Stephen  and  Ann 
(Chickering)  Paine,  born  Rehoboth,  Massachu- 
setts, September  29,  1654,  died  1710.  He  was 
prominently  identified  with  the  interests  of  the 
town,  and  was  twice  representative  to  the  general 
court,  1694  and  1703.  His  first  wife,  Elizabeth 
Williams,  "daughter  of  Rev.  Ebenezer  Williams, 
died  1706  without  issue.  The  following  year  he 
married  Mary  Brintnall,  who  bore  him  children. 


Edward  Paine,  youngest  son  of  Stephen  and 
Mary  (Brintnall)  Paine,  born  Rehoboth,  Massa- 
chusetts, January  22,  1 7 10,  about  six  weeks  be- 
fore the  death  of  his  father.  His  mother,  with 
her  two  children,  removed  to  Preston,  Connecti- 
cut, and  at  a  suitable  age  Edward  was  bound  out 
to  a  farmer,  became  familiar  with  farming  in  all 
tails,  and  chose  that  occupation  for  his  life 
work.  Shortly  after  his  marriage,  April  6,  1732, 
to  Lois  Kinney,  who  bore  him  eleven  children,  he 
removed  to  Pomfret,  Connecticut,  and  purchased 
a  farm  in  that  part  of  the  town  called  Abington 
Society,  and  there  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  He  was  a  man  of  unimpeachable  integrity, 
and  was  honored  and  esteemed  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

Stephen  Paine,  third  son  of  Edward  and  Lois 
(Kinney)  Paine,  born  Pomfret,  Connecticut, 
January  31,  1746.  Upon  attaining  manhood  he 
removed  to  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  where  by  dint 
of  industry,  perseverance  and  thrift  he  accumu- 
lated an  extensive  and  valuable  estate.  "The 
Paine  Family  Record"  gives  the  names  of  his 
eleven  children,  but  not  his  wife. 

Oliver  Payne,  eldest  son  and  fifth  child  of 
Stephen  Paine,  born  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  1780 ; 
he  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  town, 
and  removed  to  Norwich,  Connecticut,  where  he 
resided  until  1813,  when  he  removed  to  Gibson, 
Susquehanna  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
died  1868.  He  attained  the  rank  of  captain  by 
service  in  local  militia.  Payne's  Lake  in  Sus- 
quehanna county  was  'named  in  honor  of  this 
worthy  and  enterprising  citizen. 

Bester  Payne,  son  of  Capt.  Oliver  Payne,  born 
Norwich,  Connecticut,  April  10,  1810.  When  he 
was  three  years  old  his  parents  removed  to  Gib- 
son, Pennsylvania,  that  section  being  then  a 
dense  wilderness,  and  here  he  was  reared,  re- 
ceiving the  limited  education  afforded  by  the  dis- 
trict school.  In  1839  he  removed  to  Kingston, 
and  there  followed  the  trade  of  laying  lead  water 
pipes,  and  by  his  proficiency  in  this  line  of  work 
became  widely  known  throughout  the  counties  of 
Luzerne,  Bradford,  Columbia,  Susquehanna  and 
Lycoming.  He  laid  large  quantities  of  it,  much 
of  which  can  vet  be  found  in  different  towns  in  a 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


177 


splendid  condition.  He  also  put  in  hydraulic 
rams  for  forcing  water  up  hill,  being  the  pioneer 
of  this  enterprise  in  this  section.  He  was  also  a 
lead  pipe  manufacturer,  owning  and  operating  a 
factory  for  this  purpose.  December  4,  1834,  Mr. 
Payne  married  Polly  Pierce,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Elizabeth  (Cargell)  Pierce,  the  father  a  na- 
tive of  HasbrOok,  Sullivan  county,  New  York, 
son  of  William  Pierce,  a  native  of  the  north  of 
England,  who  came  to  America  about  1778,  and 
the  mother,  a  daughter  of  Abram  Cargell,  a  na- 
tive of  Scotland,  and  his  wife,  Catherine  Horn- 
beck,  a  native  of  Holland.  Mr.  Payne  died  at 
Forty  Fort,  April  3,  1866,  aged  fifty-five  years 
and  eleven  months.  Subsequently  his  widow 
married  Isaac  Rice,  of  Kingston,  and  she  died 
November  4,  1896,  aged  eighty-seven  years,  but 
despite  her  advanced  age  possessed  all  her  fac- 
ulties. 

Hubbard  Bester  Payne,  son  of  Bester  and 
Pollv  (Pierce)  Payne,  born  Kingston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, July  20,  1839.  He  resided  with  his  parents 
until  the  age  of  eighteen,  attended  the  schools 
of  Kingston,  and  assisted  his  father  in  the  lead 
pipe  manufactory.  He  then  entered  Wyoming 
Seminary,  Kingston,  and  in  August,  1857,  en- 
tered the  Wesleyan  University,  at  Middletown, 
Connecticut,  from  which  he  graduated  Bachelor 
of  Arts,  June,  1861.  During  his  college  course 
he  served  as  teacher  in  a  district  school  for  three 
successive  winter  terms  of  eighteen  weeks,  at 
Rocky  Hill,  Hartford  county,  Connecticut.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the  literary  so- 
cieties connected  with  his  alma  mater,  holding 
membership  in  the  Psi  Upsilon  fraternity,  the 
Pythologian  Society,  and  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
fraternity,  chosen  a  member  of  the  latter  by  the 
faculty  of  the  university.  In  August,  1861,  he 
entered  the  office  of  the  late  Charles  Denison,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  while  pursuing  his  legal  stud- 
ies there  taught  a  district  school  during  the  win- 
ter term  in  Cinder  Alley,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the 
following  winter  taught  a  public  school  of  boys 
in  a  storeroom  of  the  Hillard  Block,  Wilkes- 
Barre.  After  passing  a  creditable  examinatvn 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Luzerne  county, 
August  20,  1863,  and,  securing  a  desk  in  the 
12 


office  of  the  late  Winthrop  W.  Ketcham,  began 
the  active  practice  of  his  profession.  The  first 
four  years  of  his  career  was  steady,  uphill  work, 
but  by  close  application  to  business  thorough 
legal  knowledge,  lore  and  persistent  effort,  he 
succeeded  in  establishing  a  practice  which  stead- 
ily increased  in  volume  and  importance  with  each 
succeeding  vear. 

After  the  presidential  campaign  of  1864  Mr. 
Payne  was  a  potent  factor  in  the  workings  of 
local  and  general  elections,  aiding  the  Republican 
party  to  the  best  of  his  ability  in  numerous  ways, 
the  principal  one  being  speech-making,  he  having 
a  natural  talent  in  that  direction.  In  1874  he  was 
nominated  without  opposition  for  the  state  sen- 
ate in  the  twenty-first  senatorial  district,  his  op- 
ponent being  Jasper  B.  Stark,  and  was  elected  by 
a  majority  of  one  thousand  and  forty-five.  Dur- 
ing his  incumbency  of  this  office  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committees  on  judiciary  general,  judi- 
ciarv  local,  mines  and  mining,  and  new  counties, 
and  served  as  chairman  of  the  two  latter  named. 
He  introduced  acts  to  secure  to  children  the  ben- 
efits of  an  elementary  education ;  prohibiting  chil- 
dren to  work  in  shops,  mines  and  factories  before 
attaining  the  age  of  fourteen  years ;  an  act  au- 
thorizing the  judges  of  the  several  courts 
throughout  the  commonwealth  to  fix  the  number 
of  the  regular  terms  of  the  said  several  courts, 
and  the  term  for  holding  the  same,  the  term  for 
summoning  the  grand  jury,  and  for  the  return  of 
constables,  aldermen,  and  justices  of  the  peace 
to  the  same ;  and  also  an  act  to  exempt  pianos, 
melodeons,  and  organs  leased  or  hired,  from 
levy  or  sale  on  execution  or  distress  for  rent. 
In  1876  he  was  nominated  without  opposition  for 
congress  in  the  twelfth  congressional  district  of 
Pennsylvania,  his  opponent,  on  the  Greenback 
ticket,  being-  Edarar  L.  Merriman,  who  died  dur- 
ing  the  campaign.  Hendrick  B.  Wright  was 
nominated  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  after 
Mr.  Merriman's  death  the  Democratic  and 
Greenback  parties  united  in  a  choice  of  Mr.  Hen- 
drick B.  Wright,  and  Mr.  Payne  was  defeated. 
In  1880  he  was  nominated  without  opposition 
for  one  of  the  law  judges  of  Luzerne  county, 
but  was  defeated  by  Stanley  Woodward.     That 


1 7S 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


he  was  not  chosen  to  the  latter  position  was  due 
solely  to  the  fact  that  a  majority  of  the  voters 
were  of  a  different  way  of  thinking  politically, 
and  the  contest  in  each  instance  turned  upon  po- 
litical issues. 

Mr.  Payne  was  a  director  in  the  Miners'  Sav- 
ings Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre  for  ten  years,  and  was 
one  of  the  trustees  under  the  will  of  the  late  Isaac 
S.  Osterhout,  of  the  Osterhout  Free  Library. 
For  three  years  he  was  one  of  the  board  to  ex- 
amine students  for  admission  to  the  Luzerne 
county  bar,  and  in-  1883  was  a  vice-president  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Sunday-School  Association. 
Mr.  Payne  was  an  active  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Kingston,  served  as  ruling  elder 
for  many  years,  and  also  as  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school  for  well  nigh  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury continuously.  He  was  an  honored  member 
of  the  Masonic  order,  past  master  by  service  in 
Kingston  Lodge,  and  served  two  years  as  district 
deputy  grand  master  for  the  district  of  Luzerne 
countv.  He  was  an  eminent  lawyer  and  states- 
man, a  man  of  rare  intellectual  attainments,  fine 
literary  tastes  and  culture,  and  in  every  duty  al- 
lotted him,  whether  of  a  professional,  political  or 
social  nature,  acquitted  himself  to  the  utmost 
satisfaction  of  all.  He  was  a  man  of  genial  de- 
meanor and  pleasing  personality,  which  secured 
for  him  a  widespread  popularity  with  people  in 
all  classes  and  conditions  of  life. 

Mr.  Pavne  married,  February  22,  1865,  Eliz- 
abeth Lee  Smith,  daughter  of  Draper  and  Caro- 
lin  (Smith)  Smith,  of  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania, 
granddaughter  of  Newton  Smith,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  William  Smith,  who  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  during  the 
Wvcming  troubles  was  driven  away  by  the  In- 
dians, dying  from  exposure  during  his  escape. 
Four  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Payne: 
Louisa  S.,  Charles  S.,  deceased ;  Hubbard 
Barker,  and  Paul  B.  Payne.  Mr.  Payne  died  at 
his  home  in  Kingston,  September  1,  1892. 

Hubbard  Barker  Payne,  son  of  the  late  Hub- 
bard Bester  and  Elizabeth  Lee  (Smith)  Payne, 
was  born  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  July  7, 
1870.  He  was  educated  at  Wyoming  Seminary. 
Hiram    (Ohio)    College,   and  the  University   of 


Pennsylvania,  where  he  pursued  a  law  course. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  Philadelphia  court  June, 
1894;  to  the  Luzerne  county  courts,  September, 
1896,  and  since  his  marriage  has  practiced  his 
profession  in  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  a 
member  and  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
of  Kingston,  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Kingston  Lodge  No.  395,  F.  and  A.  M., 
and  the  Westmoreland  Club.  He  was  formerly 
a  member  of  the  Country  Club.  He  married, 
April  27,  1899,  Gessela  M.  Smith,  who  was  born 
in  New  Milford.  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  the 
late  Dr.  Lathan  Avery  Smith  and  his  wife  Mary 
(Hoyt)  Smith,  the  latter  living  at  the  present 
time  (1905).  Dr.  Smith  was  a  prominent  physi- 
cian for  many  years,  and  he  and  his  wife  were 
the  parents  of  three  children :  Isabella,  Gessela. 
and  Pauline  H.  One  child  was  the  issue  of  the 
marriage    of    Mr.  and    Mrs.    Payne,    Hubbard 


Weston. 


H.  E.  H. 


McLEAN  FAMILY.  Alexander  McLean 
was  born  in  Fernlaestra,  on  the  river  Bann,  in  the 
county  of  Derry,  Ireland.  He  came  to  America 
in  the  year  1820.  a  young  man  twenty  years  of 
age,  settled  at  Mauch  Chunk,  and  had  with  him 
about  one  hundred  pounds  sterling,  the  gift  of 
his  grandfather,  John  Leslie,  an  opulent  farmer, 
who  also  lived  in  the  county  Derry.  The  father 
and  mother  of  Alexander  McLean  strenuously 
objected  to  his  leaving  Ireland  for  America,  and 
would  neither  consent  to  his  going,  nor  give  him 
money  to  pay  his  passage.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Swan,  also  born  in  Ireland,  near  London- 
derry, county  Derry.  She  came  to  America  with 
her  father  and  mother  and  two  brothers  when  she 
was  about  ten  years  of  age.  Her  parents  also 
settled  at  Mauch  Chunk.  She  was  too  young 
to  attend  school  in  Ireland,  and  there  was  no 
school  in  Mauch  Chunk  in  her  girlhood  days. 
Her-mother,  a  very  intelligent  woman,  taught  her 
reading,  writing  and  arithmetic.  She  had  no 
longing  for  books.  She  loved  the  duties  of 
housewife,  green  fields,  the  blue  sky,  the  wild 
flowers,  the  songs  of  birds,  more  than  any  vol- 
ume ever  written,  except  the  Bible  and  the 
works  of  Burns.     The  sweetest  and  most  consol- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


179 


ing  passages  of  the  Bible  and  man}-  of  the  songs 
of  the  poet  ploughman  she  had  committed  to 
memory,  and  she  loved  to  recite  them  in  her 
sweet,  low  voice  to  her  children  and  house  ser- 
vants. She  was  a  comely  bride  and  a  comely 
wife,  with  her  black  waving  hair,  large  soft 
brown  eyes  and  rosy  cheeks.  She  reverenced 
God  and  kept  his  commandments.  She  was  very 
kind  to  the  needy,  and  many  a  poor  man  and 
woman  of  the  neighborhood  whom  she  had  be- 
friended stood  around  her  coffin  at  her  burial, 
and  wet  her  calm,  white  face  with  their  honest 
tears.  Her  father,  James  Swan,  was  the  owner 
of  quite  a  large  freehold  estate  near  London- 
derry. His  two  elder  brothers,  Presbyterian 
ministers,  and  himself  were  quite  prominent  in 
the  movement  of  the  United  Irishmen,  the  mem- 
bers of  which  were  principally  dissenters  from 
the  Church  of  England.  His  elder  brothers 
were  arrested  about  the  time  of  Emmett's  arrest, 
hoth  were  tried  and  convicted.,  one  was  hung, 
and  the  other  would  have  been  if  he  had  lived 
to  the  day  fixed  for  his  execution.  It  is  a  tradi- 
tion in  the  family  that  the  youngest  brother,  sev- 
eral years  after  the  execution  of  Emmett,  re- 
ceived information  that  the  government  discov- 
ered that  he  also  was  engaged  in  the  uprising, 
and  intended  to  arrest  him,  when  suddenly  he 
and  his  family  started  for  America,  bringing 
with  them  all  the  loose  money  they  had,  clothing, 
and  a  few  articles  of  value  easily  carried. 

Alexander  McLean  shortly  after  his  arrival 
at  Mauch  Chunk  took  a  contract  from  the  Le- 
high Coal  and  Navigation  Company  to  carry  in 
wagons  the  coal  mined  by  the  company  at  Sum- 
mit Hill  to  Mauch  Chunk,  where  it  was  placed 
in  arks  and  floated  down  the  Lehigh  river,  then 
down  the  Delaware  to  Philadelphia.  The  horses 
and  wagons  necessary  for  the  carriage  of  the 
coal  were  purchased  with  the  money  given  Alex- 
ander McLean  by  his  grandfather.  These  were 
primitive  times,  and  Mr.  McLean  often  told  how 
he  and  his  wagoners  returning  in  the  night  upon 
their  empty  wagons  from  Mauch  Chunk  to  the 
mines,  a  distance  of  about  nine  miles,  would  hear 
the  howl  of  wolves  and  the  cry  of  panthers  near 
the   wagon   road,    in  the   then   almost  unbroken 


wilderness :  and  the  wives  of  these  wagoners 
often  told  how  in  the  night  hungry  bears  would 
pounce  down  on  their  pigs  and  eat  them,  and 
then  go  back  again  to  the  forest  before  the  return 
of  their  husbands.  When  the  gravity  road  was 
built  from  Mauch  Chunk  to  the  mines,  trans- 
portation of  coal  in  wagons  was  no  longer  neces- 
sary, and  afterwards  it  was  carried  in  cars  on  the 
road. 

Alexander  McLean,  upon  the  completion  of 
the  gravity  road,  took  the  first  contract  from  the 
Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation  Company  to  mine 
its  coal,  and  continued  mining  alone  and  with 
partners  until  1848,  when  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  his  farm  on  the  Old  Carey  Town  road, 
now  in  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre.  This  farm  he 
purchased  in  1839.  He  built  upon  it  and  along 
Carey  Town  road  a  fine  house  after  the  colonial 
fashion,  under  the  supervision  of  two  skillful 
carpenters,  then  living  in  the  Wyoming  valley, 
both  of  whom  had  served  their  apprenticeship  in 
Ireland.  This  house,  with  its  Grecian  portico 
and  front  finished  in  carved  wood,  painted  in 
pure  white,  with  its  large  old-fashioned  window 
shutters  painted  in  green,  standing  alone  with  its 
large  whitewashed  barns  and  neat  board  fences, 
green  fields  all  around  it,  was  a  very  attractive 
picture,  and  was  greatly  admired,  especially  in 
the  spring  and  summer  time,  by  visitors  to  the 
valley,  principally  guests  of  the  old  Phcenix 
Hotel,  whose  favorite  airing  was  a  drive  down 
the  Old  Carey  Town  road  to  Inman's  Hill  and 
back  again.  The  valley  was  a  loveh  picture 
then,  with  scarcely 'a  culm  heap  to  mar  its  beauty. 
Here  he  lived  with  his  family,  in  love  with  farm- 
ing, an  inherited  taste,  from  his  father  and  grand- 
father on  both  sides,  who  were  as  sturdy  and 
substantial  farmers  as  ever  had  a  furrow  turned 
or  crop  harvested  in  the  North  of  Ireland. 

Alexander  McLean's  grandfather,  Gilbert 
McLean,  was  a  Highlander,  brought  up  among 
his  clan  on  one  of  the  "Western  Isles  of  Scot- 
land." He  was  a  seafaring  man,  and  owned  a 
large  sailing  vessel  for  those  days,  but  at  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age  quit  the  sea  and  the  home  of 
his  clansmen,  and  came  to  Ireland  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  with  quite  a 


i8o 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


competency,  and  soon  fell  in  love,  as  was  the 
wont  of  Scotchmen  living  in  Ireland,  with  a 
rosy-checked,  bright-eyed,  healthy  and  spirited 
Irish  lass,  and  married  her.  With  what  he  had, 
and  with  what  she  brought  him,  they  could  and 
did  hold  their  heads  as  high  as  any  in  the  coun- 
try side.  He  wore  kilts  and  tartan,  the  national 
costume  of  the  Highlander,  until  he  died,  and 
brought  up  his  children  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord 
and  the  doctrines  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Alexander  McLean  was  a  director  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  one  of  the  first 
directors  and  for  many  years  president  of  the 
Central  Poor  District,  an  institution  in  which  he 
took  a  very  great  interest.  He  drove  down  once 
a  week,  as  regularly  as  the  week  came,  in  his 
carriage,  to  the  meetings  of  the  directors  held  at 
the  Retreat  on  the  Susquehanna  river,  about 
twelve  miles  from  his  home.  He  died  in  1868, 
sixty-eight  years  of  age.  His  wife  died  several 
years  before  him,  and  their  remains  lie  on  the 
brow  of  a  hill  overlooking  the  Susquehanna 
river,  in  Hollenback  cemetery.  Alexander  and 
Elizabeth  McLean  had  ten  children  who  grew  to 
manhood  and  womanhood. 

James,  the  first  child,  succeeded  his  father  in 
the  coal  business  at  Summit  Hill,  Carbon  county. 
He  was  for  some  time  a  student  at  Lafayette  Col- 
lege, was  a  very  successful  business  man,  and 
was  the  first  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  which  position  he  held  until  he 
died.  He  married  Jane  Simpson,  the  daughter  of 
John  Simpson,  Esq.,  a  native  of  the  north  of 
Ireland,  a  strong  Presbyterian,  a  very  intelligent 
man,  a  great  reader,  especially  of  the  Bible, 
whose  beautiful,  quaint,  and  strong  language  was 
interwoven  in  his  everyday  talk.  His  house  at 
Summit  Hill  was-  the  home  of  all  early  Presby- 
terian ministers  who  came  there  to  preach.  Thev 
were  always  sure  to  receive  a  warm  welcome  at 
his  hands,  the  best  board  and  lodging,  and  had 
no  reckoning  to  settle.  James  McLean  died  in 
1863,  quite  a  young  man,  the  result  of  an  acci- 
dent on  the  railroad. 

Samuel,  the  second  child,  was  educated  at 
Lafayette  College,  and  studied  law  with  Wash- 
ington McCartney  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania.    He 


went  to  California  in  1849,  among  the  very  first 
adventurers  to  that  newly  discovered  realm  of 
gold.  He  returned  in  1856,  married  Miss  Jane 
Gray  Wilson,  of  Easton,  settled  in  Mauch  Chunk, 
practiced  law  there,  and  was  elected  district  at- 
torney of  the  county.  He  then  went  to  Colorado 
in  the  early  days  of  the  gold  fever  there,  thence 
to  Montana,  which  territory  he  represented  in 
congress  for  two  successive  terms.  Upon  the 
termination  of  his  congressional  career,  he  pur- 
chased a  beautiful  home  in  Nottoway  county, 
Virginia,  where  he  lived  in  quiet  contentment, 
practiced  law  and  farmed  until  1878,  when  he 
died. 

Martha,  the  third  child,  married  Thomas 
Long,  Esq.,  also  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland, 
and  of  sturdy  Presbyterian  stock.  Her  husband 
was  for  many  years  an  extensive  coal  operator  in 
Carbon  county.  When  he  retired  from  the  coal 
business  he  bought  a  lot  on  South  Franklin 
street,  Wilkes-Barre,  built  a  substantial  house 
upon  it,  and  lived  there  a  number  of  years.  He- 
was  a  director  in  the  First  National  and  Wilkes- 
Barre  Savings  and  Deposit  Banks.  Afterwards 
he  purchased  a  ranch  in  New  Mexico  and  moved 
upon  it  with  his  family.  On  account  of  failing 
health  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  ranching,  and 
now  he  and  his  wife  live  in  Denver,  Colorado. 
Their  son,  Leslie  McLean  Long,  an  able  and  ex- 
perienced civil  engineer,  for  several  years  a 
student  of  Lafayette  College,  a  graduate  of  Troy 
Polytechnic  School,  and  who  assisted  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Rail- 
road, is  now  superintendent  of  public  works  of 
Colorado.  Their  daughter  Elizabeth,  a  gradu- 
ate 'of  Lawrenceville  Seminary J  New  Jersey, 
married  John  F.  Graff,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  for 
many  years  connected  with  the  Philadelphia 
Press,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  John  W.  Forney, 
Esq.,  one  of  the  brainiest  and  most  accomplished 
editors  of  his  day.  Mr.  Graff  has  written  many 
able,  interesting  and  instructive  articles  over  his 
pseudonym  of  "Graybeard,"  and  is  also  the 
author  of  a  very  interesting  and  much  read 
book  called  "Lay  Sermons." 

Leslie,  the  fourth  child,  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,   completing  his  educa-- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ISI 


tion  at  Dana's  Academy.  He  was  a  splendid 
specimen  of  physical  manhood,  six  feet  three 
inches  tall,  straight  as  an  arrow,  with  black 
curly  hair.  When  quite  young  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia in  search  of  gold,  afterwards  to  Australia 
for  the  same  purpose,  and  died  on  his  return 
home,  off  the  coast  of  Chili,  and  was  buried  at 
sea. 

Mary,  the  fifth  child,  was  educated  in 
Y  ilkes-Barre,  married  Thomas  Wilson,  Esq., 
also  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  died  at  an  early 
age.  the  mother  of  two  children,  Thomas  H.  and 
Leslie  McLean  Wilson,  who  are  active,  aggres- 
sive business  men  in  Binghamton,  New  York. 
Thomas  Wilson,  the  father,  was  for  many  years 
the  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  a  man  of  probity  and  intelligence. 

Elizabeth,  the  sixth  child,  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  completed  her  stud- 
ies in  the  Young  Ladies'  Moravian  Seminary  at 
Bethlehem,  married  Dr.  Agnew  of  Virginia,  a 
very  able  physician,  and  who  died  a  few  years 
after  his  marriage,  caused  by  disease  contracted 
and  exposure  endured  while  performing  his  du- 
ties as  brigade  and  afterwards  as  division  sur- 
geon in  the  Confederate  Army.  Elizabeth  is 
living  in  Burkeville,  Virginia. 

George,  the  seventh  child,  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  finished  his 
studies  at  Dana's  Academy.  He  went  to  Colorado 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  with  his  brother  Samuel, 
and  was  among  its  first  pioneers.  The  town  of 
Georgetown,  Colorado,  was  named  for  him.  At 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  cavalry,  fought  in  many  battles, 
was  wounded  by  bullet  and  sabre  eleven  times, 
and  was  finally  transferred  to  the  Invalid  Corps 
as  orderly  sergeant.  At  the  end  of  the  war  he 
was  highly  recommended  by  the  officers  under 
whom  he  served,  as  a  fit  person  for  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  regular  army,  but  never  made  appli- 
cation. He  was  appointed  receiver  of  public 
moneys  in  Helena,  Montana,  by  President  John- 
son and  preferred  living  the  life  of  a  frontiers- 
man until  a  few  years  before  he  died.  His  most 
valued  possessions  were  his  gun,  rod,  pipe,  and 
a  good  book     He  loved  the  woods,  whose  mur- 


mur and  moan,  he  often  said,  were  to  him  the 
sweetest  music  on  earth.  He  died  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  April  i,  1891,  and  was  buried  in  the  fam- 
ily lot  in  Hollenback  cemetery. 

William  Swan,  the  eighth  child,  was  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Dana's  Academy,  and  grad- 
uated at  Lafayette  College  in  1865,  the  valedic- 
torian of  his  class.  He  read  law  with  B.  G.  Nich- 
olson, Esq.,  a  distinguished  lawyer  of  his  day, 
and  has  practiced  his  profession  ever  since ;  was 
solicitor  for  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre  for  twen- 
ty-four successive  years ;  has  been  solicitor  for 
the  county  of  Luzerne  for  two  full  terms,  and 
is  now  the  county  solicitor  for  the  third  time.  He 
is  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  law 
judge  of  Luzerne  county  in  1879  and  1895,  but 
both  times  defeated,  first,  because  of  the  split  in 
his  party,  caused  by  the  labor  reform  movement, 
second,  by  an  unparallelled  apathy  in  his  party, 
although  he  led  his  ticket  about  two  thousand 
votes.  He  was  a  corporal  in  the  Pennsylvania 
militia  in  1862  in  the  Civil  war.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society.  He  married,  November  21,  1871,  Miss 
Annie  S.  Roberts,  the  daughter  of  George  H. 
and  Margaret  B.  Roberts  of  Philadelphia.  Mr. 
Roberts  was  an  old-time  Philadelphia  wholesale 
merchant,  who  perhaps  during  his  active  business 
life  knew  every  retail  merchant  doing  business 
from  Towanda  to  Harrisburg,  and  living  within 
fifteen  miles  of  the  Susquehanna  river.  In  his 
day  the  retail  merchant  went  to  the  large  com- 
mercial centers  about  twice  a  year  to  buy  goods 
and  otherwise  enjoy  himself.  He  was  during  his 
stay  in  the  city,  the  guest  of  the  wholesale  mer- 
chants from  whom  he  bought  goods.  They  dined 
him,  took  him  to  the  theatres,  where  he  saw  and 
heard  the  great  players,  and  to  other  places  of  in- 
terest, and  on  Sundays  invited  him  to  a  seat  in 
their  pews  to  hear  the  great  city  ministers  preach. 

The  children  of  William  S.  and  Annie  S.  Mc- 
Lean are  :  George  Roberts,  of  whom  later  ;  Will- 
iam S.,  Jr.,  a  graduate  of  Lafayette  College,  law- 
yer, and  associated  with  his  father  in  the  practice 
of  the  law ;  Margaret  S.,  at  home ;  and  Percy 
Craige,  now  a  student  at  Chestnut  Hill  Academy. 


182 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


John  Montgomery,  the  ninth  child,  who  bore 
a  strong  resemblance  to  his  brother  Leslie,  while 
a  student  at  Dana's  Academy  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  the  Eighty-first  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  in 
Captain  Harkness's  company,  which  had  been 
recruited  principally  at  the  expense  of  Alexander 
McLean  and  his  son  James,  who  presented  to 
the  officers  their  swords  and  sashes.  He  was 
only  eighteen  when  he  enlisted,  was  in  the  battles 
of  Antietam,  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorville. 
Shortly  after  the  last  battle  he  was  taken  sick 
with  a  camp  fever  and  died,  and  his  remains  were 
embalmed,  brought  home  and  buried  in  the  family 
lot  in  Hollenback  cemetery. 

Margaret  A.,  the  tenth  and  youngest  child, 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
completed  her  studies  at  Lawrenceville  Seminary, 
New  -Jersey,  standing  at  the  head  of  her  class. 
She  married  Joseph  B.  Leath,  Esq.,  a  Virginia 
planter,  now  dead.  Mrs.  Leath  lives  in  Burke- 
ville,  Virginia,  and  has  one  son  and  several 
daughters,  all  of  them  in  appearance  and  disposi- 
tion pronounced  types  of  the  McLean  clan. 

George  Roberts  McLean,  eldest  son  of  Will- 
iam S.  and  Annie  S.  McLean,  was  born 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  January  24, 
1873.  He  was  educated  in  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  public  schools,  Harvey  Hillman  Acad- 
emy, Cheltenham  Military  Academy.  Ogontz, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Lafayette  College,  grad- 
uated, 1895.  He  read  law  with  his  father, 
and  was  associated  with  him  in  practice 
until  his  election  to  the  comptrollership  of  Lu- 
zerne county,  1902.  He  was  aide-de-camp  with 
the  rank  of  captain  on  the  staff  of  General  An- 
drews, U.  S.  A.,  during  the  Spanish-American 
war ;  was  select  councilman  for  the  tenth  ward  in 
1898,  and  resigned  to  take  his  present  office ;  was 
chairman  of  the  board  of  law  examiners  for  Lu- 
zerne county,  1899-1902.  He  was  captain  of 
Company  F,  Ninth  Regiment,  National  Guard 
Pennsylvania,  and  is  at  present  captain  and  quar- 
termaster of  same  regiment ;  a  member  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Foreign  Wars,  the  Zeta  Psi  College 
fraternity,  the  Westmoreland  Club,  and  the  Wy- 
oming Country  Club.  Mr.  McLean  married, 
April  2,  1902,  Mary  Barber,  daughter  of  Col.  Al- 


bert P.  and  Helen  Frances  (Jenkins;  Barber. 
Captain  and  Mrs.  McLean  have  one  child,  Wil- 
Swan  McLean,  (3d).  H.  E.  H. 

WALLER  FAMILY.  Joseph  Waller,  living 
in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  1669,  removed  to 
Fairfield,  Connecticut,  founded  1639  by  Roger 
Ludlow,  and  died  in  1672.  The  two  children  ac- 
companied their  mother  (upon  her  second  mar- 
riage) to  Woodbury,  where  Joseph,  born  Boston, 
February  3,  1669,  grew  to  manhood,  had  a  family 
of  five  sons  and  seven  daughters,  and  owned  much 
land.  He  became  in  1719  an  original  proprietor 
and  resident  of  Litchfield  (among  the  loveliest  of 
New  England  villages,  where  were  Judge  Reeves' 
law  school  and  Miss  Pierce's  school  for  girls,  fa- 
mous as  the  first  of  their  kind  in  the  new  world) , 
as  his  youngest  son  Phineas,  born  October  31,. 
1717,  was  later  on  (1738)  of  Cornwall  in  the 
Housatonic  valley. 

Phineas  Waller,  born  October  31,  1717,  mar- 
ried Rhoda  Taylor1,  and  reared  a  family  of  five 
sons  and  five  daughters.  He  was  deacon  succes- 
sively of  the  First  and  Second  churches  of  Corn- 
wall, and  later  removed  into  the  western  coun- 
try. Some  years  thereafter  his  widow  Rhoda 
died  at  the  home  of  her  eldest  son,  Nathan,  at 
Oquago,  upon  the  Susquehanna.  Phineas  Wal- 
ler's brother  Samuel  (born  March  18,  1703), 
was  the  father  of  Elijah  whose  daughter,  Esther, 
(1768-1818)    married    Calvin    Wadhams. 

The  five  sons  of  Phineas  Waller  left  Con- 
necticut at  an  early  age.  Of  these,  Nathan,  born 
March  7,  1753,  married,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  May  4, 
1773,  Elizabeth,  born  March  6,  1754,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Weeks,  the  latter  a  resident  pioneer 
from  Fairfield,  Connecticut,  who  "February  12, 
1763,  paid  cash  for  one  whole  share  in  the  Sus- 
quehanna purchase,"  who  made  his  first  journey 
to  the  Wyoming  Valley  in  that  year,  and  from 


1.  Thomas  Taylor  of  Norwalk  and  Danburv.  Con- 
necticut, born  1643,  died  June  17,  1/34,  married  Rebecca 
Ketchum,  whose  son,  Nathan  Taylor,  bom  1682,  died 
1781,  married  Hannah  Benedict,  of  Danburv;  whose 
daughter  Rhoda  Taylor,  married  Phineas  Waller.  The 
average  age  of  Thomas  Taylor's  ten  children,  and 
himself,   was   eighty-six   and  one-half   years. 


THE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    YALLEYS. 


18- 


whose  house  in  July.  1778.  seven  men.  includ- 
ing his  three  sons,  and  son-in-law  Benedict, 
went  into  the  battle  and  massacre  of  Wyoming, 
and  were  all  slain.  In  1775  Nathan  Waller 
visited  the  Connecticut  seashore,  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  infant  son,  Phineas.  There  he 
entered  the  army  and  was  wounded  at  Horse 
Neck,  in  March,  1779.  when  General  Putnam 
made  his  famous  escape.  His  brother  Levi, 
born  April  24.  1758,  enlisted  at  eighteen  and 
died  in  the  service  at  Princeton.  New  Jersey,  in 
1778.  Ashbel,  a  third  brother,  served  in  the 
Second  Regiment  Connecticut  line,  and  Daniel, 
a  fourth,  was  in  the  Sixteenth  Connecticut  Reg- 
iment. The  fifth  was  Joseph,  born  April  11, 
1764,  and  these  four  surviving  brothers  were 
all  settled  in  the  Wyoming  valley  prior  to  1800: 
bv  which  vear  Ashbel,  Joseph  and  Daniel  had 
passed  on  to  Western  New  York  and  Ohio. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Captain  Nathan 
Waller  brought  his  household  back  to  Wy- 
oming. He  was  the  owner  of  a  large  amount 
of  land  above  Wilkes-Barre.  in  it,  and  below  it. 
Before  1787  he  built  upon  his  lower  farm  the 
house  which  still  stands  (1905)  across  the  west- 
ern end  of  Division  street,  being  both  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  Hanover,  and  where  a  road  then  led 
to  the  only  river  crossing.  He  was  a  man  of 
strong  physique,  and  in  an  encounter  with  a 
bear  upon  his  lands  at  the  Plains  he  killed  it, 
breaking  its  spine  with  a  pine  knot  he  had  seized 
for  defense.  He  appears  frequently  in  the  early 
Luzerne  record,  and  in  1792.  with  Zebulon  But- 
ler and  Timothy  Pickering,  was  of  the  com- 
mittee appointed  bv  the  town  of  Wilkes-Barre 
to  choose  a  site  for  the  Rev.  Mr.  Johnson's  Con- 
gregational church :  they  selected  and  reported 
the  location  on  the  public  square,  on  which  a 
little  later  the  "'old  Ship  Zion"  was  erected. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
Nathan  Waller  bought  his  friend  Putnam  Cat- 
lin's  large  farm  on  the  banks  of  the  Susquehanna, 
at  Oquago,  within  the  limits  of  the  present  town 
of  Windsor,  Broome  county.  New  York,  and 
there  he  removed  with  his  wife,  his  unmarried 
daughters,  and  his  younger  son  Eliud  Rockwell, 
who  had  married    Lucv.    daughter    of    Colonel 


John  Franklin,  providing  for  the  son  a  house 
and  farm  near  his  own.  Nathan's  house,  on 
the  high  terrace  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river1, 
shaded  by  great  trees,  was  notably  spacious  and 
substantial,  a  large  central  chimney  affording 
wide,  open  fireplaces  in  the  rooms  on  each  side 
of  it,  and  on  both  the  first  and  second  floors. 
Here,  September  18,  1822,  Nathan  Waller  lost 
his  wife ;  and  his  son  Eliud  R.  having  died  April 
26,  1S14,  in  his  thirty-eighth  year,  at  the  home 
of  his  brother  Phineas,  while  passing  through 
Wilkes-Barre,  Nathan  induced  Phineas  to  ex- 
change with  him,  and  take  the  Oquago  farm, 
while  he  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he 
continued  until  his  death,  July  11,  183 1,  in  his 
seventy-ninth  year. 

Nathan  Waller  had  two  sons  and  eight 
daughters,  and  of  the  latter  Lydia,  the  eldest, 
married  (first)  1806,  Robert  Christie;  their  only 
child,  Albert,  died  in  New  Orleans.  She  mar- 
ried (second)  Major  Elijah  Blackmail.  Lucy, 
the  next  eldest  daughter,  married,  1806,  Philip 
Abbott ;  their  son,  Merrit,  became  assistant  sup- 
erintendent of  the  Lehigh  Navigation  Company, 
and  his  daughter,  Stella,  married  E.  P.  Wilbur, 
president  of  the  Lehigh  Yalley  Railroad  com- 
pany. Elizabeth,  next  to  the  youngest,  married 
Miller  Horton-  and  succeeded  to  part  of  her 
father's  South  Wilkes-Barre  lands.  The  other 
daughters  married  in   New  York  state  and  re- 


1.  "This  picturesque  little  valley  having  been  set- 
tled but  a  few  years  nevertheless  had  its  traditions  of 
exciting  interest  as  the  rendezvous  of  Brant,  the  fam- 
ous and  terrible  Mohawk  chief,  during  the  frontier 
war  in  which  the  Wyoming  massacre  took  place." 
(From  a  description  of  this  farm,  in  Smithsonian  Rep., 
18S5.  part  2.  pp.  704-5). 

2.  In  1816  Miller,  Jesse  and  Lewis  Horton  opened 
a  new  era  in  stage  coach  traveling  and  in  carrying 
the  mails  in  Northern  Pennsylvania.  In  1824  these 
enterprising  brothers  contracted  to  carry  the  mails  in 
four  horse  coaches  from  Baltimore  to  Owego,  Xew 
York,  by  way  of  Harrisburg,  Sunbury,  Wilkes-Barre 
and  Montrose,  and  from  Philadelphia  to  Wilkes-Barre. 
via  Easton  :  also  to  carry  mails  from  New  York  City 
to  Montrose  by  way  of  Newark  and  Morristown  in 
New  Jersey  and  Mil  ford  in  Pennsylvania,  and  com- 
fortable and  substantial  four  horse  coaches  rolled  daily 
and  rapidly  over  our  highways. — Pierce's  Annuals. 


1 84 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


moved  to  the  far  west — none  of  them  returned  to 
Wyoming. 

His  son,  Phineas  Waller,  born  Wilkes-Barre, 
January  31,  1774,  acquired  land  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  built  a  house,  and  married,  January  2, 
1800,  his  first  wife,  Hannah,  born  October  20, 
1772,  daughter  of  Abraham  Bradley  and  wife 
Hannah  Baldwin,  and  sister  of  Abraham  and  Dr. 
Phineas  Bradley,  who  were  first  and  second  as- 
sistant postmaster  generals  until  the  accession 
of  Andrew  Jackson  to  the  presidency.  Phineas 
Waller's  wife  died  October  4,  1810,  leaving  him 
with'  three   children,   all  born   in   Wilkes-Barre: 

1.  Abraham  Bradley  Waller, 'born  October 
11,  1800,  died  June  26,  1867,  in  Delaware.  He 
married,  July  26,  1826,  Frances  Webb,  daugh- 
ter of  General  Webb,  of  Canaan,  Connecticut, 
and  removed  to  Delaware.  Children :  Frances, 
married  Eben  Camp,  lived  at  Cherry  Tree,  Penn- 
sylvania; Abraham  Bradley,  Jr.,  born  March  6, 
1837,  went  in  1858  to  Nevada,  died  1902;  Au- 
gusta, born  May  23,  1839,  died  June  17,  1902; 
married  General  John  M.  Wilson,  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. ;  Helen,  born  August  21,  1843,  died 
March  18,  1873 ;  married  a  Mr.  Brewster ;  Flor- 
ence, born  January  4,  1849,  married  E.  P.  Wads- 
worth,  of  Maine ;  Lelia  W.,  born  January  26, 
1852,  lives  in  Washington,  D.  C. 

2.  Nathan  P.  Waller,  born  March  30,  1807, 
died  June  30,  1884,  in  Wisconsin,  married,  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1838,  Mahala  Edwards,  and  removed 
to  Wisconsin,  where  he  became  a  well  known 
member  of  the  legislature.  Children :  Phineas 
Bradley,  born  June  13,  1842;  Mary,  born  Sep- 
tember 28,  185 1  ;  Nathan,  born  December  22, 
1S54;  and  Frances,  born  December  22,  1858. 

3.  William  Lindsey  Waller,  born  July  6, 
1810,  died  July  9,  1887,  in  Washington,  D.  C, 
married  July  19,  1837,  Louisa  Bonham,  of 
Corning,  New  York,  and  removed  to  Washing- 
ton. D.  C,  where  he  was  long  in  the  United 
States  treasury.  Their  only  surviving  child, 
Rev.  William  B.  Waller,  born  June  24,  1848,  and 
now  of  Greenwich,  Connecticut,  married  May  3, 
1876,  Jennie,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Schenck, 
of  Philadelphia. 

In  the  war  of  1812  Phineas  responded  to  the 


call  for  troops  with  the  Wilkes-Barre  Company, 
of  which  he  was  captain,  but  his  command  being 
required  to  accept  regular  army  officers  in  place 
of  those  elected  by  themselves,  refused  to  submit 
and  returned  home. 

On  March  31,  1814,  Phineas  Waller  Imarried 
his  second  wife,  Elizabeth,1  born  October I9,  1780, 
daughter  of  Dr.  David  Hibberd  Jewett  and  wife 
Patience  Bulkley,  of  New  London,  Conn.,  and 
resided  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  home  until  1823, 
when  making,  the  requested  exchange,  they  re- 
moved to  the  father's  Windsor  farm,  leaving 
two  of  the  children — David  and  Harriet — with 
their  grandmother  Jewett  in  Wilkes-Barre.  In 
April,  1836,  Phineas  returned  with  his  wife  and 
unmarried  children  to  the  Wyoming  Valley 
where  he  had  made  additional  land  purchases, 
and  where  his  wife  died  February  21,  1859,  in 
her  seventy-ninth  year.  He  died  at  Bloomsburg 
on  the  third  of  the  following  June,  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year.  While  at  Oquago,  at  the  instance 
of  Dr.  Bradley,  as  a  step  toward  improving  the 
still  very  primitive  postal  service,  Phineas  con- 
tracted for  and  established  a  line  of  four-horse 


,1.  Elizabeth  Jewett,  second  wife  of  Phineas  Wal- 
ler, was  a  descendant  of  Elder  William  Brewster ;  of 
Charles  Chauncey,  second  president  of  Harvard :  of 
Samuel  Appleton ;  of  the  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley ;  of  the 
Rev.  George  Phillips,  of  Massachusetts ;  and  of  the 
Dennisons,  Prentices,  Wetherells,  Latimers,  and  Ger- 
shom  Bulkeley,  of  Connecticut.  Her  father  served 
both  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  commands  dur- 
ing the  revolutionary  war.  Mrs.  Waller's  grandfather, 
Rev.  David  Jewett,  died  1783  and  devised  his  Susque- 
hanna lands  to  her  father,  who  died  1814.  Her  mother 
with  three  of  her  daughters,  one  of  her  sons  and  negro 
man  slave  removed  from  New  London  to  Wilkes-Barre 
in  1815,  wdiere  the  family  lived  for  sixty  years  on 
Franklin  street  about  where  the  Grand  Opera  House 
now  stands.  Here  her  mother  died  February  4,  1830, 
in  her  eighty-first  year.  Children:  1.  David,  born 
June  17,  1772,  died  July,  1842,  Rio  Janeiro.  Read  law 
with  Governor  Griswold,  but  during  a  voyage  to  Spain 
became  infatuated  with  the  sea,  and  at  nineteen  com- 
manded a  ship ;  was  for  twenty  years  an  officer  in 
United  States  navy,  and  afterwards  of  Chili,  Buenos 
Ayres.  and  Brazil.  He  married,  1827,  Mrs.  Eliza 
Mactier,  daughter  of  Augustus  H.  Lawrence,  of  New 
York;  one  child,  Rev.  Augustus  David  L.,  born  Wilkes- 
Barre,   January    12,    1830,    died    New    York,    April    29, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


185 


coaches  which  carried  the  mails  between  LTtica 
and  New  York  City,  by  way  of  Windsor 
(Oquago),  New  York  and  Mt.  Pleasant,  Penn- 
sylvania. His  second  son,  Nathan  P.  Waller, 
who  in  1835  had  established  a  mail  route  from 
Augusta,  Georgia,  to  Columbia,  two  hundred 
miles,  succeeded  him  on  the  Oquago  farm  (still 
known  as  Wallersville).  The  family  ownership 
of  that  portion  of  the  shores  of  the  Susquehanna 
ceased  when  the  latter  removed  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi, some  sixty  years  ago. 

The  sons  of  Phineas  and  Elizabeth  (Jewett) 
Waller  were  of  the  bench,  bar  and  pulpit,  as  are 
all  their  sons  in  turn,  of  the  law,  the  ministry, 
and  the  medical  profession.  The  children,  all 
born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  were : 

1.  David  Jewett,  born  January  16,  1815, 
died  December  7,  1893 ;  married,  May  23,  1839, 
Julia  Ellmaker ;  reared  three  sons  and  three 
daughters ;  hereinafter  mentioned. 

2.  Harriet  M.,  born  February  10,  1817,  died 
April  3,  1887 ;  married,  May,  1865,  Rev.  Silas 
M.  Andrews,  D.  D.,  of  Doylestown,  Pennsyl- 
vania.    No  children. 

3.  Charles  Phillips,  born  August  7,  1819, 
•died  August  18,  1882 ;  married,  April  5,  1845, 
Harriet  Ward  Stone.  He  was  president  judge 
of  the  Twenty-second  Judicial  District,  and  lived 


189S.  married  Lizzie  Dickenson :  one  child  survives,  R. 
Dickenson  Jewett,  of  Washington,  D.  C.  2.  Charles, 
born  June  9,  1777,  lieutenant  United  States  navy,  died 
1825,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  unmarried.  3.  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried Phineas  Waller,  supra.  4.  Sarah,  born  October 
S,    1782,   died.   Wilkes-Barre,  May   15,    1857,  unmarried. 

5.  George,  born  May  22,  1785,  merchant  at  Tunhan- 
nock,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  November  2,  1816,  unmarried. 

6.  Ann,  born  July  6,  1787,  died  June  19,  i860,  married, 
July  17,  1S23,  Judge  Oristus  Collins,  for  fifty  years 
elder  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
He  was  judge  of  the  courts  of  Lancaster  county.  He 
died  1884,  aged  ninety-two  years.  One  child.  Rev. 
Charles  Jewett,  born  June  25,  1825,  superintendent  of 
Wilkes-Barre  schools  and  principal  of  Princeton  pre- 
paratory school  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey.  Now  re- 
sides -in  New  York.    He  married  Annie   Rankin,   of 

Newburg,  New  York:  Children:  Laura,  married  Wil- 
liam Parsons ;  Louisa,  married  a  Mr.  Tappan ;  Annie, 
married  Walter  B.  Howe :  all  reside  in  New  York. 
Rev.  Charles  Jewett  Collins  married  (second)  Ida 
.     7.     Martha  ,  twin  to  Ann,  died  1876. 


at  Honesdale,  Pennsylvania.  Children :  Eliz- 
abeth Jewett,  born  June  11,  1846,  married  Wil- 
liam H.  Stanton,  and  had  Harriet,  married 
Ralph  Martin,  lives  at  Honesdale ;  Katherine, 
married  John  Edward  Barbour,  lives  at  Patter- 
son, New  Jersey,  2.  Mary  Stone,  born  Octo- 
ber 3,  1858,  married  Harry  Crowell  and  has 
children :  Waller  and  Elizabeth  W. ;  lives  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey. 

4.  George  Grant,  born  May  3,  1821,  died 
December  4,  1888;  married,  October  n,  1854, 
Lizzie  J.  Bently.  One  child,  Bessie,  who  mar- 
ried Robert  Neely,  and  lives  in  Germantown, 
Pennsylvania.  George  G.  Waller  was  for  more 
than  thirty-five  years  a  leading  lawyer  of  Hones- 
dale. 

David  Jewett  Waller,  born  Wilkes-Barre, 
January  16,  1815,  was  educated  at  Wilkes-Barre 
Academy,  Williams  College,  Massachusetts,  and 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  having  gradu- 
ated at  Williams,  1834,  and  the  Theological 
Seminary,  1837.  In  1838  Mr.  Waller  became 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Bloomsburg 
(on  the  river  forty  miles  below  Wilkes-Barre) 
with  its  extensive  dependent  territory,  since  di- 
vided into  many  pastorates.  There  he  became  ac- 
ive  in  all  the  interests  of  the  community,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  establishment  of  schools,  being 
instrumental,  the  year  of  his  arrival,  in  opening 
a  classical  school,  of  which  his  brother  Charles, 
then  a  law  student,  was  principal.  It  became  in 
1867  the  Bloomsburg  Literary  Institute,  and  in 
1872  was  merged  into  the  State  Normal  school 
of  the  sixth  district,  of  which  two  latter  institu- 
tions also  Mr.  Waller  was  a  very  active  promoter 
and  supporter.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
board  of  foreign  missions  by  the  general  assem- 
bly of  1865,  and  was  elected  a  trustee  of  Lafay- 
ette College  by  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  in 
1849,  serving  for  thirty  years.  Although  often 
called  to  other  fields,  he  continued  his  pastorate 
until  1871,  about  which  time  he  met  with  an 
accident  while  driving,  which  compelled  him  to 
use  crutches  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  resigned, 
but  thereafter  effected  the  construction  of  the 
present  attractive  stone  church,  to  which  he  was 
the  chief  contributor.    About  that  time  he  drew 


1 86 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


a  charter  for  a  railroad  from  Wilkes-Barre  along 
the  south  bank  of  the  Susquehanna  to  Blooms- 
burg,  and  thence  by  valleys  of  Big  and  Little 
Fishing  creeks,  and  Muncy  creek,  to  Williams- 
port,  named  the  North  and  West  Branch  Rail- 
road Company.  His  fellow  townsman,  ex-United 
States  Senator  Charles  R.  Buckalew,  who  was 
again  in  the  state  senate,  secured  its  enactment 
by  the  legislature,  and  Mr.  Waller  became  presi- 
dent, effecting  its  construction,  from  a  junction 
with  the  S.  H.  &  W.  Railroad  at  Catawissa,  to 
Wilkes-Barre  in  1881-82,  and  continuing  as  presi- 
dent until  his  death,  during  which  period  it  was 
operated  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company 
as  lessee,  and  was  purchased  a  half  dozen  years 
later  by,  and  was  formally  merged  into  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company.  Upon  the  material 
interests  of  his  adopted  home,  by  the  laying  out 
and  grading  of  broad  streets  and  extensive  tree 
planting,  by  the  erection  of  private  buildings  and 
furthering  the  erection  of  public  ones,  and  by 
aiding  the  introduction  of  manufactories,  Mr. 
Waller  exerted  an  educational  influence  which 
has  proven  most  beneficial  to  that  attractive  and 
prosperous  county  seat,  whose  courts  adjourned 
and  whose  business  was  suspended  on  the  oc- 
casion of  his  funeral.  He  died  December  7,  1893, 
four  and  a  half  years  after  his  golden  wedding. 

He  married,  May  23,  1839,  in  Philadelphia, 
Julia  Ellmaker,  born  October  11,  1817,  who  is 
the  youngest  daughter  of  Levi  and  Hannah 
(Hopkins)  Ellmaker,  the  former  for  many  years 
a  prominent  Philadelphia  merchant,  in  the  West 
India  trade,  a  director  of  the  bank  of  the  Lmited 
States  by  appointment  of  President  Jackson,  a 
leader  among  the  early  patrons  of  art  in  the 
Quaker  City,  where  he  died  February  9,  1835, 
in  consequence  of  being  thrown  from  his  car- 
riage. His  father,  Nathaniel  Ellmaker,  of  Lan- 
caster, was  a  senator  when  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment was  still  in  Philadelphia,  and  was,  through 
his  mother  and  grandmother,  of  French-Hugue- 
not descent.  Children  of  David  J.  and  Julia  E. 
Waller : 

1.  Hannah  Ellmaker,  born  August  30,  1840, 
married  Colonel  M.  Whitmoyer ;  died  Nebraska, 
1873  I  one  child,  Laura  Claire,  who  married,  June 


30,    1904 ,   Dr.    Joseph    Reifsnyder,     resides    in 
Scranton,  Pennsylvania. 

2.  David  Jewett,  born  June  17,  1846;  grad- 
uate of  Lafayette  College  and  Union  Theological 
Seminary ;  ex-superintendent  public  instruction, 
now  principal  of  Indiana  Normal  School,  Penn- 
sylvania;  married,  1874,  Anna  Appleman. 
Children :  David  J.,  born  October  20,  1876,  died 
November  16,  1895;  Mabel,  born  March  7,  1878; 
Lizzie,  born  April  7,  1880 ;  Margaret,  born  June 
20,  1882;  Robert,  born  March  9,  1884;  and  Har- 
riet, born  December   20,    1886. 

3.  Levi  Ellmaker,  born  July  16,  1851 ;  mar- 
ried, October  12,  1881,  Alice  M.,  daughter  of 
United  States  Senator  Charles  R.  Buckalew : 
hereinafter  mentioned. 

4.  George  Phillips,  born  April  2,  1854;  edu- 
cated at  Andover,  and  Franklin  and  Marshall ; 
graduate  of  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Philadel- 
phia ;  was  many  years  physician  and  surgeon  for 
Chicago  &  North-Western  Railroad  Company  in 
Nebraska ;  resides  in  Los  Angeles,  California. 
He  married,  May  3,  1877,  Etta  J.  Campbell. 
Children:  Horace  N.,  born  September  5,  1881, 
and  George  P.,  born  May  22,  1884. 

5.  Julia  Ellmaker,  born  December  12,  1855 ;. 
married,  April  26,  1882,  Charles  W.  Hand,  treas- 
urer of  Presbyterian  board  of  foreign  missions ; 
lives  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  Children :  Laura, 
born  June  14,  1885 ;  Charlotte,  born  July  18, 
1887;  Julia,  born  April  8,  1890;  and  Dorothy,. 
born  May  4,  1895. 

6.  Laura  Pettit,  born  September  2,  1858,  un- 
married ;  lives  with  her  mother  in  Bloomsburg. 

Levi  Ellmaker  Waller,  born  July  16,  185 1, 
graduated  from  Lafayette  College,  1873,  attended 
Columbia  Law  School,  New  York,  and  from  the 
office  of  United  States  Senator  Charles  R.  Bucka- 
lew was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  is,  and  for 
twenty-four  years  has  been  counsel  for  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  counsel  for  the 
Pennsylvania  Canal  Company,  counsel  for  the 
Bloomsburg  &  Sullivan  Railroad  Company ;  a  di- 
rector of  the  latter  company,  and  of  the  North 
and  West  Branch  Railway  Company  ;  and  trustee 
of  the  State  Normal  School  of  the  Sixth  District. 
He  has  borne  an  active  part  in  the  founding  and 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


i8;r 


developement  of  and  been  officially  connected 
with  very  many  of  the  institutions  and  manufac- 
turing industries  of  his  native  town,  its  steam  and 
electric  railroads,  and  its  heat,  light,  and  water 
systems.  Since  the  summer  of  1900  Mr.  Waller 
has  resided  in  Wilkes-Barre,  at  No.  72  South 
River  street.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Mayflower  Descendants  ;  The  University  Club  ; 
Sons  of  the  Revolution ;  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society,  and  other  organizations.  He 
married,  at  Bloomsburg,  Pennsylvania,  October 
12.  1881,  Alice  M.  Buckalew,  born  November  24, 
1856,  daughter  of  United  States  Senator  Charles 
Rollin  Buckalaw.1  and  wife  Permelia  Wadsworth. 
Children :  Jean  Buckalaw  Waller,  born  October 
22,  1884.  Charles  Buckalew  Waller,  born  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1890;  brought  his  family  from  Litch- 
field. Connecticut,  to  Huntington,  in  Luzerne 
county.  Mrs.  Buckalaw  died  at  the  home  of 
her  daughter.  Mrs.  Waller,  Wilkes-Barre,  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1903.  H.  E.  H. 

CORSS  FAMILY.  James  Corse,  the  first 
of  his  surname,  so  far  as  known  in  America,  and 
the  ancestor  of  a  numerous  line  of  descendants, 
first  appears  in  New  England  history  as  a  settler 
at  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  about  1690,  and  died 
there   May   15,   1696.     He  married.   1690,  Eliza- 


1.  Mr.  Buckalew  was  a  lawyer  of  wide  reputation, 
and  was  author  of  a  work  on  the  Constitution  of  Penn- 
sylvania, of  which  instrument  he  was  one  of  the  most 
prominent  framers.  His  life  was  largely  passed  in  the 
public  service  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  United  States. 
He  was  a  successful  advocate  of  the  cumulative  vote 
provided  for  minority  representation,  now  a  familiar 
feature  in  corporate  and  other  elections.  He  was  born 
December  28,  1821.  In  1850,  when  the  district  was 
composed  of  Luzerne,  Columbia  and  Montour  counties, 
and  in  1853,  and  in  1857  he  was  elected  to  the  senate  of 
Pennsylvania.  In  1854  he  was  appointed  special  commis- 
sioner to  exchange  ratification  of  the  treaty  between  the 
United  States  and  Paraguay.  In  1857  he  resigned  as 
senator  and  commissioner  to  revise  the.  criminal  code, 
and  was  appointed  Minister  of  the  United  States  to  Ec- 
uador, resident  at  Quito.  In  1863  he  was  chosen  United 
States  senator  from  Pennsylvania  and  served  the  term 
of  six  years  from  March  4.  1864.  In  1869  he  was  re- 
elected to  the  state  senate.  In  1S72  he  was  the  nominee 
of  the  Democratic  party  for  governor,  and  1888  and 
1900   was   elected   representative   in   congress.     He   was 


beth  Catlin,  who  then  was  twenty  years  old;  she 
was  killed  by  the  French  and  Indians  on  the 
march  to  Canada  in  1704,  when  Deerfield  was 
sacked  and  laid  waste.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
John  and  Mary  (Baldwin)  Catlin.  John  Catlin. 
was  one  of  the  few  men  in  Deerfield  honored  by 
the  title,  "Mister."  He  and  his  wife  were  of  the 
original  thirty  families  of  Brandford,  Connecti- 
cut, who  settled  in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  1666, 
moved  to  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  16S3,  and  was- 
prominent  in  town,  church  and  military  affairs 
until  his  death,  being  a  teacher  in  1676,  town's  at- 
torney 1678,  and  selectman  1676  to  16S1.  James 
and  Elizabeth  (Catlin)  Corse  had  three  children:- 
— Ebenezer,  born  April  7,  1692 ;  James,  March 
20,  1694;  Elizabeth,  February  4,  1696;  captured 
1704,  alive  in  Canada,  1716. 

James  Corse,  of  Greenfield,  born  Deerfield,. 
Massachusetts,  March  20,  1694,  died  Greenfield,. 
September  20,  1783 ;  married,  first,  August  17, 
1721,  Thankful  Munn,  born  Januarv  12,  1703-4, 
died  July  22,  1746,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Munn, 
of  Deerfield  ;  married  second,  July  16,  1747,  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Joseph  Clesson,  who  died  July 
4,  1773,  aged  sixty-three  years.  He,  had  eleven; 
children  by  his  first  marriage  and  two  by  his  sec- 
ond marriage.  This  James  Corse  was  a  noted 
hunter  and  Indian  scout.     The  town  meetings  of 


president  of  the  Bloomsburg  &  Sullivan  Railroad  Com- 
pany, from  the  time  of  its  construction  (1886)  untir 
his  death,  and  was  a  director  of  the  North  and  West 
Branch  Railway  Company.  He  died  at  Bloomsburg, 
May  19,  1899,  within  a  year  after  celebrating  his  golden- 
wedding.  His  immigrant  ancestor.  Francis  Buckalew, 
came  to  Long  Island  with  his  brother  Gilbert  in  1665. 
Charles  R.  Buckalew  married,  February  13,  1849,  Per- 
melia, daughter  of  the  Rev.  Epaphras  and  Charlotte 
(Stevens)  Wadsworth,  born  February  16,  1828,  and 
granddaughter  of  Epaphras  Wadsworth,  a  soldier  of  the- 
revolution,  and  wife  Desdemona  Marshall.  Mrs.  Bucka- 
lew descended  in  the  sixth  generation  from  Captain 
Joseph  Wadsworth,  who  saved  the  Connecticut  charter 
by  hiding  it  in  the  Hartford  Oak.  October  31,  1687, 
and  from  Captain  John  Gallup,  and  the  Marshall — 
Stone — Lake — Drake — Wollcott — Wilton — Cooke  famil- 
ies of  Connecticut.  Epaphras  Wadsworth.  in  1800, 
brought  his  family  from  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  to 
Huntington,  in  Luzerne  county.  Mrs.  Buckalew  died' 
at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Waller,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  February  20,  1903. 


1 88 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Greenfield  were  held  in  his  house  man}'  years,  and 
he  held  the  office  of  fence  viewer  and  other  town 
offices.  In  1730,  with  a  passport  from  Governor 
Dummer,  he  made  a  journey  to  Canada  in  search 
of  his  sister,  traveling  by  way  of  Fort  Dummer, 
Otter  creek,  and  Lake  Champlain,  and  on  his 
travels  he  established  a  convenient  route  of  pass- 
age for  the  military  expeditions  of  1730.  He  was 
a  soldier  during  Father  Rasle's  war,  under  Cap- 
tain Joseph  Kellogg,  and  also  in  the  French  and 
Indian  wars  from  1743  to  1763.  May  1,  1775,  at 
eighty-one,  he  enlisted  at  Greenfield  as  a  minute 
man  in  a  company  raised  then,  and  fought  at 
Bunker  Hill.  He  left  a  considerable  fortune  at 
his  death,  including  a  large  tract  of  land  upon 
which  the  present  town  of  Greenfield,  Massachu- 
setts, is  built. 

Asher  Corss,  eighth  child  of  James  and 
Thankful  (Munn)  Corse,  born  in  Greenfield, 
-Massachusetts,  September  10,  1737,  died-  there, 
June  25,  1822;  married  (first),  Submit  Chapin, 
died  March  2.2,  1777,  daughter  of  Samuel  Chapin, 
of  Chicopee,  Massachusetts,1  She  had  five  chil- 
dren. Asher  married  (second),  Lucv  Chapin, 
cousin  of  his  first  wife,  and  daughter  of  Zediah 
Chapin.  She  bore  him  no  children.  This  Asher 
Corss  was  a  soldier  in  the  French  and- Indian 
wars,  and  was  the  owner  of  three  hundred  acres 
of  land  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Connecticut,  six 
miles  above  Greenfield.  He  changed  his  name 
from  Corse  to  Corss.  Asher  and  Submit  Corss 
had  the  following  children:  Clarissa,  born  No- 
vember 9.  1768,  married.  December,  1793,  Tim- 
othy Larabee ;  Submit,  born  December  27,  1770, 


1.  Samuel  Chapin,  of  Chicopee,  was  son  of  Sam- 
uel Chapin,  who  was  son  of  Japhet  Chapin,  who  was 
son  of  Deacon  Samuel  Chapin,  of  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts. Deacon  Chapin,  "The  Puritan,"  was  one  of 
the  most  exemplar}-  men  in  early  Springfield  history. 
His  name  first  appears  in  the  records  in  1642.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  board  of  selectmen,  and  served  nine 
consecutive  years ;  was  magistrate,  and  one  of  the  com- 
missioners "to  hear  and  determine  all  cases  and  offences, 
both  civil  and  criminal,  that  do  not  reach  life,  limb 
and  banishment."  At  various  times  in  the  absence  of 
the  minister  he  officiated  in  religious  meetings :  in 
1663  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  to  lay  out  North- 
ampton, and  in  1659  to  lay  out  the  town  of  Hadley. 


married,  March  n,  1793.  Eli  Smead  :  John,  born 
March  31,  1773,  married  (first),  December  31, 
1795,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Oliver  Atherton,  and 
married  (second),  November  10,  1801,  Sarah 
Bennet,  had  eleven  children  ;  Asher,  born  June  5, 
1775  ;  and  Eunice,  married  Mr.  Flagg. 

Asher  Corss,  son  of  Asher  and  Submit  (Chap- 
in) Corss,  born  in  Greenfield,  Massachusetts,  June 
5.  1775,  died  there  May  8,  1814;  married,  Sep- 
tember, 1797.  Lucy  Grinnell,  died  May  14.  1814, 
aged  thirty-nine  years,  daughter  of_  William  Grin- 
nell. Asher  and  Lucy  Corss  had  children  :  Polly, 
born  January  9,  1798,  died  unmarried.  August  19, 
1846:  Submit,  born  September  29,  1799,  died  un- 
married, November  18,  1820 :  Henrietta  M..  born 
March  28,  1801,  married  (first).  October  26, 
1820,  Henry  Atherton;  married  (second),  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1824,  Rudolphus  Pratt,  of  Marlboro; 
Charles  Chapin,  born  May  22,  1803 :  Lucy,  born 

,  1805,  married,  October,  1823,  Charles  L. 

Smead:  Cornelius  Clark,  born  October  13.  1807, 
married  Mehitable  Hill,  reside  in  Illinois ;  Chris- 
topher Gore,  born  October  18.  1809.  married 
Polly  Brigham ;  Climena,  born  August  11,  181 1, 
died  April  29,  1833  :  Sarah,  born  July  21,  1813, 
married.  June  25,  1829,  Harvey  C.  Newton. 

Rev.  Charles  Chapin  Corss,  eldest  son  and 
fourth  child  of  Asher  and  Lucv  Corss,  was 
born  in  Greenfield,  Massachusetts.  May  23.  1803. 
died  May  20,  1896:  graduated  at  Amherst  Col- 
lege, A.  B.,  1830 ;  and  was  afterward  principal  of 
Deerfield  Academy.  He  studied  theology  at 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  and  was  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Hampshire  Association  of  Massa- 
chusetts, in  February,  1834.  December  of  same 
year  he  became  stated  supply  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  served 
two  years  there  in  connection  with  more  general 
missionary  work  in  adjacent  localities.  August 
27,  1836,  he  was  ordained  by  the  Susquehanna 
Presbytery,  of  which  he  continued  a  member  until 
the  reunion  of  the  old  and  new  school  branches 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  From  1838  to  1847 
he  was  pastor  and  teacher  in  Athens.  Pennsyl- 
vania: from  1847  to  1869.  was  stated  supply  at 
East  Smithfield,  and  in  1869-70  occupied  the  same 
relation  to  the  church  in  Barclay.     He  supplied 


^OudOJ^vu^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


189 


the  pulpit  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  church 
in  Ulster  in  1871,  and  was  teacher  in  Smithfield 
in  1874,  remaining  in  the  locality  several  years. 
His  work  in  the  ministry  covered  a  period  of 
about  sixty  years.  In  an  obituary  notice,  published 
in  the  "Presbyterian,"  June  17,  1895,  Rev.  Mr. 
Phelps,  his  biographer  and  lifelong  acquaintance, 
said :  "He  was  the  first  minister  of  the  gospel  I 
ever  knew ;  I  think  the  first  one  to  whom  I  ever 
listened."  Probably  no  one  ever  lived  in  Smith- 
field  who  exerted  an  influence  upon  human  char- 
acter and  human  thought  in  Smithfield  such  as  he 
did.  Mr.  Corss  was  especially  active  and  influen- 
tial in  establishing  the  Susquehanna  Collegiate 
Institute  at  Towanda.  He  married  (first),  Sep- 
tmeber  1,  1836,  Ann  Hoyt,  who  died  August  9, 
1851,  aged  thirty-four;  he  married  (second), 
June  6,  1866,  Lucelia  Phelps,  of  East  Smithfield, 
Five  children  were  born  of  his  first  marriage : 
Charles,  bom  July  27,  1837,  married  (first), 
Sarah  Kennedy,  of  Stewartsville,  New  Jersey, 
and  married  (second),  Emma  Pollock,  daughter 
of  George  Pollock,  of  Philadelphia ;  he  was  a  law- 
yer at  Lock  Haven,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  No- 
vember 28,  1904.  2.  Nancy,  born  October  9, 
1839,  married,  September  24,  1903,  Lucius  L. 
Morse,  and  lives  in  Jennings,  Louisiana.  3. 
Frederick,  born  January  16,  1842,  married  Mar- 
tha Hoyt.  4.  John  Hoyt,  born  April,  1847,  died 
1866.  Ann  Hoyt,  born  July  4,  1851,  married 
William  F.  Church,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Dr.  Frederick  Corss,  of  Kingston,  was  born 
January  16,  1842.  He  was  educated  in  the  Sus- 
quehanna Collegiate  Institute,  Towanda ;  Wyom- 
ing Seminary,  Kingston ;  and  Lafayette  College, 
graduating  at  the  latter,  A.  B.  1862,  and  A.  M. 
1865.  His  doctor's  degree  was  acquired  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 1866.  He  began  practice  in  Kingston, 
March  17,  1866,  and  has  been  identified  with  its 
history  from  that  time  to  the  present.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church ;  Masonic 
Lodge,  No.  395  ;  the  Luzerne  County  Medical  So- 
ciety ;  the  Lehigh  Valley  Medical  Association 
(and  its  president,  1903- 1904)  ;  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Medical  Society ;  the  American  Medical  As- 
sociation; the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 


ical Society ;  the  Pennsylvania  Society  Sons  of  the 
Revolution;  and  of  "P.  B.  K."  of  Lafayette  Coll- 
ege, the  famous  so-called  "Gamma"  chapter. 

Dr.  Frederick  Corss  married,  June  19,  1872, 
Martha  Sarah  Hoyt,  born  October  14,  1849,. 
daughter  of  John  Dorrance  Hoyt  and  Martha 
Goodwin,  his  wife.  John  D.  Hoyt,  farmer  of. 
Kingston,  was  a  son  of  Ziba  and  Nancy  Hoyt,. 
and  brother  of  the  late  Governor  Henry  Martyn. 
Hoyt.  H.  E.  H. 

LATHROP  FAMILY.    Rev.  John  Lothrop,. 
the  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  Lothrop  and  Lath- 
rop  families  in  America,  was  the  great-grandson 
of  John  Lowthroppe,  of  Cherry  Burton,  a  parish 
about  four  miles  from  Lowthorpe,  wapentake  of 
Dickering,  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  England — 
a  gentleman  of  extensive  landed  estate  in  Cherry 
Burton  and  various  other  parts  of  the  country, 
and  assessed  on  the  Yorkshire  subsidy  roll  in  1545 , 
twice  as  much  as  any  other  inhabitant  of  the  par- 
ish.    This  John  left  a  son  Robert,  who  succeeded 
to  the  paternal  estates  in  Cherry  Burton,  and  who- 
died  in  1558,  leaving  a  son  Thomas,  who  inher- 
ited from  his  father  certain  lands  and  their  appur- 
tenances in  Walkinton,  also  "an  ambling  gelding, 
dapple  gray,  two  draughts  mante — a  hawked  and. 
browne — and   fourtie   weathers   such   as   he   will 
choose,"   and  also   his   father's   "jack"    (coat  of 
mail),  his  "bill"   (battle  ax),  steel  cap,  and  pair 
of   splents;   wherefore   it  may  be   assumed   that. 
Robert  had  served  his  king  in  the  wars,  and  that, 
he    bestowed    his    accoutrements    upon    the    son 
whom  he  deemed  worthy  to  possess  them  and  de- 
fend the  honour  of  his  house  and  the  person  of" 
his  sovereign. 

This  Thomas  was  also  of  Cherry  Burton,  but: 
after  his  marriage  removed  to  Etton,  Harthill 
wapentake,  East  Riding,  Yorkshire,  and  died 
there,  1606,  having  made  his  will,  excluding  from 
its  benefits  those  of  his  sons  whom  he  had  edu- 
cated and  thus  provided  with  means  of  self-' 
maintenance.  Among  these  sons  was.  John,  issue 
of  Thomas's  second  marriage,  who  was  the 
American  ancestor  of  the  Lothrop-Lathrop  fam- 
ily, although  he  wrote  the  surname  Lothropp.  He 
was  baptized  in  Etton,  Yorkshire,  December  20,.. 


190 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


1584;  matriculated  at  Queen's  College,  Cam- 
bridge, 1601  ;  graduated  B.  A.  1605;  M.  A.  1609. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  living  about  161 1  in 
Egerton,  forty-eight  miles  southeast  from  Lon- 
don, in  the  lower  half  hundred  of  Calehill,  lathe 
of  Scray,  county  of  Kent,  as  curate  of  the  parish 
church  there  and  labored  faithfully  as  long  as 
his  judgment  could  approve  the  ritual  and  gov- 
ernment of  the  church,  but  when  he  could  no 
longer  do  this  he  renounced  his  orders  and  as- 
serted the  right  of  fulfilling  a  ministry  to  which 
his  heart  and  his  conscience  had  called  him.  He 
departed  from  Egerton  in  1623,  and  in  1624 
-succeeded  to  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Indepen- 
dent Church  in  London,  accepting  the  leadership 
of  a  congregation  of  dissenters,  and  sharing  with 
them  the  privations  to  which  they  were  afterward 
subjected,  and  which  culminated  in  the  arrest  and 
imprisonment  of  forty-two  of  their  number,  April 
22,  1632.  Rev.  John  and  his  followers  were 
confined  in  the  old  Clink  prison  in  Newgate,  and 
were  kept  there  until  the  spring  of  1634,  when 
all  except  himself  were  released  on  bail,  for  he 
was  deemed  too  dangerous  to  be  set  at  liberty. 
During  his  imprisonment  his  wife  fell  sick,  and 
through  the  favor  of  the  bishop  he  was  per- 
mitted to  visit  her  and  pray  with  her  before  she 
died.  After  her  death  his  children,  being  many, 
made  known  to  the  bishop  at  Lambeth  their  mis- 
erable condition,  and  through  his  intercession  pro- 
cured an  order  of  bail:  "1634,  Apr.  24,  John 
Lothrop  enlarged  on  bond  to  appear  in  Trinity 
term,  and  not  to  be  present  at  any  private  con- 
venticles." 

Under  the  date  of  September  18,  1634,  this 
record  is  found  on  page  71  of  Governor  Win- 
throp's  journal:  "'The  Griffin  and  another  ship 
now  arriving  with  about  200  passengers,  Mr. 
Lothrop  and  Mr.  Sims,  two  godly  ministers  com- 
ing in  the  same  ship."  On  reaching  Boston 
with  that  portion  of  his  London  flock  who  had  ac- 
companied him,  he  found  preparations  already 
begun  to  welcome  him  to  a  new  home  in  Scituate. 
On  Monday,  January  29,  1635,  in  a  meeting  for 
worship  held  in  his  own  house,  John  Lothrop 
was  chosen  minister  of  the  town,  and  was  once 
more  inducted  into  the  pastoral  office.     On  Octo- 


ber 11,  1639,  (O.  S.).  with  a  "large  company"  of 
his  people,  he  removed  from  Scituate  to  Barn- 
stable and  founded  a  church  in  that  town  and 
there  closed  his  life  work,  November  8,  1653.  He 
left  a  will  which  he  had  failed  to  sign  and  execute, 
but  the  instrument  was  admitted  to  probate  with- 
out question.  His  second  wife  he  married  while 
living  in  Scituate,  and  her  name  was  Anna. 

Samuel  Lothrop,  seventh  child  of  Rev.  John 
Lothrop,  came  with  his  father  from  England  to 
Scituate,  removed'thence  to  Barnstable,  where  he 
married,  "November  28,  1644,  Elizabeth  Scudder, 
daughter  of  John  Scudder,  and  removed  in  1648 
to  Pequot  (New  London),  Connecticut,  where 
he  was  a  man  of  consequence,  a  "house  builder" 
and  farmer,  prominent  in  affairs  of  the  church, 
and  one  of  the  town  magistrates  "to  settle  causes 
of  differences  between  the  inhabitants."  He  re- 
moved to  Norwich,  1668,  was  constable,  1673  and 
1682,  and  "townsman,"  1685.  These  were  offices 
of  dignity  in  colonial  times.  Samuel  was  twice 
married ;  his  second  wife,  Abigail  Doane,  daugh- 
ter of  Deacon  John  Doane  of  Plymouth,  attained 
the  remarkable  age  of  102  years — 1632- 1734. 
Samuel  Lothrop  died  February  29,  1700. 

Israel  Lathrop,  son  of  Samuel,  born  October, 
1659,  died  March  28,  1733  ;  married  April  8.  1683, 
Rebecca  Bliss,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth 
Bliss,  and  granddaughter  of  Thomas  Bliss,  sen., 
of  Hartford,  Connecticut.  In  Norwich  in  1730 
Israel  Lathrop's  rank  among  the  townsmen  was 
next  to  his  brother  Samuel.  "He  was  a  man  of 
worldly  thrift,  and  had  a  family  of  enterprising 
sons,  who  are  said  to  have  planted  themselves  on 
seven  hills  within  the  old  nine-miles  square  of 
Norwich." 

Benjamin  Lathrop,  son  of  Israel  Lathrop  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth  Bliss,  born  July  31,  1699,  mar- 
ried (first),  November  13,  1718,  Martha  Adgate, 
who  died  March  26,  1739-40;  married  (second), 
June  15,  1741,  Mary  Worthington,  died  August 
4,  1770,  widow  of  Daniel  Jones,  and  daughter  of 
William  Worthington  of  Colchester,  Connecticut, 
and  his  wife,  Mrs.  Mehitable  Horton,  daughter 
of  Isaac  Graves  of  Hatfield,  Massachusetts.  Bv 
his  first  wife  Benjamin  had  ten  children  and  one 
bv  his  second  wife. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


191 


Benjamin  Lathrop,  son  of  Benjamin  Lathrop 
and  his  wife  Martha  Adgate,  born  March  28, 
1721,  died  June  23,  1768;  married  (first),  Eliza- 
beth Hyde,  daughter  of  Daniel  Hyde  and  his  wife 
Abigail  Waters.     He  married  (second),  Huldah 

.       He  settled  in  Franklin,  Connecticut, 

where  he  joined  the  church,  1741. 

Asa  Lathrop,  son  of  Benjamin  Lathrop  and 
his  wife  Martha  Adgate,  born  February  2,  1755, 
died  September  2,  1827;  married  September  17, 
1782,  Alice  Fox  of  Bozrah,  died  September  18, 
1847.  Asa  Lathrop  was  an  early  settler  in  Sus- 
quehanna county,  Pennsylvania  (then  a  part  of 
Luzerne  county),  having  located  there  September 
22,  1803.  Children  of  Asa  Lathrop  and  Alice 
Fox  his  wife :  1  Abigail,  born  February  8, 
1783;  died  March  3,  1790.  2.  James,  born 
June  17,  1785 ;  died  July  6,  1854.  3.  Susan, 
born  November  17,  1787;  died  October  10,  1824. 
4.  Walter,  born  May  12,  1790;  died  January 
19,  1839.  5.  Abigail,  born  June  10,  1793  ;  mar- 
ried Charles  Eddy.  6.  Alice,  born  January  2, 
1795 ;  married  Elisha  Fargo.  7.  Asa,  born 
March  2,  1799;  married Wells,  and  re- 
moved to  Potter  county,  Pennsylvania. 

James  Lathrop,  second  child,  eldest  son,  of 
Asa  Lathrop  and  his  wife  Alice  Fox,  was  born 
in  New  London  count}',  Connecticut,  and  was 
eighteen  years  old  when  he  came  to  live  in  Sus- 
quehanna county.  For  half  a  century  he  lived  in 
the  county,  and  was  himself  an  interesting  part  of 
its  history.  He  builded  well  for  himself,  his  fam- 
ily, and  for  the  community  in  which  he  lived  so 
long.  His  wife  was  Lydia  Luthensia  Burchard, 
born  March  19,  1790,  died  January  22,  1867; 
daughter  of  Israel  and  Lydia  Burchard,  formerly 
of  Granby,  Hampshire  county,  Massachusetts, 
and  who  removed  to  Luzerne  (now  Susque- 
hanna) county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1802.  Their 
children:  1.  An  infant,  born  December  23, 
1809;  died  same  day.  2.  William  Fox,  born 
February  10,  181 1;  married  Emeline  Sproat.  3. 
Austin  Burchard,  born  March  8,  181 3,  died  un- 
married. 4.  Charles  Jacob,  born  June  25,  1815  ; 
married  Laura  Lathrop.  5.  Lydia  Alice,  born 
September   1,   1818;  died  unmarried.     6.     Israel 


Burchard,  born  July  21,  1821  ;  married  Mary  Eliz- 
abeth Bolles,  and  died,  Springville,  Susquehanna 
county,  Pennsylvania,  February  19,  1900.  7.    Su- 
key,  born  February  28,  1826;  died  March  9,  1826. 
Dr.   Israel   Burchard   Lathrop,  born   Susque- 
hanna county,  Pennsylvania,  July  21,  1821,  died 
Springville,   Pennsylvania,    February    19,    1900; 
married,  September,  1845,  Mary  Elizabeth  Bolles, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Bolles,  of  Springville,  Penn- 
sylvania,   and    his   wife    Susan    Beardsley.      Dr. 
Lathrop    spent    his    whole    life    in    Susquehanna 
county,  and  was  for  more  than  half  a  century  one 
of  its  leading  professional  men.  In  many  respects 
he  respected  his  Yankee  ancestry,  and  was  one  of 
the  best  types  of  the  old  family  revealed  in  a  later 
generation.      He    acquired    his    early    education 
chiefly  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  his 
medical   education   in  the   Albany    (New   York) 
Medical  College,  where  he  graduated.     Dr.  Lath- 
rop's  wife,  too,  was  of  good  old  New  England 
stock.     Her  father  was  Andrew  Bolles,  and  her 
mother  was  Susan  Beardsley,  daughter  of  Phil- 
onus  Beardsley,  originally  of  New  London,  Con- 
necticut,   and    his    wife,    Mary    Beach    of    Kent, 
Litchfield  county,   Connecticut.     Children  of  Is- 
rael Burchard  Lathrop  and  his  wife  Mary  Eliza- 
beth  Bolles:     1.     Henry,    born   April   8,    1850; 
died  May,  1853.     2.     Edgar  James,  born  August 
15,   1852.     3.     William  Arthur,  born  August  4, 
1854;   married    March   21,    1881,    Flarriet    Eliza 
Williams,    born    July    26,    1856.       4.       Homer 
Beardsley,  born  May  28,  1856. 

William  Arthur  Lathrop,  C.  E.,  M.  E.,  second 
son  and  child  of  Dr.  Israel  Burchard  Lathrop  and 
his  wife  Mary  Elizabeth  Bolles,  is  a  native  of 
Springville,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  which  town  he 
acquired  his  early  education  and  prepared  for 
college.  He  matriculated  at  Lehigh  University 
in  1871,  and  graduated  in  1875  with  the  degree  of 
C.  E.  He  afterward  took  a  course  in  mining, 
and  received  his  M.  E.  degree  from  the  same  in- 
stitution. He  at  once  entered  the  service  of  the 
Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  Company  in  the  capacity 
of  civil  engineer,  and  was  in  that  employ  until 
about  1879,  when  he  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  and 
was  associated  with  Major  Irving  A.  Stearns,  C. 


192 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


E.,  M.  E. ;  a  relation  which  was  maintained  until 
1 88 1,  when  Mr.  Lathrop  went  to  northern  New 
Jersey  to  take  the  management  of  an  iron  mining 
'  enterprise.  He  next  went  to  Virginia  and  opened 
the  pioneer  coal  mine  in  that  region — the  well 
known  Pocahontas  coal  field,  in  Tazewell  county, 
and  in  connection  with  his  mining  operations 
there  he  also  laid  out  and  built  up  the  town  of 
Pocahontas.  In  June,  1885,  Mr.  Lathrop  returned 
from  Virginia  and  located  at  Snowshoe,  Centre 
county,  Pennsylvania,  having  the  management  of 
the  bituminous  department  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Coal  Company,  in  that  region.  He  returned  to 
Wilkes-Barre  in  February,  1888,  as  superinten- 
dent and  general  manager  of  all  the  coal  produc- 
ing departments  of  the  same  company,  and  so 
continued  until  May,  1902,  when  he  resigned,  and 
was  made  president  of  the  Webster  Coal  and 
Coke  Company,  now  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  and 
Coke  Company,  with  principal  offices  in  Philadel- 
phia. Mr.  Lathrop  has  a  fine  home  in  Dorrance- 
ton,  a  small  residence  borough  above  Kingston, 
opposite  Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  a  trustee  of  Lehigh 
University,  a  director  of  the  People's  Bank  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  the  Fourth  Street  National 
Bank  of  Philadelphia,  a  member  of  the  Univer- 
sity Club  of  Philadelphia,  the  Westmoreland  Club 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Society 
Sons  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  Wyoming  Histor- 
ical and  Geological  Society.  He  married  March 
21,  1881,  Harriet  Eliza  Williams,  born  July  26, 
1856,  daughter  of  Charles  Freeman  Williams  and 
his  wife  Eliza  Campbell  of  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Williams  is  of  an  old  Massachusetts  fam- 
ily, an  ancestor  being  John  Howland,  one  of  the 
"Pilgrim  Fathers,"  who  came  to  America  in  the 
"Mayflower."  He  is  also  a  descendant  of  Richard 
Williams  of  Taunton,  Massachusetts.  Eliza 
Campbell  was  of  Scotch  birth  and  parentage,  and 
came  with  her  father,  William  Campbell,  wid- 
ower, from  Glasgow,  Scotland,  about  1794,  and 
settled  in  Troy,  New  York.  He  was  by  trade  a 
linen  weaver. 

Children  of  William  Arthur  and  Harriet 
(Williams)  Lathrop  were:  Helen,  born  March 
12,  1887;  died  same  day;  Helen,  born  April  24, 
1889.     "C.  of  R."  H.  E.  H. 


FOSTER  FAMILY.  The  Fosters  who  came 
and  settled  in  the  Wyoming  valley  in  1803  were 
from  old  historic  Hubbardton,  in  Vermont,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Green  mountains.  Edward 
Foster,  so  far  as  existing  records  indicate,  was 
the  head  of  this  branch  of  the  family  in  Ver- 
mont. Tradition  says  he  was  of  old  New  Eng- 
land stock,  resident  originally  in  Massachusetts, 
and  a  descendant  of  Puritan  ancestors,  some  of 
whom  served  with  the  colonists  of  the  western 
plantations  in  the  wars  with  the  Indians  from  the 
time  of  the  Pequot  outbreak  to  the  close  of  King 
Philip's  war,  covering  a  period  of  more  than 
forty  years  of  the  seventeenth  century.  By  direct 
relationship  with  the  Nashes  and  Johnsons,  the 
Fosters  are  descended  from  revolutionary  ances- 
tors. It  is  probable  that  either  Edward  Foster  or 
his  father  served  with  Colonel  Seth  Warner  in 
■that  famous  military  organization,  the  "Green 
Mountain  Boys,"  who  fought  through  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  or,  at  a  still  earlier  date,  served  in 
the  same  command  under  Ethan  Allen  in  resist- 
ing the  pretended  authority  of  the  province  of 
New  York  in  its  attempt  to  dispossess  all  the 
Vermont  settlers  who  held  land  titles  under  the 
governor  of  New  Hampshire. 

The  circumstances  of  Edward  Foster's  set- 
tlement in  Vermont  are  not  definitely  known,  but 
it  is  certain  that  he  was  located  in  Hubbardton 
about  the  time  of  the  close  of  the  war  for  Inde- 
pendence. He  there  married,  February  10,  1791, 
Lowly  Nash,  born  December  12,  1760,  died  in 
Wyoming,  October  10,  1852,  daughter  of  Phineas 
Nash  and  his  wife  Mary  Hamlin.  Their  chil- 
dren, all  born  in  Hubbardton,  were :  Samuel, 
March  2,  1793;  James,  November  14,  1794; 
Phineas,  December  26,  1795,  of  whom  later; 
Sally,  born  September  10,  1797;  Lowly,  October 
5>  :799;  Anoca  (perhaps  Hannah,  the  record  be- 
ing quite  indistinct),  September  6,  1801. 

In  1803  Edward  Foster  emigrated  from  Ver- 
mont to  Pennsylvania  and  settled  his  family  on 
lands  in  the  Wyoming  valley,  in  what  is  now 
Jackson,  between  Huntsville  and  Truckville.  He 
was  a  farmer,  prudent  and  thrifty,  and  a  Pres- 
byterian in  religious  preference,  orderly  in  his 
daily  walk,  and  exacting  from  the  members  of  his 


■fe. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


193 


family  and  household  a  strict  obedience  to  all  the 
requirements  of  the  church.  He  died  in  1814, 
and  his  widow  survived  man}'  years,  dying  Octo- 
ber 10,  1852.  Of  the  sons  of  Edward  Foster, 
Phineas  alone  attained  to  mature  years.  He  suc- 
ceeded to  the  home  farm,  and  increased  it  to  more 
than  six  hundred  acres.  Like  his  father,  he 
was  industrious  and  thrifty,  but  more  venture^ 
some  in  business  undertakings.  He  was  fortu- 
nate in  his  dealings,  and  accumulated  a  large 
property  for  his  time.  He  was  interested  in  mer- 
cantile pursuits  both  in  Huntsville  and  Wilkes- 
Barre,  but  the  management  of  these  enterprises 
was  left  to  his  partners.  They  furnished  the  ex- 
perience, he  the  capital  and  business  stability  of 
the  concern,  and  all  profited  by  the  association. 

Phineas  Nash  Foster,  son  of  Edward  and 
Lowly  (Nash)  Foster,  born  December  26,  1795, 
was  an  old-time  Whig,  and  a  man  of  much  in- 
fluence among  his  fellow  townsmen.  For  several 
terms  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  in  which 
office  he  sought  to  dispense  justice  as  well  as  law. 
His  wife  was  Mary  Bailey  Bulford,  widow  of 
Albon  Bulford,  and  daughter  of  Rev.  Jacob  John- 
son, who  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1772,  and  was 
the  first  permanently  located  minister  west  of 
the  Blue  mountains,  in  the  territory  now  com- 
prising the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Johnson 
was  a  Congregationalist,  the  teachings  of  which 
church  were  for  more  than  a  half  century  the 
prevailing  religion  of  the  Wyoming  valley.  He 
was  a  remarkable  man,  especially  influential  with 
the  Indians,  speaking  fluently  the  language  of 
more  than  one  of  the  tribes,  and  was  a  conspic- 
uous figure  on  the  Connecticut  side  through  all 
the  so-called  Pennamite  troubles.  He  died  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  his  monument  bears  the  fol- 
lowing inscription. 

"Rev.  Jacob  Johnson,  A.  M.,  born  at  Wall- 
ingford,  Connecticut,  Apr.  7,  17 13,  died  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  March  15,  1777.  Graduated 
at  Yale  College,  1740;  Pastor  of  Congregational 
Church  (subsequently  First  Presbyterian),  1772- 
1797.  He  made  missionary  journeys  to  the  Six 
Nations,  preaching  in  the  Indian  language.  He 
was  a  firm  and  self-sacrificing  defender  of  the 
was  an  early  and  outspoken  advocate  of  American 

13 


liberty,  and  a  commanding  figure  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  Wyoming.  He  wrote  the  articles  of  capi- 
tulation following  the  destruction  of  the  infant 
settlement  by  the  British  and  Indians  in  1778,  and 
was  a  firm  and  self-sacrificing  defender  of  the 
Connecticut  title  throughout  the  prolonged  land 
contest."     (See  Johnson  Family). 

By  her  first  marriage  with  Mr.  Bulford,  Mrs. 
Foster  had  three  children — Olive  A.,  John  J.,  and 
Lord  Bulford,  all  now  deceased.  The  children  of 
Phineas  Nash  Foster  and  his  wife  Mary  Bailey 
(Bulford)  Foster  were  Charles  Dorrance  Fos- 
ter, and  one  who  died  in  infancy. 

Charles  Dorrance  Foster,  son  of  Phineas 
N.  and  Mary  B.  Foster,  was  born  in  Dallas 
township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  Novem- 
ber 25,  1836.  He  entered  Wyoming  Seminary  at 
Kingston,  and  after  an  academical  course  of 
study  taught  for  one  year  in  this  vicinity,  and 
afterward  for  a  short  time  in  Illinois.  He  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  Lyman  Hakes,  and  on  April 
23,  1861,  was  admitted  to  practice.  This  extends 
to  all  the  state  and  federal  courts,  embracing 
many  important  and  noteworthy  cases,  and  he  is 
widely  known  as  one  of  the  safe,  reliable  and 
successful  lawyers  in  this  portion  of  the  state.  In 
recent  years  he  has  achieved  success  as  a  prac- 
titioner in  the  orphans'  court  of  his  county,  and 
his  practice  in  its  various  departments  has  proven 
large  and  lucrative.  While  giving  diligent  at- 
tention to  his  profession,  Mr.  Foster  has  also 
carefully  cared  for  his  properties.  The  old  home 
farm  of  the  Foster  family  which  was  originally 
settled  upon  by  his  grandfather,  became  his  by  in- 
heritance upon  the  death  of  his  father,  and  has 
been  kept  by  him  to  the  present  day,  having  been 
in  the  ownership  of  the  family  (grandfather, 
father  and  himself)  for  more  than  one  hundred 
years. 

In  addition  to  his  law  practice  and  the  man- 
agement of  his  landed  properties,  Mr.  Foster  is 
interested  in  various  business  affairs.  He  was 
president  of  the  first  street  railway  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  is  a  director  of  the  Wyoming  National 
Bank,  a  director  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
and  Dallas  Turnpike  Company,  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Hunlock  Creek  Turnpike  Company. 


194 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the 
Elks,  Westmoreland  Club.  Malt  Club,  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  State  and  National  Bar  Associations,  the 
Wyi  ming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  the 
State  and  National  Bankers'  Association,  the 
Wyoming  Commemorative  Monumental  Associa- 
tion, and  the  New  England  Society.  He  is  a 
•communicant  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
■and  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church  Club. 
Politically  he  is  a  Republican.  He  was  elected  a 
representative  from  this  district  to  the  legislature 
in  1883-84.  During  the  Civil  war  he  performed 
military  duty  as  a  member  of  the  Home  Guards. 

Mr.  Foster  married,  October  5.  1865.  Alary 
Hoagland,  daughter  of  Amos  Hoagland.  of  New- 
ark, New  Jersey,  a  man  of  influence  and  worth, 
and  a  direct  descendant  of  Dirck  Hanse  Hoog- 
land,  the  first  of  the  name  who  came  to  Amer- 
ica, and  who  commanded  the  vessel  in  which  he 
sailed  from  Holland  to  New  Amsterdam  (New 
York)  in  1667. 

Dirck  Hanse  Hoogland,  Mrs.  Foster's  ances- 
tor, came  from  Maerseveen,  near  the  village  of 
Hoogland,  province  of  Utrecht.  With  his  asso- 
ciates he  was  given  letters  patent  by  Governor 
Stuyvesant  to  found  the  village  of  Breuckelen 
(Brooklyn),  New  York.  The  Brooklyn  and  Flat- 
bush  surface  cars  have  their  passenger  station 
and  stables  on  the  site  of  the  old  Hoogland  home- 
stead. Judge  Hoagland  married  a  daughter  of 
Elijah  Carman,  who  was  a  descendant  of  John 
Carman,  of  Hemel  Hempstead,  Herefordshire, 
England.  He  came  in  the  ship  "Lion,"  with 
Rev.  John  Eliot.  Thomas  Wakeman.  Valentine 
Prentis  and  Richard  Lyman,  and  arrived  at  Rox- 
borough.  Massachusetts.  November  31  1631.  He 
and  nine  others  founded  Sandwich,  Massachu- 
setts, also  Wethersfield  and  Stamford,  Connecti- 
cut. In  1643  John  Carman  and.  John  Goodman 
purchased  from  the  natives  30,000  acres  of  land, 
upon  portions  of  which  Carmansville  and  Hemp- 
stead now  stand.  A  complete  history  and  gen- 
ealogy of  the  Hoagland  family  in  America  was 
published  by  Dr.  Cornelius  Hoagland  and  Mr. 
Riker,  in  1891.  who  were  familiar  with  the  Dutch 
language,  and  transcribed  the  old  records.  These 
show  the  family  to  have  been  Prussian  lords  who 


went  down  into  Holland  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury. Airs.  Foster's  maternal  grandfather  was 
Rev.  George  E.  Fisher,  of  Hempstead,  Long  Is- 
land, a  generous  and  exemplar}-  man. 

Airs.  Foster  is  a  member  of  the  Daughters 
of  the  American  Revolution,  connected  with  a 
chapter  in  Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersey,  where 
lived  her  grandfather,  Judge  Hoagland,  a  judge 
of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  and  also  a  director 
of  the  Trenton  Banking  Company.  She  is  also  a 
member  of  -the  Revolutionary  Memorial  Society, 
the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
the  Holland  Dames,  the  National  Man-  Washing- 
ton Memorial  Association  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, and  McCall  Mission. 

Two  children  have  been  born  to  Air.  and  Airs. 
Foster.  The  elder  and  only  surviving  child  is 
Narcissa  Florence,  who  married  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania.  Dr.  Frank  Thornton  Jenkins,  son 
of  the  late  Thornton  A.  Jenkins,  rear  admiral  U. 
S.  N.,  and  who  served  as  chief  of  staff  to  Admiral 
Farragut  during  the  Civil  war,   1861-65. 

H.  E.  H. 
KULP  FAAIILY.  The  American  ancestor 
of  the  Kolb  (now  known  as  Kulp)  family,  of 
which  George  Brubaker  Kulp,  the  lawyer-author 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  is  descended, 
was  Henry  Kolb,  a  native  of  Wolfsheim,  in  the 
Palatinate  of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  Penn- 
sylvania as  early  as  and  perhaps  earlier  than 
1707.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  Alennonite 
preachers  in  this  country,  and  he  and  his  brothers, 
Alartin  and  Jacob,  were  trustees  of  the  Alennon- 
ite Church  of  Skippack,  the  oldest  church  of  this 
denomination,  save  one,  in  America.  The  ma- 
ternal grandfather  of  these  brothers  was  Peter 
Schumacher,  who  came  to  Pennsylvania,  arriving 
October  16,  1685,  in  the  "Francis  and  Dorothy," 
with  his  children  and  his  cousin.  He  lived  in 
Germantown,  where  he  was  a  man  of  consider- 
able importance  in  the  town  until  his  death  in 
1707.  There  were  four  brothers  Kolb  who  came 
to  America  in  1707,  Henry,  Alartin,  Jacob  and 
John,  all  of  the  Alennonite  Church,  and  three  at 
least  of  them  were  expounders  of  its  teachings. 
In  a  biographical  sketch  of  George  B.  Kulp,  re- 
cently published,  it  is  said    that    "his    ancestors 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


*95 


were  among  the  leaders  of  the  Mennonite  Church, 
the  foundation  of  all  Baptist  organizations. 
They  refused  to  believe  in  infant  baptism  and  in 
the  realism  of  baptism  without  faith  and  repen- 
tance. Dielman  Kolb,  another  brother  of  Henry, 
gave  his  big  brain  and  bigger  endeavour  to  the 
translation  of  "Der  Blutige  Schauplatz,  oder 
Martyrer  Spiegel,"  or  Martyrs'  Mirror.  All  the 
Kolbs  (now  Kulps)  of  the  olden  times  devoted 
their  efforts  to  good  works,  and  from  the  earliest 
settlement- of  Germans  in  Pennsylvania  to  the 
present  time  there  have  been  a  large  number  of 
Mennonite  preachers  of  the  name  of  Kulp,  par- 
ticularly in  the  counties  of  Bucks  and  Montgom- 
ery in  this  state. 

Dielman  Kolb,  of  Wolfsheim,  Germany,  father 
of  Henry  Kolb,  was  born  about  1648;  died  1712, 

and  his  wife  Schumacher,    was    born 

1652,  died  1705.  They  never  came  to  America. 
Peter  Schumacher,  grandfather  of  Henry  Kolb, 
■on  the  maternal  side,  was  born  in  Kriesheim 
(then  written  Kreigsheim),  a  small  village  in  the 
Palatinate,  about  1622. 

Henry  Kolb  came  to  America  in  1707,  and 
settled  in  Germantown,  Pennsylvania ;  in  1709 
he  removed  to  Skippack,  now  in  Montgomery 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  minister  of  the 
Mennonite  Church  at  Skippack.  His  will  is 
dated  February  20,  1724,  and  probated  July  13, 

1730.     His  wife  was  Barbara  ,  and 

his  oldest  son  was  Peter. 

Peter  Kolb  of  Perkiomen  and  Skippack,  the 
oldest  son  of  Henry  Kolb,  was  born  about  1718 
and  died  1748.     His  wife  was  Elizabeth  E.  Kolb. 

Jacob  Kulp,  eldest  son  of  Peter  Kolb,  was 
born  March  7,  1740,  and  died  June  28,  1818.  He 
is  buried  in  the  Mennonite  graveyard  at  Kulps- 
ville,  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania.  His 
marriage  certificate,  by  Quaker  ceremony,  is  in 
the  possession  of  George  Brubaker  Kulp,  a  des- 
cendant, and  is  dated  November  6,  1766;  his  re- 
sidence was  in  Whitpain  township,  county  of 
Philadelphia,  province  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
married  Mary  Clemens,  daughter  of  Abraham 
Clemens,  of  Lower  Salford,  in  the  county  and 
province  aforesaid, 'who  was  a  son    of    Gerhart 


Clemens,  who  came  to  America  in  1709,  and  pur- 
chased 690  acres  of  land  in  Salford,  where  he  re- 
sided. The  wife  of  Abraham  Clemens  was 
Catharine-  Bachman. 

Abraham  Kulp  was  born  in  Kulpsville,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  19,  1770,  and  died  February  11, 
1847,  in  Linden,  Lycoming  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Jacob  Kulp  had  eight  children  of  whom  Abraham 
was  the  eldest  son.  He  was  twice  married,  first, 
Barbara  Sellers,  and  second,  Elizabeth  Wam- 
pole.  Barbara  Sellers  was  a  daughter  of  Leo- 
nard Sellers,  who  resided  in  Hilltown  township, 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died  Au- 
gust 24,  1805,  and  granddaughter  of  Philip  Henry 
Soller  (now  written  Sellers),  who  came  to 
America  from  Weinheim,  Germany,  in  the  ship 
"James  Goodwill,"  from  Rotterdam,  September 
11,  1728,  with  his  wife  and  four  children.  He 
settled  first  near  Skippack,  Montgomery  county, 
and  afterwards  permanently  at  Sellersville,  in 
Bucks  county,  where  he  was  owner  of  a  consid- 
erable tract  of  land.  The  Sellers  were  a  promi- 
nent family  in  this  state  both  in  its  civil  and  poli- 
tical history. 

Eli  Sellers  Kulp,  second  son  of  Abraham  Kulp 
and  wife  Barbara  Sellers,  was  born  near  Kulps- 
ville, Pennsylvania,  February  2,  1800,  and  died  at 
St.  Georges,  Delaware,  July  6,  1849,  married, 
first,  in  1820,  in  Ithaca,  New  York,  Sarah  Ward, 
born  in  Mansfield,  Suffolk  county,  New  York, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Ward;  married  (second)  Sus- 
anna Breneiser,  born  in  Adamstown,  Pennsylva- 
nia, October  3,  1809;  daughter  of  Samuel  Brenei- 
ser and  his  wife  Susanna  Barbara  Schwartz.  She 
died  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  July  26.  1896. 
Samuel  Breneiser  was  a  son  of  John  Valentine 
Breneiser,  who  came  to  America  from  Germany 
in  1730.  Susanna  Barbara  Schwartz  was  a 
daughter  of  George  Schwartz,  born  in  Oley, 
Pennsylvania,  August  19,  1752,  and  died  in  Read- 
ing, Pennsylvania,  in  1832,  and  Elizabeth  Nein, 
his  wife,  born  in  Oley,  February  4,  1759,  died  in 
1805.  Eli  Sellers  Kulp  was  a  teacher  by  profes- 
sion, and  one  of  the  leading  educators  of  his  day. 
His  heart  was  in  his  work,  and  he  gave  time  and 
energy  to  his  duties    regardless    of  the  meagre 


196 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


compensation  awarded  him.  He  was  connected 
with  the  first  Teachers'  Association  of  New  Cas- 
tle county,  Delaware,  the  first  association  in  the 
state,  as  its  president,  and  when  he  died  the 
teachers  of  New  Castle  county  attested  their  re- 
gard for  him  by  the  adoption  of  appropriate 
resolutions. 

George  Brubaker  Kulp  (of  Eli  Sellers,  Abra- 
ham, Jacob,  Peter,  Henry,  Dielman)  was  born 
at  Reamstown,  Pennsylvania,  February  11,  1839, 
lawyer,  historian,  biographer,  and  editor  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  was  left  an  orphan 
at  the  age  of  ten  years,  and  from  childhood  was 
compelled  to  make  his  own  way  in  life.  He  be- 
gan by  working  on  the  canals  and  railroads 
wherever  and  at  whatever  he  could  find  to  do. 
His  leisure  time  was  devoted  to  study,  and  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  years  he  began  teaching  in  a 
village  school.  In  1858  he  removed  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  read  law 
there  with  Lyman  Hakes,  Esq.,  and  was  admitted 
to  practice  in  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  Au- 
gust 20,  i860.  He  then  became  law  partner  with 
the  late  Hon.  W.  G.  Ward,  of  Scranton,  Lack- 
awanna county,  Pennsylvania,  the  firm  style  be- 
ing Ward  and  Kulp.  In  October,  i860,  he  was 
elected  register  of  wills  of  Luzerne  county,  was 
re-elected  in  1863,  a°d  served  in  that  office  six 
years.  He  was  school  director  in  Wilkes-Barre 
from  1865  to  1876,  assistant  assessor  of  internal 
revenue  from  1867  to  1869,  member  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  city  council  from  1876  to  1882. 

In  January,  1872,  Mr.  Kulp  established  the 
Luzerne  Legal  Register,  a  law  publication,  of 
which  he  was  the  owner  and  editor  until  Janu- 
ary, 1904.  In  February,  1877,  with  Joseph  K. 
Bogert,  he  founded  The  Leader,  a  weekly  Demo- 
cratic newspaper,  which  in  1870  absorbed  the 
Luzerne  Union,  and  became  the  Union  Leader, 
now  the  Wilkes-Barre  Leader.  A  daily  edition 
was  issued  in  October,  that  year.  Mr.  Kulp  re- 
tired from  this  branch  of  journalistic  work  in 
1880.  He  is  author  of  a  'Digest  of  Titles  of 
Local  Laws  and  Titles  of  Corporations  in  Lu- 
zerne County  from  1700  to  1874,"  also  "Rules 
of  the   Court  of   Common   Pleas,   Quarter   Ses- 


sions, Oyer  and  Terminer,  and  Orphans'  Court  of 
Luzerne  County,"  the  last  edition  of  which  ap- 
peared in  1894;  also  "Families  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley,  Biographical,  Genealogical,  and  Histor- 
ical," in  three  volumes,  also  of  the  historical  es- 
says, "Indians,  Teedyuscung,  First  Settlement  of 
Wilkes-Barre,"  "Old  Forge,  Early  Methodism," 
"Coal  and  its  Antiquity,  Discovery  and  Early 
Development  in  the  Wyoming  Valley,"  "Sab- 
bath and  Sunday  Legislation."  He  was  the  edi- 
tor and  publisher  of  the  Luzerne  Legal  Register 
for  thirty-two  years,  up  to  January,  1904.  Other 
notable  works  are  his  "In  Memoriam,  John  Stew- 
art, Elizabeth  A.  Stewart,"  1890,  and  "Life  and. 
Character  of  George  W.  Woodward,"  1875.  He 
also  edited  and  published  eleven  volumes  of 
"Kulp's  Luzerne  Legal  Register  Reports."  Mr. 
Kulp  is  an  active  member  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society,  and  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania German  Society. 

George  Brubaker  Kulp  was  married  on  Oc- 
tober 4,  1864,  by  Rev.  Reuben  Nelson,  D.  D.,  to. 
Mary  E.  Stewart,  daughter  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth A.  Stewart,  of  Lackawanna,  Pennsylvania. 
She  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre  (now  Plains) 
township,  March  6,  1844.  Their  children  are  as 
follows : 

1.  John  Stewart  Kulp,  M.  D.,  Ph.  D.,  bora 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  March  8,  1866; 
educated  at  the  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  Yale 
College,  and  in  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  graduating  in  1889 ; 
took  a  post-graduate  course  in  1890.  Studied 
medicine  in  the  University  of  Berlin,  Germany, 
in  1891-92,  and  is  a  surgeon  in  the  United 
States  Army  with  the  rank  of  major.  He  served, 
in  the  Spanish-American  war  and  in  the  Phil- 
lipine  insurrection  as  surgeon  of  the  Twenty- 
second  Regiment  United  States  Infantry,  and  in. 
the  Ambulance  Company,  First  Division,  Third 
Corps.  He  took  part  in  General  Wheaton's  ex- 
pedition along  the  Pasig,  General  MacArthur's 
advance  on  Malolar,  General  Lawton's  northern 
expedition,  and  various  other  skirmishes.  He  is. 
now  stationed  at  Cebu,  Philippine  Islands.  He  is. 
a  member  of  various  hereditary  and  military  so-- 


"\:u 


(SH@K©£    ®o  \KULPo 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


197 


•cieties,  and  is  author  of  several  monograms  on 
medico-military  subjects.  He  was  married 
March  21,  1904,  to  Zoe  Worthington  Smith,  of 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  by  his  cousin,  Rev. 
George  H.  Lorah,  D.  D.  Zoe  Worthington  Smith 
Kulp  was  the  daughter  of  the  late  Henry  Worth- 
ington Smith. 

2.  George  Ernest  Kulp,  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August  29,  1868,  died  July 
14,  1869. 

3.  Harry  Eugene  Kulp ;  see  sketch  following. 

4.  Mary  Estelle  Kulp,  born  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
March  30,  1873,  died  February  13,  1906.  She 
married,  June  26,  1894,  Frederick  A.  Metzger,  a 
merchant  of  Bedford,  Pennsylvania ;  their  chil- 
dren are  as  follows:  1.  Elizabeth  Stewart  Metz- 
ger, born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August 
19,  1895.  2-  George  Brubaker  Kulp  Metzger, 
born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  June  26, 
1897.  3.  Margaret  Andrews  Metzger,  born  in 
Bedford,  Pennsylvania,   November  24,    1899. 

5.  Howard  Olin  Kulp,  born  September  29, 
1876,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  died  De- 
cember 18,  1876. 

6.  Leroy  Kulp,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, May  13,  1879,  died  September  11,  1879. 

John  Stewart,  father  of  the  late  John  Stew- 
art, of  Scranton,  was  born  June  1,  1768.  He 
resided  in  Lancaster  or  Dauphin  counties  until 
1802,  when  with  the  rest  of  the  family  he  re- 
moved to  Philadelphia,, Pennsylvania.  He  was  a 
merchant  there  for  many  years,  but  owing  to  the 
war  of  18 12  and  endorsements  for  friends  he  lost 
the  greater  part  of  his  fortune.  Bi  1823  he  re- 
moved to  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died 
April  9,  1829.  He  married  in  1806,  in  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  Jane  Stuart,  who  was  also 
born  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  in  1782.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  Robert  Stuart,  and  his  wife,  Nancy 
Aker.  Her  parents  died  in  1789,  and  in  1795 
she  came  to  Philadelphia  with  her  sisters.  She 
died  November  1,  1846,  at  Lackawanna,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

John  Stewart,  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  was 
a  son  of  John  Stewart  and  his  wife,  Jane  Stuart. 
He  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  February  8,   1820, 


and  died  in  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  April  10, 
1900.  He  was  one  of  the  active,  stirring,  indus- 
trious men  of  Lackawanna  Valley.  He  was  mar- 
ried by  Rev.  Roger  Moister  in  December,  1842, 
to  Elizabeth  A.  Williams,  daughter  of  the  late 
Ezra  Williams,  of  Wilkes-Barre  (now  Plains) 
township,  and  his  wife,  Mary  Black,  daughter  of 
Henry  Black,  of  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Elizabeth  A.  Stewart,  his  wife,  was  born  in 
Wilkes-Barre  (now  Plains)  township,  February 
28,  1819,  and  died  April  8,  1900,  at  Scranton, 
Pennsylvania. 

Ezra  Williams  was  a  descendant  of  Robert 
Williams,  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  who  emi- 
grated to  this  countrv  from  England  in  1637. 
Ellis  speaks  of  him  as  "one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential men  in  town  affairs,"  and  Farmer  calls 
him  "the  common  ancestor  of  the  divines,  civ- 
ilians and  warriors  of  the  name  who  have  hon- 
ored the  country  of  their  birth."  His  wife  Eliza- 
beth died  July  28,  1674,  aged  eighty  years;  he 
died  at  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  September  1, 
1693,  aged  one  hundred  years. 

Thomas  Williams,  son  of  Robert  and  Eliza- 
beth Williams,  was  born  in  Roxbury,  about  1643, 
It  is  not  known  at  what  time  he  removed  to  Fair- 
field. He  was  a  mariner  and  sea-captain.  His 
wife  was  Ruth  Bradley,  daughter  of  Francis 
Bradley. 

Sergeant  David  Williams,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Ruth  Williams,  was  born  at  Greenfield  Hill, 
Connecticut,  May  9,  1689,  married  October  8, 
1719,  Dorothy  Sturges,  born  August  28,  1700, 
daughter  of  John  Sturges,  son  of  John  Sturges, 
the  settler,  whose  wife  was  Deborah,  daughter 
of  John  Barlow,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of 
Fairfield.     David  Williams  died  April,  1752. 

Thaddeus  Williams,  son  of  Sergeant  David 
Williams  and  Dorothy  Williams,  his  wife,  was 
born  at  Greenfield  Hill,  March  21,  1722,  married 
November  28,  1747,  Frances  Case,  born  at  East 
Greenwich,  Rhode  Island,  July  17,  1727,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Case  and  his  wife,  Frances  Davis, 
daughter  of  William  Davis,  by  his  second  mar- 
riage. He  removed  to  the  Wyoming  Valley  at 
an  early  date.     He  was  driven  from  the  vallev  at 


198 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


the  time  of  the  battle  and  massacre  in  1778.  His 
house  and  barn  were  burned  by  the  enemy,  his 
cattle  stolen,  his  harvest  almost  entirely  de- 
stroyed, a  spot  here  and  there  by  chance  only 
preserved.  He  afterward  returned  and  resided 
in  Wilkes-Barre  and  Exeter.  He  died  April  11, 
1796.     His  wife  Frances  died  in  August,   181 5. 

Sergeant  Thomas  Williams,  son  of  Thad- 
deus  and  Frances  Williams,  was  born  in  Green- 
field Hill,  January  28,  1757.  He  was  a  conspic- 
uous character  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Fired  by  the  love  of  liberty,  participating  with 
the  patriotic  spirits  of  that  day  who  were  indig- 
nant at  the  encroachments  of  England  on  the 
rights  of  America,  he  was  among  the  first  that 
joined  the  standard  of  his  country  when  the  re- 
cruiting banner  was  unfurled  by  order  of  the 
Continental  Congress.  In  1782  Thomas  Will- 
iams married  Elizabeth  Robinson,  who  was  born 
in  Greenfield  Hill,  November  18,  1764,  daughter 
of  Jonathan  Robinson,  of  Bethel,  Connecticut, 
by  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Canfield,  whom  he 
married,  April  14,  1763.  He  died  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  township,  November  12,  1839. 

Isaac  Williams,  a  lad  of  seventeen  years,  who 
was  killed  and  scalped  by  the  Indians,  July  18, 
1778,  and  to  whom  a  monument  was  recently 
erected,  was  a  brother  of  Thomas  Williams,  and 
a  son  of  Thaddeus  Williams. 

Ezra  Williams,  son  of  Sergeant  Thomas 
Williams  and  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  was  .the  mater- 
nal grandfather  of  Mrs.  George  B.  Kulp.  He 
was  a  native  of  Wilkes-Barre  township,  where 
he  was  born  September  24,  1791.  He  died  Sep- 
tember 21,  1844.  He  married  in  February,  181 7, 
Mary  Black,  who  was  born  February  27,  1792, 
and  died  July  10,  1869. 

HARRY  EUGENE  KULP,  son  of  George 
Brubaker  Kulp  and  Mary  E.  Kulp,  was  born  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  February  11,  1870.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  at 
Harry  Hillman  and  Keystone  academies,  and  the 
Pennsylvania  State  College.  After  leaving  school 
he  conducted  farming  and  stock  dealing  at  La- 
Plume,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  continued  two 
years,    and    then    moved    to    Rhendham,  Penn- 


sylvania, and  there  engaged  in  buying  and 
selling  horses  and  mules.  This  business  he 
followed  for  three  years,  when  he  sold  out 
and  removed  to  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  and 
opened  an  office  in  Wilkes-Barre  as  a  detective. 
In  1900  he  removed  his  residence  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  where  he  has  since  resided.  As  his  busi- 
ness increased  he  found  his  quarters  much  too- 
small,  and  in  1904  moved  to  his  commodious  offi- 
ces in  the  Bennett  building,  which  were  especially 
fitted  up  for  his  business.  He  employs  a  number 
of  men  and  enjoys  a  well  merited  patronage. 

Not  only  has  Mr.  Kulp  been  successful  in  his- 
chosen  profession,  but  he  has  also  taken  an  inr 
terest  in  public  and  military  affairs.  He  was. 
among  the  first  to  volunteer  from  Wilkes-Barre 
in  the  Cuban  war  joining  Company  D,  Ninth 
Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  with  which 
regiment  he  remained  until  discharged  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  has  always  taken  an  active 
interest  in  political  matters,  and  when  only 
twenty-two  years  of  age  was  appointed  postmas- 
ter at  LaPlume,  Lackawanna  county,  probably 
the  youngest  postmaster  in  the  L'nited  States. 
One  of  the  secrets  of  Mr.  Kulp's  success  in  addi- 
tion to  his  natural  ability  is  his  genial  nature. 
While  firm  and  decisive,  he  is  never  abrupt,  but 
with  a  cordial  grasp  of  good-fellowship  he  readily 
makes  friends  with  those  with  whom  he  comes  in 
contact. 

Mr.  Kulp  married  June  1,  1892,  Hetty  D. 
Brower,  of  Factoryville,  Pennsylvania,  daughter 
of  Nicholas  O.  Brower,  a  native  of  Factoryville, 
and  Mary  (Moore)  Brower.  The  paternal 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  Kulp  was  John  Brower,  a 
native  of  Rhode  Island.  His  wife  was  Jane  Rey- 
nolds, a  daughter  of  Beriah  Reynolds,  whose  wife 
was  Laura  Baker.  Beriah  Reynolds  was  a  de- 
scendant of  James  Reynolds,  born  May  13.  1625, 
probably  in  England.  He  settled  in  North  Kings- 
ton, Rhode  Island,  where  he  died  in  1702.  His 
descendants  were  Joseph,  who  had  a  son  Joseph, 
Jr.,  who  had  a  son  George,  who  had  a  son,  Cap-" 
tain  Robert  Reynolds,  born  in  1736  at  Exeter, 
Rhode  Island.  He  married,  January  20.  1757, 
Eunice  Waite,  daughter  of  Tohn  Waite,  who  died 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


199 


in  1806.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the"  Colonial  and 
Revolutionary  wars.  Robert  Reynolds  left  Exe- 
ter in  1790  to  seek  a  home  in  the  wilderness  of 
northeastern  Pennsylvania.  After  weeks  of 
travel  through  the  pathless  forests  thev  ar- 
rived in  Abington,  near  Factoryv.ille,  Luzerne 
count}',  Pennsylvania.  He  and  two  companions 
were  the  first  white  men  to  view  the  hills  of  Ab- 
ington. Solomon  Reynolds,  son  of  Captain 
Robert  Reynolds  and  his  wife  Eunice,  was  born 
in  Exeter,  Rhode  Island,  September  14,  1771, 
married  Frances  Xorthup,  and  died  in  Abington, 
December  25,  1852.  Solomon  Reynolds  was  the 
father  of  Beriah  Reynolds. 

The  mother  of  Mrs.  Kulp  was  Mary  Moore, 
daughter  of  Hampton  Moore,  a  native  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  who  settled  near  Factory- 
ville  in  1817.  The  wife  of  Hampton  Moore  was 
Hannah  Capwell,  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Cap- 
well,  both  natives  of  Rhode  Island.  In  a  paper 
read  at  a  family  reunion,  W.  H.  Capwell,  Esq., 
says,  "From  all  I  can  learn  the  name  of  Capwell 
comes  from  the  French,  but  as  there  is  no  'w'  in 
the  French  alphabet  I  do  not  know  how  they  spell 
the  name,  whether  it  was  "Capell,"  or  "Chap- 
elle,"  or  "Capouille."  However  it  may  have  been 
all  now  agree  in  spelling  it  in  the  same  way,  Cap- 
well."  Two  brothers,  sailors  it  is  said,  landed 
from  a  French  ship  in  Rhode  Island  some  con- 
siderable time  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
from  these  two  men  the  present  Capwell  families 
in  America  have  descended.  Stephen  Capwell 
was  born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1745.  He  was  of 
middle  size,  an  active  man,  and  as  near  as  can  be 
learned  a  small  farmer,  who  supplemented  his 
farm  by  sailing  on  coasting  ships  as  opportunity 
offered.  Two  of  his  sons  became  sailors,  and 
continued  in  that  vocation  during  their  lives,  and, 
to  get  away  from  the  sea  in  the  summer  and  fall 
of  1799,  Stephen  Capwell,  his  wife  Hannah  and 
his  remaining  family,  put  their  affairs  in  shape  to 
follow  their  neighbors,  the  Reynolds  to  the  new 
El  Dorado,  "away  out  west"  in  Pennsylvania.  He 
settled  in  Abington,  near  what  is  now  Factorv- 
ville,  and  died  in  February,  1817.  The  Reynolds 
and  Capwell  family  did  much  towards  developing 


Factoryville  and  adding  to  its  natural  beauty. 
Mrs.  Kulp  was  educated  at  Keystone  Academy  in 
Factoryville. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kulp  had  the  following  chil- 
dren: 1.  George  Brower  Kulp,  born  July  29,, 
1895,  died  July  30,  1896,  at  Rhendham,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 2.  John  Stewart  Kulp,  born  at  Wyoming,, 
Pennsylvania,  May  7,  1900.  3.  Helen  Estelle 
Kulp,"  born  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  April 
26,  1904. 

BRODHEAD  FAMILY.  Ancestors  of  the 
Brodhead  family  are  said  to  have  emigrated  from 
Germany  to  England  and  settled  in  Yorkshire 
during  the  reign  of  Henry  YIII.  In  the  parish 
records  at  Royston,  which  are  nearly  perfect  from 
1530,  the  surname  is  spelled  "Brodhead"  until 
about  1640,  when  it  began  to  be  written  "Broad- 
head,"  as  it  is  still  spelled  by  members  of  the  fam- 
ily in  England. 

(I)  Captain  Daniel  Brodhead,  the  ancestor 
of  the  American  branch  of  the  family,  was  a  kins- 
man of  John  Brodhead,  of  Burton,  (or  Monk 
Bretton),  West  Riding,  Yorkshire.  Daniel  was 
born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  and  married  Ann 
Tye,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Lettos  (Salmon) 
Tye.  She  married  (second)  1674,  William  Not- 
tingham, lieutenant  of  Captain  Daniel  Brodhead's 
company.  He  died  January  1,  1680.  She  mar- 
ried (third)  Thomas  Gaston,  judge  of  common 
pleas,  Lister  county,  New  York.    Ann  died  1714. 

Captain  Brodhead  accompanied  the  expedi- 
tion sent  out  from  England  in  1664  under  Colonel 
Richard  Nicholss  by  the  Duke  of  York  to  secure 
the  royal  grant  of  Charles  II  and  make  a  con- 
quest of  New  Amsterdam  and  the  other  Dutch 
possessions  in  the  New  Netherlands.  He  was 
captain  of  the  British  grenadiers,  took  part  in  the 
proceedings  that  led  to  the  Dutch  capitulation, 
was  present  at  the  surrender,  and  in  the  next 
year,  September  14,  1665,  was  appointed  com- 
mander of  the  British  post  at  Esopus,  near  Kings- 
ton, Ulster  county,  New  York,  where  he  died 
July  14,  1667.  Captain  Daniel  and  Ann  (Tye) 
Brodhead  had:  1.  Daniel  Brodhead,  born  1661, 
died  1705.     2.     Ensign  Charles  Brodhead,  born 


200 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


1663,  married  Maria  Ten  Broeck.  3.  Richard 
Brodhead,  born  1666,  see  later. 

(II)  Captain  Richard  Brodhead,  son  of 
Daniel  and  Ann  (Tye)  Brodhead,  born  Marble- 
town,  New  York,  1666,  died  1758;  married,  April 
19,  1692,  Magdalena  Jansen,  died  1701.     Family 

records  and  tradition  give  no  satisfactory  account 
of  this  Richard  Brodhead.  It  is  known,  how- 
'ever,  that  he  held  a  captain's  commission  in  the 
Ulster  county  militia  in  1728,  and  it  is  probable 
that  he  took  some  part  in  quelling  the  Indian  up- 
risings about  the  time  of  Queen  Anne's  war. 
Richard  and  Magdalena  Brodhead  had  a  son : 

(III)  Captain  Daniel  Brodhead,  born  Mar- 
bletown,  April  20,  1693,  died  Bethlehem,  Pennsyl- 
vania, July  22,  1753 ;  married,  September  19, 
1719,  Hester  Wyngart,  baptized  March  14,  1697, 
daughter  of  Lieutenant  Gerrit  Lucas  Wyngart 
and  his  wife  Sarah  Visscher,  daughter  of  Har- 
man  and  Hester  (Tjerkse)  Visscher,  son  of 
Bastian.  This  Daniel  Brodhead,  who  also  was 
Captain  Daniel,  of  rank  the  same  as  his  father  and 
grandfather,  removed  to  Pennsylvania  in  1737 
and  brought  one  thousand  acres  of  land  at 
Stroudsburg,  and  was  proprietor  of  Brodhead 
manor,  Northampton  county.  In  Marbletown, 
IMew  York,  he  had  served  first  as  private,  then 
lieutenant,  and  later  was  promoted  captain.  In 
Pennsylvania  he  was  justice  of  the  peace  in 
Bucks  county,  1747-49.  He  died  in  Bethlehem 
while  under  treatment  for  some  physical  afflic- 
tion. This  Daniel  had  been  a  merchant  at  Al- 
bany, New  York,  as  early  as  1726,  and  in  1730 
was  "licensed  trader"  among  the  Indians.  In 
Pennsylvania  he  built  the  town  of  Dansbury, 
which  was  named  for  him.  He  united  with  the 
Moravian  Church.  Daniel  and  Hester  (Wyn- 
gart) Brodhead  had:  1.  Thomas  Gaston,  born 
1723,  died  at  sea.  2.  Garret  Lucas,  born  1724. 
3.  Richard  B.,  born  1726.  4.  Ann  Gaston, 
born  October  1,  1727.  5.  Charles,  born  Sep- 
tember 7,  1729.  He  was  sent  in  1755  with  a  mes- 
sage from  the  governor  to  the  Indians  of  the  Wy- 
oming valley,  accompanied  by  Aaron  Dupuv.  In 
November,  1755,  he  visited  the  aged  Shawanese 
chief,  Paxinos,  in  the  Valley,  who  urged  him 
to  secure  the  allesriance  of  the  Vallev  Indians  to 


the  English  by  presents.  His  message  was  sent 
to  the  governor  and  he  empowered  him  to  visit 
the  Indians,  but  before  he  arrived  Teedyuscung 
had  attacked  the  Delaware  country  (see  Penn- 
sylvania Colonial  Records,  VI,  751-4;  VII,  326- 
8),  destroying  the  Brodhead's  and  Dupuv's  plan- 
tation. 6.  Garret  (2d),  born  January  21,  1733, 
see  forward.  7.  Daniel,  born  October  17,  1736, 
died  November  15,  1809,  of  whom  later.  8.  Luke, 
born  1737,  died  June  19,  1806.  Luke  Brodhead 
was  another. of  this  family  who  is  numbered 
among  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution.  He  was 
an  infant  when  his  brother  removed  to  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  enlisted  in  the  spring  of  1776  as  third 
lieutenant,  First  American  rifle  regiment,  Colonel 
William  Thompson  commanding;  appointed  sec- 
ond lieutenant  October  24,  1776,  Major  Simon 
Williams'  regiment ;  wounded  and  taken  prisoner 
at  battle  of  Long  Island ;  commissioned  captain 
Sixth  Pennsylvania  regiment,  under  Colonel  Ma- 
gaw,  in  Continental  service ;  retired  from  service, 
1778,  incapacitated  by  wounds;  married  Elizabeth 
Harrison,  of  Bridesburg,  Pennsylvania.  One  of 
his  sons,  Rev.  John  Brodhead,  was  an  eminent 
Methodist  divine. 

( IV)  Lieutenant  Garret  Brodhead,  sixth 
child  of  Captain  Daniel  and  Hester  (Wyngart) 
Brodhead,  born  Marbletown,  Ulster  county,  New 
York,  January  31,  1733,  died  Stroudsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, 1840;  married,  March  15,  1759,  Jane 
Davis.  He  enlisted  in  the  New  York  Colonial 
troops  as  sergeant  April  .4,  1758;  promoted  lieut- 
enant Second  regiment,  Ulster  county  troops, 
1760.  He  located  in  Smithfield  township,  North- 
ampton county,  Pennsylvania,  1770-72,  as  he  was 
taxed  there  in  1772,  "Garret  Brodhead,  £7,  10s," 
and  in  1785,  £5,  4s,  8d  for  six  hundred  acres  of 
land,  five  horses,  seven  cattle.  He  was  in  service 
on  'the  frontier  during  the  Revolution,  and  held 
a  lieutenant's  commission.  Lieutenant  Garret 
and  Jane  (Davis)  Brodhead  had  children:  1. 
John,  born  March  3,  1766,  died  September  5, 
1821.  2.  Daniel,  died  unmarried.  3.  Rich- 
ard, born  July  31,  1772,  of  whom  later.  4. 
George,  died  unmarried.  5.  Elizabeth,  born 
1775,  died  1802;  married  Dr.  Francis  Joseph 
Smith.     6.    Rachel    born    1787,    married    David 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


201 


Dills.    7.    Samuel,   born    1779,   married   Hannah 
Shoemaker. 

(IV)  Brigadier  General  Daniel  Brodhead, 
seventh  child  of  Captain  Daniel  and  Hester 
( Wyngart)  Brodhead,  born  September  17,  1736, 
died  November  15,  1809.  He  was  one  of  the 
famous  heroes  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  born 
probably  at  Albany,  but,  as  his  father  made  sev- 
eral changes  in  residence  during  his  early  mar- 
ried life,  the  place  of  Daniel's  birth  is  uncertain. 
In  1737  he  removed  to  Pennsylvania,  settling  at 
what  is  now  East  Stroudsburg,  Monroe  county, 
where  Daniel  grew  up  amid  the  wild  surround- 
ings of  the  frontier  of  white  settlement,  and 
where,  December  11,  1755,  he  first  met  the  In- 
dians in  warfare,  when  they  made  a  savage  but 
unsuccessful  attack  on  the  Brodhead  house  and 
its  hastily  prepared  defenses.  In  1775  he  re- 
moved to  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  soon 
afterward  appointed  deputy  surveyor  under  John 
Lukens,  then  surveyor-general  of  the  province. 
In  July,  1775,  he  was  appointed  delegate  from 
Berks  county  to  the  provincial  convention  in  Phil- 
adelphia, and  early  next. year  was  appointed  lieut- 
enant-colonel of  a  rifle  regiment,  and  rendez- 
voused at  Marcus  Hook,  with  orders  to  support 
the  American  vessels  on  the  Delaware  in  resist- 
ing the  British  attempt  to  attack  Philadelphia  by 
water.  Later  he  was  sent  with  his  command  to 
join  the  Continental  forces  in  New  York,  and 
upon  the  capture  of  Colonel  Miles,  at  Long  Is- 
land, the  command  of  the  remnant  of  the  battalion 
devolved  upon  Brodhead.  He  then  went  to  his 
home  on  sick  leave,  and  rejoined  the  army  as 
colonel  of  the  Eighth  regiment.  He  made  many 
important  treaties  with  the  Indians,  transacted 
business  with  the  heads  of  the  federal  and  state 
governments,  and  proved  himself  in  every  respect 
one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  day.  On  the  re- 
organization of  the  army  in  1781,  he  was  made 
colonel  of  the  First  regiment,  his  commission  dat- 
ing from  September  29,  1776,  and  later  date  ap- 
pears to  have  been  commissioned  brigadier-gen- 
eral. He  was  elected  to  the  assembly ;  was  ap- 
pointed surveyor-general  of  the  state  in  1789, 
serving  in  that  capacity  eleven  years.  He  died 
•in  Milford,   Pike  county.     He    married     (first) 


Elizabeth  Depui ;  two  children :  Daniel  and  Ann 
Gaston;  (second)  Rebecca,  widow  of  General 
and  Governor  Thomas  Mifflin. 

(V)  Richard  Brodhead,  third  son  of  Lieut- 
enant Garret  and  Jane  (Davis)  Brodhead,  born 
Stroudsburg,  July  31,  1772,  died  Milford,  Penn- 
sylvania, November  11,  1843;  married,  1790, 
Hannah  Drake,  born  November  15,  1769,  died 
July  31,  1832,  daughter  of  Captain  Samuel 
Drake.  Richard  Brodhead  was  the  first  of  his 
family  in  direct  descent  from  the  American  an- 
cestor who  did  not  lay  claim  to  a  military  title  or 
boast  of  prowess  in  the  Indian  wars  or  the  Re- 
volution ;  but  this  was  because  he  was  too  young 
to  bear  arms  during  the  latter  contest.  He  was, 
however,  an  officer  of  the  state  militia  during  the 
second  war  with  Great  Britain.  He  has  been  de- 
scribed as  "a  man  of  splendid  physique,  over  six 
feet  tall,  and  of  a  stern  and  serious  character." 
He  was  sheriff  of  Wayne  county,  1798;  member 
of  the  legislature,  1802-03  ;  associate 'judge  eleven 
years ;  revenue  collector  for  Wayne  and  Pike 
counties,  181 2-1 5  ;  postmaster  seven  years  ;  major 
Second  battalion,  Pennsylvania  militia;  protho- 
notary  Pike  county,  1821 ;  county  commissioner, 
1835-36,  and  county  auditor.  Richard  and  Han- 
nah (Drake)  Brodhead  had:  1.  Sarah,  born 
1791,  married  John  Westbrook.  2.  Garret  B., 
Jr.,  born  December  2,  1793,  of  whom  later.  3. 
William,  born  1795,  married,  February  6,  1816, 
Susan  Coolbaugh.  4.  Jane,  born  1797,  mar- 
ried Moses  S.  Brundage.  5.  Albert  Gallatin, 
born  1799,  married  Ellen  Middaugh.  6.  Anna 
Maria,  born  February  14,  1801,  died  March  14, 
1868 ;  married  John  Seaman.  7.  Charles,  born 
August  4,  1805,  died  September  5,  183 1 ;  married 
Mary  Brown.  8.  Rachel,  born  January  5, 
1803 ;  married  Dr.  John  J.  Linderman.  9.  Rich- 
ard, born  January  5,  181 1,  died  September  17, 
1863  ;  married  Mary  Jane  Bradford.  10.  Eliza- 
beth, born  1814,  died  young.  II.  Elizabeth 
(2d),  died  in  infancy. 

(VI)  Garret  Brodhead,  Jr.,  eldest  son  of 
Richard  and  Hannah  (Drake)  Brodhead,  born 
December  2,  1793,  died  East  Mauch  Chunk, 
Pennsylvania,  January  8,  1872 ;  married,  Novem- 
ber 25,  1813,  Cornelia  Dingman,  born  October  3, 


202 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


1797,  died  June  18,  1883,  daughter  of  Daniel  W. 
and  Mary  (Westbrook)  Dingman.  Cornelia 
Dingman  was  the  eldest  of  three  children  (Cor- 
nelia, Martinus  and  Andries)  of  Daniel  W.  Ding- 
man, born  July  28,  1774,  died  1862,  and  wife  Mary 
Westbrook,  born  November  16,  1774,  died  1852. 
Daniel  W.  Dingman  was  the  elder  of  two 
children  (Daniel  W.  and  Cornelia)  of  Andrew 
Dingman,  born  Wayne  county,  Pennsylvania, 
September  30,  1753,  died  Pike  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1839,  and  wife  Jane  Westbrook,  born  April 
9>  1/55-  Jane  Westbrook,  who  married  Andrew 
Dingman,  was  a  daughter  of  Johannes  Cornells 
Westbrook  and  Maria  Westbrook,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Cornelis  Westbrook  and  his  wife, 
Ant j  en  Roosa.  Andrew  Dingman  was  a  son  of 
Andrew  Dingman,  born  Kinderhook,  New  Jer- 
sey, February  11,  171 1,  and  his  wife  Cornelia. 
The  younger  Andrew  Dingman  served  as  private, 
Sussex  county,  (New  Jersey)  militia,  1779-83, 
and  was  pensioned  as  such  March  4,  1831.  He 
was  born  at  Dingman's  Ferry,  Pennsylvania,  but 
lived  in  New  Jersey  during  the  Indian  depreda- 
tions ;  enlisted  1779  as  private  in  Captain  Peter 
Westbrook's  company,  Third  battalion  Sussex 
county  (New  Jersey)  militia,  and  took  part  in  en- 
gagement with  the  Indians,  April  19,  1780.  Mary 
Westbrook,  wife  of  Daniel  W.  Dingman,  was  the 
daughter  of  Captain  Martinus  Westbrook,  born 
May  24,  1754,  died  1813,  and  wife  Grietje  Low, 
granddaughter  of  Abram  and  Maria  (Helm) 
Westbrook ;  great-granddaughter  of  Johannes 
and  Antjen  (Roosa)  Westbrook,  who  was  a  son 
of  Johannes  Westbrook  and  his  wife,  Magdalena 
Dekker,  daughter  of  Jan  Dekker,  of  Kingston, 
New  York.  Captain  Martinus  Westbrook  came 
from  Montague  to  Sandystone  before  the  Revol- 
ution, and  married  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  His 
father  established  him  on  a  farm  now  owned  by 
Miss  Elizabeth  Westbrook,  in  the  western  part 
of  Sandystone. 

Garret  Brodhead,  Jr.,  served  as  private  in 
Captain  Adam  Hawks'  Second  brigade  Pennsyl- 
vania militia  in  the  war  of  1812-15.  He  was  a 
farmer  in  Pike  county ;  from  1850  until  1858  he 
held  an  important  position  in  the  civil  administra- 
tion of  the  L  nited  States  navv  yard  at  Philadel- 


phia. Garret  Brodhead  and  his  wife  Cornelia 
Dingman  had  children  :  1.  Albert  Gallatin,  born 
August  3,  181 5,  died  January  18,  1891 ;  married, 
July  3,  1838,  Sally  Ann  Tolan.  2.  Daniel  Ding- 
man, see  forward.  3.  Andrew  Jackson,  born 
May  6,  1822,  of  whom  later.  4.  Abram  Cool- 
baugh,  born  August  6,  1824,  died  October,  1892; 
married,  January  6,  1863,  Cornelia  M.  Ely. 

(VII)  Daniel  Dingman  Brodhead,  second 
son  of  Garret  and  Cornelia  (Dingman)  Brod- 
head, born  September  6,  1818,  married,  May  6, 
1847,  Mary  Ann  Broderick.  daughter  of  James 
Broderick  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Dougherty, 
both  from  Londonderry,  Ireland,  but  their  child- 
ren were  all  born  in  America.  Daniel  D.  Brod- 
head left  the  Delaware  valley  in  1841  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  general  merchandising  at  Mauch 
Chunk,  in  Carbon  county,  where  the  Lehigh  Coal 
and  Navigation  Company  was  beginning  opera- 
tions and  in  which  he  had  a  share.  In  1853  he 
removed  to  Philadelphia  and  founded  the  whole- 
sale boot  and  shoe  house  of  Brodhead  &  Roberts, 
and  for  twenty  years  was  actively  identified  with 
mercantile  interests  in  that  city.  In  the  mean- 
time his  sons  had  grown  up  and  gone  into  the 
coal  regions  of  interior  Pennsylvania,  and  when 
he  retired  from  business  in  Philadelphia  naturally 
he  came  to  the  locality  where  they  were  operat- 
ing, and  where  he  died,  June  3,  1905.  Daniel 
D.  and  Mary  Ann  (Broderick)  Brodhead  had: 
1.  Henry  Conrad,  born  February  12,  1848,  of 
whom  later.  2.  James  Broderick,  born  August  2, 
1850,  died  August  8,  1863.  3.  Elizabeth  Brod- 
erick, died  in  infancy.  4.  Daniel  Dingman,  born 
December  4,  1855  :  married,  1883,  Leonora  Hub- 
bard, and  lives  in  Bayonne,  New  Jersey.  5.  Major 
William  Hall,  born  November  15,  1857,  died 
June  7,  1895  ;  married  December  4.  1894,  Man- 
Van  Tassel.  6.  Robert  Sayre,  born  February  7, 
1861,  married  (first)  Susan  Amelia,  daughter  of 
Elijah  and  Jane  Shoemaker,  and  (second)  [Min- 
nie .Stafford,  of  Rome,  Georgia.  7.  Alice  Davis, 
born  September  10,  1864,  died  March  25,  1869. 
8.  Albert  Gallatin,  born  June  14,  1867,  of  whom 
later.  9.  Emily  Linderman,  born  November  n,. 
1870,  married,  June  5,  1895,  Robert  B.  Honey- 
man,  and  lives  in  Brooklyn,  New  York. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


203- 


(VIII)  Henry  Conrad  Brodhead,  eldest  son  of 
Daniel  Dingman  Brodhead  and  his  wife  Mary 
Ann  Broderick,  born  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsyl- 
vania, February  12,  1848;  married,  December  4, 
1894,  Eva  Wilder  McGlasson,  of  Covington, 
Kentucky.  Henry  was  educated  in  Philadel- 
phia. He  graduated  at  the  Philadelphia  high 
school,  A.  B.,  and  later  A.  M.  He  began  his 
business  career  as  civil  engineer,  later  became  a 
mining  engineer,  and  was  for  several  years  in 
the  employ  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation 
Company  and  afterward  with  the  Lehigh  and 
Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Company.  Still  later  he  be- 
gan operating  in  his  own  behalf,  developing  coal 
lands  and  organizing  companies  for  mining  oper- 
ations. His  interests  are  largely  in  Colorado,  at 
Brodhead,  a  town  founded  by  him  in  the  pro- 
gress of  his  enterprises. 

(VIII)  Albert  Gallatin  Brodhead,  youngest 
son  of  Daniel'  D.  and  Mary  Ann  (Broderick) 
Brodhead,  born  June  14,  1867,  was  prepared  for 
college  at  the  Harry  Hillman  Academy  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  entered  Harvard  University,  and 
graduated  A.  B.,  1889.  Shortly  afterward  he 
became  attached  to  the  engineering  corps  of  the 
Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  with  which  he  served 
until  February,  1893.  In  October  of  the  same 
year  he  and  his  brothers,  Henry  C.  and  Robert 
S.  Brodhead,  journeyed  through  Colorado,  mak- 
ing careful  investigation  of  its  mineral  resources. 
Having  prospected  coal  lands  in  Las  Animas 
county,  they  purchased  two  large  tracts,  one  of 
four  thousand  acres  at  Brodhead,  Colorado,  and 
six  hundred  acres  at  Walsenburg,  near  the  foot 
of  the  Spanish  Peaks,  which  rise  to  an  altitude  of 
nearly  fourteen  thousand  feet.  The  Brodheads 
have  leased  both  their  coal  tracts,  one  to  the 
Green  Canon  Coal  Company,  and  the  other  to  the 
Las  Animas  Coal  Company.  They  market  their 
output  in  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas, 
Texas,  Oklahoma  and  Indian  Territory.  Ex- 
pert authority  has  passed  upon  the  quality  of 
the  coal,  and  grade  it  as  semi-anthracite.  It  is 
distributed  in  six  workable  veins,  and  the  quan- 
tity capable  of  being  mined  is  estimated  at  mil- 
lions of  tons.  The  Brodhead  properties  are  held 
by  an  incorporated  company,  of  which  the  officers 


are :  Henry  C.  Brodhead,  president ;  Robert  S. 
Brodhead,  vice-president ;  and  Albert  G.  Brod- 
head .secretary  and  general  manager,  with  the 
principal  office  in  Denver,  Colorado.  Mr.  Brod- 
head is  a  member  of  the  University  Club  of  Den- 
ver. He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  has  often 
sat  as  a  delegate  in  state  conventions. 

(VII)  Andrew  Jackson  Brodhead,  third  son  of 
Garret  Brodhead  and  his  wife  Cornelia  Dingman, 
born  in  Northampton  (now  Pike)  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, May  6,  1822,  married,  December  31, 
1845,  Ophelia  Easton,  born  Milford,  Pennsyl- 
vania, May  9,  1822,  daughter  of  Calvin  Easton,. 
died  December  12,  1826,  and  wife  Charlotte  New- 
man, born  Milford,  Pennsylvania,  December  14,. 
1802,  died  Pike  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  28,. 
1859.  Calvin  Easton  was  a  son  of  Norman  and 
Merab  (Perry)  Easton,  a  grandson  of  Col.  James 
Easton,  of  East  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  wife  Eunice 
Pomeroy,  and  a  descendant  of  the  fifth  generation 
of  Joseph  Easton,  who  was  born  in  England, 
1602,  and  died  in  Hartford,  1688.  This  Joseph 
had  a  son  Joseph,  who  married  Hannah  Ensign, 
daughter  of  James  Ensign,  of  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, 1634-35 ;  moved  with  Rev.  Thomas 
Hooker  to  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  was  con- 
stable there  1645-48-62,  and  an  organizer  of  the 
second  church  in  Hartford,  1669.  Joseph  and 
Hannah  had  a  son  Joseph  Easton,  who  married 
Sarah  Spencer,  whose  great-grandfather  was 
Gerard  Spencer,  gent,  of  Stratford,  England. 
Her  .grandfather  was  William  Spencer,  gent, 
born  in  England,  1601,  of  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, 163 1,  and  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Hartford,  1636 ;  selectman  there,  deputy  to  the 
general  court  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut, 
appointed  with  others  to  prepare  the  first  revision 
of  the  laws  of  Connecticut,  and  who  also  was  one 
of  the  Honorable  and  Ancient  Artillery  of  Bos- 
ton. Joseph  Easton  and  his  wife  Sarah  Spen- 
cer had  a  son  Joseph  who  married  Susannah 
Burnham,  daughter  of  Richard  Burnham,  who- 
served  in  King  Philip's  war,  1675,  and  wife  Sarah 
Humphries,  and  granddaughter  of  Thomas 
Burnham,  a  lawyer  of  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
1647-48,  a  large  land  owner  in  Windsor,  Con- 
nectocut,   and   his   wife   Anna   Wright.      Joseph. 


204 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Easton  and  Susannah  Burnham  had  a  son  James 
Easton,  who  married  Eunice  Pomeroy,  who  was 
daughter  of  John  Pomeroy  and  his  wife  Rachel 
Sheldon.  This  James  Easton  was  Colonel  Eas- 
ton, of  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  who  marched 
with  his  regiment  to  Canada  and  served  from 
May  10,  1775,  to  December  30  following,  and 
who  also  was  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  Berkshire 
county  volunteers  who  marched  to  assist  Gen- 
eral Stark  in  the  battle  of  Bennington  in  Sep- 
tember, 1777.  He  was  a  valuable  soldier  to  the 
Americans  during  the  Revolution.  Colonel  James 
Easton  and  Eunice  (Pomeroy)  Easton,  had  a 
son,  Norman  Easton,  who  married  Merab  Perry, 
and  their  son  Calvin  and  his  wife  Charlotte  New- 
man were  the  parents  of  Ophelia  Easton,  who 
married  Andrew  Jackson  Brodhead,  of  Mauch 
Chunk,  Pennsylvania. 

Andrew  J.  Brodhead  received  his  early  ed- 
ucation in  the  common  schools  of  the  town 
where  his  parents  lived,  and  also  at  the 
Dingman  Academy  and  attended  one  winter  in 
the  academic  school  at  Stroudsburg.  He 
taught  school  in  1848  or  1849.  About  1836  he 
visited  Mauch  Chunk,  went  there  to  work  in 
1850,  and  moved  his  family  there  in  185 1,  by 
stage  to  Stroudsburg,  thence  to  Brodheadsville, 
thence  to  Weissport,  and  thence  to  Mauch  Chunk, 
that  being  the  customary  means  and  route  of 
travel  at  that  time.  From  185 1  to  1857  he  was 
employed  as  clerk  and  bookkeeper,  and  afterward 
for  about  five  years  was  engaged  in  business, 
with  a  partner,  repairing  coal  cars  for  the  old 
Beaver  Meadow  Company,  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Company,  the  firm  of  Lewis  Audenreid  &  Com- 
pany, and  also  for  Packer,  Lockhart  &  Company, 
who  were  among  the  pioneers  of  the  coal  ship- 
ping business  in  that  region.  About  1861  Mr. 
Brodhead  began  shipping  coal,  first  for  George 
K.  Smith  &  Company,  and  afterward  for  other 
producers  until  1877,  when  he  opened  a  general 
store  at  Hickory  Run,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
lived  until  the  winter  of  1883-84,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Mauch  Chunk.  He  removed  thence  in 
1884  to  his  present  home  in  Flemington,  New 
Jersey.  Mr.  Brodhead  was  treasurer  of  Carbon 
•  county,   1868  or   1869;  was  several  years  school 


director  in  East  Mauch  Chunk ;  and  also  served 
a  short  time  as  justice  of  the  peace.  Andrew  J. 
and  Ophelia   (Easton)   Brodhead  had: 

1.  Calvin  Easton,  born  Pike  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  27,  1846;  married  (first)  De- 
cember 6,  1870,  Laura  Clewell  Leisenring,  born 
Mauch  Chunk,  August  9,  1848,  daughter  of 
Alexander  William  Leisenring  and  his  wife  Ann 
Ruddle.  Three  children:  Anna  Leisenring,  born 
November  12,  1871 ;  Emily  Easton,  born  No- 
vember 3,  1872;  Alexander  William,  born  Janu- 
ary 1,  1874.  Married  (second)  at  Oakville, 
Canada,  Mary  Lewis,  died  March  31,  1905. 

2.  Garret,  born  Pike  county,  February  11, 
1848;  married,  September  17,  1872,  Annie 
Kocher,  born  Mauch  Chunk,  August  28,  1849, 
daughter  of  Conrad  Kocher  and  his  wife  Cath- 
arine Wasser.  Seven  children :  Conrad  Kocher 
and  Andrew  Jackson,  both  born  July  19,  1873, 
(Andrew  J.  died  May  3,  1876)  ;  Alonzo  Blakes- 
lee,  born  Metuchen,  New  Jersey,  December  26, 
1875 ;  Calvin  Easton,  and  Laura  Leisenring 
(twins),  both  born  September  21,  1878:  Ruth 
Randall,  born  Perth  Amboy,  New  Jersey,  March 
7,  1884;  Garret,  born  January  3,  1888. 

3.  John  Romeyn.  born  Pike  county,  June 
11,  1849:  married,  November  13,  1882,  Mary 
Martha  Holbert,  born  Chemung,  New  York, 
March  22,  1858,  daughter  of  Joshua  Sayre  Hol- 
bert and  his  wife  Catharine  Van  Houten  Ryer- 
son.  Two  children :  Henry  Holbert,  born  Buf- 
falo, New  York,  September  29,  1883 ;  Arthur 
Sayre,  born  Buffalo,  November  26,  1886. 

4.  James  Easton,  born  Pike  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  23,  1851 ;  married,  May  1, 
1877,  Hattie  Lochlin  Boyd,  born  New  York  City, 
July  11,  1852,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Boyd  and 
his  wife  Jane  Curran.  Four  children :  Walter, 
born  Clinton,  New  Jersey,  March  9,  1873 :  John 
Romeyn,  born  Clinton,  New  Jersey,  September 
25,  1880;  Frederick  Moon,  born  Flemington, 
New  Jersey,  July  31,  1883  :  Nathaniel  Boyd,  born 
Flemington,  New  Jersey,  June  22,  1891. 

5.  Andrew  Douglass,  born  Mauch  Chunk, 
Pennsylvania,  August  17,  1852:  married  Mar- 
garet Lewis  Martin,  born  Perth  Amboy.  New 
Jersey,    January    15,    1859,    daughter   of   Moses 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


205 


Martin,  and  his  wife  Sarah  Augusta  Lewis.  Four 
children :  Edith  Eastern,  born  November  3,  1879, 
died  March  29,  1882 ;  Frank  Martin,  born  Febru- 
ary 5,  1882 ;  Lewis  Dingman,  born  October  5, 
1884 ;  Andrew  Jackson,  born  October  3,  1886. 

6.  Charlotte  Elizabeth,  born  Mauch  Chunk, 
December  11,  1855,  married,  October  5,  1887, 
Franklin  Clark  Burk,  born  Flemington,  New 
Jersey,  April  8,  1853,  son  of  Peter  Wilson  Burk 
and  his  wife  Clarinda  Bellis. 

7.  Jean  Struthers,  born  Mauch  Chunk,  No- 
vember 21,  1857;  married,  October  15,  1885, 
Charles  Ashley  Blakeslee,  born  Mauch  Chunk, 
July  4,  1859,  son  of  James  Irwin  Blakeslee  and 
his  wife  Caroline  Jones  Ashley.  Two  children: 
Gertrude  Easton,  born  June  21,  1887;  Ophelia 
Easton,  born  January  9,   1895. 

8.  Robert  Packer,  born  East  Mauch  Chunk, 
Pennsylvania,  October  12,  1860.     See  forward. 

9.  Emily  Linderman,  born  East  Mauch 
Chunk,  Pennsylvania,  June  1,  1862,  married 
Frederick  Moon,  born  September  30,  1851,  son 
of  Samuel  Moon  and  his  wife  Matilda  White. 
One  child:  Frederick  Wiles  Moon,  born  Dun- 
ellen,  New  Jersey,  July  2"j,  1882. 

10.  Richard  Henry,  born  East  Mauch 
Chunk,  Pennsylvania,  November  4,  1864 ;  mar- 
ried, March  6,  1890,  Jane  Vanderveer  Smock, 
born  Marlboro,  New  Jersey,  October  15,  1861, 
daughter  of  Daniel  Polheim  Smock  and  his  wife 
Sarah  Jane  Smock.  Four  children :  Estelle 
Smock,  born  Roper,  North  Carolina,  November 
26,  1890;  Mary  Ophelia,  born  Marlboro,  New 
Jersey,  April  2,  1892 ;  Jean  Blakeslee,  born  Marl- 
boro, New  Jersey,  July  3,  1893,  died  July  27, 
1893  ;  Richard  Henry. 

(VIII)  Robert  Packer  Brodhead,  eighth  child 
of  Andrew  J.  and  Ophelia  (Easton)  Brodhead, 
born  East  Mauch  Chunk,  October  12,  i860,  mar- 
ried, May  22,  1889,  Fanny  Vaughn  Loveland, 
daughter  of  William  and  Lydia  (Hurlbut)  Love- 
land  (see  Loveland  family).  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  East  Mauch  Chunk,  and 
Wyoming  Seminary  in  Kingston,  where  he  took 
a  commercial  course  in  1879-80.  He  found  em- 
ployment as  clerk  in  a  lumber  business  at  Hick- 
ory Run,  below  White   Haven.     In  the  fall  of 


1882  he  went  to  New  York  City,,  where  he  sold 
lumber,    and    in    1883    began    railroad    construc- 
tion work,  taking  charge  of  the  Vosburg  tunnel,, 
which  was  completed  in  1886.     In  the  following 
year   became   junior   partner   in   the   contracting 
firm    of    Brodhead    &    Hickey    (1883-94),    suc- 
ceeded in  the  latter  year  by  C.  E.  Brodhead  &_ 
Brother  (1894-98),  and  now  the  Brodhead  Con- 
tracting Company,  of  which  Robert  P.  Brodhead. 
is  president.     Since  engaging  in  the  contracting- 
business  he  has  had  charge  of  the  following  im- 
portant   work :    building    part     of    the    Lizard' 
Creek  branch  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad ;  a 
large  portion  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad  in 
the   state   of   New   York,    crossing   the   Genesee - 
river ;  the  Rochester  branch  of  same  railroad ;  a 
portion  of  the  Mountain  cut-off  of  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Railroad  near  Wilkes-Barre ;  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  end  of  the  Lackwanna  and  Wyoming  Val- 
ley   Railroad    running    from    Wilkes-Barre    to- 
Scranton,  and  known  as  the  Laurel  Line ;  and 
rebuilt  the   Pittsburg  &  Bessemer  Railroad.   He 
also  built  the  stockyards  of  the  great  Steel  Com- 
pany  at   Youngstown,    Ohio,    and   the    Palisade - 
tunnel  on  the  New  York,  Susquehanna  &  West- 
ern Railroad.     His  business  activity  is  also  wit- 
nessed in  his  relationship  with  various  other  im- 
portant  corporations.      He    is    treasurer    of   the- 
wholesale  meat  and  oil  company  doing  business 
in  Wilkes-Barre  under  the  style  of  Paine  &  Com- 
pany,  limited ;  vice-president  and   a   director   in 
the  Kingston  Deposit  and  Savings  Bank;  a  di- 
rector in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and  Savings 
Bank ;  and  is  also  engaged  in  extensive  lumber 
operations    in     Kentucky.     Robert    Packer  and 
Fannie  V.  (Loveland)  Brodhead  had  seven  chil- 
dren:    1.    Robert   Packer,   born  Kingston,  Penn- 
sylvania,  April    11,    1890,   died   April    10,    1900. 
2.  William  Loveland,  born  Caledonia,  New  York,, 
June   10   1891.  3.  Lydia  Hurlbut,  born  Geneva, 
New  York,  June  11,  1893.  4.  Mary  Buckingham, 
born  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  August  29,   1895. 
5.     Frances  Loveland,  born  Kingston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, October  16,  1896.    6.    James  Easton,  born 
Kingston,    Pennsylvania,    September    20,    1899.. 
7.  Charles,  born  February  13,  1906. 

H.  E.  H. 


:2o6 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


AYARS  FAMILY.  The  American  ances- 
tor of  the  Avars  family  of  the  line  under  consid- 
eration here  was  Robert  Avars,  1,  who  is  said  to 

.  have  come  from  England  in  1664,,  and  settled  in 
Rhode  Island.     He  removed  thence  about  1684- 

.  85  to  a  place  called  Black  Neck  (or  Shrewsbury 
Neck),  near  the  mouth  of  Cohansey  creek,  on  the 
south  side,  in  Cumberland  county,  New  Jersey, 
where  he  died,  January  14,  1718-19.    He  owned 

.  800  acres  of  land  at  the  time  of  settlement,  and  in 
1705  purchased  2,200  acres  on  the  north  side  of 
Cohansey  creek.  By  his  wife  Esther  Bowen  he 
had  nine  children,  among  whom  was  Caleb  Ayars, 

■  who  married  Rebecca  Brayman. 

Caleb  Ayars,  born  1692,  son  of  Robert  and 
Esther  (Bowen)  Avars  had  a  son  Aaron,  born 
December  18,  1723,  "who  had  a  son  Hamilton, 
born.  December  20,  1753,  who  had  a  son  Shep- 
herd, born  June  19,  1789,  died  August  15,  1857; 
married  Mary  Murray,  born  December  28,  1790, 
died  July  1,  1861.      They  had  children: 

Preston,   born  January    19,    1813,   died    Feb- 

■  ruary  9,  1862;  married  Jane  Todd. 

Hamilton,  born  October  6,  1815,  died  May  3, 
1858 ;  married,  May  26,  1836,  Lydia  Weiler. 

Lemuel,  born  July  27,  1819,  died  May  21, 
1820. 

Addis  Meredith,  born  April  12,  1821,  died 
February  5,  1872;  married  Debby  R.  Evans,  born 
March  13,  1824,  died  March  20,  1889. 

Anna  Eliza,  born  February  9,  1825,  died  1901 ; 
married  February  18,  1858,  Kersey  Shoemaker, 
they  had  Mary,  dead ;  Emma,  married  Dr.  Pat- 
rick of  West  Chester,  Pennsylvania ;  Margaret, 
married  Harry  Tallman,  of  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Lemuel  Wesley,  born  September  12;  1828, 
died  May  21,  1869;  married  Margaret  R. 
Cronin. 

Edwin,  born  May  8,  1831,  died  November  26, 
1831. 

Sarah  Powell,  born  August  7,  1834;  married 
John  S.  Mullin ;  they  reside  in  West  Chester, 
Pennsvlvania. 


1.  Some  of  Robert  Ayars'  descendants  changed 
their  surname  to  Ayers  and  Ayres,  but  he  always  wrote 
it  as  here  given. 


Addis  Meredith  Avars,  fourth  son  of  Shep- 
herd and  Mary  (Murray)  Ayars,  was  for  many 
years  a  prominent  figure  in  Chester  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, civil  and  political  circles ;  was  clerk  of 
the  courts  and  otherwise  conspicuous  in  public 
affairs  in  West  Chester,  the  county  seat.  The 
later  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  died,  February  5,  1872.  His  wife, 
Debby  Reese  Evans,  was  of  Welsh  descent,  the 
daughter  of  Evan  Evans,  born  October  22,  1775, 
died  April  28,  1854,  and  his  wife  Margaret  Dunn, 
died  September  1,  1848,  and  she  was  the  grand- 
daughter of  Evan  Evans  and  his  wife  Catherine. 
Addis  Meredith  and  Debby  Reese  (Evans)  Ayars 
had: 

Charles  Evans,  born  November  1,  1846,  see 
elsewhere. 

David  Preston,  born  October  8,  1848. 

Margaret  Dunn,  born  July  28,  1851  ;  mar- 
ried James  P.  Taylor,  of  Montrose,  Pennsylvania. 

Jeanette  Davis,  born  November  26,  1854; 
married  Harry  Stoddard,  a  merchant  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Elizabeth,  born  October  31,  1858;  living  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Shepherd,  born  March  29,  1861,  married  Clare 
Hillman,  lives  in  Wilkes-Barre.  (See  Hillman 
Family). 

David  Preston  Avars,  a  descendant  of  the 
seventh  generation  of  Robert  Avars,  the  immi- 
grant ancestor  of  the  Ayars  family  in  America, 
was  born  in  Belvidere;  Chester  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, October  8,  1848,  and  spent  his  young  life 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state.  He  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre  in  1866,  as  bookkeeper  in  the  em- 
ploy of  Haggerty  &  ODonnell,  railroad  con- 
tractors, and  after  was  deputy  in  the  office  of  J.  B. 
Stark,  United  States  collector  of  internal  revenue 
for  the  Twelfth  district,  in  which  Wilkes-Barre 
is  situated.  He  continued  in  this  office  six  years, 
serving  under  the  following  collectors :  J.  B. 
Stark,  Caleb  E.  Wright,  and  Henry  M.  Hoyt, 
until  1873,  when  he  was  elected  city  clerk  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  succeeding  Edward  H.  Chase.  Mr. 
Ayars  was  city  clerk  until  December  1,  1875, 
when  he  was  offered  and  accepted  the  office  of 
cashier  of  the  Miners'  Savings  Bank  of  Wilkes- 


^==sy2=*-*-'^-* 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


207 


Barre,  Pennsylvania,  a  position  which  he  still 
holds.  But  outside  of  his  regular  business  em- 
ployment Mr.  Avars  has  taken  an  interest  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  his  adopted 
city  and  its'  institutions.  He  served  two  terms  as 
councilman-at-large,  representing  the  Thirteenth 
and  Fourteenth  wards,  and  during  his  incum- 
bency of  the  office  he  served  on  some  of  the  more 
important  committees  of  that  body ;  was  chairman 
of  the  finance  committee,  and  also  one  of  the 
sinking  fund  commissioners.  For  many  years  he 
was  treasurer  and  trustee  of  the  First  Presbyter- 
ian Church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  of  which  he  is  a 
member.  He  was  appointed,  1902,  United  States 
disbursing  agent  of  the  fund  for  the  new  post- 
office  building  in  Wilkes-Barre ;  was  elected, 
1903,  a  director  of  the  Hanover  Fire  Insurance 
Company  of  Xew  York  City,  vice  H.  Evelyn 
Pierrepont,  deceased,  and  in  the  same  year  was 
elected  a  director  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  Lace 
Mills  of  Wilkes-Barre.  For  many  years  he  was 
secretary  of  Landmark  Lodge,  No.  442,  F.  and 
A.  M.  He  is  past  high  priest  of  Shekinah  Chap- 
ter, No.  182,  R.  A.  M.,  also  past  eminent  com- 
mander Dieu  le  Vent  Commandery,  No.  45, 
Knights  Templar,  and  holds  a  membership  in 
Lodge  No.  109,  B.  P.  O.  E.  He  also  holds  office 
of  trustee  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

David  Preston  Avars  married,  November  9, 

1893,  Eugenia  Gilman,  born  in  Foxcroft.  Maine, 
daughter  of  Reuben  D.2  and  Helen  E.  (Tolman) 
Gilman,  of  Foxcroft,  Maine.  Their  children  are : 
Agnes   Gilman,   born   Wilkes-Barre,    October   8, 

1894.  David  Preston,  Jr.,  born  Wilkes-Barre, 
March  16,  1898.  H.  E.  H. 


2.  Reuben  D.  Gilman,  son  of  David  Gilman,  and 
descendant  of  Colonel  Edward  Gilman,  of  Gilmantown, 
New  Hampshire,  was  born,  1829;  married  Helen  E. 
Tolman.  daughter  of  Phineas  Tolman,  of  Milo,  Maine, 
a  prominent  character  in  Maine  political  and  civil  his- 
tory. Reuben  D.  Gilman  and  Helen  E.  Tolman  had 
three  children,  of  whom  two  are  living :  Eugenia,  a 
graduate  of  Wellesley,  with  high  honors,  1888,  now  wife 
of  David  Preston  Avars,  of  Wilkes-Barre;  and  Agnes, 
a  graduate  and  post-graduate  of  the  Boston  school  of 
oratory,  and  now  wife  of  Willis  E.  Parsons,  a  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Foxcroft,  Maine. 


CHARLES  EVANS  AVARS,  a  representa- 
tive in  the  seventh  generation  of  the  family,  and 
eldest  son  of  Addis  Meredith  and  Debby  (Reese) 
(Evans)  Avars,  was  born  in  Belvidere,  Pennsyl- 
vania, November  1,  1846. 

He  obtained  a  practical  and  thorough  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  at  an  early  age  began  as  a  drug  clerk  in  the 
store  of  Dr.  T.  J.  Casper,  in  West  Chester.  Later 
he  was  employed  in  the  same  capacity  in  Phila- 
deplhia,  Pennsylvania  and  Washington,  New  Jer- 
sey, serving  for  eight  years.  In  1868  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  entered  the 
employ  of  Thompson,  Derr  &  Bro.,  as  a  clerk  and 
step  by  step  he  steadily  worked  his  way  upward, 
not  through  influence,  but  by  merit  and  earnest 
effort,  until  he  attained  the  responsible  position  of 
insurance  adjuster,  in  which  he  is  serving  at  the 
present  time,  and  his  record  is  one  of  which  he 
may  be  justly  proud.  In  the  community  he  is 
recognized  as  a  valued  citizen,  and  his  public 
duties  are  discharged  with  loyalty  and  fidelity. 

Mr.  Ayars  married,  January  15,  1873,  Sally 
Stewart,  born  April  24,  1849,  m  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  William  S.  and  Eliza 
(Barnes)  Stewart,  also  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, the  latter  being  a  daughter  of  Gil- 
bert Barnes.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stewart  had  four 
other  children,  namely :  Ruth  Ellen,  Gilbert 
Barnes,  John,  and  William  Sharp,  the  two  latter 
named  dying  in  infancy.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Ayars 
had  six  children:  1.  William  Stewart,  born  Oc- 
tober 29,  1873  ;  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
the  Wilkes-Barre  high  school,  from  which  insti- 
tution he  graduated  in  1891,  the  Harry  Hillman 
Academy,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1892,  and 
the  Lehigh  University,  where  he  pursued  a  full 
course  in  mechanical  engineering  and  received 
the  degree  of  Mechanical  Engineer.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1896,  he  accepted  a  position  on  the  Red  Star 
Steamship  "Pennsylvania'  as  assistant  engineer 
and  had  charge  of  the  electrical  department. 
After  a  short  period  of  time  he  was  transferred 
to  the  "Illinois"  of  the  same  line,  and  from  there 
to  the  steamer  "New  York,"  under  Captain  Jam- 
eson, as  senior  third  assistant  engineer,  remaining 
in  that  capacity  until  the  vessel  was  called  into  the 


208 


•THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


service  of  the  United  States  government  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Spanish-American  war,  and 
he  was  on  this  boat  at  Santiago  when  Admiral 
Cervera's  fleet  was  destroyed.  During  this 
period  it  was  used  as  a  scout  boat  and  sailed 
under  the  name  of  "Harvard,'  and  it  was  used 
to  bring  the  Spanish  prisoners  to  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire.  Shortly  afterwards  Mr.  Ayars 
was  honorably  discharged  from  the  Navy  depart- 
ment, and  for  a  short  time  thereafter  served  as 
mechanical  engineer  with  the  Susquehanna  Coal 
Company  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He 
then  accepted  a  position  as  senior  third  assistant 
engineer  on  the  steamer  "St.  Paul,"  and  later  was 
an  instructor  in  the  scientific  and  mechanical  de- 
partment of  Pratt  Institute.  In  the  spring  of 
1905  he  resigned  from  this  position  to  accept  that 
of  professor  in  the  mechanical  department  of  the 
State  College,  near  Bellefonte,  Pennsylvania.  He 
married,  October  19,  1901,  Laura  Agnes  Porter, 
born  in  Southampton,  England,  daughter  of 
Ethelbert  and  Eliza  (Pullman)  Porter.  2.  Eliz- 
abeth Ingalls,  born  July  7,  1875,  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  married  J.  Edward  Slade,  of  Chi- 
cago, a  civil  engineer  with  the  C.  N.  W.  R.  R. ; 
they  reside  in  Boone,  Iowa.  3.  Natalie  Law- 
rence, born  February  12,  1878,  resides  at  home. 

4.  Allen  Meredith,  born  June  30,  1881,  a  rising 
young  machinist  in  the  employ  of  the  Vulcan 
Iron     Works     in     Wilkes-Barre,     Pennsylvania. 

5.  Margarete,   born   in    1884,   resides   at  home. 

6.  Charlotte  Muir,  died  January,  1890.  Mrs. 
Charles  E.  Ayars  died  January  29,  1906.  Rev. 
Dr.  Mogg  officiated  at  the  funeral  services  which 
were  held  at  her  late  home,  No.  144  Dana  street. 
The  interment,  which  was  private,  was  made  in 
tne  Hollenback  cemetery.  H.  E-  H 

SUTTON  FAMILY.  James  Sutton  was  the 
pioneer  head  of  what  became  in  later  years  one 
of  the  most  prominent  families  in  the  Wyoming 
valley,  while  he  himself  in  Revolutionary  times 
was  one  of  the  conspicuous  figures  in  that  region. 
He  was  born  March  7,  1744.  Before  the  war 
was  begun  he  was  a  merchant  at  North  Castle, 
Westchester  county,  in  the  province  of  New 
York,  and  when  British  importations  were  inter- 


dicted by  the  patriotic  Americans  he  sold  his 
property  there  and  removed  with  his  family  and 
his  wife's  father  to  the  Wyoming  valley  and  cast 
his  fortunes  with  the  settlers,  who  were  beset 
on  one  side  by  the  British  and  Indians  and  on 
the  other  by  the  Pennsylvania  authorities. 
Before  these  troubles  began  he  removed  to  Exe- 
ter, on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  about  five  miles 
above  the  head  of  the  valley,  and  built  a  saw  and 
grist  mill  on  a  small  stream  which  was  named 
in  honor  of  him,  Sutton's  creek.  Here,  too,  the 
Sutton  family  was  established,  and  here  for  fully 
nfty  years,  except  for  a  short  period,  the  pioneer 
and  his  good  wife  furnished  entertainment  to  two 
generations  of  itinerant  Methodist  preachers  who 
traversed  the  wide  circuit  in  the  missionary  work 
of  their  church. 

In  the  early  part  of  1778  Mr.  Sutton  rented 
his  mill  property  in  Exeter  and  purchased  a  mill 
in  Kingston,  within  what  now  is  Luzerne  bor- 
ough. On  the  day  of  the  massacre  he  was  sta- 
tioned inside  of  Forty  Fort,  where  he  was 
charged  with  the  duty  of  guarding  the  safety  of 
the  women,  children  and  aged  men  who  sought 
refuge  within  its  walls.  He  himself  was  a 
Quaker,  "scrupulous  of  bearing  arms,"'  but  on 
that  day  he  was  resolved  to  lay  aside  his  scruples 
and  use  a  musket  in  defense  of  the  settlers,  but 
he  was  assigned  to  important  duties  inside  the 
fort.  A  few  days  after  the  massacre  he  gathered 
his  family  about  him  and  went  down  the  river  in 
a  boat  he  had  built  and  lived  about  two  years  in 
Middletown.  On  his  return  he  found  the  mill  had 
been  burned  and  his  house  had  been  stripped  of 
its  roof,  whereupon  he  set  to  work  and  built 
another  house  and  afterward  another  mill,  the 
latter  being  located  on  the  Mill  creek,  near  the 
river,  within  reach  of  the  high  waters  of  the 
"pumpkin  flood,"  which  carried  away  the  struct- 
ure in  October,  1786.  During  the  Pennamite- 
Yankee  war  the  Sutton  house  was  burned,  upon 
which  the  resolute  Quaker  patriot  built  another 
house  at  Forty  Fort,  but  soon  returned  to  his  old 
home  in  Exeter,  where  his  remaining  years  were 
spent  in  safety  and  in  comfort.  James  Sutton 
was  born  of  Quaker  parents,  but  early  embraced 
the  teaching^  of  Methodism  and  was  leader  of 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA     VALLEYS. 


209 


the  first  class  formed  in  the  Lackawanna  valley. 
He  was  appointed  July  4,  1808,  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  on  the  same  day  was  appointed  sealer 
of  weights  and  measures  for  Luzerne  county. 
James  Sutton  married,  June  2,  1769,  Sarah 
Smith,  born  January  18,  1747,  and  their  children 
were : 

1.  Polly,  born  September  30,  1770,  became 
the  wife  of  Putnam  Catlin,  who  had  been  a  drum- 
mer boy  in  the  Revolution.  (See  Catlin  family.) 
He  was  admitted  to  practice  law  May  27,  1787, 
the  day  Luzerne  county  was  organized.  In  1797 
Governor  McKean  appointed  him  brigade  in- 
spector of  militia  of  Luzerne  comity,  and  in 
1814  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature.  He  after- 
ward removed  to  Windsor,  Broome  county,  New 
York ;  thence  to  Brooklyn,  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania ;  thence  to  Montrose  in  the  same 
county,  where  he  was  cashier  of  the  Silver  Lake 
bank  ;  and  thence  removed  to  Great  Bend,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  died  in  1842.  They  were  the 
parents  of  George  Catlin,  the  famous  artist, 
author,  and  world  traveller,  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  1796,  died  in  Jersey  City, 
New  Jersey,  December  22  1872.  He  was  edu- 
cated for  the  legal  profession  and  practiced  two 
years  in  Philadelphia,  but  art  was  his  favorite 
pursuit,  and  he  soon  established  himself  in  a 
studio  in  New  York  as  a  portrait  painter.  In 
1840  he  went  to  Europe,  and  the  following  year 
published  his  "Manners,  Customs,  and  Condi- 
tion of  the  North  American  Indians/'  In  1844  his 
"North  American  Portfolio"  was  issued,  fol- 
lowed by  "Eight  Years'  Travels  and  Residence  in 
Europe,"  in  1848.  In  1861  he  issued  "The  Breath 
of  Life,"  and  in  1868  appeared  his  '"Last  Ram- 
bles amongst  the  Indians  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  the  Andes."    Mrs.  Catlin  died  July  15,  1844. 

2.  A  son  born  March  2,  1772,  died  March  3, 
1772. 

3.  Deborah,  born  February  8,  1773,  mar- 
ried Jacob  Bedford,  who  was  the  grandfather  of 
George  Bedford,  (See  Bedford  family)  and  her 
death  occurred  April  3,  1869. 

4.  William,  born  February  20,  1775,  died 
January  30,  1828. 


5.  Sarah  C,  born  June  29,  1777,  died  May,. 
1778. 

6.  James,  born  September  10,  1779,  died 
July  27,  1827. 

7.  Sarah,  born  July  4,  1782,  died  June  12,, 
1812. 

8.  A  son  born  November  9,  1784,  died  the 
same  day. 

9.  John,  born  October  9,  1786,  started  trad- 
ing among  the  Indians  and  was  never  afterward 
heard  of. 

10.  Samuel,  born  November  2,  1788,  of 
whom  later. 

James  Sutton  died  at  his  home  in  Exeter,  July 
19,  1824;  his  widow  Sarah  (Smith)  Sutton* 
passed  away  August  20,  1834. 

William  Smith,  great-great-grandfather  of 
Sarah  (Smith)  Sutton,  served  in  Cromwell's, 
army.  His  son,  Thomas  Smith,  great-grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Sutton,  born  1702,  was  an  eminent 
lawyer  in  the  province  of  New  York,  member  of 
the  King's  council,  and  judge  of  the  court  of 
King's  bench.  His  son,  Rev.  John  Smith,  grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Sutton,  born  May  5,  1702,  died  at 
White  Plains,  New  York,  February  26,  1771, 
was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  1727;  married, 
May  6,  1724,  Mehitable  Hooker,  daughter  of 
Judge  James  Hooker,  of  Guildford,  Connecticut. 
Judge  James  Hooker,  born  in  Farmington,  Oc- 
tober 2j,  1666,  was  the  first  judge  of  the  court 
of  probate  of  Guildford ;  he  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Governor  William  Leete.  He  was 
a  sen  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hooker,  of  Farming- 
ton,  born  in  1633,  married,  September  22, 
1658,  Mary  Willett.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Hooker 
was  a  son  of  Thomas  Hooker,  the  great  Puritan 
reformer,  and  founder  of  Hartford,  Connecticut. 
William  Leete,  father  of  Mary  (Leete)  Smith, 
was  a  signer  of  the  plantation  covenant,  1639; 
assistant  of  New  Haven  Colony,  1643-58;  dep- 
uty governor  of  New  Haven  Colony,  1658-61  ; 
commissioner  of  the  United  Colonies,  1655-79  > 
governor,  1661-65  ;  assistant  commissioner  of  col- 
onies, 1665-69  ;  moderator  of  general  court,  1668  ; 
deputy  governor,  1669-75 ;  governor,  1676-83 ; 
and    original    founder   of    New    Haven    Colony. 


14 


2IO 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Captain  Thomas  Willett,  father  of  Mary  (Wil- 
lett)  Hooker,  was  captain  of  Plymouth  colony 
military,  1648;  assistant,  1651-64;  member  of 
council  of  war,  1653 ;  member  of  general  coun- 
cil, 1672;  first  mayor  of  New  York,  1664-73; 
commissioner  on  boundary,  New  Netherland, 
1650;  magistrate  of  Plymouth  colony,  165 1 ;  com- 
missioner of  admiralty,  1655;  and  councillor, 
1665. 

Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith,  son  of  the  Rev. 
John  and  Mehitable  (Hooker)  Smith,  and  father 
of  Mrs.  Sutton,  was  born  March  23,  1725,  died 
July  17,  1815.  He  was  a  member  of  the  medical 
profession,  and  when  he  took  up  his  residence 
in  Wilkes-Barre  in  1772  was  the  only  physician 
between  Milford  and  Sunbury.  In  1774  he  pur- 
chased land,  and  was  a  prominent  figure  in 
Wyoming  valley  history.  He  was  captain  in  the 
Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  Connecticut  Militia, 
Westmoreland  county,  and  served  with  the  set- 
tlers during  the  Revolution.  He  was  surgeon  in 
the  American  army  ;  surgeon  of  the  garrison  at 
Wyoming,  June  14  and  21,  1777;  marched  with 
General  Hand's  army  under  Sullivan  against  the 
Indians  in  1779,  and  in  1838  his  heirs  were  voted 
S2400  by  Congress  in  consideration  of  his  ser- 
vices during  the  war.  He  was  appointed  justice 
of  the  common  pleas  of  Luzerne  county,  May  11, 
1787.  Old  Forge  in  Lackawanna  county  de- 
rived its  name  from  Dr.  Smith,  who  located 
there  late  in  1779,  and  who,  with  James  Sutton, 
built  the  forge  there  in  1789.  The  late  Isaac  S. 
Osterhout,  founder  of  the  Osterhout  Free  Li- 
brary in  Wilkes-Barre,  was  a  grandson  of  Dr. 
Smith,  and  James  Ross  Snowden,  at  one  time 
speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives  at  Har- 
risburg.  treasurer  of  the  state,  and  later  director 
of  the  mint  at  Philadelphia,  was  also  a  grand- 
son of  Dr.  Smith. 

Samuel  Sutton,  youngest  child  of  James  and 
Sarah  (Smith)  Sutton,  born  November  2,  1788, 
died  March  25.  1842.  He  married,  November 
14,  1822,  Mary  Dorrance  Buckingham,  born  Jan- 
uary 26,  1799,  died  March  13,  1882,  daughter  of 
Stephen  and  Mary  (Dorrance)  Buckingham. 
Their  children  were :  Nancy  Ann,  born  October 
13,    1824,  died  July  31,   1854.    James,  born  De- 


cember 22,  1825,  mentioned  hereafter.  Stephen 
B.,  born  November  20,  1827,  died  at  his  home  in 
Minnesota,  January,  1893.  Samuel,  born  July 
9,  1830,  died  August  21,  1894.  Charles  B.,  (twin 
of  Samuel)  born  July  9,  1830,  died  September 
6,  1897.  Benjamin  D.,  born  March  20,  1832,  died 
January  6,  1833. 

James  Sutton,  eldest  son  of  Samuel  and  Mary 
D.  (Buckingham)  Sutton,  was  born  December 
22,  1825.  He  acquired  his  education  during  the 
winter  months  of  the  years  of  his  boyhood  in  the 
little  country  schoolhouse  in  Exeter,  his  native 
town.  In  1843,  about  a  year  after  the  death  of 
his  father,  he  came  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, when  it  was  a  small  town  of  less  than  ten 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  found  employment  as 
clerk  in  a  store.  In  1853,  ten  years  later,  with 
money  saved  from  his  labors  and  a  small  amount 
borrowed  for  the  purpose,  he  opened  a  store 
which  was  stocked  with  all  kinds  of  goods,  as 
was  the  custom  in  stores  of  those  early  days,  and 
was  located  on  the  site  of  the  present  store  of 
Phelps,  Lewis,  Bennett  &  Co.  He  disposed  of 
his  stock,  in  1873  to  Isaac  Louge,  and  began  in- 
vesting in  real  estate.  He  built  a  block,  in  addi- 
tion to  a  number  of  dwelling  houses,  which  he 
still  owns,  and  from  which  he  derives  a  goodly 
income.  Mr.  Sutton  enjoys  the  distinction  of  be- 
ing one  of  the  oldest  business  men  in  the  city  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

DOUGLAS  FAMILY.  William  Douglas 
(I),  of  Bergen,  New  Jersey,  appears  upon  the 
records  in  167 1  and  reappears  in  1686.  In  1686 
William  Douglas  and  Charles  Douglas  arrived 
at  Perth  Amboy  in  the  expedition  organized  by 
George  Scott,  Laird  of  Pitlochie,  in  Scotland. 
From  1686  to  1725  others  of  the  name  also  ap- 
pear upon  record.  Between  1700  and  1725  at 
least  four  contemporary  Douglases  were  born  in 
or  moved  into  the  counties  of  Morris  and  Essex, 
New  Jersey,  viz. :  Samuel  Douglas,  of  Basking 
Ridge,  then  West  Hanover ;  David  Douglas 
(born  about  1715-20),  of  Hanover  Neck;  Samuel 
Douglas,  of  Hanover  Neck,  and  John  Douglas  of 
Newark. 

(II)    David    Douglas,    born    about    1715-20; 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


211 


died  about  1765,  resided  at  Hanover  Neck,  New 
Jersey.  He  married  (first)  February  13,  1744; 
(second)  October  29,  1755,  Esther  Reed.  She 
survived  him  and  afterward  married  William 
Ely,  of  Hanover.  His  children  born  at  Hanover 
Neck  were:  Joseph,  October,  1744;  David,  April 
8,  1746;  Theodosia,  March  3,  1748;  Thankful, 
May.  1750;  Esther,  October  12,  1756;  John,  Oc- 
tober 14,  1757;  Nathaniel,  January  24,  1760. 

(Ill)  Deacon  Nathaniel  Douglas  (David) 
was  born  at  Hanover  Neck,  New  Jersey,  as  is 
supposed,  January  24,  1760.  He  lived  for  a  time 
in  Pompton,  where  one  at  least  of  his  children 
was  born.  He  was  for  man}-  years  one  of  the 
respected  firm  of  Yanderpool  &  Douglas,  leather 
manufacturers  and  dealers  in  Newark,  New  Jer- 
sey. In  1813  he  moved  to  Caldwell,  and  in  1815, 
writh  his  son  Marcus,  bought  an  iron  furnace  and 
forge  with  seven  hundred  acres  of  woodland  in 
Bloomingdale.  Being  disappointed  in  this  in- 
vestment he  moved  in  1816  to  Caldwell,  and  there 
■died  May  15,  1824.  He  was  a  deacon  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Caldwell  from  1819  to 
1824.  He  was  proficient  in  music.  He  was  a 
quiet,  resolute,  devout  man,  one  who  ruled  his 
household  well.  In  his  wife  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Captain  David  Bates,  whom  he  married  Janu- 
ary 15,  1782,  he  was  exceptionally  blessed.  She 
was  born  March  31,  1762,  and  died  January  22, 
1816.  She  was  the  sister  of  David  Stanhope 
Bates,  of  Rochester,  a  civil  engineer  of  eminence 
who  was  assistant  engineer  on  the  middle  di- 
visions of  the  Erie  canal,  and  afterward  chief 
engineer  of  canals  in  Ohio.  His  life  is  given  in 
Stuart's  "Civil  and  Military  Engineers  of  Amer- 
ica." The  father,  Captain  David  Bates,  of  Whip- 
pan}-,  was  a  remarkable  man,  of  great  and  varied 
experience.  He  died  September  7,  1820,  aged 
ninety-five  years,  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  full 
mental  power  and  faculties  of  observation  and 
perfect  memory,  almost  to  the  last  day.  His  wife 
was  Phebe  Tappan,  of  Morristown,  "an  accom- 
plished lady  of  quiet  and  winning  manners." 
Sarah,  his  daughter,  and  the  wife  of  Mr.  Doug- 
las, was  a  woman  of  singular  clearness  of  under- 
standing, sound  judgment  and  decided  character. 


Their  children  were:  Lucius  Franklin,  born  Jan- 
uary 1,  1783,  died  February  26,  1812;  Marcus 
Brutus,  born  December  2j,  1784,  died  February 
21,  1864;  David  Bates,  born  March  21,  1790,  of 
whom  later;  Esther  Maria,  born  March  2,  1796; 
Julia  Angelina,  born  March  7,  1800,  died  Decem- 
ber 22,  1834;  Caroline  died  in  infancy. 

(IV)  Major  Davis  Bates  Douglas,  LL.  D. 
(Nathaniel  2,  David  1,)  was  an  accomplished 
engineer.  He  was  born  at  Pompton,  New  Jersey, 
March  21,  1790,  and  died  October  21,  1849.  He 
married,  December  12,  1815,  Ann  Eliza,  daughter 
of  Andrew  and  Sarah  Brown  Ellicott,  wTho  was 
born  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  in  1792,  and 
died  in  Batavia,  New  York,  July  1,  1873.  David 
Bates  Douglas,  usually  known  as  Major  Doug- 
las, graduated  at  Yale  College,  B.  A.,  September 
1,  18 1 3.  and  received  the  master's  degree  from 
the  same  institution.  He  was  commissioned  sec- 
ond lieutenant  of  engineers,  U.  S.  A.,  thirty  days 
after,  and  was  ordered  to  West  Point.  He  was 
ordered  to  the  front  in  the  Niagara  campaign  of 
1814,  was  promoted  first  lieutenant  September 
17,  1814,  and  was  brevetted  captain  from  the 
same  date,  "for  distinguished  and  meritorious 
services -during  the  siege  of  Fort  Erie."  He  was 
commissioned  captain  of  engineers  March  31, 
1819.  January  1,  1815,  he  was  appointed  assis- 
tant professor  of  natural  philosophy  in  the 
United  States  Military  Academy,  West  Point.  In 
April,  1815,  he  was  ordered  to  examine  and  re- 
port upon  the  defenses  of  Narragansett  Bay, 
New  London  Harbor,  Saybrook  and  New  Haven. 
In  October,  1815,  being  officer  in  charge  at  West 
Point,  he  systemized  the  details  and  carried  into 
effect  the  organization  of  1812  as  to  the  military 
academy  and  corps  of  cadets.  In  1817  he  was 
ordered  to  make  a  reconnoissance  with  a  view  of 
fortifying  the  eastern  entrance  of  Long  Island 
Sound.  In  1819  he  was  appointed  the  United 
States  astronomical  surveyor  to  the  joint  commis- 
sion on  the  boundary,  appointed  under  the  6th 
and  7th  articles  of  the  Treaty  at  Ghent  to  survey 
the  Niagara  river  and  the  islands  of  Lake  Erie. 
In  1820  he  was  assigned  to  duty  as  civil  and  mil- 
itary engineer  and  astronomer  to  the  Northwest- 


212 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ern  expedition,  under  charge  of  Lewis  Cass,  or- 
ganized to  explore  the  country  bordering  upon 
Lake  Superior  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. August  29,  1820,  he  was  appointed  to 
succeed  Major  Andrew  Ellicott,  deceased,  as  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics  in  the  United  States  Mili- 
tary Academy;  May  1,  1823,  was  appointed  pro- 
fessor of  engineering  and  resigned  March  1, 
1831.  He  was  well  known  as  an  engineer  in  con- 
nection with  the  various  public  works.  In  1826- 
27  he  was  employed  by  the  board  of  internal  im- 
provements in  Pennsylvania  to  make  surveys  and 
estimates  for  a  canal  in  Pennsylvania  from  Con- 
neaut  Lake  to  Lake  Erie,  and  for  the  French 
Creek  feeder.  In  1828  he  was  employed  upon  the 
surveys  and  location  of  the  Upper  Delaware 
canal,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Sandy  and  Beaver 
canal,  Ohio.  In  1829  he  made  a  survey  and  re- 
port to  settle  the  terminus  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  at  Philadelphia.  In  1829-31  he  solved 
on  the  Morris  &  Essex  canal,  New  Jersey,  the 
problem  of  successfully  applying  the  inclined 
plane  to  canal  navigation  over  long  slopes.  In 
1 83 1  he  directed  the  reconnoissance  necessary 
for  uniting  the  city  of  Pittsburg  with  the  Ohio 
canal  by  railroad.  In  1831-32  he  surveyed  the 
Philadelphia,  Germantown  &  Norristown  rail- 
road. In  1832  he  was  professor  of  natural' phil- 
osophy in  the  New  York  University.  In  1833  he 
surveyed  the  route  of  the  Brooklyn  and  Jamaica 
Railroad,  and  made  the  preliminary  surveys  for 
supplying  the  city  of  New  York  with  pure  water. 
In  1834-36,  as  first  chief  engineer  of  the  Croton 
water  works,  he  made  the  surveys  and  pro- 
jected the  outlines  of  that  great  work.     In  1836- 

37  he  was  professor  of  architecture  and  civil  en- 
gineering in  the  New  York  University.    In  1837- 

38  he  examined  and  reported  on  the  hydraulic 
power  of  the  Monmouth  purchase,  and  made  a 
reconnoissance  of  the  coal  region  of  the  Upper 
Potomac.  In  1838-39  he  laid  out  Greenwood 
cemetery,  and  was  first  president  of  its  corpora- 
tion. In  1840-44  he  was  president  of  Kenyon 
College,  Ohio.  In  1841  he  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Yale  College,  August  3, 
and  from  Geneva  College  on  August  4,  and  was 
made  an  honorary  member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
in  1842.  In  t  844-48  he  was  engaged  in  various 
professional  works,  including  the  laying  out  of 
the  Albany  Rural  Cemetery  and  the  Quebec 
Protestant  Cemetery,  and  improvements  in 
Brooklyn.  He  was  professor  of  mathematics  in 
Geneva  College  in  1848-49.  He  possessed  great 
powers  of  analysis  which  he  exercised  not  in  a 
captious  or  doubting  spirit,  but  that  he  might 
better  know  and   form  the  material  whereon  to 


exercise  that  faculty  of  his  intellect  which  was. 
more  peculiarly  his  characteristic,  the  construc- 
tive talent.  Hence,  in  conversation  he  was  still 
the  teacher,  and,  without  any  of  the  forms  of  ar- 
gument, his  discourse,  clear  in  its  own  light,  was 
full  of  information.  A  sketch  of  his  life  will  be 
found  in  Appleton's  Encyclopedia,  Johnson's  En- 
cyclopedia, Stuart's  "Lives  of  the  Civil  and  Mil- 
itary Engineers  of  America,"  in  a  manuscript 
life  of  David  Bates  Douglas  by  the  late  Rev. 
Benjamin  Hale,  D.  D.,  president  of  Geneva  Col- 
lege ;  and  in  a  work  on  "The  Engineer  Corps, 
U.  S.  A." 

Major  Douglas  and  Ann  E.  Ellicott  had  eight' 
children:  Sarah,  born  at  West  Point,  August  11, 
1817,  died  July  26,  1877;  Charles  Edward,  born 
September  6,  1818;  Andrew  Ellicott,  born  No- 
vember 18,  1819;  Malcolm,  born  July  19,  1825; 
Henry,  born  March  9,  1827,  of  whom  later ; 
Emily,  born  at  West  Point,  December  10,  1828 ;, 
Ellen,  born  at  West  Point,  January  24,  1829; 
Mary  Louisa,  born  at  Brooklyn,  October  9,  1832. 

(V)  Colonel  Henry  Douglas,  (David  3,  Na- 
thaniel 2,  David  1),  fifth  child  of  Major  David 
Bates  and  Ann  (Ellicott)  Douglas,  was  born  at 
West  Point,  New  York,  March  9,  1827.  He  was 
graduated  from  the  United  States  Military  Acad- 
emy, West  Point,  June  30,  1852,  was  commis- 
sioned brevet  second  lieutenant  in  the  Seventh 
Regiment  Infantry,  and  served  in  the  Indian 
Territory.  December  31,  1853,  nP  was  promoted 
to  second  lieutenant  Eighth  Infantry,  and  served 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  in  Texas.  He  was  trans- 
ferred March  3,  1855,  to  the  Ninth  Infantry,  and 
served  with  his  regiment  in  Washington  Terri- 
tory and  Oregon.  He  was  promoted  to  first 
lieutenant  Ninth  Infantry,  September  10,  1856. 
From  May  to  December,  1857,  he  served  as  quar- 
termaster with  the  escort  of  the  Northwestern 
Boundary  Survey.  He  was  assistant  professor 
of  drawing  in  the  United  States  Military  Acad- 
emy, West  Point,  January  1,  1858,  to  July  1, 
1861.  He  was  promoted  to  captain  Eighteenth 
Infantry  on  May  14,  1861,  and  at  once  went  to 
the  field.     In  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  July  1, 

1861,  he  commanded  a  company  of  the  Third 
United  States  Infantry.  From  September  1  to 
November  30  he  was  on  provost  guard  duty  in 
Washington  City.  He  joined  the  Eighteenth  In- 
fantry in  December,  assigned  to  the  command  of 
Company   A.     From   December.   1861,   to  May, 

1862,  he  commanded  the  First  Battalion  of  the 
Eighteenth  Infantry,  and  was  acting  field  officer 
of  same  from  May,  1862,  to  December,  1863,  and 
commanded  the  battalion  until  April  of  that  year. 
His     military    service    included    the    operations 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


213 


■against  Corinth,  April  and  May,  1862 ;  the  battle 
of  Chaplin  Hills.  Kentucky,  October  8,  1862 ; 
•and  the  battles  at  Murfreesborough,  Tennessee, 
December  31,  1862,  and  January  1  and  2,  1863. 
He  was  wounded  in  action,  at  the  battle  of  Mur- 
freesborough, and,  being  incapacitated  for  field 
service,  was  placed  on  mustering  and  disbursing 
duty  in  April,  1863,  and  so  served  until  relieved, 
in  1866.  He  was  promoted  major  of  the  Third 
Infantry,  July  28,  1866,  and  was  in  command  at 
Fort  Dodge,  Kansas,  from  December  of  that 
vear  to  May,  1869.  From  November,  1869,  to 
December,  1870,  he  was  superintendent  of  Indian 
Affairs  for  Nevada.  He  was  assigned  to  the 
Eleventh  Infantry  January  1,  1871.  He  was  in 
command  of  Fort  Concho,  Texas,  from  May, 
1874.  to  May,  1875,  when  he  was  given  sick 
leave  of  absence  until  November  of  the  same 
year.  He  was  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  Fourteenth  United  States  Infantry  January 
10,  1876,  and  was  in  command  of  Fort  Cameron, 
Utah,  May  16,  1876,  also  cantonment  on  Uncom- 
pahgre,  Colorado,  and  Fort  Townsend,  Washing- 
ton. He  was  promoted  to  colonel  of  the  Tenth 
Infantry  July  1,  1885,  commanding  Fort  Bliss, 
Texas,  and  Fort  Union,  New  Mexico ;  relin- 
quished command  January  24,  1890,  to  go  on  sick 
leave ;  retired. 

Colonel  Henry  Douglas  married  (first)  July 
13,  1858,  Isadore,  daughter  of  Captain  Francis  L. 
•and  Angelina  C.  Bowman,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  her  father  being  a  captain  of  in- 
fantry in  the  United  States  army.  Mrs.  Douglas 
•died  August  1,  1867.  Colonel  Douglas  married 
(second)  October  29,  1873,  Mary,  daughter  of 
Samuel  F.  and  Lucy  Bossard,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania.  The  children  of  Henry  Douglas 
were :  Henry  Bowman,  born  at  West  Point, 
New  York,  June  29,  1859 ;  Francis,  born  at  West 
Point,  December  2,  i860;  of  whom  later;  Charles 
Edward,  born  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  August  26, 
1866 ;  George  Patterson,  born  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  February  26,  1878 ;  Ellen,  born, 
Fort  Cameron,  Utah,  December  10,  1879. 

(VI)  Francis  Douglas,  second  child  of  Col- 
onel Henry  and  Isadore  (Bowman)  Douglas, 
began  his  education  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  afterward  attended  DeVaux  College,  at 
Suspension  Bridge,  New  York.  After  gradua- 
tion he  tauo-ht  mathematics  in  that  institution, 
and  also  military  tactics,  bearing  the  title  of  cap- 
tain of  cadets.  He  was  subsequently  engaged 
for  three  years  in  a  clerical  capacity  in  the  United 
States  quartermaster's  department  under  his 
father,  at  Cantonment  on  the  Uncompahgre 
river,  in  Colorado.     April  15,   1885,  he  came  to 


Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  entered  the 
First  National  Bank  as  messenger,  and  was 
advanced  to  various  positions  to  that  of  assistant 
cashier  in  1899,  and  of  cashier  in  1901,  which 
office  he  holds  at  the  present  time.  His  period  of 
service  with  this  institution  has  extended  over 
twenty  years,  and  he  is  its  oldest  attache  in  point 
of  time.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church,  is  an  independent  in  politics, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club  and 
the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

Mr.  Douglas  married,  September  15,  1888, 
Annie  E.  Ellicott,  of  Batavia,  New  York,  a 
daughter  of  George  and  Mira  (Sears)  Ellicott. 
Her  father  was  born  in  Amherst,  Massachusetts. 
She  is  one  of  a  number  of  children ;  her  brother 
George  resides  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  is  the 
electrical  engineer  who  installed  the  electrical 
work  in  the  St.  Louis  Exposition. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Douglas  have  one  child,  Grace 
Reynolds  Douglas.  H.  E.  H. 

LANING  FAMILY.  Three  brothers  Lan- 
ing  came  from  Wales  to  America  and  settled  first 
on  Long  Island,  and  thence  removed  to  New  Jer- 
sey. One  bought  land  in  the  northern  part,  an- 
other in  the  southern  part,  and  the  third,  Robert, 
settled  in  what  is  now  Lawrenceville,  New  Jer- 
sey. This  Robert  is  thought  to  have  married  a 
Miss  Hart.  His  name  appears  among  the 
grantees  of  land  in  1698-99.  Among  the  child- 
ren of  Robert  was  a  son,  Daniel  Laning,  baptized 
at  Lawrenceville  in  1713.  His  will  was  recorded 
in  1 77 1.  His  wife  was  a  sister  of  Jonathan  Fur- 
man,  but  her  Christian  name  is  lost.  This  Daniel 
was  a  surveyor  and  lived  near  Ewingville. 

Among  the  children  of  Daniel  Laning  was  a 
son  Robert,  born  June  5,  1779.  who  lived  and 
died  in  Sussex  county,  New  Jersey.  His  wife 
was  Sarah  Coryell,  daughter  of  John  Coryell,  of 
French-Huguenot  extraction,  and  whose  lineage 
is  traced  to  the  nobility  of  France.  Among  the 
children  of  Robert  Laning  and  Sarah  Coryell  was 
a  son,  John  Laning,  who  lived  in  Owego,  Tioga 
county,  New  York,  who  was  the  progenitor  of 
one  of  the  prominent  families  of  the  "Southern 
Tier"  in  New  York  State,  and  whose  descendants 
in  later  years  came  to  be  recognized  among  the 
foremost  families  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  in 
Pennsylvania. 

John  Laning,  of  Owego,  New  York,  married, 
February  or  March,  1806,  Mary  Ann  Deshong,. 
widow  of  Weimar  Godfrey  Deshong,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Colonel  Mathias  Hollenback,  who  was  the 
third  child  and  son  of  John  Hollenback,  the 
progenitor  of  this  branch  of  the  Hollenback  fam- 


214 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ily  in  America.  (See  Welles  Family).  Alary 
Ann  Hollenback  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania.  February  27,  1783,  and  died  in 
Owego,  New  York,  March  1,  1854.  She  mar- 
ried (first)  June  or  July,  1799,  Weimar  Godfrey 
Deshong,  and  had  by  him  three  children :  Mat- 
thias Hollenback  Deshong,  George  Deshong,  and 
John  G.  Deshong,  all  born  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania.  After  his  death  she  married  John 
Laning,  and  had  by  him  the  following  children, 
all  born  in  Owego,  New  York : 

1.  Alary  Ann  Laning,  born  February  28, 
1807;  died  in  New  Jersey,  January  2,  1880;  mar- 
ried, March,  1824,  John  Roset. 

2.  Augustus  C.  Laning,  born  September  30, 
1808 ;  died,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  May  29, 
1875  :  married  Amanda  E.  Christel. 

3.  Ellen  Hollenback  Laning,  born  March  8, 
1810;  died  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  April  9, 
1850 ;  married,  November  14,  1827,  George  H. 
Bicking,  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia. 

4.  Matthias  Laning,  born  April  20,  1812; 
died,  Wysox,  Pennsylvania,  May  3,  1890;  mar- 
ried, October  29,  1835,  Ann  H.  Overton. 

5.  Sarah  .Laning,  born  July,  1814;  died, 
Owego,  New  York,  November  3,  1842 ;  married 
1833^.  E.  B.  Phelps. 

6.  John  C.  Laning,  born  June  14,  1816;  died 
Owego,  New  York,  May,  1897;  married,  January 
15,  1839,  Juliette  Truman. 

7.  Emily  G.  Laning,  born  October  5,  1818; 
died  Owego,  New  York,  November  25,  1879; 
married.  May  18.  1837,  John  J.  Taylor. 

Augustus  C.  Laning  removed  from  Owego, 
Xew  York,  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1822  and  made  his  home  with  the  family  of  his 
uncle.  George  M.  Hollenback.  He  was  employed 
as  clerk  in  the  mercantile  establishment  of  his 
grandfather.  Colonel  Matthias  Hollenback.  In 
1826  he  began  working  in  his  uncle's  store,  but 
about  1830,  when  he  became  of  age,  he  set  up  in 
business  for  himself  in  Kingston.  He  soon  re- 
turned to  Wilkes-Barre,  however,  and  for  a  time 
carried  on  business  on  the  east  side  of  the  public 
square.  About  1833-34  he  erected  a  stone  build- 
ing for  an  iron  foundry  on  the  west  side  of  the 
square,  on  the  site  where  now  stands  the  Laning 
building.  Here  he  carried  on  business  with  good 
success  until  the  early  part  of  1850,  when  (Jan- 
uary 3)  the  buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire.  He 
then  built  a  brick  foundry  and  machine  shop  on 
the  west  side  of  the  canal,  north  of  Market  street, 
and  there  began  the  manufacture  of  new  and  im- 
proved mechanical  appliances,  machines,  boilers 
and  castings,  and  here  Samuel  R.  Marshall,  for- 


merly of  Philadelphia,  made  his  appearance  in 
Wilkes-Barre  industrial  history  in  the  capacity  of 
superintendent  of  the  Laning  shops.  About  1853 
Air.  Marshall  acquired  an  interest  in  the  business, 
and  then  was  formed  the  partnership  of  Laning  & 
Marshall,  which  for  the  next  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  was  the  leading  house  in  its  line  of  manu- 
facture in  northeastern  Pennsylvania.  The  firm 
continued  in  business  until  1869,  when  its  plant 
and  machinery  were  sold  to  and  became  a  part  of 
the  afterward  famous  Dickson  Manufacturing 
Company  of  Scranton.  Air.  Laning  erected  the 
first  coalheater  built  in  this  section. 

From  this  time  until  his  death.  Air.  Laning 
devoted  his  attention  to  the  care  of  his  real  es- 
tate and  other  personal  interests,  and  also  to  the 
enjoyment  of  his  well  deserved  competency.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  in  1808  of  the  Miner's 
Saving  Bank,  and  was  its  president  from  that 
time  to  his  death  in  1875  ;  was  treasurer  and  one 
of  the  managers  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Bridge 
Company,  and  for  the  last  five  years  of  his  life 
was  a  member  of  the  board  of  commissioners  of 
the  Luzerne  County  prison.  From  May,  1844, 
to  May,  1846,  he  was  burgess  of  Wilkes-Barre ; 
and  from  1871  to  1874  was  member  at  large  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  city  council,  and  chairman  of 
the  finance  committee  of  that  body.  About  1870 
he  presented  the  Wilkes-Barre  municipal  corpor- 
ation with  the  steam  fire  engine  "Mechanic,"  and 
when  the  second  steamer  was  purchased  by  the 
city  in  1874  it  was  named  the  "A.  C.  Laning,"  in 
honor  of  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  the  old 
department  ever  had. 

Air.  Laning  married,  December  8,  1831, 
Amanda  Elizabeth  Christel,'  born  Hanover  town- 
ship, Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  22^ 
1814,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  No- 
vember 19,  1883.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Charles  Francis  Joseph  Christel  and  wife  Eliza- 
beth Stookey.  Dr.  Christel  was  born  in  Munich, 
Bavaria,  February  12,  1776,  son  of  Philip  and  Ce- 
cilia (Roth)  Christel.  Dr.  Christel  came  to  Amer- 
ica when  young  and  settled  in  Salem  township,. 
Luzerne  county,  about  1797  or  1798.  He  studied 
medicine,  and  about  1800  or  1801  removed  to 
Huntington  township.  Luzerne  count}-,  and  was 
the  second  resident  physician  there.  About  1812 
or  1813  he  removed  to  Hanover  township,  same 
county.  From  1822  to  1825  he  practiced  medi- 
cine and  kept  hotel  in  old  Hanover,  and  then  re- 
moved to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  was  proprietor 
of  the  Wyoming  Hotel,  on  the  west  side  of  South 
Alain  street,  where  the  "Christel  Block"  was 
erected  in  1882. 


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THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


21 '■ 


Augustus  C.  and  Amanda  Elizabeth  (Chris- 
tel)  Laning  had  children,  all  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Penns_vlvania : 

i.  Elizabeth  Virginia  Laning,  born  Novem- 
beh  5,  1832;  married  (first),  November  12,  1856, 
Josiah  H.  Bradner,  and  had  Fanny  A.  Bradner, 
born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  March  21, 
1858,  died  there  November  29,  1864;  married' 
(second),  August  25,  1868,  George  Cotton 
Smith,  and  had  Sarah  P.  Smith,  born  Chicago, 
Illinois,  December  23,  1871  ;  and  Amanda  M. 
Smith,  born  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  August  5, 
1877.  George  Cotton  Smith  was  a  native  of  St. 
Lawrence  county,  New  York,  and  a  prominent 
business  man  of  Chicago,  Illinois.  In  1853  ne 
established  a  manufacturing  and  wholesale  paper 
business  in  Chicago  under  the  name  of  Bradner, 
Smith  &  Company.  The  same  firm  continues 
business  at  this  time  (1905)  and  is  the  largest  of 
the  kind  in  the  west,  and  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
world.  In  i860  Mr.  Smith  succeeded  J.  W. 
Drexel  &  Co.,  in  the  banking  business  under  the 
firm  name  of  George  C.  Smith  and  Brother. 

2.  Mary  Ann  Laning,  born  September  26, 
1834;  died  August  31,  1838. 

3.  John  Laning,  born  August  7,  1836 ;  mar- 
ried, September,  19,  1865,  Helen  C.  Brower  of 
New  York  City,  and  had  six  children.  (See 
post).    She  died  December  31,  1894. 

4.  Amanda  Mary  Laning,  born  December 
21,  1841  ;  died  September  5,  1886;  married  (first) 
Rodney  Merritt ;  married  (second)  William  J. 
Harvey.     (See  Harvev  Family). 

John  Laning,  only  son  of  Augustus  C.  and 
Amanda  Elizabeth  (Christel)  Laning,  was  born 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  has  there  spent  his  entire 
business  life.  He  was  educated  in  the  old  aca- 
demy that  stood  on  the  public  square,  and  pre- 
pared there  for  college.  In  1854  he  entered  La- 
fayette College,  and  at  the  end  of  a  three  years' 
course  there  he  matriculated  at  Union  College, 
Schenectady,  New  York,  where  he  graduated  in 
1858.  He  was  then  employed  by  the  firm  of 
Laning  &  Marshall,  first  as  draftsman,  later  as 
bookkeeper,  and  became  thoroughly  conversant 
with  the  business  in  every  department  and  detail ; 
and  after  the  sale  of  the  firm's  plant  and  property 
to  the  Dickson  Manufacturing  Company,  1869, 
and  the  death  of  his  father,  1875,  he  succeeded 
to  the  management  of  the  varied  and  extensive 
Laning  properties  and  interests,  which  have  been 
greatly  enlarged  and  enhanced  in  value  under  his 
direction,  the  estate  never  having  been  divided 
but  maintained  intact,  as  it  was  when  Augustus 
C.  Laning  died.  Among  his  varied  interests  Mr. 
Laning  is  a  director  of  the  Miners'  Saving  Bank, 


of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Bridge  Company,  and  was 
also  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  and  Wyoming  Valley 
Traction  Company.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  He  is  prominent  in  Masonic 
circles.  He  has  been  a  member  of  Wilkes-Barre 
Lodge,  No.  61,  since  1861,  and  has  held  all  the 
chairs  therein ;  of  Shekinah  Chapter,  No.  182,  in 
which  he  has  twice  been  high  priest ;  of  the  Coun- 
cil at  Mauch  Chunk ;  of  Dieu  le  Veut  Command- 
ery,  No.  45,  Knights  Templar ;  and  has  taken 
the  thirty-second  degree,  Scottish  Rite.  He 
was  made  a  Noble  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  in  Lulu 
Temple  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Irem  Temple,  No.  46,  Wilkes-Barre,  with 
which  he  is  now  affiliated. 

Children'  of  John  and  Helen  C.  (Brower) 
Laning,  all  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania : 

1.  Augustus  C.  Laning,  born  June  19,  1866; 
married  September  20,  1894,  Eva  M.  Cole, 
daughter  of  Samuel  B.  Cole  and  Harriet  M. 
Maxfield.  Children :  Helen  Cobb,  born  May  7, 
1895;  Emily  Harriet,  born  November  11,  1896; 
Augustus  Charles,  born  March  5,  1898 ;  Eliza- 
beth Virginia,  born  August  12,  1899;  Dorothy 
Roset,  born  April  3,  1901  ;  Robert  Hollenback, 
bom  March  8,  1902.  2.  Emily  B.,  born  August 
2,  1867;  died  October  15,  1867.  3.  Elizabeth  V., 
born  October  12,  1868.  4.  Horace  P.,  born  No- 
vember 2,  1869 ;  died  in  infancy.  5.  Helen  B., 
born  February  15,  1871  ;  died  in  infancy.  6.  John, 
born  March  16,  1872.  H.  E.  H. 

GEORGE  CHAHOON  LEWIS,  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Ralph  Lewis,  with  his  wife  Mar)'  and 
family,  emigrated  from  the  parish  of  Ulan, 
Glamorganshire,  Wales,  to  Pennsylvania  in 
company  with  John  ap  Bevan  in  1683-4,  and 
settled  in  Haverfor-d  township,  Chester  county. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  by 
convincement,  as  is  attested  by  the  certificate 
which  he  brought  with  him  to  the  Friends  here. 
This  certificate  is  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  the 
Friends  Meeting  at  Radnor,  and  was  given  by 
the  meeting  at  Treverig,  Glamorganshire,  10,  7th 
mo.,  1683,  and  reads  as  follows: 

"In  like  manner  doe  we  hereby  certifie  unto 
those  concerned  herein,  That  Ralph  Lewis,  with 
his  family,  passing  ye  same  time  with  our  friend 
John  ap  Bevan,  for  Pennsylvania,  belonging  to 
our  meeting  nere  Treverigg  Is  such  a  man  knowne 
unto  us  to  be  of  an  innocent  life  and  conversation, 
walking  amongst  us  as  become  one  prophessing 
the  truth ;  not  knowing  by  him,  since  we  had  ac- 
quaintance together  in  the  Gospell,  any  failing  or 
Infirmitie  whereby  ye  truth  dide  in  the  least  suffer 
by  him,  and  that  is  much  to  our  comfort  wherever 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


217 


*****  "The  prominence  of  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia as  the  seat  of  the  Congress  of  the  Con- 
federation, and  her  superiority  in  population 
and  commerce,  up  to  the  removal  of  the  seat  of 
the  Federal  Government  to  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington in  1 80 1,  may  account  in  some  degree  for 
the  diffusion  of  Mr.  Lewis'  celebrity,  which 
partook  of  the  distinction  awarded  to  the  city. 
But  it  was  not  in  criminal  law  alone  that  he  was 
deemed  bv  other  cities  to  be  the  most  able  man 
at  the  Bar.  He  was  a  person  of  great  intellect- 
ual ardor,  and  of  strong  grasp  of  mind ;  and  both 
in  law  and  politics,  and  other  matters  too,  he  took 
firm  hold  of  whatever  interested  him.  His  great 
devotion  was,  of  course,  to  professional  studies. 

"In  February,  1794,  he  was  counsel  for  the 
petitioners  against  the  election  of  Albert  Gal- 
latin to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  by  the 
Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was  heard  be- 
fore the  Senate ;  the  first  occasion  on  which  the 
Senate  opened  its  doors  to  professional  counsel, 
•or  to  the  public. 

*  *  *  "He  achieved  a  great  victory  at  the 
Bar  and  also  in  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania 
in  the  year  1788,  when  a  spirit  of  factious  jeal- 
ousy, under  the  lead  of  a  very  ardent  and  deter- 
mined man  aspired  to  deprive  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State  of  one  of  its  most  ancient  and 
necessary  powers — the  right  of  the  Court  to  pun- 
ish by  fine  and  imprisonment,  without  trial  by 
jury,  for  a  contempt  of  court,  in  the  columns 
of  a  newspaper.  *  *  * 

"When  fully  engaged  in  argument,  he  saw 
nothing  and  thought  of  nothing  but  his  cause ; 
and,  in  that,  would  sometimes  rise  to  the  fervor 
and  energy  of  a  sybil.  He  was  about  six  feet  in 
height  as  he  stood,  and  would  have  been  more 
if  he  had  been  bent  back  to  the  perpendicular 
from  the  curve  in  which  he  habituallv  inclined 
forward.  At  the  same  time  he  was  spare  of  flesh, 
and  destitute  of  almost  all  dimensions  but  length. 
His  countenance  was  intellectual,  but  its  general 
effect  was  hurt  by  his  spectacles,  and  bv  the  alti- 
tude and  length  of  his  nose,  of  which,  neverthe- 
less he  was  immensely  proud.'  *  *  * 

"He  abominated  the  Gallican  invention,  as 
he  called  it,  of  pantaloons,  and  stuck  to  knee- 
breeches  all  his  life ;  and,  under  the  same  pre- 
judice, he  adhered  to  hair  powder  and  ?.  cue. 
because  the  French  Revolutionists  had  first  re- 
jected them  from  their  armies.  *  *  He  smoked 
cigars  incessantly.  He  smoked  at  the  fireplace  in 
court.  He  smoked  in  the  Court  Library ;  in  his 
office :  in  the  street ;  in  bed ;  and  he  would  have 
smoked  in  church  if  he  had  ever  gone  there." 
(Henry's  History,  Lodge  71,  F.  &  A.  M.) 


David  Paul  Brown  in  his  Forum  says: 

"Mr. Lewis'  career  was  a  manifestation  of  the 
aristocracy  of  mind.  His  powers  of  reasoning 
were  of  the  highest  order.  His  manner  of  speech 
was  rough  but  most  powerful.  He  spoke  the 
English  language  with  extraordinary  purity. 
His  wit  was  keen  but  rough,  and  in  sarcasm  he 
had  no  equal." 

In  1820  William  Primrose  of  Philadelphia, 
who  had  been  a  friend  and  contemporary  of  Judge 
Lewis,  wrote  a  very  interesting  sketch  of  the  lat- 
ter's  life.  The  original  manuscript  of  Mr.  Prim- 
rose was  given  into  the  possession  of  the  Lewis 
family,  and  has  remained  there  to  the  present 
time.  In  April  1896,  the  sketch  was  published 
in  the  "Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History." 
Philadelphia,  accompanied  by  a  silhouette  of 
Judge  Lewis. 

Judge  Lewis  and  his  wife  Rosanna  Lort,  had 
three  children :  Josiah,  of  whom  later ;  Martha, 
married  Dr.  Samuel  F.  Conover ;  Margaret, 
married  May  23,  1792,  Stephen  Agarcl. 

Josiah  Lewis,  only  son  of  Hon.  William  and 
Rosana  (Lort)  Lewis,  born  Philadelphia,  died  2d, 
5mo.,  185 1,  Lackawanna,  Pa.  (was  buried  in  the 
Atherton  burial  ground,  and  in  1891,  his  remains, 
together  with  his  wife's,  were  removed  and  re-in- 
terred). 

Josiah  Lewis  came  with  his  wife  and  infant 
con  from  Philadelphia  to  Wilkes-Barre,  1804, 
where  he  resided  until  1809,  when  he  removed  to 
Kingston,  Luzerne  county.  In  1818,  he  re- 
turned to  Wilkes-Barre.  In  1806  he  was 
constable  of  Wilkes-Barre  borough  and  town- 
ship :  in  182 1  he  was  deputy  surveyor  of 
Luzerne  county ;  and  from  May,  1830,  to 
May,  1833,  he  was  burgess  of  Wilkes-Barre 
borough.  In  1834  he  removed  from  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  a  farm  which  he  owned  in  what  is  now 
Old  Forge,  Lackawanna  county,  Pennsylvania. 
In  the  winter  of  1838  he  had  a  severe  fall  on 
the  ice,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  at  his  home  in  Lackawanna  county,  he 
was  a  cripple — almost  helpless.  He  was  a  good 
classical  scholar,  having  received  his  education  at 
the  old  Philadelphia  Academv,  and  was  a  sur- 
veyor by  profession.  "He  was  an  extraordinary 
man,  and  woidd  have  made  his  mark  in  any  posi- 
tion in  life.  Cordial  and  social  in  his  intercourse 
with  his  friends  and  neighbors,  his  company  was 
sought  and  appreciated,  and  he  was  always  a  wel- 
come guest  at  social  or  convivial  board." 

He  was  married  to  Margaret  Delany.  23d, 
3mo.,  1799.  by  Rt.  Rev.  William  White.  D.  D. 
She  died  31st,  iomo.,  1852,  aged  seventy-two 
years.     She   was   a   daughter  of   Sharp   Delany, 


218 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


who  was  a  native  of  the  county  of  Monaghan, 
Ireland,  and  came  to  Philadelphia  before  the  Rev- 
olution. 

Sharp  Delany  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1736, 
the  son  of  Daniel  and  Rachel  (Sharp)  Delany,  of 
Bally  Fin,  Queen's  county.  He  received  a  thor- 
ough school  education,  and  then  learned  the 
apothecary  business.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight 
he  immigrated  to  America,  and  in  1764  or  '65  es- 
tablished himself  as  a  druggist  in  Philadelphia,  at 
the  northwest  corner  of  South  Second  street  and 
Lodge  alley,  where  he  carried  on  an  extensive  and 
profitable  business  in  that  line  for  some  years  in 
partnership  with  his  brother,  Dr.  William  De- 
lany. The  brothers  dissolved  partnership,  De- 
cember 30th,  1788,  and  Dr.  Delany  continued  the 
business.  He  was  a  deputy  from  Philadelphia  to 
the  Provincial  Conference  which  met  in  Car- 
penter's Hall,  Philadelphia,  January  23  and  June 
18,  1775,  and  June  18  to  24,  1776.  On  the  last 
named  date  the  members  of  the  Conference 
adopted  "A  Declaration  on  the  subject  of  the  In- 
dependence of  this  (Pennsylvania)  Colonv  of  the 
Crown  of  Great  Britain,"  and  unanimously  de- 
clared their  "willingness  to  concur  in  a  vote  of 
Congress  declaring  the  United  Colonies  free  and 
independent  states."  Thomas  McKean,  Benja- 
min Rush,  Timothy  Matlack  and  Sharp  Delany 
were  some  of  the  Philadelphia  deputies  who 
signed  this  declaration,  which  was  laid  before  the 
Continental  Congress  and  read  June  25.  Three 
days  later  the  first  draft  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  reported  to  Congress  by  the 
committee  having  the  matter  in  charge,  and  four 
days  thereafter  (July  2),  the  resolution  was 
passed  which  formally  declared  the  Independence 
of  the  Colonies. 

Sharp  Delany  was  captain  of  a  company  of 
Philadelphia  "  Associates"  or  militia,  July,  1776, 
and  early  in  1777  he  was  promoted  to  the  ma- 
jority of  one  of  the  city  battalions,  and  about  July 
1,  1777,  he  became  colonel  of  the  "Philadelphia 
Second  Battalion  of  Foot  in  the  service  of  the 
Cnited  States."  He  was  elected  by  Congress, 
November  20,  1776,  one  of  the  seven  managers 
"to  carry  into  execution"  a  certain  lotterv,  which 
had  been  previously  authorized  by  Congress  for 
the  purpose  of  "raising  a  sum  of  money  on  loan, 
bearing  an  annual  interest  of  4  per  cent,  to  be  ap- 
plied for  carrying  on  the  (then)  present  most 
just  and  necessary  war."  In  1780  he  subscribed 
1. 000  pounds  to  the  bank  established  to  supply  the 
Continental  army  with  provisions. 

Colonel  Delany  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Assembly  in  1780-81.  and  in  March.  1784. 
was  appointed  state  collector  of  customs  at  Phil- 


adelphia. He  was  appointed  by  President  Wash- 
ington, May  8,  1789,  collector  of  the  Philadelphia 
port,  and  held  the  office  for  a  number  of  years, 
certainly  till  1797.  He  transacted  the  business  of 
collector  in  the  front  portion  of  his  residence  on 
the  southeast  corner  of  Second  and  Walnut 
streets.  In  1789  he  was  also  state  collector  of 
imposts.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Hiberian 
Society,  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  and 
the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  He  possessed  the 
Iriendship  and  regard  of  Washington,  who  was 
often  a  guest  at  his  house.  In  one  of  the  cabinets 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Soci- 
ety, Wilkes-Barre,  is  preserved  a  small  lock  of 
General  Washington's  hair,  which  was  once  pos- 
sessed by  Colonel  Delany,  and  was  presented  by 
one  of  his  descendants  to  the  Society.  Colonel 
Delany  died  at  his  home  in  Philadelphia,  May  13, 
1799,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Peter's  churchyard. 

Colonel  Delany 's  eldest  daughter,  Sarah,  mar- 
ried October  17,  1787,  in  Christ  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, Major  James  Moore,  son  of  James 
Moore,  of  Chester  county.  She  was  one  of  the 
belles  of  Philadelphia  society".  Major  Moore 
served  through  the  Revolutionary  war  with 
credit,  entering  the  service  as  captain  under  Col- 
onel Anthony  Wayne.  During  the  troubles  in 
the  Wyoming  valley  in  1784,  between  the 
Connecticut  settlers  and  the  Pennamites.  Major 
Moore  commanded  some  of  the  soldiers  sent  by 
the  state  authorities  against  the  settlers,  and 
Charles  Miner,  in  his  "History  of  Wyoming" 
(page  349),  describes  him  as  having  been  the 
"active  oppressor  of  the  settlers,  and  confidential 
coadjutor  of  (Justice)  Patterson." 

Josiah  and  Margaret  (Delany)  Lewis  had 
eleven  children  :  ( 1 )  Margaret  Delany,  born  1 
mo.,  31,  1800,  died  3  mo.,  15,  1853;  (2)  William, 
born  3  mo.,  7,  1801.  died  5  mo.,  6,  1889:  (3) 
Sharp  Delany,  born  1  mo.,  2,  1804,  died  3  mo.,. 
25,  1879 ;  (4)  Frances  Baldwin,  born  9  mo.,  1807, 
died  4  mo.,  15,  i860;  (5)  Martha  Allen,  born 
9  mo.,  20,  1809,  died  7  mo.,  3,  1882:  (6)  Josiah 
born  10  mo.,  13,  1811,  died  3  mo..  17,  1815;  (7) 
Mary  Anne  D.,  born  12  mo.,  9,  1813,  died  9  mo., 
1848;  (8)  Josiah,  born  11  mo.,  13,  1815,  died  7 
mo.,  11,  1890;  (9)  Samuel  Allen,  born  6  mo., 
28,  1817,  died  5  mo.,  31,  1886;  (10)  Phcebe  E., 
born  6  mo.,  23,  1820,  died  6  mo.,  15,  1897;  (11) 
Thomas  R.  D.,  born  8  mo..  1822. 

Josiah  Lewis,  son  of  Josiah  and  Margaret 
(Delany),  born  in  Kingston,  11  mo.,  15.  1815. 
died  7  mo.,  11,  1890.  He  was  for  a  number  of 
years  engaged  in  the  tannery  business  with  Will- 
iam Bowman,  at  the  corner  of  North  and  North 
Main  streets,  and  afterward  conducted  a  leather 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


2191 


store  on  the  east  side  of  the  public  square,  where 
he  was  burned  out  in  the  great  fire  which  swept 
over  that  locality  in  1855.  He  married  Arabella 
Duncan  Cahoon,  9  mo.,  13,  1843,  daughter 
of  George  Chahoon  and  Mary  (Baker)  Chahoon. 
George  Chahoon  was  from  1804  until  his  removal 
to  Hunlock's  creek  the  leading  carpenter,  erect- 
ing most  of  the  prominent  buildings  during  that 
time.  He  was  remarkable  for  industry,  energy, 
probity  and  good  workmanship.  On  occasional 
pleasure  parties  he  was  one  of  those  whole-souled, 
true  hearted  men,  who  gave  life  to  the  occasion. 
His  prejudices  were  strong,  and  his  enemies  like 
his  friends,  knew  where  to  find  him  always,  but 
no  man  was  more  placable.  He  never  cherished 
anger  when  the  disposition  to  be  on  good  terms 
prevailed.  There  was  this  distinguished  excel- 
lence in  the  character  of  George  Chahoon.  He 
spoke  plainly  just  what  he  thought.  There  was 
no  concealment  about  him.  He  was,  as  the  say- 
ing is,  open  and  aboveboard.  He  would  tell  a 
friend  his  faults,  show  where  he  was  wrong,  not 
offensively,  but  kindly,  though  he  spoke  it  out. 

His  wife  Mary  Baker,  was  the  daughter  of 

Baker,  who  came  from  Connecticut  and  settled 
in  Forty  Fort,  Luzerne  county.  Her  mother  was 
a  sister  of  the  celebrated  American  traveler  John 
Ledyard,  who  was  with  Captain  Cook  when  the 
latter  was  killed  by  the  Sandwich  Island  savages. 

Josiah  and  Arabella  (Chahoon)  Lewis  had 
two  children :  George  Chahoon  Lewis,  and  Mary 
Chahoon  Lewis,  of  whom  later. 

George  Chahoon  Lewis,  born  8  mo.,  14, 
1844,  married  Mary  Pomela  Squires,  9  mo., 
6,  1876,  at  Chenango  Forks,  Broome  county,  New 
York.  She  was  a  descendant  of  John  Barker, 
one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Broome  county,  after 
whom  the  town  of  Barker  was  named.  Their 
children  are :  Anna  Chahoon  Lewis,  born  6  mo., 
17,  1877;  Ruth  Hyde  Lewis,  born  11  mo.,  23, 
1878,  married  6  mo.,  10,  1905,  Arnold  Rohn, 
born  7  mo.,  29,  1890.  Mr.  Lewis  was  educated 
at  Nazareth  Hall,  Nazareth,  Pennsylvania,  and 
is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  He  served  as  private  in  Company  I, 
Third  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Militia,  Capt. 
Agib  Ricketts,  1862,  for  one  month ;  also  in  Com- 
pany K,  Capt.  E.  W.  Finch,  Thirtieth  Regiment, 
1863,  emergency  troops. 

Mary  Chahoon  Lewis,  daughter  of  Josiah  and 
Arabella  D.  Lewis,  born  May  26,  1846,  married 
October  26,  1871,  to  L.  Horace  Gross,  of  Allen- 
town,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Deshler)  Gross  and  grandson  of  Peter  Gross,  an 
active  participant  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  Two 


children  were  born  to  Air.  and  Mrs.  Gross :  Ara- 
bella Lewis  Gross,  born  February  17,  1875;  John 
Lewis  Gross,  born  March  20,  1876.       H.  E.  H. 

ALEXANDER  FAMILY.  Among  the 
early  members  of  this  family  was  John  Alexander, 
of  county  Donegal,  Ireland.  He  married  Isa- 
bella Marks  and  had  issue,  all  born  in  Ireland,  as  • 
follows :  Thomas,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Will- 
iam; John,  born  1753,  married  Jane  Byers ;  Sam- 
uel ;  James. 

Thomas  Alexander,  son  of  John  and  Isabella 
(Marks)  Alexander,  came  to  America  in  1760 
and  settled  in  Carlisle,  Cumberland  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  among  the  members  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Carlisle,  in  1773. 
and  177S,  as  were  also  his  brothers,  William  and 
Samuel  Alexander.     He  married  Agnes  Mitchell, 

daughter  of  and  Mary   Mitchell,  and" 

their  children,  all  born  in  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania, . 
were  as  follows  :    John  ;  William,  died  in  infancy  ; 
William,  called  "Big  Billy,'  captain   of  the  war- 
of  1812;  Thomas,  a  saddler  by  trade,  was  ensign 
in   Captain   Beckwith's   company  in  the   war  of 
18 12;  in   1826  he  was  a  resident  of  Lewistown, 
Pennsylvania,' but  later  went  west,  supposedly  to 
St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  there  died;  Mary,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Clendenin,  and  had" 
several  children,  one   of  whom  married  Robert 
Irvine,   of   Carlisle.     Isabella,  who    became    the 
wife  of  William  Mackley,  of  Carlisle,  in  which 
city  her  death  occurred.     The  parents    of    these 
children  died  June  15,  1802,  and  April  12,  1794, 
respectively. 

William  Alexander,  second  son  of  John  and 
Isabella  (Marks)  Alexander,  came  to  Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania,  subsequent  to  the  year  1760,  and 
was  active  in  support  of  the  colonies  during  the 
Revolution.  He  was  commissioned  first  lieuten- 
ant in  Captain  Rippey's  Company,  Sixth  Battal- 
ion of  Pennsylvania,  under  Colonel  William  Ir- 
vine, January  9,  1776:  was  promoted  captain, 
October  25,  1776;  appointed  major,  Third  Regi- 
ment of  the  Pennsylvania  line,  April  16,  1780; 
retired  July  1,  1783.  He  was  appointed  July  8, 
1786,  to  survey  militarv  roads  west  of  the  Al- 
leghany and  Ohio  rivers  in  Pennsylvania.  Fam- 
ily tradition  says  he  was  appointed  brigadier- 
general  in  1812,  but  did  not  enter  the  service, 
although  fully  equipped  for  the  campaign.  He 
wa-  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of" 
Pennsylvania.  His  certificate  of  membership  is 
still  in  the  possession  of  his  descendant,  John 
Alexander,  of  Center  Moreland.  Pennsylvania, 
and  bears  the   signatures    of    Washington    and 


220 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Knox,  being  dated  October  31,  1785.  William 
Alexander  died  unmarried  in  November,  1813. 

John  Alexander,  third  son  of  John  and  Isa- 
bella (Marks)  Alexander,  came  to  Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania,  after  the  year  1760,  and  distin- 
guished himself  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 
He  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  in  Cap- 
tain Abraham  Smith's  Company,  Colonel  Will- 
iam Irvine's  Sixth  Pennsylvania  Battalion,  raised 
in  the  Cumberland  Valley,  January  9,  1776 ;  first 
lieutenant,  March  23,  1776;  captain  of  Seventh 
Regiment  Pennsylvania  line,  March  20,  1777; 
appointed  paymaster  of  First  Pennsylvania  Regi- 
ment, August  27,  1778 ;  transferred  to  Fourth 
Pennsylvania  Regiment,  January  17.  1781.  He 
is  believed  to  have  attained  the  rank  of  colonel, 
but  he  resigned  July  11,  1781,  for  the  purpose  of 
marrying,  his  betrothed  being  opposed  to  his  re- 
maining longer  in  service.  He  was  major  of 
militia  at  Carlisle,  September,  1794,  during  the 
Whiskey  Insurrection.  He  married  at  Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania,  Jane  Byers,  daughter  of  John 
Byers,  of  Carlisle,  formerly  of  Lancaster  county, 
and  their  children  were :  John  Byers,  married 
at  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  April  22,  1806,  Sidney 
Smith,  and  settled  at  Greensburg,  Pennsylvania. 
James,  settled  in  Pittsburg.  Thomas,  settled  in 
Pittsburg.  Samuel,  a  lawyer  at  Carlisle,  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Blaine.  William.  Isabella,  married 
Andrew  Carothers,  at  Carlisle.  Rebecca.  Jane 
Mary.  Margaret  Elizabeth.  John  Alexander, 
father  of  these  children,  died  at  Carlisle,  August 
4.  1805.  John  Byers,  father  of  Jane  (Byers) 
Alexander,  immigrated  to  America  from  Ireland 
with  his  brother  James  before  1750.  October  24, 
1758,  he  held  a  commission  from  the  crown  as 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  acted  as  an  associate 
judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  for  the 
county.  He  continued  in  office  until  1780,  and 
at  one  time  was  president  judge.  In  1781  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  supreme  executive  coun- 
cil from  Cumberland  county.  He  was  an  active 
member  and  elder  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Carlisle. 

Samuel  Alexander,  fourth  son  of  John  and. 
Isabella  (Marks)  Alexander,  came  to  Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania,  with  his  brothers  subsequent  to 
the  year  1760  and  entered  the  Revolutionary 
army.  His  name  appears  among  the  members  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Carlisle  in  1785. 
Subsequently  he  removed  to  Pittsburg  and  was  a 
merchant  there.  He  married.  September  13, 
1785.  Isabella  Creigh,  daughter  of  John  Creigh, 
and  their  children  were :  John,  William,  and 
Samuel.  John  Creigh,  f?ther  of  Isabella  (Creish) 
Alexander,  emigrated  from  Ireland  to  America 


in  1 761  and  settled  at  Carlisle.  He  was  a  son 
of  John  Creigh,  a  ruling  elder  of  the  church  at 
Carmony,  Ireland.  John  Creigh,  Jr.,  was  an  ac- 
tive defender  of  American  liberties.  He  filled 
many  offices  in  the  county,  namely :  register  of 
wills,  recorder  of  deeds,  clerk  of  the  orphans' 
court,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  president  judge. 
Among  his  grandsons  was  Alfred  Creigh,  LL. 
D.,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Creigh,  D.  D. 

James  Alexander,  fifth  son  of  John  and  Isa- 
bella (Marks)  Alexander,  came  to  America  with 
his  parents.  His  wife's  christian  name  was  Mar- 
gery, and  among  their  children  was  a  son  James, 
who  was  a  professor  in  the  Lniversity  of  Dublin, 
Ireland. 

John  Alexander,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  and 
Agnes  (Mitchell)  Alexander,  and  grandson  of 
John  and  Isabella  (Marks)  Alexander,  was  born 
at  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  He  married.  July  3, 
1798,  Hannah  Downer  Hibbard,  born  June  18, 
1778,  died  1827,  and  their  children  were:  Thomas 
Hibbard.  born  June  18,  1799.  died  same  day; 
Sarah  Agnes,  born  March,  1801,  died  Jan- 
uary, 7,  i8o5;  William  Hibbard,  born  No- 
vember 19,  1805,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Han- 
nah Downer  (Hibbard)  Alexander  was  the 
daughter  of  Cyprian  Hibbard,  who  was  killed  by 
the  Indians  at  the  Massacre  of  Wyoming:  his 
name  is  en  the  monument  at  that  place.  Han- 
nah Downer  Hibbard  was  taken  by  her  mother 
to  Connecticut,  the  journey  being  made  on  horse- 
back, when  she  was  only  two  weeks  old.  The 
mother  remained  in  that  state  until  the  trouble 
was  over,  when  she  returned  to  the  Wyoming 
Valley.  She  afterward  married  Judge  Mathias 
Hollenback. 

William  Hibbard  Alexander,  son  of  John  and 
Hannah  (Downer)  (Hibbard)  Alexander,  was 
born  in  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  November  19, 
1805.  He  was  educated  in  Wilkes-Barre.  Later 
he  received  appointment  as  a  midshipman  on  the 
"Constitution"  that  cruised  around  Pensacola, 
Florida,  hunting  up  pirates,  and  finally,  at  the 
request  of  his  mother,  he  left  the  navy  and  re- 
turned to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
took  up  civil  and  mining  engineering,  which  he 
followed  for  some  years.  He  then  retired  to  a 
farm,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  al- 
though following  his  profession.  His  farm  is 
now  in  the  possession  of  his  son.  William  Mur- 
ray Alexander,  referred  to  hereinafter.  He  was 
a  man  well  known  in  Luzerne  county,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  its  affairs.  He  was  known  in  poli- 
tics as  a  war  Democrat.  For  many  years  he  held 
the  office  of  county  auditor,  and  also  served  as 
county  surveyor.     He  was  a  member  of  the  Free 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


221 


and  Accepted  Masons,  in  which  he  held  all  offices,, 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church.  He  married,  Decem- 
ber 2,  1830,  Maria 'Ulp,  born  March  17,  181 1, 
daughter  of  Barnett  Ulp,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  who 
bore  him  the  following  children :  Emily  Isa- 
bella, died  February  18,  1897;  she  was  a  member 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  Colonial  Dames, 
and  life  member  of  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society.  She  was  a  woman  of  strong 
character  and  a  disposition  that  made  her  parti- 
cularly dear  to  her  intimate  friends,  who  loved 
her  with  a  strong  and  abiding  affection.  She 
was  a  student  of  the  best  books  and  found  happi- 
ness in  the  association  of  the  great  minds  of  liter- 
ature, also  a  liberal  student  of  the  arts,  which 
tastes  had  been  fostered  by  extensive  travels 
abroad.  Caroline  M.,  a  resident  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Marie  Annie,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years.  John  Barnet,  born  September 
27,  1843,  a  retired  farmer,  resides  at  Center 
Moreland,  Pennsylvania ;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 
Hannah  Augusta,  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years. 
William  Murray,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Charles 
Henry,  born  April  14,  1850,  resides  in  Ohio  and 
is  interested  in  coal  properties.  He  married, 
November  9,  1904,  Edith  Depew.  William  H. 
Alexander,  father  of  these  children,  died  in  Han- 
over township,  Luzerne  county,  May  3,  1864. 
His  wife  died  March  2,  1875. 

William  Murray  Alexander,  second  son  of 
William  Hibbard  and  Maria  (Ulp)  Alexander, 
was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August 
26,  1848.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  city,  and  during  his  boyhood  removed  to 
Hanover  township  in  1859,  remaining  till  1863, 
in  which  year  he  removed  to  his  present  farm  of 
forty  acres,  which  is  well  cultivated  and  therefore 
highly  productive.  He  served  as  supervisor 
and  auditor ,  for  many  years,  discharging  his 
duties  with  promptness  and  fidelity.  In  politics 
he  is  known  as  a  war  Democrat.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society.  In  1889  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Frances  Stewart  Pfouts,  born  in  Lovelton,  Wy- 
oming county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  John 
and  Rachel  (Lemon)  Pfouts,  the  latter  named 
being  a  daughter  of  Judge  Lemon.  She  was  one 
of  five  children,  two  of  whom  are  living,  as  fol- 
lows: Pierce  Lemon,  a  resident  of  Covington, 
Kentuckv,  and  Mrs.  Alexander,  who  is  a  member 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  of  which  Mr.  Alexander  is  an  attendant. 

H.  E.H. 


POWELL  FAMILY.     The  members  of  the 
Powell   family  trace  their    ancestry    to    Arthur 
Powell   (1)   who  resided  on  a  two  hundred  acre 
farm  near  Great  Egg  Harbor,  New  Jersey.     He- 
married  Margaret  Clement,  a  daughter  of  James 
Clement,  who  was  born  in  England,  emigrated, 
to  Long  Island  in  1670,  died  1728.     James  Cle- 
ment was  a  son  of  Gregory  Clement,  a  native  of 
England,   a   citizen   of  London,   a    merchant,    a 
trader  with  Spain,  and  a  descendant  of  a  knightly 
family  in  Kent,  England.     Gregory  Clement  was. 
a  member  of  Parliament  in  the  reign  of  Charles- 
I,   was  one   of  the  commissioners   for  his   trial, 
which  duty  he  performed,  and  signed  the  King's- 
death  warrant.     For  this  deed  he  was  executed 
by  Charles  II,  at  Charing  Cross,  London.     After 
his  execution,  his  estate  was  confiscated,  his  fam- 
ily scattered,  and  one  of  his  sons,  James,  accom- 
panied by  his  wife  Jane,  emigrated  to  Long  Island 
in  the  year  1670,  as  above  mentioned.     Richard 
Powell    (2),   son  of  Arthur  Powell,    was    born 
1 713,  died  April  5,  1801.     He  was  a  resident  of 
New   Jersey,   and  served   in  the  King's  militia. 
He  married  Charity  Chew.     Richard  Powell,  (3) 
son  of  Richard  Powell,  was  born  1743,  died  De- 
cember 28,  1818.     He  participated  in  the  Revol- 
utionary war,   having  been    a    member    of  the- 
Gloucester   county    (New   Jersey)    militia.     De- 
cember 1,  1783,  he  married  Ann  Cheeseman,  who- 
died  December  12,  1830.     Abraham  Powell  (4), 
son  of  Richard  Powell  was  born  February  27, 
1792,  died  April  28,  1865.     He  was  a  resident  of 
Philadelphia.     He  married    Mary    Sparks,   born 
October  25,  1788,  died  December  11,  1877.   Rich-  . 
ard   Powell    (5),   son  of  Abraham   Powell,   was. 
born  October  5,  181 1,  died  May  20,  1878.     He 
was  a  naval  architect,  and  resided  in  Philadel- 
phia.    He  married  Hannah  Stinsman,  born  1S13, 
died  December  24,  1899. 

William  Thackara  Powell  (6),  son  of  Richard: 
Powell,  and  father  of  Mrs.  George  B.  Hillman, 
was  born  October  30,  1837.  He  is  a  resident  of 
Georgetown,  D.  C,  a  naval  architect,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  He  married 
Katharine  Hoover,  born  August  26,  1839,  a 
daughter  of  Henry  Hoover,  born  1809,  died  1877. 
Henry  Hoover  resided  in  Philadelphia,  served  as 
naval  constructor  in  the  United  States  navy 
throughout  the  Civil  war,  and  was  retired  as  cap- 
tain. He  married  Hannah  Flickwhier  Baxter. 
Henry  Hoover  was  a  son  of  John  Hoover,  a  resi- 
dent of  Philadelphia,  and  a  rope  manufacturer. 
He  .married  Mary  Metz.  John  Hoover  was  a 
son  of  John  Hoover,  also  a  resident  of  Philadel- 
phia. He  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  being 
a  member  of  a  Pennsylvania  company.     He  was. 


-222 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


captain  of  the  sloop  "Hetty,"  of  the  Pennsylvania 
.navy,  was  appointed  steward  September  12,  1776, 
and  was  promoted  to  captain  June  1,  1777. 

H.  E.  H. 

LEV  AN  FAMILY.  For  seven  generations 
the  race  of  the  Levans  has  been  resident  in  the 
United  States,  and  for  the  greater  part  if  not  the 
whole  of  that  period  has  been  numbered  among 
the  population  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Wilkes-Barre 
branch  being  now  represented  by  Louis  E. 
Levan. 

The  first  to  emigrate  was  Jacob  Levan  (1), 
whose  son  Sebastian  (2)  was  the  father  of  John 
(3)  and  the  grandfather  of  John  (4).  The  last 
named  was  the  father  of  John  Klein  (5),  who 
.  married  Kate  Seidel,  and  was  a  resident  of  Berks 
county,  Pennsylvania. 

Franklin  Klein  Levan,  A.  M.,  D.  D.,  (6),  son 
of  John  Klein  (5)  and  Kate  (Seidel)  Levan,  was 
born  July  15,  1831,  in  Maxatawny  township, 
Berks  county.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  en- 
tered Elmwood  Institute,  Norristown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  after  remaining  there  three  years  was 
admitted  in  the  autumn  of  185 1  to  the  junior 
class  of  Marshall  College,  and  two  years  later 
graduated  with  honors  from  Franklin  and  Mar- 
shall College.  In  the  autumn  of  1853  he  taught 
in  the  Academy,  Manchester,  Maryland,  and 
after  a  course  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  Mer- 
cersburg,  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  synod 
convened  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  in  October, 
1856.  The  same  year  he  received  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts,  and  in  1891  that  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  from  his  alma  mater.  In  May,  1857,  he 
was  ordained  at  Stoyestown  by  the  classis  of 
Westmoreland,  and  continued  to  labor  within 
bounds  of  this  classis  until  1861,  when  he 
became  principal  of  the  Westmoreland  Colle- 
giate Institute  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  Pennsylva- 
nia. In  1866  he  moved  to  Oakland,  near 
Pittsburg,  and  in  1873  went  to  Wilkinsburg, 
subsequently  removing  to  Philadelphia.  In 
October,  1873,  the  board  of  missions  of  the 
tri-synodic  compact  completed  its  organization, 
and  Mr.  Levan,  who  up  to  this  time  had  filled  the 
office  of  missionary  superintendent  in  the  Pitts- 
burg synod,  was  elected  superintendent  of  the 
missions  of  the  tri-synodic  board.  This  office  was 
then  new  to  the  church  and  the  labors  which  it  in- 
volved were  arduous  and  delicate,  calling  for  the 
exercise  of  much  skill  and  tact.  Mr.  Levan  proved 
himself  equal  to  the  responsibility,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  of  four  years  the  missions  and 
the  missionary  operations  were  in  a  greatlv  im- 
proved condition.       He  organized  a  number  of 


churches,  among  them  the  church  at  which  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  attends,  the  Reformed.  This  con- 
tinued until  his  removal  to  Wilkes-Barre,  in  1878, 
when  he  too  charge  of  Zion's  Reformed  Church, 
which  during  his  pastorate  became  an  important 
centre  for  church  extension  in  the  historic  Wyom- 
ing valley,  and  in  this  position  he  remained  up 
to  his  decease.  During  his  pastorate  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  he  organized  Zion's  Reformed  Church  at 
Nanticoke,  and  the  First  Reformed  Church  at 
Plymouth.  St.  Luke's  Church  in  the  northern 
part  of  Wilkes-Barre  was  also  organized  with  a 
nucleus  of  members  from  the  congregation  of 
which  he  was  pastor.  He  also  urged  the  neces- 
sity of  and  helped  in  preparing  the  way  for  the 
organization  of  Calvary  Reformed  Church  at 
Scranton,  and  was  a  member  of  the  classical  com- 
mittee which  organized  it.  At  the  meeting  of  the 
Eastern  synod,  in  October,  1894,  at  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania,  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
same. 

Dr.  Levan  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the 
Reformed  Church  Messenger  and  the  Re- 
formed Quarterly  Review.  On  August  8,  1888, 
he  began  a  series  of  articles  for  the  former  pub- 
lication under  the  caption  of  "Wyoming  Papers." 
These  papers  appeared  weekly  until  January  18, 
•1894,  when  he  became  the  leading  contributor  to 
the  editorial  page. 

His  articles  for  the  "Review"  were  numerous, 
always  bearing  the  stamp  of  scholarship  and  lit- 
erary ability.  He  also  contributed  several  valuable 
articles  to  the  Pennsylvania  German  Society,  of 
which  he  was  a  charter  member  and  in  which  he 
always  took  the  deepest  interest.  While  in  col- 
lege he  was  a  member  of  the  Diagnothian  Lit- 
erary Society.  Dr.  Levan  married,  August  18, 
1864,  Sarah  Ann  Ermentrout,  of  Reading,  Penn- 
sylvania, who  was  born  at  Womelsdorf ,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  died  October  1,  1897,  aged  53  years. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Ermentrout  and 
wife  Maria  Vanderslice ;  thev  had  three  daugh- 
ters :  Emma  C,  Rebecca  and  Sarah  Ann.  Three 
children  were  the  issue  of  this  union:  I. 
Anna  Maria,  born  September  18,  1868,  in 
Oakland,  Pennsylvania,  who  became  the  wife 
of  the  Rev.  W.  D.  Happel,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  who  succeeded  Dr.  Levan  as  minis- 
ter of  Zion's  Reformed  Church.  Rev.  W.  D. 
Happel  taught  thee  terms  in  the  public  schools 
of  Bucks  county,  1884  to  1887,  and  two  years  in 
Franklin  Marshall 'University,  1902  to  1904.  2. 
Louis  E.,  mentioned  at  length  hereinafter.  3.  Kate 
G.,  born  in  Oakland,  Pennsylvania.  The  death  of 
Dr.  Levan,  which  occurred  suddenly  on  Novem- 
ber 13,   1894,  at  his  home  in  Wilkes-Barre,  was 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    A' ALLEYS. 


felt  to  be  both  a  private  and  a  public  calamity. 
He  was  well  known  by  a  large  number  of  people 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  esteemed  and  beloved 
by  all  for  his  many  excellent  characteristics.  His 
daily  walk  and  conversation  was  such  as  befitted 
his  profession,  and  was  an  incentive  to  others  to 
follow  the  teachings  of  the  Master  whom  he  loved 
and  served. 

Louis  E.  Levan  (7),  only  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Franklin  Klein  (6)  and  Sarah  Ann  (Ermentrout) 
Levan,  was  born  in  Oakland,  Pennsylvania,  June 
4,  1870.  In  1878  he  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  with 
his  father,  attended  the  city  schools,  and  later 
Wyoming  Seminary,  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1888.  The  following 
two  vears  he  was  engaged  in  a  wall  paper  store 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  thoroughly  learned 
the  details  of  the  business.  In  1890  he  engaged 
in  business  on  his  own  account,  locating  in  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  building, 
where  he  remained  for  ten  years.  He  then 
moved  to  his  present  store  on  Main  street,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  has  built  up  a  large  trade  among  the 
people  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  surrounding 
country.  He  is  a  stanch  supporter  of  those  en- 
terprises and  interests  which  are  calculated  to 
benefit  and  improve  the  city  and  advance  the  gen- 
eral welfare.  He  attends  the  Zion's  Reformed 
Church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  Royal  Arcanum,  and  the  Pennsyl- 
vania German  Societv,  all  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

H.  E.  H. 

HAKES  FAMILY — The  American  family  of 
Hakes  were  in  New  England  early  in  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  and  were  of  English  ancestry  and 
origin.  The  immigrant  of  the  family,  so  far  as 
now  known,  was  Solomon  Hakes,  who  was  of 
Westerly,  Rhode  Island,  1709,  when  he  was  made 
a  freeman.  In  i7iohe  moved  to  Stonington,  Con- 
necticut. His  wife  was  Anna  Billings,  daughter 
of  Ebenezer  Billings  and  wife  Anna  Con- 
stable, and  granddaughter  of  William  Billings, 
who  came  from  England  and  settled  in  Stoning- 
ton in  1640.  George  Hakes,  son  of  Solomon 
Hakes,  had  a  son,  George  S.  Hakes,  born  Ston- 
ington, Connecticut,  January  27.  1751,  died  Salis- 
bury, Herkimer  county,  New  York,  lived  in  Ston- 
ington from  1779  to  1793,  then  emigrated  to  Xew 
York  state,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He 
married,  1774,  Zerviah  Church,  a  descendant  of 
Captain  Church.  They  had  children :  Robinson, 
born  about  1776,  died  about  1840:  Esther,  born 
1778;  Hannah,  born  1780,  died  1858.  She  was 
grandmother  of  Judge  Charles  E.  Rice,  of  Wilkes- 


barre.  Zerviah,  born  1782;  Elizabeth,  born  1784; 
Priscilla,  born  1786;  Lyman,  born  May  26,  1788, 
died  Harpersfield,  Delaware  county,  N.  Y.,  July 

14.  1873. 

Lyman  Hakes,  son  of  George  S.  Hakes  and 
Zerviah  Church,  married  (first),  September  22, 
18 13,  Nancy  Dayton,  born  Watertown,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  living  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  in 
Harpersfield,  Delaware  county,  New  York, 
where  she  was  a  school  teacher.  She  died  in 
1850.  He  married  (second),  Delinda  Osborne. 
Lyman  Hakes  was  a  man  of  activity  and  in- 
fluence, and  the  instrument  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  much  good  in  the  hilly  regions  of  Dela- 
ware county,  where  he  lived.  In  1841  he  was 
commissioned  by  Governor  Seward  county  judge 
of  Delaware  county,  and  performed  the  duties 
of  that  office  with  entire  satisfaction.  He  was 
drafted  into  the  service  during  the  war  of  181 2- 

15,  and  in  1870  was  awarded  a  pension  for  his 
military  service  of  almost  three-score  years  be- 
fore. The  children  of  Lyman  Hakes  and  Nancy 
Dayton  Hakes  were : 

Lyman,  born  Harpersfield,  Delaware  county, 
New  York,  March  23,  1816,  died  Wrilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  December  8,  1873.  He  came  to 
Pennsylvania  in  1837  and  taught  school  at  Ber- 
wick, Columbia  count}- ;  while  there  took  up  the 
study  of  law ;  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  1839, 
read  law  with  William  Wertz,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  April,  1841. 

Minerva,  born  March  14,  1818,  married 
Phineas  L.  Bennett. 

Homer,  born  January  6,  1820,  died  November 
13,  1854;  married  April  9,  1844,  Anna  Judd,  and 
was  a  farmer  in  McKean  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Adaline,  born  October  16,  1821,  died  October 
5,  1844;  married  April  19,  1843,  Samuel  Scott. 

Harlo,  born  September  23,  1823,  now  de- 
ceased; married,  1855,  Mary  Chandler;  he  was  a 
member  of  Assembly,  Steuben  county,  district  at- 
torney same ;  register  in  bankruptcy :  county 
judge  Steuben  county  1884-1896;  and  president 
Lrbana  Wine  Company. 

Harry,  born  Harpersfield,  New  York,  June  10, 
1825:  married  (first),  1849,  Maria  Eliza  David; 
married  (second),  August  29,  1855,  Harriet 
Louise  Lape. 

Caroline,  born  August  26,  1827 ;  married,  Jan- 
uary 24,  1855,  Joseph  G.  McCall. 

A'ienna,  born  September  16,  1830 ;  died 
March  16,  1858. 

Lyman  Hakes,  eldest  son  of  Lyman  and  Nan- 
cy (Dayton)  Hakes,  was  for  many  years  a  prom- 
inent figure  in  Wilkes-Barre  legal  circles.  During 
the  period  of  his  active  professional  life  he  was 


224 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


one  of  the  ^most  sv.ccessful  trial  lawyers  at  the 
bar  of  the  courts,  whether  in  the  civil  or  crim- 
inal branch  of  practice.  Says  Kulp  :  "He  was 
not  a  brilliant  orator  but  he  had  a  mathematical 
mind,  capable  of  condensing  facts  and  presenting 
them  to  a  jury  in  a  most  convincing  manner.  He 
excelled  in  clearness  of  statement,  and  was  al- 
ways powerful  before  a  jury.  In  the  earlier 
years  of  his  practice  Mr.  Hakes  was  a  close  stu- 
dent and  was  almost  as  successful  in  civil  as  in 
criminal  cases,  but  in  his  later  years  his  practice 
was  principally  criminal  and  books  were  in  a 
great  measure  neglected.  But  even  up  to  the  last 
he  was  no  mean  antagonist  in  any  case."  "He 
stood  steadfastly  by  his  word.  His  fellow  attor- 
ney need  not  ask  under  his  signature  for  the 
evidence  of  any  agreement  pertaining  to  any  mat- 
ter to  come  before  court  on  trial.  His  word 
was  sufficient.  What  he  verbally  agreed  to  do 
was  with  him  a  matter  of  professional  pride  to 
consummate."  Mr.  Hakes  married  (first),  1851, 
Elizabeth  J.  Baldwin,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, daughter  of  Jared  R.  Baldwin,  who  was 
clerk  of  the  board  of  commissioners  of  Luzerne 
county  from  1845  t0  I85o;  married  (second), 
1868,  Margaret  D.  Cowley,  of  Pittsburg.  There 
were  no  children  of  either  marriage. 

Harry  Hakes,  youngest  son  of  Lyman  and 
Nancy  (Dayton)  Hakes,  born  June  10,  1825, 
died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  April  20,  1904.  He  was  first 
a  physician  and  later  a  lawyer,  a  good  physician 
and  a  lawyer  of  excellent  capacity  and  standing 
at  the  bar.  Dr.  Hakes,  as  he  was  known  among 
friends,  was  brought  up  on  his  father's  farm,  but 
he  was  given  a  good  elementary  education,  and 
a  collegiate  course  in  the  old  historic  Castleton 
Medical  College,  Castleton,  Vermont,  where  he 
was  awarded  his  diploma,  M.  D.,  in  1846.  His 
professional  career  was  begun  in  Davenport 
Center,  New  York,  but  in  1850,  upon  the  death 
of  his  wife,  he  went  to  New  York  City  and  de- 
voted his  attention  during  that  year  to  attendance 
at  and  work  in  the  schools  of  medicine  and  hos- 
pitals of  that  city.  He  removed  the  next  year 
to  Nanticoke,  Pennsylvania,  and  practiced  there 
three  years,  then  visited  Europe  and  gave  another 
year  to  study  in  the  great  medical  institutions  of 
London  and  Paris.  He  returned  to  America  in 
1855,  remarried,  and  resumed,  practice  in  con- 
nection with  farming  pursuits.  In  Nanticoke  he 
took  up  the  study  of  law  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  at  the  bar  of  Luzerne  county,  January  25, 
i860.  From  that  time  he  was  known  to  the  legal 
profession  as  long  as  he  was  in  active  work,  but 
his  old  familiar  title,  Dr.  Hakes,  was  always 
retained.     He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 


State  Medical  Society,*  American  .Medical  ,\sso- 
ciation,  Luzerne  County  Medical  Society,  Buffalo 
Historical  Society,  Bufralo,  Xew  York,  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and  Wyoming 
Commemorative  Association.  Dr.  Hakes  was  a 
life-long  Democrat,  and  always  ready  both  in  pub- 
lic and  private  to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith 
that  was  in  him.  In  1864  and  1865  ne  represented 
Luzerne  county  in  the  state  legislature.  In  speak- 
ing of  his  personal  and  mental  qualities,  Kuip 
says :  "Dr.  Hakes  was  a  genial  friend,  a  kind 
neighbor,  and'  a  public-spirited  citizen.  Over  six 
feet  in  height,  he  united  with  a  large  frame  a 
large  heart,  and  a  grasp  of  vigor  and  an  indepen- 
dence of  mind  which  rendered  empiricism  and  the 
small  art  and  details  of  professional  life  distaste- 
ful, but  especially  qualified  him  to  subject  everv 
question,  whether  in  medicine,  law  or  theology, 
to  the  rigid  test  of  principle,  and  to  that  meas- 
ure and  amount  of  proof  of  which  it  was  rea- 
sonably susceptible." 

Dr.  Hakes  married  (first)  June,  1849,  Maria 
Eliza  Dana,  daughter  of  Anderson  Dana,  Jr.,  and 
granddaughter  of  Anderson  Dana,  Esq.,  who  was 
killed  at  the  Massacre  of  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778. 
Mrs.  Hakes  died  December,  1849.  He  married 
(second),  August  29,  1855,  Harriet  Louise  Lape, 
who  died  November  22,  1896.  He  married 
(third),  June  22,  1893,  Clara  J.  Lape,  a  sister  of 
his  second  wife.  Two  children  were  the  issue  of 
the  second  marriage :  Minnie,  born  September  25, 
1856,  died  January  4,  1857;  Lyman,  born  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1859,  died  September  26.  1859.  Dr. 
Hakes  died  April  20,  1904.  H.  E.  H. 

SIMEON  DECKER  GOFF,  son  of  William 
and  Anna  (Decker)  Goff,  was  born  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Monroe  township,  Bradford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  March  6,  1842.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  and  public  schools  of  his 
native  county,  and  resided  at  home  until  he  at- 
tained his  twenty-fifth  year.  When  he  left  home 
he  went  to  New  York  City  and  found  employ-' 
ment  there,  remaining  about  two  years.  He  then 
went  to  Mahoopany,  Wyoming  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  became  senior  member  of  the 
firm  of  Goff  &  Sturdevant,  merchants.  After 
three  years  of  successful  business  experience  he 
sold  his  interest  in  the  store  and  removed  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  At  first  he  served  as  bookkeeper  and 
afterwards  manager  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  Ice 
Company,  holding-  the  latter  position  thirteen 
years,  until  1903,  when  he  established  the  Spring 
Lake  Ice  Co.,  of  which  he  is  now  sole  proprietor. 

Mr.  Goff  married,  1880,  Mary  Elizabeth  Dow, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


225 


born  October  7,  1847,  daughter  of  Jeremiah 
Burns  and  Hannah  Welding  (Fell)  Dow,  whose 
other  seven  children  were :  William  Burns,  born 
January  12,  1850,  married  Mary  Emma  Fell,  and 
is  now  traveling  in  the  west.  Alphonse  Burns, 
born  April  7,  1852,  died  August  11,  1854.  Ruth 
Ella,  born  January  25,  1856,  married  Henry 
Newton  Young,  D.  D.  S.,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  John 
Dorrance,  born  June  13,  1858,  married  Melissa 
Jane  Denman,  resides  in  New  York  City.  Sarah 
Leah,  born  June  10,  1861,  resides  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Daisy,  born  June  15,  1864,  died  Jan- 
uary 12,  1868.  Stella  Willetts,  born  July  10, 
1869,  died  January  14,  1872.  (See  Fell  family). 
Jeremiah  Burns  Dow,  father  of  these  children, 
was  born  in  Topsham,  Orange  county,  Vermont, 
January  4,  1806,  and  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylavnia,  September  4,  1884.  He  was  a  son  of 
Isaiah  and  Betsy  (Burns)  Dow. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simeon  D.  Goff  had  four  chil- 
dren, all  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania : 
Ruth,  born  June  28,  1881  ;  Elton  Mills,  Septem- 
ber 26,  1882;  Burns  Dow,  July  25,  1884,  died  Jan- 
uary — ,  1904 ;  Katherine  Welding  Dow,  Decem- 
ber 22,  1889.  Mr.  Goff  and  his  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church.  H.  E.  H. 

BROOKS  FAMILY.  "Brooks  (Brocks) 
Pieter,  and  Francyntje  Wendell,  married  Novem- 
ber 7,  1771,  Frances,  widow  of  Pieter  B.,  April 
25,  1818;  aged  65  years,  six  months,  five  days. 
Children:  Jonathan,  born  August  13,  1772;  Re- 
becca, baptized  October  15,  1775:  Johannes,  born 
Nov.  n,  1777;  Susanna,  born  August  11,  1779; 
Pieter,  born  May  3.  1780."  (Pierson's  Geneal- 
ogies of  the  First  Settlers  of  the  Ancient  County 
of  Albany").  This  Pieter  Brocks  undoubtedly 
was  the  son  of  Jonathan  Brooks  (Brocks, 
Broecks)  who  married,  April  13,  1727,  Rebecca 
Tattem  (Tatton,  Totten)  as  Pieter's  eldest  son 
was  named  Jonathan,  after  his  grandfather,  and 
his  eldest  daughter  was  named  Rebecca,  after  her 
grandmother. 

The  foregoing  would  appear  to  indicate  that 
Peter  Brooks,  the  ancestor  of  the  Rev.  Peter 
Haverly  Brooks,  D.  D.,  family  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  was  of  New  England  birth  (1733) 
and  that  he  removed  when  young  to  the  Hudson 
valley  and  settled  there  among  the  Dutch  colon- 
ists, married  a  Dutch  wife  and  raised  a  family. 
It  is  more  than  probable  that  Peter  (or  Pieter) 
was  the  son  of  Tonathan  Brooks  an^l  wife  Rebecca 
Tattem.  Family  tradition  has  it  that  his  father 
Jonathan  was  of  New  England  birth,  and  that 


Peter  was  recorded  as  one  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Albany,  after  the  customs  of  that  ancient  town, 
However  this  may  have  been  in  fact,  the  present 
writer  has  not  the  means  or  power  to  determine, 
and  this  record,  so  far  as  obtainable  data  is  con- 
cerned, must  begin  with  Peter  Brooks,  of  Albany, 
New  York,  who  married  Francina  Wendall,  No- 
vember 7,  1771,  and  had  children: 

Francyntje  Wendell  (Francina  Wendell)  bap- 
tized November  12,  1752,  was  a  daughter  of  Jo- 
hannes Wendell  and  wife  Sara  Bergen.  Johannes 
Wendell  was  son  of  Jeronimus  (or  Hieronimus) 
Wendell  and  Ariaantje  Visscher,  and  Jeronimus 
Wendell  was  son  of  Evart  J.  Wendell  and  Sus- 
anna Du  Trieux.  Evart  Jansen  Wendell  was 
born  in  1615  in  Emden,  a  town  of  about  twelve 
thousand  inhabitants,  situated  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Ems,  in  the  northeastern  extremity  of  Han- 
over, in  Prussia.  He  came  to  New  Amsterdam 
about  1642,  and  married  (first)  Susanna,  daugh- 
ter of Du  Trieux  (now  spelled  Truax), 

who  probably  was  the  father  of  Philip  Du- 
Trieux,  court  messenger  in  New  Amsterdam, 
(now  New  York  City)  at  an  early  day.  (See 
Raider  Family). 

Peter  Brooks  'was  born  in  1733  and  died 
March  8,  1825.  He  lived  in  Albany,  New  York. 
He  was  a  private  soldier  during  the  Revolution, 
as  was  his  son  Jonathan  Philips  Brooks,  in  the 
First  Regiment  of  Albany  County  Militia,  serving 
more  than  two  years,  and  the  names  of  both  are 
found  in  the  military  rolls  under  land  and  bounty 
rights  awarded  for  service  in  that  war.  As  is 
before  stated,  this  would  appear  to  give  Peter 
Brooks  a  New  England  origin.  He  married  as 
above,  and  he  named,  says  the  family  record,  two 
of  his  sons  George  and  John,  after  two  of  his 
brothers  he  had  left  in  New  England,  either  in 
Massachusetts  or  Connecticut.  They  had  child- 
ren: 1.  George.  2.  Peter,  Jr.  3.  Jonathan 
Philips  Brooks.  ("He  was  entered  into  the  An- 
cient and  Honorable  Society  of  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons  in  Union  Lodge  in  the  City  of  Al- 
bany, New  York,  on  the  15th  day  of  February, 
I799-")  He  died  June  21,  1829.  4.  Abraham. 
5.  John.  6.  William.  7.  Sarah,  married 
Garret  G.  Van  Zandt.  They  had  two  sons  in  the 
ministry,  one  an  eminent  scholar  and  professor 
in  New  Brunswick  Theological  Seminary,  in  New 
Jersey.  8.  Rebecca,  married  a  Mr.  Fisher.  9. 
Susan,  married  Jacob  Van  Patten.  10.  Fanny, 
married  Garret  Van  Denberg. 

Jonathan  Phillips  Brooks  married,  at  Nor- 
manskill,  New  York,  February  28,  1791,  Maria 


15 


226 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Haverly,1  and  had  children:  I.  Peter  Haverly. 
born  April  23,  1792,  died  July  15,  1837.  2. 
Nancy,  born  March  15,  1794;  married,  June  8, 
181 1,  Aaron  Swart;  died  March  20,  1826.  3. 
John  H.,  born  December  2,  1797.  4.  Francina, 
born  August  7,  1799;  married,  Ballston  Spa, 
New  York.  July  8,  1816,  Garret  Stephens.  5. 
Christian  Haverly,  born  May  8,  1801,  married, 
February  5,  1820,  Maria  Hewston.  6.  Hermanus 
Van  Slyck,  born  May  24,  1803  ;  died  November 
29,  1875.  7.  Maria  Vedder,  born  February  10, 
1806;  died  March  31,  1826.  8.  Jacob  Adams, 
born  April  10,  1808;  died  March  15,  1843.  9. 
Sarah  Ann,  born  May  3,  1812;  married,  May  20, 
1829,  Robert  McKay.  10.  Aaron  Swart,  born 
September  1,  1817;  died  February  10,  1859;  mar- 
ried, September  8,  1836,  Fanny  Duncan. 

Aaron  Swart  Brooks  was  born  in  Glenville, 
near  Schenectady,  New  York,  September  1,  1817. 
About  1843  be  exchanged  his  farm  near  West 
Milton,  in  Saratoga  county,  for  a  residence  in 
Schenectady,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of 
his  life  in  various  business  enterprises.  He  be- 
came a  professor  of  religion  during  the  last  years 
of  his  life.  His  wife,  Fanny  Duncan,  was  born 
in  Schenectady,  in  181 1,  daughter  of  Major  John 
Duncan,  and  granddaughter  of  John  Duncan, 
who  with  his  wife  Martha  March,  settled  in 
Schenectady  in  1755,  where  John  Duncan  was 
the  pioneer  of  a  new  class  of  merchants  and  for- 
warders, extending  their  business  over  the  north- 
ern lakes,  and  after  1759  dealing  largely  and  di- 
rectly with  Montreal  and  the  merchants  and  for- 
warders of  that  part  of  Canada.  As  head  of  the 
great  mercantile  firm  of  Duncan  &  Phyn,  he  was 
one  of  the  most  widely  acquainted  men  in  the 
Mohawk  valley,  and  no  man  did  more  than  he  to 
establish  a  business  reputation  for  Schenectady 
during  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
His  country  seat,  "The  Hermitage,"  in  the  town 
of  Niskayuna,  comprised  eight  hundred  acres  of 
land.  Fanny  Duncan  Brooks  spent  the  last  years 
of  her  life  at  the  home  of  her  son,  Rev.  P.  H. 
Brooks,  in  West  Milton,  Saratoga  county,  New 
York,  and  died  there  Sunday  noon,  February  2, 
1868,  at  a  ripe  old  age.  She  was  a  member  in 
Schenectady  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Peter  Haverly  Brooks,   son  of  Aaron  Swart 


1.  Maria  Haverly  Brooks  after  the  death  of  her 
husband  removed  to  Glenville  and  later  to  Schenec- 
tady, New  .York.-  At  the  time  of  her  death  one  of  her 
granddaughters  was  a  grandmother.  She  died  in 
Schenectady,  New  York,  July  9,  1861.  She  was  of  an 
exemplary   christian   character. 


Brooks  and  wife  Fanny  Duncan,  was  born  in 
Glenville,  New  York,  December  16,  1837.  He  was 
educated  in  the  Schenectady  Union  School,  and 
Union  College,  class  of  1862,  graduated  Prince- 
ton Theological  Seminary,  1864,  and  received 
the  degree  of  D.  D.  from  Union  University  in 
June,  1897.  As  licentiate  he  supplied  about  one 
year  (1864-65)  the  pulpit  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Tom's  River,  New  Jersey ;  was  or- 
dained and  installed  by  the  presbytery  of  Albany, 
New  York,  July  11,  1865,  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  West  Milton,  New  York,  and 
served  three  years ;  was  pastor  of  the  Knowlton 
and  Hope  Presbyterian  Churches  in  New  Jersey 
three  years;  in  1871  became  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  Susquehanna,  Pennsyl- 
vania, serving  in  that  capacity  eighteen  years, 
until  1889 ;  was  temporary  supply  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  1890,  dur- 
ing the  illness  of  the  pastor,  Rev.  F.  B.  Hodge, 
(sketch  elsewhere),  and  at  the  same  time  was 
Presbyterial  missionary  under  appointment  of 
the  Lackawanna  Presbytery.  One  of  the  sources 
of  pride  of  Dr.  Brooks  is  his  wonderful  penman- 
ship, which  excites  the  admiration  of  all  who  are 
privileged  to  see  it.  In  his  twenty  years  service 
as  stated  clerk  of  Lackawanna  Presbytery  he  has 
completed  five  different  records  of  the  proceed- 
ings, each  one  containing  about  five  hundred 
pages.  The  writing  shown  in  these  is  of  various 
styles  and  all  are  marvels  of  execution  and  neat- 
ness. They  are  said  to  be  the  most  wonderful 
records  of  the  kind  ever  seen  in  any  part  of  the 
globe.  In  addition  to  this  in  1864  he  wrote  the 
Lord's  Prayer  four  times  upon  the  space  covered 
by  a  silver  three-cent  piece.  It  was  written  with 
the  naked  eye,  and  can  be  read  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly. 

In  July,  1890,  Dr.  Brooks  removed  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  now  lives.  For 
twenty  years  he  has  been  stated  clerk  of  the 
Lackawanna  Presbytery,  which  postion  he  holds 
in  connection  with  his  Presbyterial  mission  work 
and  during  the  same  period  he  has  been  a  regular 
correspondent  for  several  religious  papers,  hav- 
ing for  one  year  the  preparation  of  blackboard 
designs  for  the  "Westminister  Teacher,"  with 
notes  on  Sunday  school  lessons.  His  published 
books  are :  "Historv  of  the  Lackawanna  Presbv- 
tery,"  1888;  "Fifty  Golden  Years,"  on  the  pas- 
torate of  the  Rev.  N.  G.  Parke,  D.  D.,  of  Pitts- 
ton,  Pennsylvania,  1894 ;  "Eden's  Sunny  Slopes," 
1897,  illustrating  the  first  and  second  chapters  of 
Genesis,  with  twenty  original  designs. 

Dr.  Brooks  married,  in  Kingston,  New  Jer- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


22; 


sey,  September  1.  1864,  Kate  S.  Colby,1  daugh- 
ter of  Aaron  Colby  and  Lyclia  Van  Dyke  Van  de 
Veer,  his  wife,  and  had  children : 

1.  Lilly  Brooks,  born  and  died  West  Milton, 
New  York,  June  7,  1865. 

2.  John  Duncan  Brooks,  born  West  Milton, 
New  York,  May  9,  1866 ;  died  Glenolden,  Penn- 
sylvania, December  27,  1893.  "Rarely  in  a  man 
of  only  twenty-seven  rears  have  such  mature 
.graces  of  christian  character  been  seen.  He  was 
gentle,  self-sacrificing  and  laborious  to  a  degree 
that  reminded  men  continually  of  the  Christ 
whose  name  he  loyally  bore."  John  Duncan 
Brooks  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  became  an 
official  in  the  service  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Education  in  Philadelphia,  and  served  nearly 
ten  years,  until  his  death.  He  took  a  full  course  in 
art  in  the  Spring  Garden  Institute,  Philadelphia, 
and  rose  rapidly  as  an  artist.  After  his  death 
his  wife,  Lizzie  Marian  Jurisch,  whom  he  married 
September  5,  1888,  took  a  course  in  Bible  study 
and  mission  work  in  Albany,  New  York,  and  is  a 
missionary  under  commission  and  in  the  service 
of  the  Woman's  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home 
Missions. 

3.  Allan  Colby  Brooks,  born  Knowlton,  New 
Jersey,  August  12,  1869;  he  graduated  from  the 
Susquehanna  Collegiate  Institute  in  Towanda, 
Pennsylvania,  June,  1889,  and  is  an  M.  D.  grad- 
uate of  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  May  15  1895.  He  married,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  October  6,  1897,  Margaret 
Hamilton    Carrick.     Children:     Frances    Edna, 


1.  Kate  S.  Colby,  a  graduate  of  the  normal  school 
in  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  was  daughter  of  Aaron  Colby 
and  wife  Lydia  Van  Dyke  Van  de  Veer,  her  father  be- 
ing by  occupation  a  teacher.  He  enlisted  in  1861  under 
the  first  call  for  volunteers,  being  then  fifty  years  old. 
His  father  was  John  Colby  of  Amesbury,  Massachu- 
setts, and  his  grandfather  Eliott  Colby  (and  his  son 
Stephen)  were  revolutionary  soldiers.  The  American 
-ancestors  of  this  Colby  family  was  Antonie  Colbie,  who 
sailed  from  England  and  settled  in  Boston,  1630,  and 
afterward,  1664,  in  Amesbury,  Massachusetts,  died 
1661.  Aaron  Colby  died  in  Kingston,  New  Jersey, 
November  24,  1883.  His  wife's  full  name  was  Lydia 
Van  Dyke  Van  de  Veer,  and  she  was  a  daughter  of 
Cornelius  Van  Dyke,  of  Rocky  Hill,  New  Jersey,  and 
liis  wife  Catherine.  The  American  ancestor  of  this 
family  was  Cornelius  Janse  Van  de  Veer  who  came 
from  Alckmaar,  in  North  Holland,  to  America  in  1659, 
in  the  "Gilded  Otter,"  and  settled  in  Flatbush,  Long 
Island.  He  married  F.  Gillis  de  Manderville ;  was 
magistrate,  1678-80;  and  his  name  appears  in  Governor 
Dongan's  land  grant,   1685. 


born  December  7,  1899.     Margaret  Alleine,  born 
February  22,  1905. 

4.  Philip  Haverly  Brooks,  born  Susque- 
hanna, Pennsylvania,  November  11,  1874,  died 
May  25,  1876. 

5.  Katherine  May  Brooks,  born  Suseque- 
hanna,  Pennsylvania. 

All  the  adult  members  of  Jthe  family  living  at 
this  date  (1905)  are  members  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

H.  E.  H. 

HUNLOCK  FAMILY.  In  early  New  Jer- 
sey history  this  surname  was  variously  spelled 
Hunloke,  Hunlocke,  and  Hunlock.  The  latter 
construction  seems  to  have  prevailed  with  more 
recent  generations,  and  is  generally  accepted  as 
authentic  and  permanent.  The  probate  records 
in  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  show  that  the  will  of 
John  Hunlocke  was  proved  December  7,  1745, 
and  that  of  Thomas  Hunlocke,  August  24,  1746. 
About  1757-60,  when  the  northeastern  section  of 
Northampton  county,  in  the  province  of  Penn- 
sylvania, along  the  Delaware  river,  began  to  be. 
settled  by  immigrants  from  Connecticut,  New 
York  and  New  Jersey,  under  the  proprietorship 
of  the  Connecticut  Delaware  Company,  a  branch 
of  the  Hunlock  family,  presumably  from  New 
Jersey,  settled  in  the  township  of  Lower  Smith- 
field,  in  the  locality  afterward  set  off  from 
Northampton  to  form  Monroe  county. 

Jonathan  Hunlock  was  one  of  a  number  of 
inhabitants  of  Lower  Smithfield,  who  in  Sep- 
tember, 1763,  addressed  a  petition  to  the  provin- 
cial governor  of  Pennsylvania.  The  township 
just  mentioned  lay  not  far  from  the  route  of 
travel  of  settlers  under  the  Connecticut  Susque- 
hanna Company  in  journeying  to  and  from  the 
Wyoming  valley,  and  naturally  an  acquaintance 
sprang  up  between  the  families  settled  along  the 
Delaware  and  those  who  were  migrating  farther 
westward  to  the  Wyoming  region  in  the  valley 
of  the  Susquehanna.  The  travelers  were  so  ac- 
tive in  giving  good  report  of  the  latter  region, 
the  fertility  of  its  soil,  and  the  healthfulness  of 
its  climate,  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Lower 
Smithfield  were  persuaded  to  remove  with  their 
families  and  join  with  the  colonists  under 
the  Susquehanna  Company  proprietary.  Jona- 
than Hunlock  was  one  of  the  settlers  who  re- 
'moved  about  this  time.  He  located  in  1773  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Susquehanna,  about  three 
miles  below  the  Wyoming  valley,  near  the  mouth 
of  a  large  creek,  to  which  he  gave  his  name.  He 
was  well  settled  here  in  December,  1775.  when 
the    Plunkett   invasion   took   place,   and   he   was 


228 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


plundered  of  most  of  his  movable  property. 

This  Jonathan  Hunlock  was  the  founder  of 
the  Hunlock  family  in  Pennsylvania,  and  its  pio- 
neer both  in  the  valley  of  the  Delaware  and  of 
the  Susquehanna.  He  died  in  1779  and  his  es- 
tate was  administered  by  his  wife  Margaret,  who 
survived  her  husband  many  years  and  whose 
body  was  finally  buried  beside  that  of  her  hus- 
band, on  what  is  known  as  Blanchard's  hill,  near 
Hunlock  creek.  Jonathan  and  Margaret  Hun- 
lock had  children :  Jonathan,  born  at  Hunlock's 
creek,  June  23,  1777;  and  Hannah,  born  at  same 
place,  July  II,  1779,  married,  in  1800  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Jameson,  an  early  physician  in  the  Wyoming 
region. 

Jonathan  Hunlock,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Mar- 
garet Hunlock,  spent  his  life  near  the  place  of 
his  birth.  He  built  soon  after  his  marriage  a 
large  stone  house,  within  whose  hospitable  walls 
he  kept  an  inn  for  the  entertainment  of  travelers  ; 
and  he  also  acquired  large  tracts  of  land,  became 
owner  of  a  valuable  millsite  within  nine  miles  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  regarded  as  a  man  of 
substance  in  the  county.  He  died  at  the  Hun- 
lock homestead  in  October,  1861.  He  married, 
1800,  Mary  Jameson,  sister  of  Dr.  Jameson, 
mentioned  above;  she  died  September  13,  1878. 
They  had  four  children :  John,  born  September 
12,  1801  ;  Andrew,  born  July  13,  1803,  married 
Fanny  Millard,  who  died  without  issue ;  Samuel, 
born  February  6,  1805,  died  July  2,  1876,  mar- 
ried Nancy  Fuller,  and  had  two  sons  and  three 
daughters ;  Jameson,  born  at  Hunlock's  creek,  in 
Huntington  (afterward  Union  and  now  Hun- 
lock) township,  and  died  May  6,  1887,  in  Frank- 
lin township,  Luzerne  county,  at  the  home  of  one- 
of  his  sons. 

Jameson  Hunlock  (3),  fourth  son  of  Jona- 
than and  Mary  (Jameson)  Hunlock,  married, 
December  28,  1836,  Ann  Maria  Royal,  daughter 
of  George  Henry  Royal  and  his  wife  Eleanor 
Holgate.  Jameson  resided  for  many  years  after 
his  marriage  in  Kingston  township,  Luzerne 
county,  where  he  ensraged  in  farming  and  other 
business  pursuits.  His  wife  died  there  May  6, 
1875,  and  he  died  1887.  Jameson  and  Ann  Maria 
(Royal)  Hunlock  had  six  children:  Andrew, 
born  May  1.  1839,  of  whom  later;  George  R.. 
born  October  2,  1840;  Helen  M..  born  Septem- 
ber 17,  1843,  deceased ;  Frances  A.,  born  June 
21,  1845:  John  G,  born  November  25.  1847; 
Thomas  B.,  born  September  27,  1850;  Edward 
R.,  born  October  9,  1855. 

Andrew  Hunlock,  eldest  son  of  Jameson 
Hunlock  and  his  wife  Ann  Maria  Royal,  was 
born  in  the  village  of  Kingston,  May  1,  1839.  He 


acquired  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools, 
and  Wyoming  Seminary,  after  which  he  began 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  and  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Lyman  Hakes,  of  the  Luzerne  bar.  He 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  November,  1868,  and 
since  that  time  has  resided  in  Wilkes-Barre,  de- 
voting himself  to  his  profession  and  attending  to 
the  various  important  business  interests  in  which 
he  is  concerned.  Mr.  Hunlock  is  unmarried.  He 
is  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  city  and  its 
prosperity,  yet  has  never  taken  an  active  part 
in  its  political  affairs,  having  no  ambition  in  that 
direction.  In  February,  1876,  he  was  active  in 
organizing  the  Anthracite  Savings  Bank  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  now  one  of  the  solid  financial  in- 
stitutions of  Luzerne  county,  and  was  its  first 
president.  This  office  he  held  until  April,  1881, 
when  he  disposed  of  his  stock  in  the  bank.  He  is 
one  of  the  owners  of  the  costly  and  handsome 
Hotel  Sterling  in  Wilkes-Barre.  For  more  than- 
thirty  years  he  has  been  a  member  and  attendant 
of  the  congregation  of  the  Memorial  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  and  of  his  means  has  contributed 
liberally  to  its  support.  He  has  always  been  a. 
generous  donor  to  the  various  charitable  and 
other  useful  institutions  in  Wilkes-Barre  which 
are  dependent  upon  the  public  for  their  support. 
No  worthy  charity  ever  appealed  to  him  in  vain,, 
and  yet  his  gifts  have  been  so  disposed  as  not  to- 
attract  attention  to  the  donor.  He  is  a  life  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and'  Geological' 
Society  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

The  Jameson  family  from  whom  Mr.  Hun- 
lock descends  is  thus  mentioned  in  Kulp :  Mary 
Jameson  was  the  daughter  of  John  Jameson,  a 
descendant  of  John  Jameson,  who  in  the  year 
1704  left  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  of  which 
he  was  a  native,  and  sought  a  new  home  in  Ire- 
land. He  settled  in  the  town  of  Omagh,  county 
of  Tyrone,  where  he  married  Rosanna  Irwin.. 
He  continued  his  residence  in  Ireland  until  17 18, 
when  he  emigrated  with  his  family  to  America, 
landing  after  a  long  and  dangerous  voyage  in 
Boston,  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  He 
removed  to  Voluntown,  Windham  county,  Con- 
necticut, 1725.  where  he  purchased  a  tract  ot 
land  upon  which  he  lived  for  many  years  and 
died.  He  had  two  brothers,  Robert  and  Henry, 
both  of  whom  emigrated  to  America,  and  landed 
at  Philadelphia  in  the  year  1708.  John  Jame- 
son was  a  man  of  strong  will  and  prejudices.  It 
is  said  he  never  yielded  until  fully  convinced  of 
error. 

His  son,  Robert  Jameson,  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Omagh,  Ireland,  December  25,  1714,  and 
was  four  years  of  age  when  his  parents  came  ta 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


229 


America.  He  married  November  24.  1748,  Ag- 
nes Dixson,  who  was  also  born  in  Ireland,  and 
came  to  America  when  quite  young  with  her 
father.  Captain  Robert  Dixson,  and  settled  in 
Windham  county,  Connecticut.  Robert  Dixson 
was  one  of  the  committee  of  the  Susquehanna 
Company,  as  shown  by  the  following  receipt : 
"Voluntown,  March  30  day,  A.  D.,  1768. 

"Then  received  of  Robert  Jameson,  of  Vol- 
uptown,  in  Windham  county,  as  he  is  one  of  the 
company  of  the  purchasers  of  the  Susquehanna 
Lands  so  called,  the  sum  of  nine  shillings  law- 
ful money,  in  full  complyance  of  the  voat  of 
said  company  at  their  meeting  held  at  Wind- 
ham by  adjournment  on  the  sixth  day  of  Janu- 
ary last,  for  one  whole  right  or  share  in  s'd  pur- 
chase.  I  say  rec'd  by  me. 

"Robert  Dixson, 
"One  of  the  com'tee  for  s'd  company." 

Robert  Jameson  and  his  wife,  Agnes,  with  all 
their  sons  and  daughters  (except  John,  who  had 
preceded  them)  bade  farewell  to  their  old  home 
in  Voluntown  and  set  out  for  Wyoming,  on  the 
Susquehanna.  They  brought  with  them  a  few 
articles  of  household  furniture  and  an  agricul- 
tural implement  or  two,  which  they  conveyed  in 
a  large  cart  drawn  by  three  yoke  of  oxen.  The 
sons  walked  alongside,  driving  the  oxen  and 
helping  the  cart  over  new  and  badly  opened 
roads.  The  daughters,  clothed  in  homespun, 
travelled  afoot  and  drove  thirty  head  of  sheep. 
The  journey  was  performed  in  about  three  te- 
dious weeks.  John,  who  had  gone  before  to  pre- 
pare a  home,  met  them  at  Lackawaxen,  and  con- 
ducted them  to  their  homely  dwelling  in  Han- 
over township.  Mr.  Jameson,  before  leaving 
Connecticut,  obtained  the  following  passport: 
"Windham,  November  4,  1776. 

"The  bearer  hereof,  Mr.  Robert  Jameson,  has 
been  for  many  years  an  inhabitant  in  the  town  of 
Voluntown,  in  the  county  of  Windham,  and 
state  of  Connecticut,  and  is  now  on  his  journey 
with  his  wife  and  family  and  family  furniture,  to 
remove  to  the  town  of  Hanover,  on  the  Susque- 
hanna river,  and  is  a  friend  to  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  has  a  right  to  remove  himself 
and  family  as  above. 

"Sam'l  Gray, 
"Jusctice  of  the  Pea^e  and  one  of  the  committee 

of  s'd  Windham." 

Robert  Jameson  lived  nine  or  ten  years  after 
his  removal  to  Hanover,  where  he  died  in  the 
seventy-second  year  of  his  age,  of  consumption, 
■and  was  buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the  old  Han- 
over Presbvterian  Church.    His  wife  Agnes  died 


in  Salem  township,  September  24,  1804,  and  lies 
buried  in  the  Beach  Grove  cemetery. 

John  Jameson,  son  of  Robert  Jameson,  born 
June  17,  1749,  preceded  his  father  to  Wyoming, 
where  he  arrived  in  1770.  He  located  on  a  tract 
of  land  in  Hanover  township  on  the  public  road 
leading  from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Nanticoke,  where 
he  cleared  several  acres  and  enclosed  a  comfort- 
able log  house  containing  two  rooms,  and  a  half- 
story  loft  accessible  by  means  of  a  ladder.  The 
fire-place  was  constructed  without  jambs,  on  the 
Dutch  plan.  The  windows  were  of  small  size, 
with  six  panes  of  light  and  glass-oiled  paper  was 
used  as  a  substitute  for  glass.  The  structure 
compared  favorably  with  the  dwelling  places  of 
neighboring  settlers,  and,  indeed,  as  the  logs 
were  hewn,  the  edifice  was  considered  superior 
to  anything  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was  to  this 
place  he  welcomed  his  father's  family  in  1776. 
The  same  year  he  married  Abigail  Alden,  child 
of  Captain  Prince  Alden,  who  came  to  Wyoming 
with  her  father  in  1773.  In  1776,  before  the  fam- 
ily of  his  father  arrived  in  Wyoming,  he  enlisted 
in  a  company  under  Captain  Strong,  and  June, 
1777,  was  elected  ensign.  The  company  was 
united  with  the  Connecticut  troops  and  marched 
to  New  Jersey  to  unite  with  the  army  under 
Washington.  On  the  morning  of  July  3,  1778, 
he,  in  company  with  his  brothers,  William  and 
Robert  Jameson,  and  a  man  named  Coffrin,  who 
worked  for  him,  left  home  with  their  rifles  and 
joined  the  devoted  band  who  encountered  the 
invading  English  Tories  and  Indians  in  the  cele- 
brated battle  or  massacre  of  Wyoming.  Robert 
Jameson  and  James  Coffrin  were  killed  in  the 
battle.  William  had  the  lock  of  his  gun  shot 
away  and  was  wounded.  John  Jameson  escaped 
barely  with  his  life.  Hastening  to  his  home  he 
found  his  aged  father  and  mother,  with  his  wife 
and  sisters  and  younger  brothers,  anxiously 
awaiting  news  of  the  battle.  "What  news, 
John?"  inquired  the  father.  "We  are  defeated," 
was  the  reply ;  "Robert  and  Coffrin  are  dead, 
and  William  is  wounded ;  the  Indians  are  sweep- 
ing over  the  valley,  spreading  fire  and  death  in 
every  direction,  and  we  must  fly  for  our  safety." 
The  Jamesons,  Aldens,  Hurlbuts,  and  other  fam- 
ilies set  out  at  once  for  old  Hanover,  in  Lan- 
caster county.  The  old  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren were  placed  in  boats  and  sent  down  the 
Susquehanna  river.  John  Jameson,  with  his 
brothers,  Alexander  and  Joseph,  and  his  mother, 
who  carried  her  son  Samuel  in  her  arms,  per- 
formed the  journey  on  foot  to  Fort  Augusta,  now 
Sunbury,    Pennsylvania.       They    undertook    to. 


230 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


drive  the  cattle  before  them,  but  owing  to  their 
haste  and  to  the  thick  underwood  and  the  almost 
unpassable  roads  or  paths  they  lost  almost  all  of 
them.  One  yoke  of  oxen  strayed  into  North- 
ampton county,  but  were  afterwards  recovered. 
As  soon  as  the  families  were  safely  landed  in 
old  Hanover,  John  Jameson  returned  to  look 
after  the  farm  and  household  goods.  He  occa- 
sionally visited  Lancaster  county,  but  the  fam- 
ilies did  not  come  back  to  their  homes  in  Wyom- 
ing until  1780.  On  July  8,  1782,  Mr.  Jameson, 
with  his  youngest  brother  Benjamin,  and  a 
neighbor,  Asa  Chapman,  started  from  his  home 
in  Hanover  for  Wilkes-Barre.  Riding  on  horse- 
back on  the  public  road  and  approaching  the 
open  ground  of  the  old  church  at  Hanover  green, 
John  Jameson  observed  Indians  in  the  thickets 
on  his  right.  He  exclaimed  "Indians !"  and  im- 
mediately fell  dead,  pierced  by  three  balls.  His 
horse  fled  and  left  his  rider  on  the  ground, 
where  he  was  afterwards  found,  scalped,  tom- 
ahawked, and  murdered.  Chapman  and  horse 
were  both  wounded  but  escaped.  Mr.  Chapman 
died  a  few  days  after.  Benjamin  Jameson's 
horse  wheeled  at  the  first  fire  and  carried  him 
home  in  safety.  They  were  the  last  men  killed 
in  Wyoming  by  Indians.  Thus  died  John  Jame- 
son in  the  thirty-third  year  of  his  age.  He 
possessed  perseverance  and  great  powers  of  en- 
durance, and  was  in  every  respect  a  thorough- 
going pioneer.  He  was  buried  in  the  graveyard 
of  the  Hanover  church  near  the  spot  where  he 
was  killed.  We  have  already-  stated  that  the 
wife  of  John  Jameson  was  Abigail  Alden.  She 
was  descended  from  John  Alden,  the  first  of  the 
American  families  of  that  name,  and  who  was 
one  of  the  Pilgrims  who  landed  at  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1620.  He  was  at  that 
time  about  twenty-two  years  of  age,  conse- 
quently was  born  in  1598.  He  married  Pris- 
cilla  Mullins  (or  Molines)  in  1623. 

Captain  Jonathan  Alden,  son  of  Hon.  John 
Alden,  settled  in  Duxbury,  Massachusetts,  on 
the  ancient  homestead.  He  married  Abigail 
Hallet,  daughter  of  Andrew  Hallet,  also  of  Dux- 
bury,  December  10,  1672.  His  wife  died  Au- 
gust 17,  1725,  aged  eighty-one  years.  Captain 
Jonathan  Alden  died  February  15,  1697,  and  was 
buried  under  arms,  and  a  funeral  discourse  was 
delivered  by  the  Rev.  Ichabod  Wiswell.  which 
was  printed.  Andrew  Alden,  son  of  Captain 
Jonathan  Alden  and  his  wife  Abigail,  married 
Lydia  Stamford.  February  4,  1714.  Prince 
Alden,  son  of  Andrew  Alden  and  Lydia  his  wife, 
married  Mary  Fitch,  of  New  London,  Connecti- 


cut. The  first  settlement  in  Newport  township- 
was  made  by  Major  Prince  Alden  in  1772,  near 
the  borough  of  Nanticoke.  Their  daughter  Abi- 
gail married  John  Jameson.  After  the  death  of 
John  Jameson,  Mrs.  Jameson  managed  her  af- 
fairs with  prudence  and  economy,  and  1787  took 
Shubal  Bidlack  as  a  second  husband.  He  was 
a  grandson  of  Christopher  Bidlack,  who  settled 
in  Windham,  Connecticut,  in  1722,  where  he 
died.  His  son,  Captain  James  Bidlack,  married 
Abigail  Fuller,  and  came  with  his  family  to  the 
Wyoming  Valley  in  1777  from  Windham.  Cap- 
tain James  Bidlack,  one  of  his  sons,  commanded 
one  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  companies  at  the  battle 
and  massacre  of  Wyoming,  and  there  lost  his 
life. 

Benjamin  Bidlack,  a  brother  of  James,  was  a 
famous  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  and 
afterwards  a  noted  Methodist  minister  of  the 
old  schoool.  He  was  the  father  of  Benjamin 
Alden  Bidlack,  who  represented  the  county  of 
Luzerne  in  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania, 
1834-35.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  congress 
as  a  representative  of  Luzerne  and  Columbia 
counties  in  1840,  and  re-elected  in  1842.  He  was 
appointed  by  President  Polk  minister  to  the  re- 
public of  New  Granada,  where  he  died.  His 
widow,  who  subsequently  married  Thomas  W.. 
Miner,  M.  D.,  is  still  living.  Shubal  Bidlack 
was  the  fourth  son  of  Captain  James  Bidlack,, 
senator.  On  one  occasion  during  the  Pennamite 
and  Yankee  war,  Mrs.  Bidlack  left  Wyoming  for 
Easton,  where  her  father,  Major  Prince  Alden, 
with  upwards  of  twenty  other  Connecticut  set- 
tlers, were  confined  in  jail.  She  took  a  number 
of  letters  intended  for  the  prisoners,  which  were 
carefully  folded  and  concealed  in  her  roll  (the 
hair  in  those  days  being  carefully  done  up  in  a 
roll)  on  the  top  of  her  head.  As  she  passed  along 
the  Indian  path  at  night  she  was  discovered  and 
arrested  near  Bear  Creek  by  Colonel  Patterson, 
the  Pennamite  commander.  The  letters  in  her 
roll  escaped  the  suspicious  Pennamite,  and  she 
was  permitted  to  pass  without  further  molesta- 
tion. She  arrived  safely  in  Easton  and  com- 
municated the  state  of  affairs  at  home  to  her 
father  and  other  prisoners.  She  was  a  member 
of  the  first  Methodist  class  formed  in  Hanover, 
and  the  house  of  the  Widow  Jameson  was  a 
home  for  the  early  Methodist  ministers.  William 
Jameson,  a  brother  of  John,  who  was  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Wyoming,  was  murdered  by  the  In- 
dians in  the  lower  part  of  the  present  city  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  October  14,  1778,  and  was  buried 
in  the  old  Hanover  graveyard.     The  mother  of 


THE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


231 


Andrew  Hunlock  was  Anna  Maria  Royal, 
daughter  of  the  late  George  Henry  Royal,  of 
Germantown,  Pennsylvania.  The  Royal  fam- 
ily is  of  English  descent,  and  emigrated  from 
New  England  to  Philadelphia,  where  the  grand- 
parents of  Mr.  Hunlock  resided  for  many  years. 

H.  E.'H. 

MYERS  FAMILY.  Among  the  early  set- 
tlers in  the  Wyoming  Valley  who  braved  the 
hardships  and  perils  of  those  days  may  be  men- 
tioned the  Myers  family,  which  furnished  a 
number  of  the  heroes  and  patriots  of  that  time. 
Since  then  members  of  the  various  generations 
have  acquitted  themselves  equally  as  creditably 
in  the  various  walks  of  life. 

The  founder  of  this  branch  of  the  Myers 
family  came  from  Germany  to  America  in  1760, 
and  settled  at  Frederick,  Maryland.  He  had  four 
sons :  Lawrence,  Phillip,  Henry,  Michael. 

Lawrence  Myers,  born  1754,  and  his  brother 
Philip,  born  1760,  eldest  sons  of  the  founder  of 
the  family,  entered  the  American  army  during 
the  revolution  and  did  valiant  service  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  They  were  soldiers  of  the  [Mary- 
land line,  and  their  lives  were  closelv  inter- 
twined, as  the  history  of  one  is  practically  the 
history  of  the  other.  Lawrence  was  a  private 
in  Captain  Mantz's  company,  Frederick  county 
militia,  July  13,  1776,  and  lieutenant  in  the  Mary- 
land line  1781.  He  was  also  a  major  of  Penn- 
sylvania militia  in  1788,  in  command  of  men  dur- 
ing the  Pennamite  troubles  (Miner,  483).  Philip 
was  a  private  soldier  in  the  same  militia,  1781. 
The)-  were  with  General  Washington  during  his 
military  operations  in  the  province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  afterwards  shared  in  the  battle  of  Ger- 
mantown which  preceded  the  British  occupation 
of  Philadelphia.  After  that  disaaster  the  Myers 
brothers  came  to  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna. 
They  were  well  pleased  with  the  locality,  soil, 
general  conditions  and  the  determined  spirit  of 
the  Yankee  settlers.  Upon  returning  to  Mary- 
land they  tried  to  induce  their  father  to  remove 
with  his  family  to  the  Wyoming  Valley,  but 
were  unsuccessful.  Lawrence  and  Philip,  how- 
ever, returned  to  the  Valley,  which  had  charmed 
them.  Lawrence  settled  at  Kingston,  where  he 
built  and  occupied  the  large  stone  house  which  is 
still  standing,  but  in  a  dilapidated  condition  ;  it 
was  for  many  years  known  as  Myers'  "cocked 
hat."  He  married,  January  3,  1782,  Sarah  Gore, 
and  died  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  March  27, 
1810,  aged  fifty-six  years. 

Philip  Myers  second  son  of  the  founder  of 
the  family,  was  born  1760,  died  April  2,   1835. 


He  located  in  Forty  Fort,  1785,  and  there  after 
his  marriage  he  built  his  house,  just  north  of 
this  historic  fort,  the  land  having  been  given  him 
by  Thomas  Bennet,  his  father-in-law.  He  after- 
wards bought  one  hundred. and  fifty  acres  of  land. 
He  was  a  man  of  influence  in  the  community.  He 
married,  July  15,  1787,  Martha  Bennet,  born 
January  15,  1763,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Martha  (Jackson)  Bennet,  two  of  whose  sons 
were  victims  in  the  massacre  of  Wyoming.  (See 
Peck's  "History  of  Wyoming").  Philip  and 
Martha  (Bennet)  Myers  had:  1.  John,  of  whom 
later.  2.  Lawrence.  3.  William,  removed  to  Sun- 
bury,  Ohio,  where  he  owned  a  large  tract  of  land, 
of  which  he  later  gave  one-half  of  what  was 
needed  for  a  public  square  and  the  site  for  the 
court  house.  4.  Thomas,  a  conspicuous  figure  in 
the  early  history  of  Luzerne  county,  where  he 
spent  his  life.  He  was  the  first  clerk  of  the 
county  commissioners,  sheriff  of  the  county, 
1835-38,  and  later  paymaster  on  the  north  branch 
division  of  the  old  state  canal.  Governor  Packer 
induced  him  to  remove  to  Williamsport,  where 
he  lived  for  a  time  and  where  he  married  the  sis- 
ter of  the  governor's  wife,  a  daughter  of  Peter 
W.  Yanderbelt.  Afterward  he  removed  to 
Kingston,  where  he  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness. He  took  an  active  interest  in  education, 
and  contributed  to  the  W'yoming  Seminary, 
Kingston,  one-fourth  of  its  cost.  5.  Harriet,  mar- 
ried Madison  F.  Myers,  her  cousin.  6.  Betsey. 
7.  Sarah. 

Thomas  Bennet,  father  of  Mrs.  Philip  Myers, 
came  from  Rhode  Island  to  the  Delaware  valley 
in  Pennsylvania,  1763,  and  settled  near  Strouds- 
burg,  where  his  family  with  others  occupied  a 
barricaded  house  built  of  stones  and  called  a 
fort.  His  purpose  had  been  to  settle  in  the 
Wyoming  valley,  which  he  visited,  but  finding 
the  Indians  unfriendly  to  the  whites,  he  tempo- 
rarily abandoned  his  idea.  In  1769  he  joined  a 
company  of  New  England  people,  came  again  to 
the  valley,  and  was  one  of  the  hardy  pioneers 
who  built  for  protection  both  against  the  In- 
dians and  the  Pennamites  the  historic  Fprty 
Fort.  In  1770  he  helped  in  the  work  of  build- 
ing a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lackawanna,  and 
there  with  others  was  taken  into  custody  by  the 
Pennsylvania  authorities.  While  at  "Wyoming" 
(probably  Wilkes-Barre)  en  route  to  the  North- 
ampton county  jail  at  Easton.  Mr.  Bennet  es- 
caped and  returned  to  New  England.  In  the 
fall  he  returned  to  the  Wyoming  valley,  occupy- 
ing a  small  house  he  had  previously  built  above 
Forty  Fort.  He  was  one  of  the  most  courage- 
ous defenders  of  the  Connecticut  claimants  in  the 


232 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


region,  and  his  life  for  the  next  few  years  was 
an  important  part  of  Pennsylvania  history.  His 
daughter  Martha,  who  married  Philip  Myers, 
possessed  many  of  her  father's  traits  and  had 
inherited  much  of  his  brave  spirit.  Her  life  is 
also  a  matter  of  state  history,  and  her  narrative 
of  the  troublous  period  of  the  Revolution  and  the 
Pennamite- Yankee  war  is  interwoven  with  every 
published  account  of  the  events  of  that 'time.  It 
is  probably  through  her  that  the  historic  table 
on  which,  the  capitulation  of  Forty  Fort,  1778, 
was  written,  is  still  preserved  in  the  Myers  fam- 
ilv.  Thomas  Bennet  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Ben- 
net  (3),  who  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Bennet  (2), 
who  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Bennet  ( 1),  who  was  a 
son  of  Edward  Bennet,  of  Weymouth,  Massa- 
chusetts, a  freeman  in  that  town  in  1636,  one  of 
the  original  proprietors  of  Rehoboth,  Massachu- 
setts, where  he  died  in  1646. 

John  Myers,  eldest  son  of  Philip  and  Martha 
( Bennet)  Myers,  was  born  at  Forty  Fort,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  17,  1791,  died  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  January  25,  1850.  He  was 
a  man  of  considerable  influence,  having  been  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  and  notary  public  for  .forty 
years.  He  lived  on  Franklin  street  just  north  of 
Market  street.  He  married,  May  2,  181 3,  Sarah 
Stark,  born  July  20,  1793,  died  May  9,  1868, 
daughter  of  Henry  Stark,  who  was  driven  from 
the  valley  at  the  time  of  the  Wyoming  massacre, 
but  later  returned  and  became  the  owner  of  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  what  is  now  Plains  town- 
ship. Henry  Stark  was  the  son  of  James  Stark, 
who  was  the  son  of  Christopher  Stark,  who  came 
from  the  Connecticut  valley  to  that  of  Wyoming 
in  1769.  Christopher  Stark  was  a  son  of  Will- 
iam Stark,  who  was  a  son  of  Aaron  Stark,  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  1639.  David  and  Aaron 
Stark,  sons  of  Christopher,  were  killed  in  the 
massacre  at  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778.  The  chil- 
dren of  John  and  Sarah  (Stark)  Myers  were: 
1.  Elizabeth,  born  October  31,  181 5,  died  April 
29,  1837;  married,  March  27,  1836,  Colonel  An- 
thony H.  Emley,  a  banker  and  broker  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  soldier  and  officer 
during  the  Civil  war.  2.  Jane,  born  April  26, 
1817,  died  unmarried.  3.  Lawrence  of  whom 
later.  4.  Martha,  born  April  10,  1820,  died  April 
26,  1838.  5.  Mary  S.,  born  September  16,  1821, 
died  March  24,  1822.  6.  Harriet,  born  June  20, 
1823,  married  Michael  Eichelberger,  and  died  in 
Texas.  7.  John,  born  October  7,  1824,  died  No- 
vember 25,  1847,  0;f  fever  contracted  as  a  soldier 
during  the  war  with  Mexico ;  he  was  a  lawyer. 
8.  Henry  P.,  born  June  1,  1826,  married  October 
6,     1853,    Lucinda    Reese    Church,    resides    in 


Wilkes-Barre.  9.  Charles  born  October  25,  1827, 
married,  March  29,  1853,  Martha  Pettibone,  and 
lives  in  Peoria,  Illinois.  10.  Sarah  J.  born  October 
31,  1829,  married,  June  25,  1853,  Herman  G. 
Muller;  both  deceased.  11.  James  M.,  born  April 
1,  1831,  died  October  7,  1864.  He  was  in  the 
army  during  the  Mexican  war.  12.  Ruth  Ann, 
born  Nevember  8,  1832,  married,  June  2,  1857, 
Benjamin  Turner,  and  resides  in  Toulon,  Il- 
linois. 

Lawrence. Myers,  third  child  of  John' and 
Sarah  (Stark)  Myers,  was  born  October  22, 
1818,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  June  14,  1905,  one  of 
the  oldest  men  in  Wilkes-Barre  hamlet,  village, 
borough,  and  city.  He  began  the  real  work  of 
life  at  an  early  age,  and  as  his  capital  increased 
bought  and  sold  land  and  any  other  property  that 
promised  a  fair  return.  Later  he  disposed  of 
some  of  his  minor  business  interests  and  began 
a  brokerage  business  on  the  public  square  near 
its  northwest  corner.  He  was  the  first  man  in 
Wilkes-Barre  to  take  out  a  broker's  license,  and 
afterward,  as  long  as  the  commodity  was  han- 
dled in  the  open  market,  his  lettered  sign  "Gold 
and  Silver  Bought  to  Day"  was  regularly  dis- 
played on  his  door-post.  From  this  he  merged 
into  a  regular  banking  business  conducted  on  the 
same  plan  as  the  large  banks.  In  addition  to 
this  he  later  invested  judiciously  in  coal  lands.  He 
was  prudent  in  his  investments,  fair  in  all  his 
dealings,  and  won  and  kept  the  confidence  of  the 
business  community.  He  continued  in  active 
business  in  the  same  locality  for  upwards  of  fifty 
years  as  a  banker,  broker,  and  dealer  in  real  estate. 
The  result  of  his  business  efforts  was  the  accum- 
ulation of  a  large  fortune,  which  he  enjoyed,  and 
the  respect  of  the  community  in  which  he  had 
for  so  long  a  time  been  an  influential  citizen.  He 
was  a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society.  He  married,  1844,  Ann 
Elizabeth  Eichelberger,  by  whom  he  had  one 
child,  Georgiana  Myers,  died  July  24,  1866.  He 
married  (second),  October  10,  1854,  Sarah 
Sharps,  who  died  March  12,  1864.  Their  chil- 
dren: 1.  Rollin  Sharps,  living  in  Carbondale, 
Pennsylvania.  2.  Eugene  Oscar,  living  in  Dor- 
ranceton,  Pennsylvania.  3.  Mary  Margaret,  of 
whom  later.  4.  Fannie  S.,  married  Samuel 
Townend.  5.  Stella  Elizabeth,  died  August  2, 
1864. 

Mary  Margaret  Myers,  daughter  of  Law- 
rence and  Sarah  (Sharps)  Myers,  married,  De- 
cember 15,  1880,  Daniel  Strebeigh  Bennet,  a  de- 
scendant of  Thomas  Bennet.  He  died  Septem- 
ber 16,  1884.     She  married  (second),  November 


iy^d^^/crzjw 


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THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


233 


28,  1888,  John  Biesecker  Yeager.  Mrs.  Yeager 
is  a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society,  and  a  member  of  the  National 
Society,  Daughters  of  American  Revolution. 

H.  E.  H. 
JOHN  BIESECKER  YEAGER,  born  in 
Moscow,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  son  of  Henry 
H.  Yeager,  born  in  Schenectady,  New 
York,  and  grandson  of  Henry  Yeager,  of  Scho- 
harie, New  York,  whose  father  resided  in  White 
Plains,  New  York,  where  he  was  among  the  early 
slaveholders  but  later  gave  freedom  to  all  his 
slaves.  He  came  to  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, as  a  pioneer,  when  there  were  only  three 
houses  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  located  at  Moscow 
Pennsylvania,  from  which  point  he  conducted  an 
•extensive  lumber  business,  having  mills  located 
in  different  parts  of  the  county.  Here  he  died, 
aged  eighty-four  years.  His  son,  Henry  H. 
Yeager,  also  followed  lumbering  very  exten- 
sively, in  addition  to  which  he  conducted  a  large 
general  store.  During  the  Civil  war  he  acted  as 
provost  marshal.  He  died  at  the  age  of  seven- 
ty-eight years.  He  married  Mary  A.  Biesecker, 
born  in  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of 
John  Biesecker  of  that  place.  She  died  at  the  age 
of  seventy-seven  years.  John  B.  Yeager  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  public  schools  of  Moscow,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  later  at  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kings- 
ton. He  then  went  to  New  York  City,  where  he 
was  employed  in  a  wholesale  dry  goods  house,  re- 
maining there  a  number  of  years.  Later  he  came 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  hardware  business  for  some  time.  He 
then  went  to  Philadelphia  and  took  a  position 
with  a  publishing  house,  where  he  remained  un- 
til he  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
and  engaged  in  his  present  business,  which  he 
has  since  conducted  successfully,  being  now  the. 
most  extensive  shipper  of  grain  in  northeastern 
Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Luzerne 
County  Trust  Company,  and  the  Ann  Arbor, 
and  the  Ypsilanti  (Michigan)  Telephone  Com- 
pany, and  president  of  the  Songo  Realty  Com- 
pany, New  York  City.  H.  E.  H. 

SINTON  HUNTER  STURDEVANT.  de- 
ceased, for  many  years  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent residents  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
was  born  at  Skinner's  Eddy,  Braintrim  town- 
ship, Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  December 
30,  1843,  the  third  son  of  Liverius  D.  and  Ada 
( Morley)  Sturdevant.  He  was  a  descendant  of 
'the  Revolutionary  soldier  Samuel  Henry  Sturde- 
vant, who  entered  the  Continental  army  as  an 
orderly  sergeant  at  Lexington,  obtained  rank  as 


a  captain  for  gallant  service,  and  served  until  the 
surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown.  Samuel 
Sturdevant,  son  of  Samuel  Henry  Sturdevant, 
born  September  17,  1773,  died  March  4,  1847, 
was  the  father  of  several  children,  among  whom 
was  Liverius  D.  Sturdevant,  born  in  Braintrim 
township,  July  14,  1804,  died  at  Mehoopany,  No- 
vember 12,  1886.  His  wife,  Ada  (Morley) 
Sturdevant,  born  November  9,  1809,  died  July 
21,  1885,  bore  him  a  number  of  children  among 
whom  was  Sinton  H.  Sturdevant. 

Sinton  H.  Sturdevant  spent  his  early  days  in 
Braintrim,  Wyoming  county,  Braintrim  town- 
ship, and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and 
later  at  Wyoming  Seminary,  where  he  pursued  a 
commercial  course,  graduating  about  1863. 
Prior  to  this  he  entered  the  store  of  Edmund 
Bunnell,  at  Skinner's  Eddy,  as  clerk,  where  he 
remained  about  two  years,  after  which  he  en- 
tered the  seminary,  as  above  stated.  After  his 
graduation  he  accepted  a  position  as  business 
manager  for  J.  T.  Jennings,  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
with  whom  he  remained  for  about  five  years.  In 
connection  with  S.  D.  Goff  he  conducted  a  gen- 
eral store  at  Mehoopany,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Sturdevant  &  Goff,  continuing  the  same  for  a 
period  of  three  years,  after  which  he  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre  and  for  a  number  of  years  was 
identified  with  the  firm  of  Jennings  &  Smith 
in  the  lumber  business.  The  following  fourteen 
years  he  served  as  confidential  clerk  and  general 
manager  with  the  Ahlborn  Company,  wholesale 
manufacturer  of  meats.  He  then  formed  a  part- 
nership with  L.  J.  Fogel  and  others  under  the 
name  of  Sturdevant,  Fogel  &  Company,  and 
opened  the  large  meat  establishment  on  South 
Pennsylvania  avenue,  Wilkes-Barre,  in  which 
business  he  continued  till  his  death,  May  19, 
1899.  Mr.  Sturdevant  was  highly  regarded  by 
the  community  of  Wilkes-Barre  during  his  long 
residence  in  that  city.  As  a  business  man  he 
early  attained  an  enviable  reputation  for  keen  sa- 
gacity, and  as  a  citizen  he  was  progressive,  pub- 
lic-spirited and  honorable,  commanding  the  re- 
spect of  his  fellowmen.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Central  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  twenty- 
four  years,  and  was  active  in  all  departments  of 
church  work,  a  member  of  the  board  for  twenty- 
two  years,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  a 
trustee  and  secretary  of  the  board.  He  was  a 
member  of  Mehoopany  Lodge,  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  and  his  political  affiliations 
were  with  the  Republican  party. 

Mr.  Sturdevant  married,  at  Meshoppen,  Wy- 
oming county,  Pennsylvania,  August  9,  1865.  Au- 
arusta  Stilwell,  daughter  of  Almon  G.  and  Har- 


234 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


riet  (Overfield)  Stilwell,  who  originally  settled 
in  Delaware  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  were  of 
German  pioneer  descent.  Four  children  were  the 
issue  of  this  union,  namely:  I.  Grace  Morley, 
born  March  13,  1867,  at  Skinner's  Eddy,  mar- 
ried, January  25,  1892,  John  T.  Cowling  at  Mt. 
Vernon,  New  York,  an  electrician,  and  their 
children  are:  Donald  S.,  born  December  30,  1894; 
and  Grace  A.,  born  March  22,  1896.  2.  Harriet, 
born  Mehoopany,  February  1,  1871,  died  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1877,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  buried  in  Hol- 
lenback  cemetery.  3.  Anna  Jean,  born  Mehoo- 
pany, April  24,  1873.  4.  Marion  Augusta,  born 
Wilkes-Barre,  May  20,  1880.  The  latter  two  are 
at  home. 

Almon  G.  Stilwell,  father  of  Mrs.  Sturde- 
vant,  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Aden  Stilwell,  of 
Connecticut,  who  was  afflicted  with  that  awful 
calamity,  blindness.  He  preached  in  New  York 
state  for  many  years.  The  family  of  Rev.  Aden 
Stilwell  consisted  of  five  children :  William.  Car- 
oline, married  Austin  Kenyon.  Lyman  G.,  served 
in  the  Civil  war,  was  taken  prisoner,  and  starved 
to  death  while  an  inmate  of  Libby  prison.  Al- 
mon G.,  of  whom  later.  Rosina,  married  John 
Lewis.  Almon  G.  and  Harriet  (Overfield)  Stil- 
well were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  as  fol- 
lows :  Julian  W.,  deceased.  Paul  O.,  married 
Rachel  Champion,  resides  in  Mehoopany.  Au- 
gusta, widow  of  Sinton  H.  Sturdevant.  Leslie, 
married  Mary  Ahner,  resides  at  Dinmock,  Penn- 
sylvania. Sarah  E.,  wife  of  E.  P.  Fish,  resides 
at  Lynn,  Pennsylvania.  James  Monroe,  married 
Myra  Alger,  resides  in  Meshoppen.  Benjamin 
died  at  the  age  of  three  years.  Allison,  drowned 
at  Mehoopany,  Pennsylvania,  aged  nineteen 
years.  Minerva  D.,  wife  of  Frank  Allen,  resides 
at  Meshoppen. 

The  Overfield  family,  of  which  Harriet 
(Overfield)  Stilwell  was  a  representative,  orig- 
inallv  came  from  North  Germany  early  in  1722, 
crossing  the  Atlantic  and  landing  at  New  Am- 
sterdam, now  New  York  City.  By  the  Indian 
trails  they  found  their  way  southwest  through 
the  province  of  New  Jersey  and  settled  east  or 
west  of  the  Delaware  river,  south  of  the  mart 
at  Easton,  Pennsylvania.  From  here  the  first 
family  spread  out  to  the  Delaware  Water  Gap, 
to  the  Smithfields  and  still  farther  west,  until 
today  their  numerous  descendants  not  only  are 
located  in  all  the  eastern  counties  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from 
the  St.  Lawrence  river  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Relative  to  the  origin  of  the  name  Overfield — 
Over  means  above,  field  means  a  piece  of  land, 


consequently  Overfield  means  above  land,  some- 
where between  earth  and  heaven. 

Paul  Overfield,  the  common  forefather  of 
tms  branch  of  the  family,  and  great-great-grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Sturdevant,  born  in  171 5,  came  to 
this  countrv  with  his  parents  from  North  Ger- 
many when  a  child,  married  Rebecca  Marshall, 
only  sister  of  Edward  Marshall,  was  a  resident 
of  New  Jersey,  and  died  in  1800  at  the  old  age  of 
eighty-five  years.  Their  children  were:  Abner. 
Benjamin,  of  whom  later.  Martin,  married  Eliz- 
abeth Ott.  Sarah,  married  Lieutenant  Moses 
Van  Campen.  Mary,  married  John  Daily.  Rachel, 
married  Joseph  Pennell.  Paul,  married  Hannah 
DePue.  William.  Elizabeth,  married  Edward 
Marshall,  who  was  immortalized  as  being  the 
hero  of  the  greatest  walk  ever  known.  "Marshall's 
Walk,"  which  was  a  great  event  in  the  early 
colonial  days,  it  being  a  tramp  of  one  hundred 
and  seventeen  miles  in  eighteen  hours  through 
the  wilderness  to  determine  the  northern  boun- 
dary of  an  Indian  grant  for  the  Pennsylvania 
governor,  Thomas  Penn.  ■  Twenty  years  after- 
wards. May  17.  1757,  his  wife,  Elizabeth  ( Over- 
field)  Marshall,  became  the  innocent  victim  of 
the  Indian's  vengeance  when  a  company  of  In- 
dians took  her  prisoner  and  because  she  could 
not  travel  fast  enough  they  twice  tomahawked 
her,  killing  and  then  scalping  her. 

Benjamin  Overfield.  great-grandfather  of 
Mrs.  Sturdevant,  served  under  the  command  of 
General  Washington  in  1776-77.  He  married 
(first)  Gonzales,  who  was  of  Spanish  nobility, 
and  (second)  Margaret  Handshaw.  Among  their 
children  was  a  son,  Paul  Overfield,  grandfather 
of  Mrs.  Sturdevant,  born. in  Middle  Smithfield, 
Monroe  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  22,  1792, 
came  on  horseback  with  his  parents  when  they 
settled  at  Meshoppen,  followed  farming  for  a 
livelihood,  and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 
He  married  Lydia  Lacey,  born  Laceyville,  and 
their  children  were :  William,  deceased ;  Harriet, 
deceased,  aforementioned  as  the  wife  of  Almon 
G.  Stilwell  and  mother  of  Augusta  (Stilwell) 
Sturdevant ;  Sarah,  deceased :  Benjamin,  de- 
ceased ;  Anna,  living  at  the  present  time  (1906)  ; 
Eliza,  also  living  at  the  present  time ;  Margaret, 
deceased :  John,  deceased ;  Nancy,  deceased ; 
Martha,  deceased.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight.  H.  E.  H. 

MAJOR  WILLIAM  OAKLEY  COOL- 
BAUGH.  youngest  son  of  William  and  Mar- 
garet (Vought)  Coolbaugh,  was  born  in  Durell, 
Bradford    county,    Pennsvlvania.    Februarv    10,. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


235" 


1848.  His  early  years  were  spent  in  Bradford 
county.  He  attended  the  public  schools  there, 
and  when  sixteen  years  of  age  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  to  receive  tuition  at  the 
academy  of  Squire  Parsons,  on  South  River 
street,  where  he  remained  for  one  year.  At  the 
end  of  this  time,  in  1865,  he  entered  the  dry 
goods  store  of  Coolbaugh  &  Frantz,  (his  broth- 
er's store)  as  clerk,  and  held  a  position  there 
until  1871,  when  the  store  was  closed  out.  He 
then  looked  after  his  brother  Johnson  R's 
interest  in  a  newly  opened  shoe  store,  (J.  R. 
Coolbaugh  &  Co.,  his  cousin  William  M.  Bennett 
being  the  company).  Later  this  store  was  sold  to 
Bennett  &  Walter,  with  which  firm  Major  Cool- 
baugh remained  several  years.  He  next  accepted 
a  position  as  traveling  salesman  for  Field,  Thaver 
&  Company  (shoes)  of  Boston,  Massachusetts. 
He  held  this  position  for  a  period  of  five  years, 
resigning  it  to  accept  a  similar  one  with  A.  W. 
Clapp  &  Company,  of  Boston,  where  he  remained 
for  one  year.  He  then  entered  into  business  re- 
lations with  the  firm  of  S.  H.  Powers,  jobbers 
in  boots  and  shoes,  32  Duane  street.  New  York, 
serving  them  in  a  similar  capacity  for  four  years, 
when  Mr.  Powers  retired  from  business.  Major 
Coolbaugh  then  went  with  James  C.  Wiley,  man- 
ufacturer of  cigars,  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania, 
until  the  latter's  death.  He  then  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  L.  H.  Foy  &  Company,  in  the  same  line 
and  continued  with  them  until  they  went  out  of 
business  in  1904.  Since  that  time  Major  Cool- 
baugh has  been  in  the  contract  department  of  the 
People's  Telephone  Company  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania. 

Major  Coolbaugh  has  a  long  and  honorable 
record  in  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania  as 
follows :  He  entered  the  service  as  a  private  in 
Company  I  (now  Company  D)  of  the  Ninth 
Regiment  in  1880.  The  same  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed quartermaster-sergeant  on  the  non-com- 
missioned staff  of  Colonel  G.  Murray  Reynolds ; 
December  11,  1884,  commissioned  regimental 
quarter-master  with  rank  of  first  lieutenant  on 
Colonel  Reynold's  staff,  by  Governor  Robert  E. 
Pattison  (Major  Coolbaugh  also  served  in  the 
same  capacity  under  .  Colonel  M.  J.  Keck)  ; 
June  21,  1887,  commissioned  aide-de-camp  with 
rank  of  captain,  on  the  staff  of  General  J.  P.  S. 
Gobin,  commander  of  the  Third  Brigade,  Na- 
tional Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  by  Governor  James 
A.  Beaver;  July  30,  1891,  commissioned  commis- 
sary of  subsistence  of  the  Third  Brigade,  with 
rank  of  major,  by  Governor  Pattison,  who  was 
serving  his  second  term.  Major  Coolbaugh  was 
with  the  regiment  at  Homestead  during  the  labor 


troubles  there.      May  8,  1897,  he  retired  from  ac- 
tive service. 

October  4,  1871,  Major  Coolbaugh  married 
Sarah  Coleman  McAlpin,  born  November  13, 
1849,  in  Wilkes-Barre.  Mrs.  Coolbaugh  was  the 
only  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah  Coleman, 
and  her  mother  died  at  her  birth.  Mrs.  Cool- 
baugh was  adopted  by  Hiram  McAlpin,  who  con- 
ducted a  general  store  on  West  Market  street, 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  site  where - 
B.  G  Carpenter's  present  places  of  business  is 
located.  When  Mrs.  McAlpin  died  Mrs.  Cool- 
baugh went  to  live  with  her  aunt,  Mrs.  Adeline- 
Jenkins,  and  later  with  Calvin  Parsons,  of  Par- 
sons, Pennsylvania,  from  whose  home  she  was 
married.  Mrs.  Coolbaugh  has  one  step-sister, 
Mrs.  Major  A.  Goodin,  of  Seattle,  Washing- 
ton, and  an  aunt,  Mrs.  Charlptte  Santee,  of  New-- 
burg.  New  York. 

Major  and  Mrs.   Coolbaugh  had  children  as 
follows:  1.  Arthur  Parsons,  born  September  21, 
1872,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  Jan- 
uary  22,    1876,   and    was   buried   in   Hollenback 
Cemetery.  2.  Mabel  Dana,  born  August  12,  1875. 
3.  Helen  Martin,  born  February  29,   1880,  died" 
in     Wilkes-Barre,    October    15,    1884,    and    was- 
buried  in  Hollenback  Cemetery,  4.  Johnson  Run- 
yon,  born   September   6,    1882,   died  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  February  n,  1883,  and  was  buried  in  Hol- 
lenback Cemetery.     5.     Grace,  born  January  28, 
1884,    died   at   Wilkes-Barre,    October    18,  "1884 
and  was  buried  in  Hollenback  Cemetery.  6.  Sue- 
Dana,  born  April  27,  1886.     7.    Emilie  Goucher,. 
born  January  16,  1889. 

H.  E.  H. 

ROBERT    BAUR,    known    throughout    the 
state  of  Pennsylvania  as  a  journalist  of  sterling - 
qualities  and  broad  influence,  is  the  oldest  repre- 
sentative of  his  profession  in  the  city  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,    state    of    Pennsylvania,    and    it    is    also 
worthy  of  note  that  he  is  the  oldest  living  mem- 
ber   of    the    Wyoming    Historical    Society    of" 
Wilkes-Barre.     He  comes  from  a  family  noted 
for  literary   talent   through   several   generations, - 
and  which  has  also  produced  a  number  of  em- 
inent divines. 

He  is  a  descendant  of  Rev.  Samuel  Baur,  a 
native  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  who  married" 
Juditha  Christina  Gerhardt.  In  pursuance  of  the 
provisions  of  his  mother's  will  he  was  set  apart 
for  the  ministry  from  his  very  birth,  was  given 
university  preparation  at  Jena  and  Tubingen, 
and  after  his  ordination  he  was  installed  in  the 
pastorate  of  Burtenbach,  from  which  he  was 
transferred  in  1800  to  the  more  important  one  at_ 


37,6 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Gottingen.  He  became  a  noted  author,  and  ac- 
quired a  fortune  of  thirty  thousand  florins  as  the 
reward  of  his  literary  work.  During  the  Napo- 
leonic wars  the  French  troops  were  extremely 
annoying  to  the  people  of  Gottingen.  and  he  aided 
in  organizing  a  militia  force  for  the  protection 
•of  the  inhabitants.  He  also  made  a  personal 
visit  to  Marshal  Ney,  from  whom  he  purchased 
comparative  immunity  for  his  people  by  the  gift 
of  two  rolls  of  geld  pieces  from  his  personal 
means.  He  died  in  Gottingen,  May  25,  1832.  at 
the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  His  son.  Christian, 
after  a  long  and  useful  ministerial  life,  died  in 
Lonsee,  Wiirtemberg,  the  oldest  minister  in  that 
kingdom.  He  had  two  sons.  Frederick  Jacob, 
and  Christian. 

Rev.  Frederick  Jacob  Baur,  eldest  son  of  Rev. 
Samuel  and  Juditha  Christina  (Gerhardt)  Baur. 
was  born  in  Gottingen.  Germany,  in  1796.  He 
completed  his  education  in  the  university  at 
Ttibingen.  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  and  in- 
stalled as  pastor  at  Ettlenshies,  Wiirtemberg, 
whence  he  was  transferred  to  the  charge  at 
Gottingen.  in  which  his  father  had  preceded  him. 
W  bile  a  young  cleric  he  was  drawn  for  military 
service  in  the  Russian  campaign  of  Napoleon, 
but  the  King  of  Wiirtemberg  obtained  from  the 
great  commander  permission  "that  those  study- 
ing for  the  ministry  are  to  be  exempt."  and  he 
did  not  go  with  the  army.  He  continued  his  pas- 
toral labors  in  Gottineen  until  he  was  retired  on 
account  of  a  throat  affection,  and  received  a  pen- 
sion until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Ulm, 
where  he  resided  during  his  later  years,  in  1881. 
at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years.  He  married  Car- 
oline Hahn.  (see  Hahn  family)  and  to  them  were 
born  seven  children :  Emma :  Robert,  to  be 
further  referred  to  hereinafter :  Adolph.  who  en- 
tered the  ministry :  Richard,  who  during  the  Civil 
war  in  the  United  States  served  in  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland  under  General  William  S.  Rose- 
crans.  and  was  killed  in  battle  at  Iuka :  Charles, 
Frederick.  Fanny  and  Bertha. 

Robert  Baur,  second  child  and  eldest  son  of 
Rev.  Frederick  Jacob  and  Caroline  (Hahn) 
Baur.  was  born  in  Wiirtemberg.  Germany.  De- 
cember 25,  1825.  He  was  afforded  a  most  liberal 
education,  attending  the  best  schools  in  Ulm.  He 
was  indentured  to  a  bookbinder  in  Ulm.  and  on 
completing  his  apprenticeship,  following  the  cus- 
tom of  the  day-,  journeyed  through  Germany, 
Switzerland  and  France,  as  a  journeyman  work- 
man. In  184.8.  at  the  ai?e  of  twentv-three  years, 
he  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  remained  engraged  at  his  trade 
for  three  years.     Having  now  acquired  sufficient 


knowledge  of  trade  conditions  in  this  country,  his 
ambition  moved, him  to  set  out  upon  an  inde- 
pendent career,  and  in  185 1  he  located  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  established  the  bindery 
business  which  he  is  yet  conducting,  and  which 
he  has.  developed  to  its  present  proportions.  He 
became  more  widely  known. however,  as  an  editor 
and  publisher.  In  connection  with  his  establish- 
ment in  the  bindery  business,  he  purchased  the 
Watchman  newspaper,  founded  in  1842.  To 
this  he  gave  his  best  effort,  and  extended  its  cir- 
culation throughout  tlie  country  ;  he  was  the  man- 
aging editor  tor  forty-six  years,  until  he  disposed 
of  the  same  in  1899.  He  is  now  assisted  in  his  job 
printing  business  by  his  son,  Gustav  Adolph 
Baur.  who  has  inherited  the  paternal  taste  and 
talent  in  a  large  degree.  At  different  periods 
Mr.  Baur  founded  other  journals  which  in  their 
respective  fields  are  of  recognized  worth — Coun- 
cil Chat,  an  organ  of  the  Junior  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics,  and  The  Singers'  Gaz- 
ette, devoted  to  the  interest  of  musical  societies. 
Through  these  various  mediums,  all  reaching  an 
excellent  class  of  people,  Mr.  Baur  has  come  to 
be  well  known  throughout  a  wide  circle  of  friends 
and  his  influence  has  ever  been  exerted  in  behalf 
of  order,  high  morals,  and  all  that  constitutes  the 
best  type  of  citizenship.  He  has  always  held 
close  personal  relations  with  those  local  bodies 
which  have  been  of  particular  advantage  to  the 
community.  A  lifelong  member  of  St.  Paul"s 
Lutheran  Church,  he  has  served  as  its  secretary 
for  many  years,  and  also  as  one  of  its  trustees. 
He  aided  in  the  organization  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Mannerchor.  and  was  its  president  for  sev- 
eral years  prior  to  its  disbanding.  Soon  after 
coming  to  the  city  he  became  a  member  of  the 
local  company  of  Jaegers,  connected  with  the 
state  militia,  with  which  he  served  for  six  years, 
rising  to  the  rank  of  sergeant.  In  politics  he  has 
always  been  an  earnest  and  able  advocate  of  Dem- 
ocratic principles  and  policies,  but  would  never 
consent  to  become  a  candidate  for  official  position. 
In  his  personal  character  he  is  an  excellent  rep- 
resentative of  the  ideal  German-American,  who, 
holding  fast  to  the  ancestral  traits  of  industry,  in- 
tegrity and  unflinching  devotion  to  principle,  has 
potentlv  aided  in  the  education  of  his  own  peo- 
ple, and  in  making  for  them  an  influential  power 
which  has  been  felt  in  every  channel  of  American 
life,  whether  in  the  business  or  the  social  world. 
Mr.  Baur  married,  October  15.  1854.  in  Phil- 
adelphia, Miss  Paulina  Hassold.  a  native  of  Wur- 
temberg, Germany,  and  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Hassold.  a  clergvman  of  that  king-dom.  Of  this 
marriasre    have   been    born    eisrht     children:     1. 


«^V^/-^S^J 


C 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


23T 


Frederick,  who  was  drowned  in  the  Susque- 
hanna river.  2.  Gustav  Adolph,  who  is  asso- 
ciated with  his  father  in  business.  He  married 
Miss  Kate  Davis  and  their  children  are:  Robert 
Adolph,  William  Raymond,  Frances,  deceased; 
and  Frederick  Davis  Baur.  3.  Caroline,  de- 
ceased. 4.  Emma,  who  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  T. 
Aubrey  Powell ;  their  children  are :  Pauline  and 
Charles  Powell.  The  four  other  children  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Baur  died  in  infancy.  H.  E.  H. 

ELMER  L.  MEYERS,  M.  D.,  a  practicing 
physician  of  Wilkes-Barre,  his  practice  being  of 
a  general  character,  was  born  in  Bangor,  North- 
ampton county,  Pennsylvania,  October  29,   1864. 

His  great-grandfather,  John  Meyers,  was  a 
resident  of  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  reared 
his  family.  His  grandfather,  George  Meyers, 
born  in  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  removed  in  early 
manhood  to  Bangor,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  manu- 
facturer of  wagons  in  that  town,  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life  there,  dying  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four  years.  His  second  wife,  Susan 
(Kessler)  Meyers,  born  in  Kesslerville,  near  Eas- 
ton, bore  him  four  sons,  Peter  G.,  father  of  Dr. 
Meyers,  being  the  only  one  now  living  (1905). 
She  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  They 
were  lifelong  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 
His  father,  Peter  G.  Meyers,  born  in  Bangor, 
Pennsylvania,  October  2,  1832,  was  educated 
there,  followed  farming  for  a  number  of  years, 
later  retired  from  active  pursuits,  removing  to 
Pen  Argyle,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  resides  at 
the  present  time,  and  serving  as  school  director 
for  a  number  of  years,  but  never  held  any  other 
public  office.  He  married  Margaret  Stocker, 
born  near  Bangor,  Pennsylvania,  a  daughter  of 
Isaac  and  Susan  (Unangst)  Stocker,  descended 
from  an  old  Moravian  family  which  consisted  of 
twelve  children,  ten  of  whom  are  living.  Child- 
ren of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Meyers :  Irving  J.,  a  resi- 
dent of  Lincoln,  Nebraska :  Mary  S.,  a  resident 
of  Pen  Argyle,  Pennsylvania  ;  Dr.  Elmer  L.,  men- 
tioned hereinafter ;  Andrew  J.,  a  resident  of  Al- 
lentown,  Pennsylvania ;  George  A.,  a  resident  of 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania  ;  Laura  S.,  a  resident 
of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania;  Agnes  E.,  a  resi- 
dent of  Bangor,  Pennsylvania ;  Anna  M.,  a  resi- 
dent of  Pen  Argyle,  Pennsylvania.  The  mother 
of  these  children,  born  August  20,  1835,  is  still 
living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Meyers  held  membership 
in  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  Mr.  Meyers  has 
served  as  trustee  for  many  years. 

Elmer  L.  Meyers  spent  his  early  years  on  a 
farm  near  Bangor,  Pennsylvania,  and  attended 
the  schools  of  that  community  and    the    Easton 


Academy,  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
prepared  himself  for  college  while  teaching  in. 
that  city.  In  the  fall  of  1888  he  entered  Lafay- 
ette College,  at  Easton,  where  he  spent  two  years,, 
after  which  he  entered  Princeton  University,, 
from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  in  June, 
1892,  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  and  three  years 
later  the  same  institution  conferred  upon  him 
the  degree  of  A.  M.  The  five  years  following 
his  graduation  he  taught  in  the  public  schools ; 
for  two  years  served  as  principal  of  the 
school  at  White  Haven,  and  the  following  three 
years  was  head  of  the  College  preparatory  de- 
partment in  the  Wilkes-Barre  city  high  school. 
He  matriculated  at  Jefferson  Medical  College, 
and  in  1900  began  practice  for  the  Cox  Coal  Com- 
pany, at  Freeland,  as  their  physician.  One  year 
later  he  became  assistant  demonstrator  of  anatomy 
in  Jefferson  Medical  College,  and  so  continued, 
until  April  15,  1901,  when  he  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  has  been  in  active  practice  in  that  city 
since  that  time.  He  keeps  abreast  of  the  ad- 
vanced thought  of  the  day  along  the  line  of  'his 
profession  by  membership  in  the  Luzerne 
County,  Lehigh  Valley,  Pennsylvania  State,  and 
American  Medical  Associations.  He  is  also  a. 
member  of  college  fraternities — Phi  Delta  Theta, 
at  Lafayette  College ;  and  a  charter  member  of 
Phi  Alpha  Sigma,  at  Jefferson  Medical  College, 
which  was  the  first  Greek  letter  society  established 
at  that  institution  in  1898.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Westmoreland  Club  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

Dr.  Meyers  married,  April  22,  1903,  Grace- 
Hampton  Morgan,  daughter  of  the  late  Edward 
and  Mary  Morgan  (See  Morgan  Family).  Ed- 
ward Morgan  was  a  hardware  dealer  and  lumber- 
manufacturer  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  he  and  his  wife 
were  the  parents  of  two  children :  Grace  H., 
aforementioned,  and  Martha  W.  Mr.  Morgan 
died  March  1,  1900,  and  his  wife  passed  away 
February  2,  1889.  Dr.  and  Airs.  Meyers  are  the 
parents  of  one  child,  Margaret  Foulke,  born 
March  9,  1904.  H.  E.  H. 

JOSEPH  BIRKBECK,  prominently  identi- 
fied with  the  business  interests  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  for  the  past  thirty  years,  and  a 
citizen  of  high  repute  and  irreproachable  char- 
acter, died  at  his  home,  corner  of  Dana  and 
Grove  streets,  November  14,  1900.  He  was  born 
in  Glenmore,  Westmoreland  county,  England, 
December  27,  1830,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Eliza- 
beth (Johnson)  Birkbeck. 

Joseph  Birkbeck,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Westmore- 
land, England,  May  2,  1802,  and  died  April  19,. 
1872.     He  married   Elizabeth   Johnson,  born  at: 


,238 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Buck  Hill,  Stainmore,  England,  February  12, 
1804,  and  died  May  31,  1887;  the  marriage  was 
celebrated  at  Broough's  Church,  England,  in 
1826.  They  emigrated  to  the  United  States, 
landing  in  New  York  City  in  1834,  whence  they 
immediately  proceeded  to  Minersville,  Schuylkill 
county,  Pennsylvania.  After  about  two  years' 
residence  in  this  place,  during  which  time  Mr. 
Birkbeck  was  employed  in  the  mines,  they  re- 
moved to  Hazelton,  where  he  sunk  the  first  slope 
in  1838  for  Ario  Pardee.  Two  years  later  he 
purchased  a  tract  of  land  comprising  four  hun- 
dred acres  in  Denison  township  from  Edward 
Lynch,  which  later  became  Foster  township  and 
is  now  the  site  of  Freeland  borough.  He  con- 
structed a  rude  log  house  on  this  land,  into  which 
he  and  his  family  removed.  The  surrounding 
country  was  a  vast,  uncultivated  wilderness,  and 
Mr.  Birkbeck's  purchase  possessed  all  the  char- 
acteristics of  a  pioneer  farm.  During  the  win- 
ters the  family  spent  their  time  in  lumbering, 
clearing  the  forest,  and  manufacturing  handmade 
shingles,  which  were  carried  to  Conyngham, 
where  they  were  exchanged  for  the  necessaries 
of  life,  no  cash  being  paid  for  such  transactions 
at  that  time.  In  1844  Mr.  Birkbeck  sold  fifty- 
acres  of  land  to  Aaron  Howey,  who  was  closely 
followed  by  many  other  settlers,  but  not  until 
1866  was  the  dense  forest  converted  into  excel- 
lent farming  land.  Not  long  after  this  coal  fields 
were  developed  in  the  neighborhood,  and  new 
arrangements  became  a  necessity  owing  to  the 
rapidly  increasing  population.  Mr.  Birkbeck 
surveyed  his  land,  converted  it  into  town  lots, 
which  he  sold  to  the  new-comers,  thus  making 
the  first  move  in  laying  out  the  towns  of  South 
Heberton  and  Freeland.  Joseph  Birkbeck  was 
the  first  to  prove  coal  at  Highland  and  Upper  Le- 
high, being  well  versed  in  the  anthracite  coal 
strata  in  the  vicinity.  He  was  the  builder  of 
many  roads,  and  was  pre-eminently  the  leading 
figure  in  the  development  of  the  new  country. 
He  and  his  family  were  subjected  to  all  the  trials, 
hardships  and  vicissitudes  incident  to  a  pioneer 
life,  and  a  story  is  told  of  how  Mrs.  Birkbeck, 
during  one  of  those  early,  trying  days,  with  no 
other  weapon  than  an  axe,  killed  a  full  grown 
buck  deer.  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Johnson) 
Birkbeck  had  thirteen  children:  1.  John,  born 
September  5,  1827,  died  in  infancy.  2.  Mat- 
thew, born  June  28,  1829,  deceased.  3.  Joseph, 
born  December  27,  1830,  of  whom  later.  4. 
Jane,  born  October  31,  1832,  deceased.  5.  John, 
born  April  26,  1834,  deceased.  6.  Matthew, 
born  January  7,  1836,  deceased.  7.  Margaret, 
born  October  6,  1836,  wife  of  William  Johnston, 


of  Freeland.  8.  Betsey,  born  May  14,  1840, 
deceased.  9.  William,  born  October  26,  1843, 
died  February  11,  1846;  the  first  death  in  the 
town  of  South  Heberton.  10.  Mary  E.,  born 
January  25,  1845,  deceased;  the  first  birth  in  the 
town  of  South  Heberton.  11.  Thomas  J.,  born 
June  6,  1845,  of  whom  later.  12.  Agnes,  born 
August  4,  1848,  deceased.  13.  Anna  Victoria, 
born  May  12,  1850,  deceased. 

Joseph  Birkbeck,  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth 
(Johnson)  Birkbeck,  born  December  27,  1830, 
died  November  14,  1900,  left  the  family  home  at 
the  age  of  sixteen,  and  was  apprenticed  to  his 
uncle,  who  was  a  machinist  in  Brooklyn,  Xew 
York,  but  this  occupation  was  not  agreeable  to 
his  tastes  and  inclinations,  and  a  few  years  later 
he  left  for  England  and  subsequently  made  his 
way  to  Australia,  and  while  in  the  latter  country 
spent  fourteen  months  on  a  sheep  farm.  In 
1849  he  caught  the  gold  fever  and  started  for 
California,  where  he  spent  seven  years  in  "the 
diggings,"  but  was  not  amply  rewarded  for  his 
labors.  He  then  returned  to  his  old  'home  in 
Freeland,  Pennsylvania,  but  at  the  end  of  a  year 
again  went  to  the  gold  fields,  traveling  by  way  of 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  He  remained  for  al- 
most five  years  and,  while  he  did  not  strike  pros- 
pectors' luck,  managed  to  save  a  few  hundred 
dollars.  Returning  east  he  embarked  in  the  but- 
cher business  at  Eckley,  Luzerne  county,  and  here 
began  the  career  which  was  destined  to  bring  to 
him  a  large  degree  of  success.  He  also  received 
large  returns  from  an  investment  in  Coplay, 
(Lehigh  county),  Iron  Works  stock.  Believing 
in  a  broader  field  for  the  exercise  of  his  business 
abilities,  Mr.  Birkbeck  came  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  in  i860,  and  at  once  engaged  in 
the  grain  business  with  Major  Elisha  A.  Han- 
cock, now  of  Philadelphia,  of  whom  see  elsewhere 
in  this  work.  Later  he  invested  in  other  enter- 
prises, all  of  which  proved  highly  remunerative. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  Mr.  Birkbeck  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Freeland  Water  Company,  the  Free- 
land  Citizens'  Bank,  the  Wilkes-Barre  Heat, 
Light  and  Motor  Company,  secretary  of  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and 
Savings  Bank,  and  treasurer  of  the  firm  of  Paine 
&  Company. 

Few  men  have  been  so  intimately  connected 
with  the  affairs  of  a  community  and  yet  remained 
so  much  out  of  the  public  eye.  The  simple  tastes 
he  acquired  as  a  hard  worker  in  his  struggling 
years  remained  with  him  throughout  his  life,  and 
he  was  ever  the  same  approachable,  kind-hearted 
gentleman  in  the  days  of  prosperity  as  he  was 
while  busily  laying  the  foundation  for  the  com- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


239 


petency  which  he  enjoyed  in  maturer  years.  As 
a  business  man  he  was  far-seeing  and  methodical, 
and  his  counsel  and  judgment  were  often  sought 
by  those  associated  with  him  in  the  several  enter- 
prises that  shared  his  attention.  He  was  a  man 
of  sterling  worth  and  truth,  of  retiring  disposi- 
tion, and  his  wide  circle  of  friends  admired  and 
regarded  him  as  a  man  of  the  highest  integrity. 
Though  having  numerous  other  responsibilities 
he  never  lost  interest  in  church  and  charitable 
work.  During-  his  entire  residence  in  the  city  of 
Wilkes-Barre  he  was  a  communicant  of  St. 
Stephen's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  He  was 
frugal  in  his  habits,  thrifty  and  abstemious,  not 
even  using  tobacco  and  withal  he  was  a  man  of 
a  high  sense  of  honor.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  have 
business  transactions  with  him.  His  only  re- 
creation was  traveling,  of  which  he  was  very 
fond.  He  toured  Europe  twice,  spent  some  time 
in  the  Bermudas,  and  attended  all  the  expositions 
of  recent  years. 

Mr.  Birkbeck  was  twice  married,  (first),  in 
i860,  to  Elizabeth  Blackburn,  born  March  9, 
1839,  in  Leeds,  Yorkshire,  England,  daughter  of 
George  Blackburn  and  Elizabeth  Elliott  Black- 
burn. She  had  one  brother,  Richard,  who  died 
leaving  three  children.  She  was  reared  in  her 
native  town,  educated  in  the  common  and  high 
school  of  the  same,  and  for  a  period  of  time 
thereafter  served  in  the  capacity  of  teacher.  She 
was  of  a  very  lovable  disposition,  devoted  to  her 
home  and  husband,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem 
by  a  large  circle  of  admiring  friends.  Their 
married  life  extended  over  a  period  of  thirty-two 
years  and  was  one  of  unbroken  happiness.  Mrs. 
Birkbeck  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
September  27,  1893.  She  was  a  faithful  com- 
municant of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  and  a  teacher 
in  the  Sunday  school  for  years.  She  was  a 
charter  member  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  was  elected 
treasurer  in  1887,  which  office  she  filled  until 
1892,  When  she  was  elected  president.  At  the 
general  state  convention  she  was  elected  senior 
vice-president  for  the  state.  She  had  but  re- 
cently returned  from  the  national  convention  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  at  Indianapolis, 
at  the  time  of  her  death.  She  had  no  children. 
Mr.  Birkbeck  married  (second)  in  1895,  Mary 
(Summerscale)  Wadsworth,  whose  first  husband 
was  a  cousin  of  his  first  wife.  She  was  born  in 
Yorkshire,  England,  August  15,  1844,  daughter 
of  David  and  Rebecca  (Tidswell)  Summerscale, 
whose  births  occurred  in  Yorkshire,  England, 
August  16,  1808,  and  July  16,  181 1,  respectively. 


Mr.  Summerscale  was  a  coal  merchant  in  Silsden, 
Yorkshire,  England ;  he  and  his  wife  resided  near 
Skipton  Castle,  where  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots, 
was  imprisoned,  and  also  in  the  vicinity  of  Bolton 
Abbey,  Where  the  present  Duke  of  Devonshire 
resides  in  the  summer.  Mrs.  Birkbeck  was  one 
of  twelve  children,  nine  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity. She  was  an  extensive  traveler  in  this 
country  as  well  as  aboard.  Her  mother  was  a 
noble,  christian  woman,  beloved  by  all,  and  many 
a  deathbed  was  made  happy  by  her  presence. 
Mary  (Summerscale)  (Wadsworth)  Birkbeck 
married  (first)  John  William  Wadsworth,  born 
April  4,  1839,  in  Leeds,  Yorkshire  county,  Eng- 
land, son  of  William  and  Mary  Wadsworth,  by 
whom  she  had  three  children :  Margaret  Emma, 
born  October  31,  1865,  Leeds,  Yorkshire,  Eng- 
land, died  March  7,  1868,  buried  in  Melbourne, 
Australia;  Eleanor  Anna,  born  July  31,  1867, 
who  now  resides  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
with  her  mother ;  Florence  Elizabeth,  born  Au- 
gust 21,  1869,  in  Leeds,  England,  died  December 
29,  1871.  John  William  Wadsworth,  the  father 
of  these  children,  died  January  31,  1870,  in  his 
thirty-first  year,  in  Bahia,  Brazil,  South  America. 

Joseph  Birkbeck  is  survived  by  his  wife ;  a 
brother,  Thomas  J.  Birkbeck ;  and  a  sister,  Mrs. 
Margaret  Johnston,  of   Freeland. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and  Savings  Bank,  the 
following  resolutions  on  the  death  of  Joseph 
Birkbeck  was  adopted : 

"The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Deposit  and  Savings  Bank  -  have  heard 
with  sorrow  and  regret  of  the  death  of  their  as- 
sociate, Joseph  Birkbeck,  which  occurred  in  this 
city  on  Wednesday,  November  14,  1900. 

"Mr.  Birkbeck  was  first  elected  a  director  of 
this  Bank  on  July  12,  1880,  and  from  that  date  he 
served  the  bank  continuously  up  to  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  was  secretary  of  its  Board  of  Di- 
rectors from  September  2,  1881,  to  this  date. 

"His  ability,  fidelity  and  character  eminently 
fitted  him  for  his  position  on  our  Board.  By 
his  death  we  have  lost  a  counselor  whose  advice 
showed  his  familiarity  with  the  business  interests 
of  the  community  and  the  prudence  which  begets 
success.  His  affability  endeared  him  to  all  men 
and  gave  him  a  place  in  the  affections  of  his  as- 
sociates. He  was  an  upright  man,  progressive 
citizen,  true  to  his  adopted  country,  faithful  in 
the  discharge  of  duty  and  constant  in  his  endeavor 
to  promote  the  good  of  those  who  committed  trust 
to  his  keeping. 

"We  hereby  express  our  appreciation  of  the 


240 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


quality  and  attributes  manifest  in  his  life,  and 
extend  to  those  who  were  dear  to  him  our  con- 
dolence and  sympathy  in  their  bereavement  and 
sorrow.'7  H.  E.  H. 

BUTLER  FAMILY.  Professor  Frank  D. 
Butler  and  Dr.  'William  John  Butler,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  are  sons  of  "Michael  Pierce  and  Mary  A. 
(O'Sullivan)  Butler,  natives  of  Ireland,  the  for- 
mer named  having  been  a  son  of  Pierce  Butler, 
who  was  one  of  the  great  scholars  of  the  day,  be- 
ing well  versed  in  languages,  and  a  grandson  of 
Capt.  Edmund  Butler,  Earl  of  Mount  Garret,  and 
cousin  to  James  Butler,  Earl  of  Ormond.  This 
Branch  of  the  family  clung  to  the  Roman  faith 
in  religion,  and  though  of  English  descent  were 
in  sympathy  with  the  Irish  race  and  fought  for 
the  freedom  of  that  country. 

Michael  Pierce  Butler  (father)  was  born  in 
Ireland,  and  was  a  graduate  of  Queens  College, 
Dublin.  He  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and 
settled  in  Pottsville,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  ap- 
pointed professor  of  mathematics  in  the  Orwigs- 
burg  Academy,  resigning  that  position  to  take 
charge  of  the  Minersville  high  school.  He  was 
considered  a  great  instructor  of  youth,  and  ex- 
celled in  classics  and  mathematics.  He  was  a 
broad-minded  man  and  took  a  great  interest  in 
churches  of  every  denomination,  also  all  institu- 
tions devoted  to  the  education  of  youth.  In  1875 
he  became  a  resident  of  the  Wyoming  vallev.  He 
married  Mary  A.  O'Sullivan,  daughter  of  Justin 
and  Margaret  O'Sullivan,  the  former  named  hav- 
ing been  a  son  of  Sylvester  and  Lucy  (McDon- 
ald) O'Sullivan,  and  the  latter  a  daughter  of 
Capt.  Daniel  O'Sullivan,  who  was  the  son  of  Eu- 
gene O'Sullivan,  the  son  of  Daniel  O'Sullivan, 
Prince  of  Beare  and  Bantry.  Lucy  (  McDonald) 
O'Sullivan  was  the  only  daughter  of  Captain  Mc- 
Donald, of  Castleton.  Xine  children  were  born 
to  Michael  Pierce  and  Mary  A.  (O'Sullivan) 
Butler,  five  of  whom  are  living  and  resi- 
dents of  Wilkes-Barre,  namely :  Eugene  Justin, 
M.  D.,  a  graduate  of  Baltimore  University ; 
Frank  D.,  mentioned  hereafter;  Anna  W.,  wife  of 
John  P.  Hannon ;  Elizabeth  Amanda,  and  Will- 
iam John,  M.  D.,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Mich- 
ael Pierce  Butler  (father)  died  in  1891.  and  his 
demise  was  deeply  regretted  by  a  large  number  of 
friends,  who  had  cause  to  remember  his  noble 
traits  of  character.  His  wife,  like  her  ancestors, 
was  a  strict  adherent  to  the  Catholic  faith,  and 
was  noted  for  her  many  virtues.  She  passed 
away  in  1905. 

Professor    Frank    D.    Butler    was    born    at 
Branchdale,  Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania,  July 


8,  1848.  He  was  educated  under  the  tuition  of 
his  father,  in  the  common  schools  of  Pottsville 
and  Minersville,  and  graduated  from  the  Pough- 
keepsie   (Xew  York)  Commercial  College  at  the 

.  age  of  twenty-four  years.  Prior  to  this,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  years,  he  taught  school  at  Hig- 
gins  township.  Schuylkill  county,  and  for  a  per- 
iod of  twenty  years  after  his  graduation  taught 
school  at  Mt.  Carmel,  Xorthumberland  county, 
and  in  Butler  township.  In  1894  he  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre  and  for  a  number  of  years  taught 
the  Georgetown  school,  and  at  present  (1905),  is 
serving  in  the  Hillards  Grove  night  school.  The 
esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellow  citizen! 
is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  was  chosen  to  fill 
the  offices  of  justices  of  the  peace,  school  director, 
borough  treasurer  and  councilman  at  Girardville. 
Schuylkill  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  church,  a  Republican  in  politics.  He 
stumped  the  county  during  the  presidential  cam- 
paign of  James  A.  Garfield,  and  exercises  a 
potent  influence  in  behalf  of  the  party  whose  prin- 
ciples he  advocates. 

Professor  Frank  D.  Butler  married,  October 

9,  187 1,  Bridigia  Brennan,  daughter  of  the  late 
Patrick  F.  and  Mary  (Purcell)  Brennan.  the 
former  named  having  been  a  contractor  for  the 
Hickscher  Coal  Company.  Xine  children  were 
the  issue  of  this  union  :  Walter  A.,  born  in  July. 
1872,  and  was  educated  in  the  Schuylkill  public 
school.  He  served  in  the  Spanish-American  war, 
enlisting  in  April,  1898,  in  the  Third  Regiment. 
Connecticut  Volunteer  Infantry,  Company  L. 
under  Capt.  R.  M.  Rose,  Col.  Augustus  C.  Tyler, 
served  as  corporal  and  was  discharged  as  such. 
Mary,  who  died  in  infancy.  Frank  Alonzo.  Mar- 
guerite. William  J.,  a  graduate  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  high  school,  studied  law  with  Hon.  H.  W. 
Palmer,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Luzerne  county 
bar  in  July,  1903.  Adelaide  R.,  Elizabeth  A., 
Irene  Florence. 

Dr.  William  John  Butler  was  born  at  Branch- 
dale,  Schuylkill  county.  Pennsylvania.  January 
17,  1863.  He  was  educated  under  the  tuition  of 
his  father,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business,  serving  an  apprentice- 
ship of  five  vears,  and  in  the  meantime  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  W.  G.  Weaver,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  He  graduated  from  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  18S5, 
when  in  the  twenty-first  year  of  his  age.  In  18S4. 
prior  to  his  graduation,  he  was  a  resident  phy- 
sician physician  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hos- 
pital for  a  term  of  six  months.  He  began  the 
active  practice  of  his  profession  in  Pittston,  but 
after  a  residence  of  one  year  there,  in  1886,  per- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


241 


■manently  located  in  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  has 
built  up  an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice.  He 
devotes  special  attention  to  surgery,  and  is  will- 
ing to  make  any  sacrifice  to  aid  mankind.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  surgical  staff  of  the  Mercy  Hos- 
pital. He  is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  and  a  Republican  in  politics.  His  resi- 
dence and  office  is  at  No.  68  South  Washington 
street,  Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

JAMES  M.  FRITZ  was  born  in  Orangeville, 
Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  10th  day 
of  March,  1857.  He  was  the  son  of  William 
Fritz,  a  merchant  at  that  place,  and  Margaret 
(Jones)  Fritz.  William  Fritz  was  born  in 
Sugarloaf  township,  Columbia  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1823.  He  was  the  son  of  Henry  Fritz 
and  Margaret  (Roberts)   Fritz. 

Henry  Fritz  was  born  in  Philadelphia.  Penn- 
sylvania, June  28,  1786.  He  was  the  son  of 
Philip  Fritz  and  Charlotte  (Deaberger)  Fritz. 
From  the  records  of  the  First  Reformed  Church, 
of  Philadelphia,  it  appears  that  Philip  Fritz  and 
Charlotte  Deaberger  were  married:  on  the  nth 
day  of  August,  1785 ;  who  the  parents  of  Philip 
Fritz  were  is  not  clear,  but  from  the  records  of 
the  same  church  it  appears  that  on  March  28, 
1762,  was  born  John  Philip  Fritz,  son  of  Hartman 
Fritz  and  his  wife  Catharine  ;  sponsers  at  baptism, 
John  Philip  Sensfelder  and  his  wife.  It  cannot 
be  proven  that  this  John  Philip  Fritz  is  identical 
with  the  later  Philip  Fritz,  but  it  is  at  least  pos- 
sible, because  Germans  are  in  the  habit  of  drop- 
ping the  first  name,  the  second  Christian  name  be- 
ing the  call  name.  A  certain  Hartman  Fritz 
qualified  in  Philadelphia  on  October  4,  1751,  and 
it  is  possible  that  he  is  the  first  immigrant  in  the 
line  of  descent  in  ancestry  of  James  M.  Fritz. 

In  1795  Philip  Fritz,  who  had  been  a  merchant 
in  Philadelphia,  and  a  man  of  good  abilities  and 
a  fine  education,  becoming  disheartened  by  the 
bad  financial  conditions  of  that  period,  accepted 
the  invitation  of  an  uncle  of  his  wife,  John  God- 
frey, to  remove  to  Columbia  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  other  relatives  named  Hess,  Cole, 
Laubach  and  Kile.  They  settled  in  what  is  now 
Sugarloaf  township,  and  many  of  their  descend- 
ants live  there  to  this  day.  From  letters  written 
by  relatives,  found  many  years  afterward,  it 
seems  that  Philip  Fritz  desired  to  return  to  Phil- 
adelphia, and  business  offers  of  a  good  kind  were 
made  to  him,  but  he  evidently  was  unable  to  ac- 
cept them  as  he  remained  in  Sugarloaf  township, 
following  the  occupations  of  farmer,  justice. of 
the  peace  and  school  teacher  until  his  death.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  St.  Gabriel's  Episcopal 

16 


Church  in  Sugarloaf  township,  and  for  many 
years  a  vestryman.  Henry  Fritz,  his  son,  who. 
married  Margaret  Roberts,  who  had  come  to 
Sugarloaf  township  with  her  parents  from  the 
large  Welch  settlement  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Philadelphia  when  she  was  quite  young,  lived  in 
Sugarloaf  township  and  was  a  farmer.  He  was. 
also  a  vestryman  of  St.  Gabriel  Episcopal  Church 
and  he  and  his  wife  and  their  thirteen  children 
were  all  members  of  that  church.  Henry  Fritz 
died  in  1866. 

William   Fritz   went  to   Orangeville  while  a 
young  man  as  a  school  teacher,  but  afterward 
followed  store  keeping.     Here  he  met  Margaret 
Jones,   whom   he  married   in    185 1.      He   joined 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Orangeville  and  was 
an  elder  in  that  church.     He  was  postmaster  for 
several  years,  and  justice  of  the  peace  at  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1864.     He  was  an  earnest  christ- 
ian man,  honest  and  upright  in  all  his  dealings, 
and  loved  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 
Margaret  Jones  was  born    in    New    Brunswick, 
New  Jersey,  the  daughter  of  Benjamin  H.  and 
Sarah  (Harriott)  Jones,  the  latter  named  having 
been  a  descendant  of  David  Harriott,  of  Middle- 
sex county,  New  Jersey,  who  was  born  in  17 18 
and  died  in  1792.  He  was  a  private  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  in  the  records  of  dam- 
ages by  the  British,   1776  to   1782,  preserved  in 
State  Library  at  Trenton,  there  is  an  inventory 
enumerating  over  one  hundred  articles  stolen  and 
destroyed,     sworn     to    by     him     amounting    to 
£262    us.,   4d.    Alfred    Harriott,   his   son,    born 
Woodridge,  New  Jersey,  1746,  and  died  1812.  He 
married  Sarah  Griffith,  of  Piscataway,  New  Jer- 
sey.     Their   son,   James   Harriott,   was  born   at 
Bedminister,  New  Jersey,  in   1783,  and  he  was 
married  to  Ann  Van  Nest,  of  the    same    place. 
They  had  five  children :      John,  who  died  when 
a   young  man.     Margaret,   who  married   Ferdi- 
named   S.    Cortelyou.      Catharine,   who  married 
Henry    Blumer.    Eliza,    who    married    Cornelius 
Powelson,  all  of  New  Brunswick,   New  Jersey. 
Sarah,  the  mother  of  Margaret  Jones. 

After  the  death  of  the  father  of  James  M. 
Fritz  and  the  settlement  of  his  estate,  it  was 
found  there  was  very  little  left  for  the  support 
of  his  widow  and  six  small  children.  Mrs.  Fritz 
bravely  took  up  the  burden  of  their  support. 
James,  at  the  age  of  eleven,  was  sent  to  work  for 
a  farmer  of  Mount  Pleasant  township,  Columbia 
comity,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  one 
year.  Then  his  mother,  thinking  it  best,  in  1869, 
removed  back  to  her  kinsfolk  in  New  Brunswick, 
New  Jersey.  Here,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  James 
was  employed  as  errand  boy  in  the  grocery  store- 


FOR  USE -IN  LIBRARY  ONLY 


242 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


of  I.  L.  Martin,  afterward  state  senator;  one  year 
later  he  entered  the  employ  of  The  New  Bruns- 
wick Hosiery  Company,  where  he  remained  four 
months.  He  was  then  employed  as  errand  boy 
by  W.  K.  Lyons,  a  dry  goods  merchant  of  that 
place,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  few  months 
spent  in  the  employ  of  the  Mason's  Fruit  Jar 
factory,  he  remained  until  August,  1875,  when 
his  mother  died  after  an  illness  of  nearly  a  year. 
She  had  been  a  brave,  determined,  hopeful  and 
faithful  woman  whose  life  had  begun  with  bright 
prospects  but  ended  amid  toil  and  long  sickness, 
•ere  she  could  receive  from  her  children,  for  whom 
she  had  labored,  the  care  they  would  have  gladly 
given  her  to  repay  the  sacrifices  she  had  so  nobly 
made  for  them.  The  merchant  for  whom  J.  M. 
Fritz  worked  at  this  time,  being  in  failing  cir- 
cumstances, he  was  thrown  out  of  employment 
soon  after  the  death  of  his  mother.  The  coun- 
try was  still  feeling  the  effects  of  the  panic  of  1873 
and  employment  was  hard  to  find.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  his  cousin,  then  a  school  teacher,  now 
Honorable  A.  L.  Fritz,  of  Bloomsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, he  returned  to  Columbia  county,  passed 
the  examination  for  a  teachers'  certificate  from 
knowledge  obtained  by  self-teaching,  and  took 
charge  of  a  small  school  at  Coles  Creek,  Colum- 
bia county,  Pennsylvania.  He  returned  to  New 
Brunswick  in  the  spring  of  1876,  and  was  again 
employed  by  W.  K.  Lyons,  but  preferring  an 
educational  line,  returned  to  Orangeville,  his  old 
home,  entered  the  academy  there  and  by  teaching 
school  in  winter  and  attending  the  academy  in 
summer,  managed  to  pass  the  examination  for 
the  classical  course  of  Lafayette  College  in  1879. 
During  his  preparatory  studies  he  was  for  some 
time  with  the  family  of  D.  J.  Waller,  Jr.,  after- 
ward state  superintendent  of  schools  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, then  a  minister  of  the  gospel  at  Orange- 
ville, and  by  working  for  him  helped  in  obtaining 
the  means  to  carry  on  his  studies.  The  Orange- 
ville Academy  was  under  the  principalship  of 
the  Rev.  C.  K.  Canfield,  a  noble  man  and  an  ex- 
cellent teacher,  to  whom  many  young  men  owe 
their  inspiration  for  college  education.  He  en- 
tered Lafayette  College  and  graduated  in  1883, 
supporting  himself  by  working  for  and  running 
boarding  clubs,  ringing  the  college  bell  and 
teaching.  After  graduating  he  taught  school  at 
Shickshinny,  New  Columbus  Academy,  and 
other  places  until  the  money  borrowed  to  pay  his 
college  expenses  was  paid,  when  he  studied  law 
with  Charles  G.  Barkley,  of  Bloomsburg.  Dur- 
ing his  studies  at  Bloomsburg,  he  was  a  member 
cf  the  family  of  William  Neil,  a  prominent  busi- 
ness man.  who  with  his  wife,  Mary  (Boyd)  Neil, 


a  noble  Christian  woman,  were  then  residing  at. 
Bloomsburg. 

Fie  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts  of 
Columbia  county  in  December,  1886,  and  to  the 
courts  of  Luzerne  county,  January  29,  1887.  He 
immediately  began  practicing  at  Nanticoke,  and 
has  resided  there  and  at  Wilkes-Barre  ever  since, 
having  law  offices  in  both  places.  His  practice 
has  increased  steadily  during  that  period,  so  that 
his  time  is  fully  occupied  with  the  business  of  his 
profession.  He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  as 
a  Democrat  in  1900,  and  served  one  term,  not 
running  for  a  second  term.  He  was  for  several 
years  attorney  for  the  Nanticoke  school  board ; 
is  now  attorney  for  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Nanticoke.  Has  a  large  Orphans'  court  and 
real  estate  practice  and  has  considerable  practice 
in  civil  matters  in  the  courts,  but  does  not  take 
much  part  in  criminal  practice,  although  he  has 
been  employed  in  quite  a  number  of  cases  in  that 
court.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyter- 
ian Church  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Bloomsburg,  Pennsylvania,  also  at 
Nanticoke  Presbyterian  Church  for  a  time,  and 
taught  Sunday  school  class  there  for  a  long  time. 
He  also  was  trustee  and  elder  of  the  Nanticoke 
Presbyterian  Church  for  several  years.  He  is  a 
member  of  Nanticoke  Lodge,  No.  541,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  also  of  Nanticoke  Lodge,  No. 
886,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of 
which  lodge  he  has  been  one  of  the  trustees  for 
several  years. 

James  M.  Fritz  was  married  to  Annie  E. 
Stackhouse,  of  Shickshinny,  Pennsylvania,  on  the 
9th  day  of  September,  1886.  His  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  the  late  John  M.  Stackhouse,  of 
Shickshinny,  Pennsylvania.  John  M.  Stackhouse 
was  a  prominent  business  man  of  that  place,  and 
a  member  of  the  Salem  Coal  Company.  He  was 
a  man  of  fine  business  ability,  a  prominent  and 
active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  a  worker  in  the  Republican  party,  and  a 
school  director  for  many  years.  He  was  reli- 
gious, energetic  and  benevolent,  and  when  he 
died  at  the  age  of  forty-three  years  his  death  was 
considered  a  great  loss  to  the  community  in  which 
he  lived.  John  M.  Stackhouse  was  the  son  of 
Joseph  Stackhouse,  a  farmer,  lumberman  and 
foundryman,  who  located  in  Luzerne  county,  and 
lived  in  Shickshinny  Valley.  He  was  the  son  of 
James  Stackhouse,  a  wood-worker  and  engraver, 
who  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Columbia  county. 
James  Stackhouse  was  the  son  of  Benjamin 
Stackhouse,  and  his  wife  Mary,  daughter  of 
Christopher  Bowman,   who  left    Bucks    county, 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


243 


.Pennsylvania,  and  settled  at  Berwick,  Colum- 
bia county,  Pennsylvania,  prior  to   1770,  with  a 

•colony  of  Friends  and  died  there.  Benjamin 
was  the  son  of  Robert  Stackhouse,  and  came  with 
his  father  to  Berwick  in  1770.  Robert  Stack- 
house,  who  died  in  Berwick  in  1788,  was  born  in 
1692,  and  was  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Grace 
(Heaton)  Stackhouse.  Thomas  Stackhouse 
came  to  Bucks  county  in  1682  and  represented 
Bucks  county  in  the  colonial  assembly  in  171 1, 
1713,     1715.     He     died     in    Middlesex,     Bucks 

■county,  Pennsylvania,  April  26,  1744.  He  was 
a  nephew  of  Thomas  Stackhouse,  who  was  a  fel- 
low passenger  with  William  Penn  in  1682  on  the 
ship  "Welcome,"  from  England  to  Philadelphia. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  M.  Fritz  have  five  child- 
ren :  Mary  Margaret,  John  Milton,  Helen  An- 
nie, Alice  Gertrude,  and  Dorothv  Elizabeth 
Fritz.  '  H.  E.  H. 

THE  MURDOCH  FAMILY,  of  which  Dr. 
Robert  Murdoch,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, is  the  worthy  representative,  is  of  Scotch 
.ancestry.  His  grandfather,  Robert  Murdoch, 
was  a  weaver  in  Galston,  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  and 
was  also  proprietor  of  an  establishment  that  gave 
employment  to  several  workmen.  Of  his  sons 
and  daughters,  Alexander  Murdoch,  father  of 
Dr.  Robert  Murdoch,  was  the  youngest  son. 

Alexander  Murdoch  (father)  married  Jean- 
ette  Rogers,  of  Galston,  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  and 
with  his  family  set  sail  for  America  in  1849,  being 
the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  this  country.  He 
settled  in  Ulster,  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  cleared  up  a  large  tract  of  land,  be- 
came a  farmer,  and  where  he  now  (1905)  lives, 
aged  eighty  years,  enjoying  the  comforts  of  a  life 
well  spent  in  honest  industry.  His  wife,  Jean- 
ette  (Rogers)  Murdoch,  was  daughter  of  George 
Rogers,  whose  family  in  Scotland  is  noted  for  its 
military  service.  George  Rogers  was  one  of 
twelve  sons,  all  of  whom  served  in  the  army, 
while  he  himself  was  ten  years  in  the  service,  be- 
ing one  of  that  famous  body  known  as  the  "High- 
landers." Two  of  his  brothers  were  killed  in 
battle  at  Waterloo.  Several  of  the  Rogers  family 
emigrated  to  America,  and  four  nephews  and  two 
brothers  of  Jeanette  Rogers  served  with  the  Union 
army  in  the  war  of  1861-1865.  Alexander  Mur- 
doch was  the  first  and  last  man  drafted  in  the 
town  of  Ulster  for  service  in  the  Civil  war ;  twice 
he  sent  a  substitute,  and  the  third  time  it  was  not 
necessary  on  account  of  the  close  of  the  struggle. 
Nine  children  were  born  to  Alexander  and 
Jeanette  (Rogers)  Murdoch,  seven  of  whom  are 


living,  as  follows :  Dr.  Robert,  mentioned  here- 
inafter ;  George,  a  farmer  of  Forty  Fort,  Lu- 
zerne county ;  Christina,  wife  of  Adolphus  Wat- 
kins,  a  well-to-do  farmer  of  Ulster,  Pennsyl- 
vania; Maggie,  wife  of  L.  C.  Russell,  of  War- 
ren, Illinois ;  Alexander,  Jr.,  a  farmer  of  Wyom- 
ing, Pennsylvania ;  Ella,  wife  of  A.  N.  Rock- 
well, a  farmer  of  Ulster,  Pennsylvania ;  James,  of 
Binghamton,  New  York. 

Dr.  Robert  Murdoch,  the  eldest  son  of  Alex- 
ander and  Jeanette  (Rogers)  Murdoch,  was  born 
in  Kilmarnock,  Ayrshire  county,  Scotland,  July 
9,  1847,  hence  was  two  years  old  when  his  par- 
ents came  to  America  and  settled  in  Ulster,  Brad- 
ford county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  brought  up 
on  the  farm,  and  there  was  taught  to  work ;  and 
there,  too,  he  was  given  the  rudiments  of  an  edu- 
cation, and  in  his  twentieth  year  entered  the 
Towanda  Institute.  He  began  the  study  of  med- 
icine with  Dr.  D.  S.  Pratt,  of  Towanda,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1869  matriculated  at  Hahnemann 
Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  the  spring  of  1872.  Dr.  Murdoch 
began  his  professional  career  at  LHster,  Brad- 
ford county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1872,  and  a  little 
less  than  two  years  later  removed  to  Burlington, 
in  the  same  county,  where  he  practiced  success- 
fully twelve  years,  but  at  the  end  of  that  period 
failing  health  compelled  him  to  temporarily  lay 
aside  professional  work  and  find  strength  and 
health  in  travel.  This  he  did,  with  beneficial 
results,  and  in  contemplation  of  a  European  tour 
he  visited  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
met  a  former  classmate,  Dr.  Arthur  J.  Bullard, 
by  whom  he  was  persuaded  to  remain  in  that  city, 
and  since  that  time  his  life  has  been  identified 
with  medical  practice  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  has 
met  with  deserved  success.  He  is  an  earnest  Re- 
publican, and  while  living  in  Burlington  held  the 
offices  of  burgess,  councilman,  and  school  direc- 
tor, and  was  chairman  of  all  the  boards.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
the  State  Homeopathic  Society,  the  Luzerne 
County  Homeopathic  Society,  the  Heptasoph 
Fraternity,  of  which  he  is  medical  examiner,  and 
the  Fraternal  Mystic  Circle,  of  which  he  is  also 
medical  examiner. 

Dr.  Murdoch  married,  November  29,  1873, 
Ophelia  Watkins,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Weal- 
thy (Vought)  Watkins,  of  Sheshequin,  Bradford 
count}'',  Pennsylvania.  Their  children  are :  Ella 
O.,  a  graduate  of  Emerson  College  of  Oratory 
of  Boston,  Massachusetts ;  she  is  the  wife  of  Al- 
bert D.  Howlett,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and" 
they  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Edith  Howlett. 


244 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Lena  J.,  living  at  home.  Marguerite,  a  student 
of  Wyoming  Seminary.  Robert,  a  student  in  the 
Harry  Hillman  Academy,  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania. H.  E.  H. 

JOHN  J.  JENKINS.  A  native  of  Wales 
and  a  resident  of  Edwardsville,  Pennsylvania, 
from  early  childhood,  Mr.  Jenkins  has  fought  his 
way  upward  from  the  humble  position  of  a  coal- 
breaker  to  one  of  comparative  affluence,  being  at 
the  present  time  regarded  as  one  of  the  promi- 
nent citizens  and  leading  business  men  of  Ed- 
wardsville. 

John  J.  Jenkins  was  born  in  Blaen  Avon, 
Wales,  June  21,  1867.  His  father,  Josiah  Jen- 
kins, and  his  grandfather,  also  named  Josiah, 
were  natives  of  Blaen  Avon  and  both  were  coal- 
mine operatives.     The  first  Josiah  married  Mary 

,  and  reared  a  family  of    six    children, 

namely :  Henry,  Josiah,  Elizabeth,  deceased ; 
Obed,  John,  and  David,  deceased.  Henry,  who 
was  a  lifelong  resident  of  Blaen  Avon,  married 
and  had  several  children.  Josiah  will  be  again 
mentioned.  Elizabeth,  married  John  Thomas, 
also  deceased,  and  had  two  children :  John,  of 
Newport  News,  Virginia,  who  married  Martha 

;  and  Josiah,  of  Buffalo,  New  York, 

who  married  Amelia  ■ ,  and    had    one 

child,  now  deceased.  Obed,  of  Scranton,  Penn- 
sylvania, married  (first)  Margaret  Davis,  who 
died  leaving  one  daughter,  Edith.  He  married 
for  his  second  wife  Jennie  Titus  and  have  five 
children :  Elmer,  Hayden,  Pearl,  Raymond  and 
Mary.  John,  who  resides  in  Frostburg,  Mary- 
land, married  and  has  had  six  children.  David, 
who  never  came  to  America ;  he  was  single,  and 
died  in  Blaen  Avon. 

Josiah  Jenkins,  father  of  John  J.  Jenkins,  was 
born  in  Blaen  Avon,  June  24,  1846,  and  at  an 
early  age  began  to  labor  in  the  coal-mines  of  that 
locality.  He  was  married  sometime  previous  to 
his  twentieth  birthday  and  he  continued  an  opera- 
tive in  the  Welsh  mines  until  1869,  when  he  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  accompanied  by  his 
family,  locating  first  in  Danville,  Pennsylvania. 
A  year  later  he  removed  to  Edwardsville,  where 
he  was  employed  as  a  miner  continuously  for 
about  twenty  years.  Relinquishing  that  occupa- 
tion in  1 89 1,  he  turned  his  attention  to  mercan- 
tile pursuits,  and  far  a  number  of  years  conducted 
a  grocery  store  on  Main  street.  About  the  year 
1900  he  engaged  in  the  contracting  business,  fol- 
lowing it  successfully  some  three  years,  or  until 
chosen  supervisor  of  Edwardsville  borough, 
which  office  he  still  retains.  Josiah  Jenkins  has 
been  twice  married.     His  first  wife,   whom    he 


married  in  Wales  in  1865,  was  before  marriage 
Mary  Evans,  who  became  the  mother  of  thirteen 
children,  six  of  whom  are  living,  namely  :  Mary 
Elizabeth,  born  November  10,  1865;  John  J., 
born  June  21,  1867;  Thomas  J.,  born  November 
15,  1871;  Margaret,  born  August  8,  1878;  Ann, 
born  September  9,  1882 ;  and  Myrtle,  born  De- 
cember 8,  1887.  Mary  Elizabeth  married 
Thomas  G.  Evans,  of  Edwardsville,  and  has  had 
six  children:  Mary,  deceased;  Mary  (2),  Lor- 
etta,  Hannah,  Verne,  and  John.  Thomas  J.  mar- 
ried Myfanwy  Davis,  resides  in  Edwardsville, 
and  they  have  one  child,  Audrey.  Margaret  is 
the  wife  of  Thomas  Blandford,  of  Edwardsville. 
Mrs.  Mary  (Evans)  Jenkins  died  December  13, 
1887.  Josiah  Jenkins  married  for  his  second 
wife  Jane  Bevan. 

John  J.  Jenkins  was  but  two  years  old  when 
he  came  to  the  United  States,  consequently  he  has 
little  or  no  recollection  of  his  birthplace.  He  stu- 
died preliminarily  in  the  public  schools  of 
Edwardsville,  which  he  attended  a  short 
time,  but  the  greater  part  of  his  educa- 
tion was  acquired  by  diligent  night  study 
at  home,  after  having  spent  the  day  in 
strenuous  toil  as  a  breaker  boy  at  the  mine. 
As  a  boy  of  eight  years  he  went  to  work  for  the 
Kingston  Coal  Company,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve 
was  promoted  to  the  mines,  where  he  served  in 
various  capacities  for  about  eight  years.  The 
succeeding  four  years  w^fe  spent  in  the  employ 
of  the  Delaware,  Lackawarma  and  Western  Coal 
Company,  whose  service  he  relinquished  to  ac- 
cept the  position  of  assistant  postmaster  in  Ed- 
wardsville. In  connection  with  the  latter  he  car- 
ried on  a  news  and  music  store.  He  performed 
the  duties  of  postmaster  in  a  most  satisfactory 
manner  through  One  administration,  a  period  of 
four  years.  He  then  engaged  in  the  insurance 
business  as  a  local  agent  for  the  Metropolitan  In- 
surance Company  of  New  York,  in  which  he 
continued  for  a  year  when  he  engaged  in  the 
hardware  and  plumbing  business.  June  6,  1901,. 
he  was  appointed  postmaster  by  President  Mc- 
Kinley,  and  May  6,  1902,  was  re-appointed  by 
President  Roosevelt.  Under  his  supervision  the 
office  was  advanced  from  the  fourth  to  the  third 
class,  thus  bringing  it  within  the  list  of  offices, 
the  appointment  to  which  must  receive  a  con- 
firmation by  the  United  States  senate,  and  he  has 
the  distinction  of  being  the  last  postmaster  in 
Edwardville,  the  office  having  been  discontinued 
at  the  advent  of  the  free  delivery  system  in  this 
locality. 

At  the  present  time    (1905)    Mr.  Jenkins  is 
giving  his   exclusive   attention  to  the  hardware 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


245 


■and  plumbing  business,  in  which  he  became  in- 
terested in  1896.  Some  time  ago  the  business 
increased  to  such  an  extent  as  to  necessitate  its 
removal  to  more  commodious  quarters,  and  that 
change  was  shortly  afterward  followed  by  a  sec- 
ond removal,  this  time  to  the  store  No.  531  Main 
street,  formerly  occupied  by  Williams  and  Bray, 
whose  business  Mr.  Jenkins  purchased  and  con- 
solidated with  his  own.  Although  on  three  dif- 
ferent occasions  disastrous  fires  have  seriously 
damaged  his  property,  he  has  succeeded  in  re- 
covering from  these  drawbacks  and  has  not  only 
added  several  lines  of  trade,  but  has  from  time 
to  time  been  obliged  to  enlarge  his  working  force 
in  order  to  keep  up  with  a  constantly  increasing 
business.  In  addition  to  the  above-mentioned 
enterprise  he  is  financially  interested  in  the 
Clark  Electrode  Company  of  Wilkes-Barre.  and 
is  a  member  of  its  board  of  directors.  Politically 
Mr.  Jenkins  acts  with  the  Republican  party.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America.  He  is  a  charter  member 
of  the  Bethesda  English  Congregational  Church, 
organized  in  1886,  and  is  prominently  identified 
with  it,  having  served  as  trustee,  elder,  organist, 
chorister,  Sunday-school  superintendent  and 
teacher. 

On  October  30  1889,  Mr.  Jenkins  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Margaret  E.  Edwards, 
daughter  of  Thomas  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Titus) 
Edwards,  formerly  of  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania. 
Thomas  A.  Edwards,  who  was  a  native  of  Wales, 
enlisted  as  drummer  boy  in  Company  "I,"  Fifty- 
second  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Infantry,  at  the 
first  call  for  troops  for  service  in  the  Civil  war, 
■and  was  mustered  out  as  a  corporal  in  April, 
1865,  having  served  through  the  entire  struggle 
•and  participated  in  many  notable  engagements. 
His  death,  which  resulted  from  the  effects  of 
severe  and  long  continued  exposure  while  in  the 
army,  occurred  in  Edwardsville,  and  he  was  in- 
terred in  Forty  Fort  cemetery. 

Thomas  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Titus)  Edwards 
were  the  parents  of  three  children,  namely:  Mar- 
garet E.,  who  is  now  Mrs.  Jenkins ;  Sarah,  who 
married  Charles  A.  Hassell,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  has  two  children :  Thomas  and  Charles ;  and 
Cora,  who  is  no  longer  living.  Six  children  were 
"born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jenkins  :  Agnes,  deceased  : 
Beatrice,  deceased ;  Jennie,  Sadie,  Mary  and 
John.  H.  E.'H. 

JOHNSON  R.  COOLBAUGH,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  traces  his  ancestry  to  Will- 
iam Coolbaugh  (  or  Coolbrook)  said  to  have  been 


a  sea  captain,  who  settled  with  his  wife  Sarah 
Johnson,  in  Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersey, 
whence  he  moved  to  Monroe  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  doubtless  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary arm)-  from  New  Jersey,  as  his  son 
William  was  too  young  to  have  served,  and  a 
William  Coolbaugh,  of  Hunterdon  county,  New 
Jersey,  was  a  private  soldier  during  the  war  in 
Captain  Samuel  Growendyck's  company,  state 
troops,  from  same  county,  and  this  is  the  only 
Coolbaugh  to  be  found  in  the  New  Jersey  rosters. 
William  and  Sarah  (Johnson)  Coolbaugh  had 
children :  Moses,  Cornelius,  John,  William, 
Peter,  Hannah,  Benjamin,  Sarah,  Rachael, 
Nancy.  Moses  Coolbaugh,  born  Monroe  county, 
Pennnsylvania,  1752,  died  Wysox,  Bradford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  February  22,  1844. 
Cornelius  Coolbaugh  married  Sarah  Everett,  of 
New  Hope,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania. 

John  Coolbaugh,  born  September  14,  1760, 
died  September  25,  1842,  was  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  his  section,  an  extensive  land  owner,  and 
associate  judge  of  Wayne  county  for  twenty- two 
vears.  He  and  his  sons  founded  the  Presby- 
terian church  of  Middle  Smithfield,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  a  pensioner,  receiving  $43-33 
per  annum,  having  served  as  private  in  the  New 
Jersey  state  militia.  He  married,  September  14, 
1788,'  Susannah  Van  Campen,  born  in  Shawnee, 
October,  1758,  died  January  31,  1829,  daughter 
of  John  and  Sarah  (Dupui)  Van  Campen,  and  a 
decsendant  of  Arenson  Van  Campen.  called  also 
John  Arenson  Van  Campen,  who  came  to  New 
York  in  the  ship  "Brown  Fish,"  1658,  and  left 
a  large  and  prominent  posterity.  They  were  the 
parents  of  six  children:  I.  Abraham,  born  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1793,  married  January  2,  1816,  Mar- 
garet Dingman,  daughter  of  Andrew  W.  Ding- 
man,  born  December  5,  1796,  and  had  Susannah 
Van  Campen  who  married  Rev.  Andrew  Tully, 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  2.  Sarah,  married 
Willliam  Overfield,  of  Middle  Smithfield,  and 
had  a  large  family.  3.  Hannah,  married  Solomon 
Westbrook,  and  had  six  children ;  John  C,  pro- 
thonctary  of  Pike  county :  Margaret,  married 
John  B.  Stoll,  of  New  Jersey  :  Pliram  ;  Lafayette, 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  legislature ;  Moses 
C. :  Susan,  married  William  H.  Bell,  of  New 
Jersey.  4.  John,  born  1796,  died  July,  1874;  mar- 
ried Mary,  daughter  of  Andrew  Ellenberger, 
and  had  children :  Elizabeth,  resides  in  Bush- 
kill,  Pennsylvania,  married  Charles  R.  Peters, 
deceased;  Andrew  J.,  deceased;  Abraham 
Van  Campen,  married  Jane  Freese.  of 
Milford,  Pike  county,  and  had  five  children  ;  he 
was  owner  of  three  thousand  acres  of  land ;  he 


246 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


died  at  Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Sarah, 
married  Darwin  Martin,  of  Wysox,  both 
deceased ;  Van  Campen,  married  Clara  Kendig, 
of  Middletown,  died  August  3,  1889;  he  died  in 
Wilkes-Barre.  Susan,  married  Daniel  Peters,  de- 
ceased, Cornelius,  resides  in  Bushkill,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Margaret,  married  Luke  W.  Broadhead, 
proprietor  of  the  Delaware  Water  Gap  House, 
both  deceased.  Moses,  married  Harriet  Stark,  of 
Wyoming,  daughter  of  John  M.  Stark;  (see 
Stark  family).  Emma,  married  Rev.  Charles  E. 
Van  Allen,  resides  in  Middle  Smithfield,  Penn- 
sylvania. James  C,  died  1885.  5.  Susan,  married 
William  Broadhead.  6.  Moses  W.,  married  Mary 
Nyce,  and  had  a  large  family,  of  whom  is  Will- 
iam Finley.  a  leading  banker  of  Chicago. 

William  Coolbaugh,  born  Smithfield,  Bucks 
county,  Pennsylvania,  married  Susannah  Shoe- 
maker, settled  at  Wysox,  thence  moved  to  Yates 
county,  New  York. 

Peter  Coolbaugh  moved  to  Wysox,  thence  to 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died 
August  13.  1840,  aged  fifty-nine  years  and  six 
months.  He  married  Eleanor  Jacobs,  who 
died  August  25,  1855,  aged  seventy-nine  years 
and  five  months.  Their  children :  William,  born 
June  26,  1801,  died  February  27,  1877;  Benja- 
min ;  Aaron ;  Eli ;  Susan,  married  Ephraim 
King;  Lovina,  married  (first)  a  Mr.  Moore, 
and.  (second)  a  Mr.  Barney;  Sarah,  married 
(first)  a  Mr.  Decker,  and  (second)  a  Mr.  Green; 
Mary,  bcrn  March,  1819,  married  John  Marcy, 
and  died  1887.  Peter  Coolbaugh  was  a  farmer 
bv  ocupation.  and  a  Democrat  in  politics. 

Hannah  Coolbaugh  died  in  New  Britain, 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  1804.  She  married 
(first)  a  Mr.  Tanner,  and  had  Mark,  of  Bucks 
county,  Pennsylvania,  who  died  1789;  and  Jane, 
who  died  before  Mark.  She  married  (second) 
Silas  Barton,  and  had :  Britta,  who  died  in  New 
Jersey,  1873 ;  George,  of  Charleston,  South  Car- 
olina, who  was  killed  on  a  steamboat ;  and  Ben- 
jamin, who  lived  in  Philadelphia,  and  died  1874. 

Benjamin  Coolbaugh,  born  December  10, 
1767,  died  Wysox,  February  13,  1815,  aged  for- 
ty-eight years,  and  his  remains  were  interred 
there.  He  married  Jerusha  Runyon,  born  March 
16,  1777,  died  1855,  daughter  of  Absalom  Run- 
yon, who  was  a  wagon  master  in  the  New  Jer- 
sey militia  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  Rich- 
ard and  Vincent  Runyon,  of-  Somerset  county, 
New  Jersey,  were  privates  of  Captain  Jacob  Ten 
Eyck's  company,  1776-83.  Asa,  Enoch,  Hugh, 
Job  and  Richard  Runyon  were  soldiers  from 
Middlesex  county,  New  Jersey ;  John  Runyon 
from  Morris  county ;  Richard,  Samuel  and  Vin- 


cent from  Somerset  county.  Absalom,  Elias, 
Samuel,  and  William  Runyon  were  teamsters 
and  wagon  masters  during  the  war,  and  Conrad 
and  Coonrod  Runyon  were  in  the  Third  Battalion 
of  militia.  There  is  quite  a  full  pedigree  of  Run- 
yons  from  Richard  in  print,  but  no  Absalom  oc- 
curs among  them.  The  children  of  Benjamin 
and  Jerusha  (Runyon)  Coolbaugh  were:  Lo- 
vina, born  October  16,  1795,  married  a  Mr.  Mc- 
Alpine;  William,  born  February  10,  1799;  Ab- 
salom; Moses;  Johnson,  Sallie  Ann  and  Rachel. 

Sarah  Coolbaugh  died  1847,  and  was  buried 
in  Monument  cemetery,  Philadelphia.  She  was 
the  wife  of  Aaron  Morris,  and  their  children 
were :  John,  Eliza,  Ann,  and  Hiram.  The  family 
resided  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

Rachel  Coolbaugh,  married  Christopher 
Cowell,  of  Wysox,  in  which  town  her  death  oc- 
curred. 

Nancy  Coolbaugh  married  a  Mr.  Barton,  of 
Monmouth,  New  Jersey. 

William  Coolbaugh,  eldest  son  of  Benjamin 
and  Jerusha  (Runyon)  Coolbaugh,  and  grand- 
son of  William  and  Sarah  (Johnson)  Coolbaugh, 
was  born  February  10,  1799,  died  May  25,  1880. 
He  married  Margaret  Vought,  and  their  children 
were :  Ellen,  married  H.  G  Goff ;  Jerusha,  mar- 
ried J.  M.  Bowman;  Benjamin  F.,  died  in  Phil- 
adelphia; Absalom  Runyon,  killed  at  Gettysburg;. 
Johnson  R.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Mary,  mar- 
ried Captain  D.  W.  Gore ;  Alice  B.,  married 
John  Dunfee ;  William  Oakley,  married  Sarah 
McAlpine. 

Johnson  R.  Coolbaugh,  third  son  of  William 
and  Margaret  (Vought)  Coolbaugh,  was  born 
in  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania,  August  25,. 
1835.  He  spent  the  first  sixteen  years  of  his  life 
on  his  father's  farm.  Early  in  life  he  manifested' 
a  love  for  trade,  and  went  to  Pittston,  where  he 
was  employed  as  clerk  for  a  period  of  two  years. 
He  then  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  and  took  a  posi- 
tion with  the  late  Andrew  Kessler,  in  whose  em- 
ploy he  remained  two  years.  About  this  time- 
Horace  Greeley  was  advising  young  men  to  "go- 
west."  Acting  on  this  advice,  in  the  fall  of  1856 
Mr.  Coolbaugh  went  to  Beloit,  Rock  county, 
Wisconsin,  where  he  remained  until  January, 
i860,  occupying  responsible  positions  with  the 
leading  mercantile  houses.  He  returned  to 
Wilkes-Barre.  which  at  that  time  was  a  borough 
of  about  four  thousand  inhabitants,  bounded  by- 
North,  South  and  Canal  streets  and  the  river. 
At  that  time  Ziba  Bennett,  R.  J.  Flick,  John  B. 
Wood  and  Charles  F.  Reets  were  among  the  lead- 
ing merchants.  Mr.  Coolbaugh  saw  an  opening 
for  a  cash  business  and  opened  the  first  exclusive- 


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THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


247 


dry  goods  store.  He  had  little  capital,  but  with 
true  western  push  and  enterprise  he  determined 
bv  honesty  and  hard  work  to  make  the  venture 
sucessful.  The  late  Lewis  C.  Paine  was  his  first 
customer.  Continuing'  until  the  fall  of  1861  and 
being  desirous  of  extending  the  business,  he  as- 
sociated with  himself  D.  H.  Frantz,  and  moved 
into  the  store  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Jonas 
Long's  sons.  The  war  being  now  on,  prices  ad- 
vanced, and  the  business  proved  a  grand  success, 
theirs  becoming  the  leading  dry  goods  house. 
About  1S68  Mr.  Frantz  retired,  and  Air.  Cool- 
baugh  continued  until  1872,  when  he  sold  out  to 
a  Air.  Bosler.  Mr.  Coolbaugh  together  with  the 
late  William  W.  Bennett  established  the  well 
known  shoe  house.  Other  interests  occupying 
his  attention,  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  shoe  bus- 
iness in  1880  to  Christian  Walter,  and  in  1872 
entered  the  firm  of  Miller,  Bertels  &  Coolbaugh, 
real  estate  dealers.  For  eleven  years  he  assisted 
Mr.  Miller,  who  was  tax  receiver,  and  at  the 
same  time  dealt  in  real  estate,  opening  many  new 
streets,  among  which  are  Franklin,  from  Acad- 
emy street  down ;  Sullivan  street,  Dana  place, ' 
Barney  and  Church  streets.  In  1878  Mr.  Cool- 
baugh succeeded  to  the  business  of  Miller,  Ber- 
tels &  Coolbaugh,  and  continued  until  1894,  at 
which  time  Charles  W.  Dana  was  taken  into  the 
firm,  and  in  1902  Harold  G.  Frantz  also  became 
a  partner.  Mr.  Coolbaugh  retired  from  active 
business  August  1,  1905.  Mr.  Coolbaugh's  po- 
litical opinions  have  allied  him  with  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  He  has  never  sought  nor  held  office 
except  one  term  of  three  years  as  councilman  at 
large.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  over  forty  years,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society.  He  is  strong  in  his  friendships 
and  loyal  to  his  friends.  He  is  what  is  called  a 
self-made  man,  and  his  has  been  a  busy  life  of 
reasonable  success  and  good  citizenship. 

On  March  5,  1857,  Mr.  Coolbaugh  was  mar- 
ried to  Susan  Huntington  Dana,  daughter  of 
Francis  and  Sophia  (Whitcomb)  Dana.  They 
had  issue  as  follows:  1.  Frank  Dana,  born  Jan- 
uary 1,  1859,  died  January  17,  i860.  2.  Augusta 
Dana,  born  July  12,  1864,  wife  of  Luther  W. 
Chase,  manager  of  the  Atlantic  Refining  Com- 
pany and  residing  in  Germantown ;  their  chil- 
dren are :  Emily  Dana,  born  April  23,  1889,  died 
January  11,  1893;  Margaret  Augusta,  born  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1892 ;  Louise  Foster,  born  September  19, 
1896;  and  Marian  Huntington,  born  February  5, 
1900,  all  of  whom  reside  at  home.  3.  Lillian,  born 
January  6,  1869,  wife  of  Dr.  A.  L.  Hodgson,  re- 
siding in  St.  Mary's  county,  Maryland  ;  they  have 


one  child,  Anderson  Dana  Hodgson,  born  May 
8,  1890.  Mr.  Coolbaugh  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  for  over  forty  years,  and 
■his  wife  was  also  a  member  of  the  same.  Mrs. 
Susan  Huntington  (Dana)  Coolbaugh  died  De- 
cember 30,  1904,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  buried 
in  Hollenback  cemetery.  FI.  E.  H. 

WYOMING  SEMINARY.  This  well  known 
and  justly  popular  institution  of  learning,  located 
in  the  classic  valley  of  Wyoming,  has  a  history 
well  worthy  of  note.  The  friends  of  education  in 
the  old  Oneida  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  after  establishing  on  a  broad  and 
permanent  basis  a  seminary  at  Cazenovia,  New 
York,  in  the  northern  portion  of  their  territory, 
determinedly  entertained  the  project  over  sixty 
years  ago  of  providing  for  the  increasing  educa- 
tional demands  of  the  southern  portion  of  the 
work.  With  a  commendable  foresight  they  de- 
vised measures  for  the  erection  of  an  institution 
of  learning  in  northeastern  Pennsylvania. 

At  the  session  of  the  Oneida  Conference,  held 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  August  9,  1843,  the  matter  was 
fully  discussed,  and  the  necessary  preliminary 
steps  were  taken  by  the  appointment  of  David 
Holmes,  Jr.,  Lucian  S.  Bennett,  Thomas  Myers, 
Madison  F.  Myers,  Lord  Butler,  Sharp  D. 
Lewis,  and  Silas  Comfort  as  "Trustees  of  a  con- 
templated seminary  of  learning  to  be  located 
either  in  Wilkes-Barre  or  Kingston,"  according 
to  the  amount  of  subscriptions  obtained  in  each 
place  within  a  given  time.  Kingston,  providing 
the  larger  subscription,- was  the  chosen  locality. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees 
David  Holmes  was  elected  president ;  Silas  Com- 
fort, secretary ;  and  Madison  F.  Myers,  treas- 
urer. The  first  building,  a  brick  structure  of 
three  stories,  thirty-seven  by  seventy  feet,  was 
erected  and  opened  for  students  in  1844.  The 
size  of  the  chapel  was  twenty-four  by  twenty- 
nine  feet ;  the  recitation  room,  twelve  by  twenty- 
nine  feet ;  the  room  for  the  primary  department, 
twenty  by  twenty-nine  feet ;  with  some  twenty 
rooms  in  all  for  students.  The  cost  of  the  building 
was  about  five  thousand  dollars.  Such  was  the 
beginning  of  this  educational  enterprise — one 
building,  two  teachers  and  fifty  scholars.  The 
trustees  secured  as  their  principal  (see  Bennett 
sketch)  the  Rev.  Reuben  Nelson,  A.  M.,  then  a 
young  man,  but  who  afterward  abundantly  dem- 
onstrated his  fitness  to  inaugurate  and  carry  for- 
ward such  an  enterprise  to  a  successful  consum- 
mation. Under  such  leadership,  seconded  by  the 
energetic  co-operation  of  a  noble-minded  and  self- 
denying  board  of  trustees  and  a  corps  of  efficient 


248 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


teachers,  the  institution  attained  a  popularity  and 
influence  second  to  none  of  its  class  in  the 
land. 

In  half  a  dozen  years  after  the  erection  of 
the  first  edifice,  such  was  the  patronage  obtained 
that  an  additional  building;  was  demanded.  In 
the  spirit  of  an  unselfish  liberality,  the  late  Will- 
iam Swetland  volunteered  to  erect  the  projected 
additional  building  at  his  own  expense.  The  sec- 
ond building  was  named  by  the  trustees  Swetland 
Hall,  in  memory  of  the  respected  donor.  At  the 
same  time  Hon.  Ziba  Bennett  contributed  one 
thousand  dollars  as  a  foundation  for  a  library. 
This  was  thereafter  called,  in  honor  of  the  donor, 
the  Bennett  Library. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1853,  additional  facil- 
ities were  deemed  essential,  and  the  building  of 
a  wing  or  wings  to  the  main  building  was  con- 
templated, with  a  view  to  affording  accommoda- 
tions to  a  larger  number  of  students.  On  March 
15,  1853,  the  seminary  buildings  were  burned. 
While  the  brick  and  stone  and  ashes  were  yet 
warm,  the  trustees,  with  undaunted  heroism,  in 
their  meeting  on  the  day  of  the  fire,  resolved  that 
a  commmittee  of  three  be  appointed  to  draw 
plans  and  specifications  for  the  rebuilding  of  the 
seminary.  This  showed  the  stuff  these  men  were 
made  of.  Again  did  the  tried  friend  of  the 
cause,  William  Swetland,  come  to  the  rescue,  and 
he  nobly  undertook  at  his  own  expense  the  work 
of  rebuilding  and  enlarging  Swetland  Hall. 
Through  .the  liberality  of  Payne  Pettebone, 
George  Swetland,  A.  Y.  Smith  and  Isaac  C. 
Shoemaker  a  third  building  was  erected  about  the 
s?me  time,  to  which  the  name  Union  Hall  was 
given.  Thus,  through  fire  and  disaster,  larger 
and  better  buildings  were  erected,  and  the  three 
blocks — Administration  Hall  in  the  center,  with 
Swetland  Hall  on  the  left  and  Union  Hall  on  the 
right — stood  a  noble  monument  to  the  energy 
and  liberality  of  the  men  of  Wyoming  Valley. 

A  few  years  afterward  the  ladies'  boarding 
hall  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Then  a  fierce  tornado 
swept  over  the  .place  and  unroofed  a  building. 
Then  a  flood  did  more  or  less  damage  to  the 
seminary  property.  Yet  with  heroic  spirit  the 
board  of  trustees  measured  up  to  every  exigency, 
so  that  repeated  difficulties  have  been  overcome, 
financial  embarrassments  removed,  and  the  en- 
tire machinery  kept  moving  without  intermission 
and  without  a  jar. 

The  Civil  war  seemed  for  a  brief  period  to 
interfere  with  the  wonted  success  of  the  institu- 
tion. Yet  even  with  this  temporary  drawback, 
the  trustees  projected  other  plans  for  the  suc- 
cess  of    the   school.     A   commercial    department 


was  added  in  1863.  Professor  V.  S.  Smythe, 
afterward  principal  of  Cazenovia  Seminary, 
was  secured  to  take  charge  of  the  commercial 
college,  and  under  his  efficient  supervision  it 
proved  a  decided  success.  Professor  L.  L. 
Sprague  was  the  head  of  this  department  for 
many  years,  and  under  his  management  it  be- 
came an  institution  equal  to  the  best  schools  of 
the  kind  at  that  time  in  the  country.  In  1882 
Professor  Willis  L.  Dean,  A.  M.,  became  prin- 
cipal. He  skillfully  developed  this  department 
in  all  its  branches  into  the  highest  form  of  com- 
mercial training. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  it  was  found  that  the 
enlargement  of  the  seminary  was  absolutely  re- 
quired. The  three  buildings  had  already  been 
united  by  the  addition  of  wings,  yet  'this  did  not 
meet  the  demand  for  room.  In  the  year  1866 
it  was  determined  to  erect  a  memorial  building 
to  be  named  Centenary  Hall,  to  commemorate 
the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  America  in  1766.  This  was  completed 
in  1867,  at  a  cost  of  about  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars.  These  buildings  are  all  under  one  roof, 
three  and  four  stories  high,  with  three  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  frontage.  The  edifice  as  a  whole  is 
an  ornament  to  the  valley.  There  are  ample  ac- 
commodations for  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
boarding  students  and  three  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-five day  scholars. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  held  in  Brooklyn.  New  York,  in 
May,  1872,  Rev.  Dr.  Nelson,  after  serving  as  prin- 
cipal for  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years,  during 
which  time  he  developed  his  skill  as  an  educator 
and  financier,  was  elected,  senior  book  agent  at 
New  York,  and  resigned  his  position  as  princi- 
pal. He  was  succeeded  bv  Rev.  David  Copeland, 
A.  M.,  president  of  the  Female  College  of  Hills- 
boro,  Ohio,  a  gentleman  whose  literary  tastes 
and  attainments  and  acknowledged  abilities  and 
extended  experience  as  an  educator  rendered  him 
pre-eminently  fitted  for  the  important  and  re- 
sponsible position  of  principal  of  an  institution  of 
this  grade.  Dr.  Copeland  remained  at  the  head 
of  the  seminary  until  1882,  when  Dr.  L.  L. 
Sprague  became  the  principal.  He  was  eminently 
a  Christian  gentleman  and  ripe  scholar.  He  en- 
larged the  curriculum  of  the  school  and  pre- 
pared the  institution  to  do  the  advanced  work 
"  that  it  has  been  able  to  do  in  later  years.  Never 
was  the  seminary  more  successful  than  now.  The 
course  of  study  is  most  thorough  and  comprehen- 
sive, and  will  compare  favorably  with  that  of  the 
highest  institutions  of  its  class.  This  time-hon- 
ored and  deservedly  popular  institution  receives 


J^.  Z .   \J/n**~f  *<*- 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


249 


its  full  share  of  patronage,  and  under  its  pres- 
ent efficient  management  is  destined  to  exert  a 
still .  more  potent  influence  in  the  education  of 
the  youth  of  our  land. 

The  system  of  instruction  adopted  is  thor- 
ough, and  designed  to  prepare  students  for  the 
active  duties  of  life  or  for  a  course  of  profes- 
sional or  collegiate  training.  There  are  six  de- 
partments of  study  provided,  for  each  of  which 
a  diploma  is  awarded,  namely :  College  prepara- 
tion, literature  and  science,  commerce,  music,  art 
and  oratory.  As  an  evidence  of  the  high  grade 
of  scholarship  of  young  men  prepared  here  for 
college,  today  they  stand  among  the  first  at  the 
best  colleges  in  the  country.  Many  prominent 
people  distinguished  in  church,  state,  and  the 
home  have  been  educated  in  this  seminary. 

In  1887.  through  the  liberality  of  friends  of 
the  Seminary,  Nelson  Memorial  Hall  was  erected 
in  memory  of  Dr.  Nelson,  the  first  principal,  at  a 
cost  of  S^o.ooo.  In  1894  Abram  Xesbitt,  a  resi- 
dent of  Kingston,  who  had  shown  already  his 
friendship  for  the  school  in  many  ways,  with 
large  beneficence  erected  Xesbitt  Science  Hall, 
at  a  cost  of  $35,000.  During  this  year,  also,  the 
Wyoming  Field  was  purchased,  through  the 
gifts  of  many  friends  of  the  seminary,  and 
fitted  up  for  athletic  purposes  at  a  cost  of  $22,000. 
In  1897.  Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Pettebone  ( daughter 
of  William  Swetland,  mentioned  before  in  this 
article)  who  had  been  for  many  years  a  most  lib- 
eral supporter  of  the  school,  erected  the  Caroline 
At.  Pettebone  Gymnasium  at  a  cost  of  $33,000. 

The  fine  material  equipment  of  the  seminary. 
with  its  high  reputation  as  an  educational  force, 
places  it.  in  rank,  among  the  first  half  a  dozen 
prep2rstory  schools  of  the  country,  and  makes  it 
an  ornament  to  Wyoming  Yallev  and  a  factor  of 
inestimable  value  in  developing  and  maintaining 
its  social  and  intellectual  life.  The  graduates  of 
the  seminary,  from  all  departments,  number 
about  three  thousand.  The  present  (1906)  at- 
tendance averages  five  hundred  students  each 
term,  and  the  number  of  students  from  the  be- 
ginning have  been  about  eighteen  thousand. 

REV.  LEVI  L.  SPRAGUE,  D.  D..  was  born 
in  Beekman,  Dutchess  county.  New  York,  De- 
cember 23,  1844,  the  son  of  Nelson  L.  and  Laura 
( Spencer)  Sprague.  His  ancestors  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers  of  Rhode  Island.  Jonathan 
Sprague  came  to  Providence  that  colonv,  in  1675, 
having  inherited  sixtv  acres  of  land  from  his 
father  ( William)  who  resided  in  Hingham, 
Massachusetts.  He  is  recorded  as  having  been 
a  deputy  from  1695  to   1714  inclusive,  and  was 


speaker  of  the  house  of  deputies  in  1703.  He  was 
a  strong  Baptist,  and  occasionally  preached.  This 
church  preference  was  characteristic  of  his  de- 
scendants and  reached  to  Nelson,  though  the  lat- 
ter became  a  Congregationalist  a  few  years  be- 
fore his  death. 

John  Spencer,  of  English  ancestry,  the  great- 
great-grandfather  of  Laura  Spencer,  came  from 
Massachusetts  in  1652,  and  with  forty-six  others 
settled  on  a  land  grant  of  five  thousand  acres  in 
East  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island.  Her  great- 
grandmother.  Theodosia  Whaley,  married  Cap- 
tain Robert  Spencer,  son  of  John  Spencer,  and 
was  a  daughter  of  Theophilus  Whaley.  Of  him 
Austin's  "Genealogical  Dictionary  of  Rhode 
Island"  says :  "He  came  to  Virginia  from  Eng- 
land before  he  reached  his  majority,  and  served 
in  a  military  capacity,  but  soon  returned  to  Eng- 
land and  was  an  officer  in  the  Parliamentary 
army.  In  1649  ms  regiment  took  part  in  the  ex- 
ecution of  King  Charles  I.  In  1660  he  came 
again  from  England,  and  married  Elizabeth  Mills 
while  in  Virginia.  In  1680  he  came  to  Kings 
Town,  Rhode  Island."  He  had  a  collegiate  edu- 
cation, and  taught  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew. 

The  more  immediate  ancestors  of  Levi  L. 
Sprague  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century 
came  from  Rhode  Island  and  settled  in  Putnam 
and  Dutchess  counties.  New  York,  the  Spragues 
in  the  former  county  and  the  Spencers  in  the  lat- 
ter. They  were  people  usually  of  strong  moral 
fiber  and  of  good  circumstances  in  life.  His 
paternal  grandfather  was  a  carpenter  and  joiner, 
and  his  father  a  carpenter  and  wheelwright.  His 
maternal  grandfather  was  a  well-to-do  farmer 
and  a  strong  Methodist,  the  leading  member  of 
the  church  in  that  rural  community. 

Nelson  Sprague,  the  father  of  Levi,  moved 
his  familv  into  Pennsylvania  in  1847  an(I  located 
in  Archbald,  Lackawanna  countv.  He  then 
moved  to  Gibson,  and  afterward  to  New  Milford, 
Susquehanna  county.  In  these  villages  he  car- 
ried en  the  business  of  carriage  making.  In 
1858.  because  of  impaired  health,  he  moved  to  a 
farm  near  LeRaysville,  Bradford  county.  The 
education  of  Levi  during  these  years  was  com- 
mitted largely  to  teachers  of  private  schools. 
He  was  fortunate  in  having  among  these  teach- 
ers men  eminently  qualified  for  their  work.  Their 
skill  as  teachers  and  fine  character  as  men  im- 
pressed his  youthful  mind  and'  stirred  him  with 
aspirations  for  intellectual  training.  It  was  a 
fortunate  event  in  his  life,  also,  when,  at  the  age 
of  fourteen,  his  father  moved  his  family  to  a 
farm.  Here  Levi  had  ample  opportunity  for  re- 
flection, and  all  the  advantages  that  come  from 


2=;o 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


a  close  contact  with  nature.  He  here  attended 
a  private  school  in  LeRaysville  conducted  by 
Chester  P.  Hodge,  a  superior  teacher,  a  former 
student  of  Wyoming  Seminary  and  a  graduate 
of  Union  College.  These  two  factors,  together 
with  a  strong  physical  constitution  built  up  by 
farm  work,  framed  largely  the  mental,  moral  and 
physical  foundation  for  his  future  career  as  a 
teacher.  When  seventeen  years  of  age  he  began 
teaching,  and  for  two  years  he  taught  the  winter 
terms  in  the  public  schools  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lived,  and  attended  the  LeRaysville 
Academy  a  term  during  each  interval  excepting 
one  term  of  four  months  when  he  attended  East- 
man's Business  College  of  Poughkeepsie,  Xew 
York.  When  he  was  twenty  years  of  age  he  be- 
came principal  of  the  LeRaysville  Academy,  Pro- 
fessor Hodge  having  taken  up  the  practice  of  law 
in  the  west,  and  continued  this  work  of  instruc- 
tion until  the  spring  of  1866,  when  he  entered 
Wyoming  Seminary  as  a  student.  He  remained 
here  in  college-preparatorv  work  for  two  years. 
During  his  student  life  at  the  seminary  he  first 
came  under  the  influence  of  Dr.  Reuben  Nelson, 
the  president  of  the  seminary  at  that  time.  The 
energy,  the  moral  power,  the  qualities  of  leader- 
ship, the  keen  interest  in  young  people  and  the 
fine  understanding  of  their  needs  and  aspirations, 
of  this  great  schoolmaster,  had  a  potent  and  sal- 
utary influence  upon  his  own  life. 

After  finishing  his  course  as  a  student  in  the 
seminary  he  was  elected  principal  of  the  College 
of  Business  connected  with  the  seminary,  ex- 
pecting ultimately  to  become  a  lawyer.  Contem- 
poraneously with  entering  upon  the  duties  of  this 
position  he  registered  as  a  law  student  with  the 
late  Hon.  AY  W:  Ketcham,  but  after  eighteen 
months  of  law  study,  and  notwithstanding  a  pas- 
sionate fondness  for  the  subject,  he  became  con- 
vinced that  his  duty  lay  in  the  Christian  ministry. 
He  accordingly  dropped  the  study  of  law  and  be- 
gan a  course  of  theological  studies  preparatory 
to  entering  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  These  were  carried  on  success- 
fully in  connection  with  the  onerous  duties  of 
teaching.  He  joined  the  Wyoming  Annual  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
1874.  and  has  been  appointed  to  the  seminary 
annually  by  the  bishops  presiding  at  the  sessions 
of  that  bod)'.  He  continued  as  principal  of  the 
College  of  Business  until  1882,  when  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  seminary,  the  position  he 
now  (1905)  holds.  He  followed  Rev.  David 
Copeland,  Ph.  D.,  D.  D.,  a  scholarly  and  able 
teacher,   who   held   that   position   for   ten   years. 


During  his  presidency  Xelson  Memorial  Hall, 
Xesbitt  Science  Hall  and  the  Caroline  M.  Pette- 
bone  Gymnasium  have  been  erected.  The  roll 
of  students  has  more  than  doubled. 

Allegheny  College  in  1879  conferred  upon 
Dr.  Sprague  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  and 
the  Weslevan  University  in  1886  the  degree  of" 
Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the  Wy- 
oming Seminary  1882-1905,  of  Syracuse  Univer- 
sity 1884-1905,  and  of  the  Wvoming  Annual  Con- 
ference, and  is  a  member  of  the  Wvoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society.  His  published 
works  as  author  are  "Practical  Bookkeeping." 
"The  Practical  Speller,"  and  with  Prof.  E.  I. 
Wolfe,  of  the  English  department  of  Wyoming 
Seminary,  "The  Practical  Grammar." 

On  December  22,  1869,  Dr.  Sprague  married 
Miss  Jennie  E.  Russell,  of  Otego,  New  York,  a 
young  women  belonging  to  a  prominent  family  in 
central  New  York,  and  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Nelson, 
wife  of  the  former  president  of  the  Seminary. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague  have  two  children :  Dr. 
E.  Russell  Sprague,  a  physician  of  Svracuse, 
New  York ;  and  Laura  J.  Sprague,  of  Kingston. 

Dr.  Emory  Russell  Sprague.  son  of  the  Rev. 
Levi  L.  and  Jennie  E.  (Russell)  Sprague,  was 
born  April  I,  1878,  in  Kingston.  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  house  now  occupied  by  his  father.  He  had 
the  educational  advantages  afforded  by  Wyom- 
ing Seminary,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr. 
Sprague,  and  was  graduated  from  that  institu- 
tion in  1897  at  the  age  of  nineteen.  He  then  en- 
tered Syracuse  University,  and  after  complet- 
ing a  three  years  course  of  study  matriculated 
in  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  received  his 
diploma  as  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  May,  1904. 
Immediately  after  his  graduation  Dr.  Sprague- 
located  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  and  entered  upon 
a  practice  in  which  he  has  made  constant  ad- 
vancement, devoting  his  entire  time  to  his  pro- 
fessional duties,  and  giving  special  attention  to- 
surgery.  He  is  attending  physician  in  the  Syra- 
cuse Homoeopathic  Hospital,  and  lecturer  in  its 
Nurses'  Training  School.  He  is  a  member  of  two 
college  fraternities :  Psi  Upsilon,  of  Syracuse- 
LTniversity,  and  Phi  Alpha  Gamma,  of  the  Hom- 
oeopathic Medical  College  of  Philadelphia.  He 
married,  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  June  7.  1904, 
Helen  Breese  Graves,  a  native  of  that  city,  daugh- 
ter of  Maurice  A.  and  Christina  (Reed)  Graves; 
her  father  is  an  extensive  dealer  in  real  estate  in 
Syracuse.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sprague  are  the  parents 
of  one  child,  Elizabeth  Louise,  born  November- 
11.   1905.  H.  E.  H. 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


251'' 


PROFESSOR  WILLIS  L.  DEAN,  princi- 
pal of  the  College  of  Business  of  the  Wyoming 
Seminar)',  traces  his  ancestry  to  Walter  Deane, 
of  South  Chard,  Somersetshire,  England,  who 
died  in  1591.  His  son,  William  Deane,  who  died 
in  1634,  and  whose  will  at  London,  England,  pro- 
bated in  October,  1634,  and  dated  July  22,  1634, 
is  copied  entire  and  preserved  in  volume  51,  of 
New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Reg- 
ister, page  432,  was  the  father  of  nine  children, 
namely :  William,  Isaac,  Thomas,  Susan,  Elea- 
nor, Elizabeth,  John,  Walter  and  Marjorie.  The 
younger  sons  John  and  Walter  came  to  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  in  1637,  resided  a  year  at  Dor- 
chester, and  then  settled  at  Taunton,  Massachu- 
setts. From  these  two  brothers  have  descended 
many  of  the  Deans  now  found  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States,  a  large  number  of  whom  have 
occupied  prominent  positions  in  the  commercial, 
educational,  political  and  social  circles  of  the 
communities  in  which  they  resided. 

Walter  Deane,  aforementioned,  was  born  in 
Chard,  England,  between  the  years  1615  and 
1620.  He  took  the  freeman's  oath  in  Massachu- 
setts, December  4,  1638,  was  deputy  to  the 
Plymouth  court  in  1640,  selectman  for  the  town 
of  Taunton  from  1679  t0  1686,  inclusive,  and  was 
a  prominent  factor  in  town  affairs.  He  married 
Eleanor  Strong,  daughter  of  Richard  Strong,  of 
Taunton,  England,  and  sister  of  Elder  John 
Strong  of  Windsor,  Connecticut.  (See  Strong 
family.)  Their  children  were:  Joseph,  Ezra,  Ben- 
jamin and  James. 

James  Deane,  youngest  son  of  Walter  Deane, 
learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  and  iron-worker 
at  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  after  which  he  set- 
tled for  a  time  at  Scituate,  Massachusetts.  A 
deed  from  the  town  of  Stonington,  to 
James  Deane,  dated  February  16,  1680,  is  re- 
corded in  the  office  of  the  town  clerk.  He  began 
work  there  in  1676,  and  was  a  prominent  man 
in  the  affairs  of  the  town  until  1698,  when  he 
sold  cut  to  his  son,  James  Deane,  and  removed 
to  Plainfield  with  other  pioneers  who  settled  in 
what  was  called  the  Quinnebaug  country.  Here 
he  was  elected  town  clerk  in  1699,  a  position  he 
filled  with  great  acceptability  for  many  years. 
He  was  a  large  land  owner  at  Plainfield  and  the 
neighboring  town  of  Voluntown,  and  was  an 
active  and  influential  citizen  of  the  former  up  to 
his  decease.  May  29,  1725.  His  widow  died 
April  26,  1726. 

Jonathan  Dean,  son  of  James  Deane,  was  bap- 
tized April  2,  1693.  He  probably  moved  with 
his  father  from  Stonington  to  Plainfield  in  1698. 
He  became  a  prominent  citizen  there,  and  owned 


a  large  amount  of  real  estate  in  Plainfield  and 
the  neighboring  town  of  Voluntown.  The  es- 
teem in  which  he  was  held  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  state  leg- 
islature in  1750-51-53,  rendering  valuable  ser- 
vice as  such.  He  married,  at  New  London,  Con- 
necticut, January  17,  1716,  Sarah  Douglass.  Mr. 
Dean  was  an  original  stockholder  in  the  Con- 
necticut Susquehanna  Company. 

Captain  Ezra  Dean,  son  of  Jonathan  and 
Sarah  (Douglass)  Dean,  was  born  at  Plain- 
field,  Connecticut,  November  18,  17 18.  He  was 
prominently  identified  with  the  settlement  of  Wy- 
oming Valley,  to  which  he  came  in  1769,  when, 
fifty-one  years  of  age.  He  early  purchased  the 
right  of  Barnet  Dixon,  an  early  proprietor,  and 
his  name  appears  on  the  list  of  shareholders  re- 
corded in  volume  18,  Pennsylvania  Archives, 
series  2,  page  5.  In  the  probate  records  of  Crans- 
ton he  is  called  Captain  Ezra  Dean.  He  was 
married  four  times.  His  fourth  wife,  whose- 
maiden  name  was  Phoebe  Waterman,  whom  he 
married  April  20,  1774,  survived  him.  We  are- 
informed  that  one  of  his  wives -was  from  North 
Kingston,  Rhode  Island,  and  it  was  in  her  honor 
that  he  gave  the  name  of  Kingston  to  the  town 
in  the  Wyoming  valley  after  the  settlement  made 
at  Forty  Fort.  He  was  the  father  of  fourteen 
children,  five  of  whom  survived  him.  After  a 
long  and  useful  life  Mr.  Dean  died  December 
14,  1806. 

Jonathan  Dean,  son  of  Ezra  Dean,  was  born 
July  9,  1 74 1.  He  must  have  been  a  man  of  fair 
ability  as  he  served  in  the  capacity  of  town  clerk 
of  West  Greenwich  from  1776  to  1780,  and  a 
justice  of  the  peace  in  the  same  town  during  the 
years  1778-79-90,  and  possibly  he  held  the  same 
office  during  the  intervening  years.  He  joined 
the  Baptist  church  in  Exeter,  Rhode  Island,  the 
town  adjoining  West  Greenwich,  in  October, 
1777,  arid  served  as  clerk  of  the  same  from  about 
1790  to  1796.  He  moved  to  Abington,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  November,  1800,  and  was  the  first 
clerk  of  the  first  church  in  that  town  from  1802 
to  1808,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Jef- 
frey Dean,  who  held  the  office  for  twenty  years. 
He  married  Mary  Davis,  who  bore  him  the  fol- 
lowing children:  Ezra,  born  February  15,  1776, 
died  July  29,  1862.  Sibyl,  April  14,  1777,  died 
February  10,  1842.  Abigail,  June  28,  1778,  died 
January  21  1842.  James,  May  7,  1780,  mentioned 
hereafter.  Jeffrey,  September  16,  1781,  died  Jan- 
uary 29.  1871.  Jonathan  Dean,  the  father  of 
these  children,  died  August  2,  1822. 

James  Dean,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Mary 
(Davis)    Dean,   was  born   at   West    Greenwich,. 


-252 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Rhode  Island,  May  7,  1780.  On  December  28, 
.1803,  he  married  Catherine  Tripp,  of  Providence, 
Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Isaac  Tripp,  the  early 
proprietor  of  Providence,  Pennsylvania,  who  set- 
tled there  between  1784  and  1787,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Esquire  Isaac  Tripp,  one  of  the 
earliest  pioneers  in  Wyoming  valley  (see  Tripp 
family),  who  was  killed  by  Indians,  with  his 
son-in-law,  Jonathan  Slocum,  on  the  present 
site  of  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
December  16,  1778.  This  Jonathan  Slocum 
was  the  father  of  Frances  Slocum,  the  lost  daugh- 
ter of  Wyoming,  who  was  carried  away  captive 
by  the  Indians  when  a  child  of  five  years,  reared 
among  them,  married  an  Indian  chief,  reared  a 
family,  and  when  in  old  age  was  discovered  by 
her  brothers  near  Logansport,  Indiana,  but  re- 
fused to  return  to  civilized  life  and  kindred. 
Catherine  (Tripp)  Dean,  wife  of  James  Dean, 
was  first  cousin  of  this  Indian  captive.  In  1802 
James  Dean,  with  his  father  and  a  few  others, 
united  with  the  earliest  Baptist  church  of  the 
neighborhood,  the  second  in  the  Abington  Asso-^ 
ciation,  under  the  ministry  of  the  pioneer 
preacher,  Elder  John  Miller.  The  children  of 
James  and  Catherine  (Tripp)  Dean  were:  Eliza, 
born  July  10,  1805.  Ann  Maria,  December  5, 
1807.  Isaac,  June  9,  181 1,  was  living  in  1901. 
Nelson  N.,  July  n,  1814,  mentioned  hereinafter. 
Laura  W.,  September  25,  1817.  Amasa,  March 
2j,  1819.  Myron,  November  7,  1822,  Mary  Anne, 
November  6,  1824. 

Nelson  N.  Dean,  son  of  James  and  Catherine 
(Tripp)  Dean,  was  born  July  n,  1814.  His  edu- 
cation was  obtained  at  the  public  school  near  his 
home  and  Franklin  Academy,  Harford,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  An 
intelligent  citizen,  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
his  county,  he  was  elected  one  of  the  board  of 
three  county  commissioners  for  Luzerne  county 
in  1876,  the  last  to  serve  in  that  capacity  from  that 
portion  of  Luzerne  county  that  was  cut  off  and 
became  Lackawanna  county.  Mr.  Dean  mar- 
ried, April  25,  1850,  Clarissa  Dayton  Searle.born 
November  14,  1824,  on  the  Constant  Searle  farm 
in  Pittston  township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Her  great-grandfather.  Constant  Searle, 
a  native  of  Stonington,  Connecticut,  was  killed 
in  the  Wyoming  massacre,  July  3,  1778.  Her 
grandfather,  Roger  Searle,  then  a  youth  of  eigh- 
teen, was  in  the  bsttle  but  escaped.  His  sister's 
husband.  Captain  Dethic  Hewitt,  was  killed  in 
the  battle.  Her  mother  was  Mary  (Stark) 
Searle,  daughter  of  Henry  Stark,  of  Plains,  Lu- 
zerne county,  and  a  descendant  of  General  Stark, 
of  the  Continental  army.     (See  Stark  Family). 


Two  of  the  Stark  family  were  also  killed  in  the 
massacre  at  Wyoming,  and  thus  on  both  sides  of 
the  family  Mrs.  Dean  came  of  brave,  patriotic 
stock.  After  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dean 
began  housekeeping  in  their  own  home  near  Ab- 
ington Centre,  now  Waverly,  Pennsylvania,  where 
they  spent  all  their  married  life.  Their  children 
were:  James  Elmer,  born  September  13,  1851. 
Willis  Leonard,  born  February  5,  1857,  mentioned 
hereinafter.  Nelson  N.  Dean,  died  June  1,  1879, 
soon  after  completing  his  term  of  office  as  county 
commissioner.  Shortly  after  his  death  his  son, 
Willis  L.  Dean,  erected  a  pleasant  home  for  his 
mother  in  the  centre  of  the  village  of  Waverly 
and  she  still  resides  there  (1905)  with  her 
granddaughter,  Anna  May  Dean,  daughter  of  J. 
Elmer  Dean.  The  old  home  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  town  was  purchased  by  her  nephew,  A.  D. 
Dean,  who  has  enlarged  and  improved  it,  and  his 
family  now  (1905)  enjoy  the  fruit  and  shade  of 
the  trees  which  the  uncle's  forethought  and  wis- 
dom lavishly  provided. 

Willis  L.  Dean,  youngest  son  of  Nelson  N. 
and  Clarissa  Dayton  (Searle)  Dean,  was  born 
February  5,  1857.  He  attended  Madison  Aca- 
demy, Waverly  ;  Wyoming  Seminar}-,  Kingston  ; 
and  graduated  from  the  commercial  department 
of  the  latter  institution  in  1873.  Taught  in  Lo- 
well's Commercial  College,  at  Binghamton,  New 
York,  from  1873  to  1875.  He  became  teacher  of 
penmanship  and  bookkeeping  at  Wyoming  Semi- 
nary in  1875  and  was  made  principal  of  the  col- 
lege of  business  of  that  institution  in  1882,  which 
position  he  has  filled  with  great  acceptability  to 
the  trustees  as  well  as  to  the  patrons  of  the  school. 
Mr.  Dean  has  not  limited  his  studies  to  the  lines 
of  his  own  department,  but  has  acquired  a  broad 
and  liberal  culture  from  reading  and  contact  with 
men  of  learning.  In  recognition  of  his  position 
and  attainments  Dickinson  College,  in  1890,  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts.  Professor  Dean  is  also  a  man  of  excel- 
lent business  capacity  and  from  small  begin- 
nings, by  prudent  management,  has  acquired  a 
handsome  competency.  Professor  Dean  mar- 
ried, lune  20,  1878,  Mary  Goodwin,  born  in 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  March  24,  1857,  daugh- 
ter of  Philip  M.  and  Eliza  (Grosvenor)  Good- 
win. Philip  M.  Goodwin  was  born  in  Towanda, 
Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  Abram  Goodwin,  who  was 
an  old  resident  of  Kingston,  wdiere  his  death  oc- 
curred in  1880  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-one 
years.  Philip  M.  Goodwin  was  for  many  years  a 
druggist  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
died  February  21,  1874,  aged  fifty-six  years. 
His    wife  was   born   in    Scott  township.   Lacka- 


THE  WYOMING  AND-  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS.. 


^53. 


wanna  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  her  family 
were  among  the  early  settlers.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Goodwin  had  four  children,  three  of  whom  are 
living  at  the  present  time.  Two  children  were  ■ 
born  to  Professor  and  Mrs.  Dean:  ^Searle  G.J 
November  13,  1880,  died  October  10,  1881 ; 
Marjorie,  September  19,  1884,  a  graduate  of 
Wyoming  Seminary,  class  of  1903.  She  mar- 
ried, October  12,  1905,  George  Willard  Carey,  of 
Forty  Fort,  the  ceremony  being  performed  at  the 
residence  of  her  parents  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  L.  L. 
Sprague,  president  of  Wyoming  Seminary.  The 
family  reside  on  Wyoming  avenue,  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania. 

H.  E.  H. 

JENKINS  FAMILY.  John  S.  Jenkins,  of 
Pittston,  is  a  descendant  in  the  seventh  genera- 
tion of  John  Jenkins,  of  Sandwich,  Massachu- 
setts, and  his  wife  Susanna,  who  probably  was 
the  daughter  of  Job  Cooke.  The  Jenkinses  of 
Sandwich  and  their  descendants  were  Friends, 
but  of  that  quality  of  the  sect  who  were  not 
"scrupulous  of  bearing  arms"  for  among  them 
were  fighters  in  the  colonial  wars,  and  in  the  Rev- 
olution, also  in  the  more  recent  war  of  1861-65. 

John  Jenkins  (1),  of  Sandwich,  Massachu- 
setts, the  first  of  the  family  in  America,  is  men- 
tioned by  Freeman  in  his  history  of  Cape  Cod  as 
a  contributor  "toward  building  a  place  for  pub- 
lic meetings"  in  1655 ;  his  name  is  found  on  a  list 
of  land  owners  in  Sandwich,  in  1658,  and  also  on 
a  list  of  "distraints"  made  from  Friends  about 
this  period,  "to  satisfy  fines  imposed  for  attend- 
ing Quaker  meetings,"  etc. ;  and  for  thus  exer- 
cising his  "liberty  of  conscience"  in  that  New 
England  colony  at  the  time  indicated,  John  of 
Sandwich  was  subjected  to  a  penalty  ■  of  £19 
10s  od.  Whether  John  of  Sandwich  was  orig- 
inally a  Friend  or  a  convert  to  that  faith  is  doubt- 
ful, but  there  is  no  question  regarding  the  fact 
that  he  was  disciplined  because  he  held  to  relig- 
ious views  at  variance  with  the  teachings  of  the 
dominant  church.  At  a  town  meeting,  23d  of 
2d  mo.,  1675,  't  was  "voted  to  record  the  names 
of  all  those  that  can  make  it  appear  that  they 
have  just  right  to  the  privilege  of  the  Town;" 
and  the  name  of  John  Jenkins  is  recorded  as  one 
entitled  to  those  "privileges."  In  1676,  March  10, 
Zachariah  Jenkins,  son  of  John,  was  fined  £8 
for  being  a.  delinquent  soldier.  This  Zachariah 
evidently  was  reluctant  "on  principle"  to  take  up 
arms  in  defense  of  the  colony  during  King 
Philip's  war.  In  1678,  July  12,  John  Jenkins  was 
one  of  the  three  Friends  who  "in  the  name  and 
behalf  of  the  rest  of  their  fellow  townsmen  that 
are   of   their   religion,    do   declare    their    dissent 


against  the  town's  disposing  of  any  privileges 
that  belong  to  them  as  townsmen."  In  1680,. 
June  I,  John  Jenkins  was  elected  surveyor  of 
highways.  From  this  time  his  name  is  no  longer 
found  in  Sandwich.  John  Jenkins  and  Susanna, 
his  wife  had  four  children. 

Their  eldest  son  Zachariah  (2),  of  Green- 
wich, Rhode  Island,  born  7th  mo.  1651,  died, 
about  January  1,  1723;  married  December  11, 
1686,  Abiah  Allen,  born  December  10,  1666,  died. 
10th  of  2d  mo.  1712;  daughter  of  Francis  Allen, 
and  his  wife  Mary  Barlow,  of  Sandwich.  They 
had  twelve  children. 

John  Jenkins  (3),  eldest  son,  fifth  child  of 
Zachariah  and  Abiah,  was  born  April  5,  1697,  in. 
Sandwich,  and  removed  with  his  father's  family 
to  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island,  in  1708;  marriea. 
1722,  died  March,  1742.  His  wife's  name  was 
Lydia.  John  and  Lydia  had  nine  children,  of 
whom  John,  born  February  6,  1728,  the  second, 
son,  fourth  child,  was  the  pioneer  of  the  family 
in  the  Wyoming  region  of  Pennsylvania. 

John  Jenkins,   son  of   Zachariah   and  Abiah,. 
was  a  man  of  consequence  in  the  early  history 
of  Kingstown   and   East   Greenwich,   Rhode   Is- 
land.    He  was  admitted  freeman  in  Kingstown, 
1722,  and  in  East  Greenwich,  1726;  was  justice  - 
of  the  peace  in  1729;  auditor,  1731  ;  first  deputy 
to  the  general  court,    1734;  moderator  of  town 
meeting,    1734;   deputy   to   general   court,    1735;. 
second  deputy  to  sit  in  general  assembly,   1737; 
moderator   of   quarterly   town  meeting,    council- 
man, second  deputy  to  general  court,  and  auditor,.. 
1738;    commissioner   to    run    dividing   line    with 
North  Kingstown,  1740;  deputy  to  general  court,. 
1741  ;  commissioner  of  boundaries,   with   others 
appointed    by   the    general    court,    "with    special 
instructions    to    examine    whether    the   boundary 
stones   between  Connecticut  had   been  tampered 
or  removed." 

John  Jenkins  (4),  second  son  of  John  (3), 
who  was  of  Zachariah  (2),  of  John  (1),  was., 
born  at  East  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island,  February 
6,  1827-8,  3rd  day  of  the  week,  9  a.  m. ;  married 
August  i,  1751,  at  Gardner's  Lake,  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut,  Lydia  Gardner,  daughter  of 
Stephen  Gardner,  of  that  place,  formerly  of 
Rhode  Island,  born  March  20,  1727,  died  Octo- 
ber 22,  1804.     They  had  children : 

John  (Colonel  John),  born  November  27, 
1 75 1  (O.  S.)  ;  died  March  19,  1827.  Stephen, 
born  February  22,  1753;  died  September  20, 
180S.  Benjamin,  born  July  18,  1754;  died  March, 
1787.  Amy,  born  January  12,  1757;  died  March 
24,  1834.  Thomas,  born  January  19,  1761  ;  died  ' 
April  22,  1812.    William,  born  October  30,  1764;; 


^54 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


died  November  i,   1846.     Wilkes,  born  July   18, 
1767;  died  April  1,  1838. 

John  Jenkins  (4),  son  of  John  (3)  and  Lydia 
(Allen)  Jenkins,  came  to  Wyoming  from  Col- 
chester, Connecticut,  in  1762,  with  the  first  com- 
pany of  settlers  under  the  grant  of  Charles  II, 
as  the  first  general  agent  of  the  settlement,  an 
appointment  conferred  on  him  by  the  Connecticut 
Susquehanna  Company.  He  made  the  discovery 
of  coal  at  Wyoming  in  1762,  and  reported  the 
same  to  the  company,  who,  at  their  meeting  in 
Wmdham,  April  17,  1763,  voted  to  "reserve  for 
the  use  of  the  company  all  beds  and  mines  of  ore 
and  coal  that  may  be  within  the  towns  ordered 
for  settlement.*'  He  was  a  surveyor  and  convey- 
ancer by  profession,  and  made  the  company's  first 
surveys  ;  drafted  most  or  nearly  all  of  its  early 
public  documents ;  was  its  first  magistrate  or  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  and  its  first  presiding  or  chief 
judge  of  court;  and  was  five  times  sent  as  its  rep- 
resentative to  the  colonial  assembly  of  Con- 
necticut. 

Pioneer  John  Jenkins  was  chosen  moderator 
"at  a  meeting  of  ye  proprietors  and  settlers  of  ye 
town  of  Westmoreland,"  August  1,  1775;  at 
which  it  was  "Resolved  by  this  town,  that  they 
are  willing  to  make  any  accommodations  with 
ye  Pennsylvania  party  that  shall  conduce  to  ye 
best  interest  of  ye  whole,  not  infringing  on  the 

-property  of  any  person,  and  come  in  common 
cause  of  liberty  in  ye  defense  of  America,  and 
that  we  will  amicably  give  them  ye  offer  of  join- 
ing in  ve  proposals  as  soon  as  maye  be;"  and  this 
same  John  Jenkins  was  moderator  of  the  ad- 
joined meeting  of  the  settlers  held  August  8, 
1775,  when  it  was 

"Voted,  as  this  town  has  but  of  late  been  in- 
corporated and  invested  with  the  privilege  of 
the  law,  both  civil  and  military,  and  now  in 
capacity  of  acting  in  conjunction  with  our  neigh- 
boring towns  within  this  and  the  other  colonies, 
in  opposing  ye  late  measure  adopted  by  Parlia- 

■  ment  to  enslave  America ;  also,  this  town  having 
taken  into  consideration  the  late  plan  adopted  by 
Parliament  of  enforcing  their  several  oppressive 
and  unconstitutional  acts,  of  depriving  us  of  our 
property,  and  of  binding  us  in  all  cases  without 

•exception,  whether  'we  consent  or  not,  is  con- 
sidered by  us  highly  injurious  to  American  or 
English  freedom ;  therefore  do  consent  to  and 
acquiese  in  the  late  proceedings  and  advice  of  the 
Continental  Congress,  and  do  rejoice  that  those 
measures  are  adopted,  and  so  universally  received 
throughout  the  continent ;  and  in  conformity  to 
the  eleventh  article  of  the  association,  we  do  now 
appoint   a  committee   to  attentively   observe  the 


conduct  of  this  town  touching  the  rules  and  reg- 
ulations prescribed  by  the  Honorable  Continental 
Congress,  and  will  unanimously  join  our  brethren 
in  America  in  the  common  cause  of  defending 
our  liberty. 

"Voted,  that  Mr.  John  Jenkins,  Joseph  Slu- 
man,  Esq.,  Nathan  Denison,  Esq.,  Mr.  Obadiah 
Gore,  Jr.,  and  Lieut.  William  Buck,  be  chosen  a 
committee  of  correspondence  for  the  town  of 
Westmoreland." 

On  July  3,  1778,  John  Jenkins  and  his  family, 
except  his  eldest  son,  Colonel  John,  were  pris- 
oners in  Jenkins'  Fort,  with  Stephen  Harding"s 
family  and  others — some  sick  and  some  wounded. 
He  died  at  the  "drowned  lands''  in  the  Minisink 
region,  in  the  fall  of  1784. 

Colonel  John  Jenkins  (5)  was  one  of  the 
famous  characters  of  the  revolution.  In  the  early 
settlement  times  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  he  was 
school  teacher,  surveyor  and  conveyancer,  mer- 
chant, and  iron  monger.  He  came  to  live  in  the 
valley  in  1769  and  at  once  took  an  active  part 
in  the  Pennamite  war.  Early  during  the  revolu- 
tion he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians  (  No- 
vember, I///),  but  succeeded  in  making  his 
escape.  He  then  was  made  lieutenant  in  Captain 
Spaulding's  company,  and  went  with  Colonel 
Hartley  to  Tioga  Point  (September,  1778)  and 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Indian  Hill,  below  YVya- 
lusing.  In  April,  1779,  he  visited  General  Wash- 
ington at  headquarters,  and  with  him  planned  the 
Sullivan  campaign,  in  which  he  acted  as  chief 
guide  of  the  army,  and  for  his  service  and  bra- 
very in  the  battle  of  Newtown  (Elmira,  New 
York,)  in  August,  1779,  he  received  the  thanks 
of  Sullivan  in  general  orders.  In  1781.  with  his 
company,  he  joined  Washington's  army  on  the 
Hudson,  marched  with  the  troops  to  Yorktown, 
and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis, 
serving  under  Steuben.  In  1782  he  resigned  his 
commission  and  returned  home.  He  was  honored 
with  several  public  offices — member  of  the  gen- 
eral assembly,  surveyor  general,  general  agent  of 
the  Susquehanna  Land  Company :  was  made 
major  and  later  lieutenant-colonel  of  militia;  was 
elected  high  sheriff  in  1796.  His  house  was  in 
Exeter  township,  and  he  died  March  19.  1827, 
on  the  site  of  the  old  battle  ground. 

Thomas  Jenkins  (5),  fourth  son,  fifth  child, 
of  John  Jenkins  and  his  wife  Lydia  Gardner,  was 
born  January  19,  1761,  died  April  22,  1812:  mar- 
ried Eleanor  Schoutz.  They  had  children : 
( 1 )  Polly,  married  ( first)  James  Slocum  ;  ( sec- 
ond) Joel  Smith ;  (third)  Joseph  Shaw :  and  had 
two  children  by  her  second  husband,  William  and 
Joel.     (2)   Hettie,  married  Dr.  John  Smith,  and 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


255 


had  seven  children.  (3)  Adie,  married  Pierce 
Smith,  and  had  four  children.  (4)  Benjamin, 
married  Sallie  Tuttle,  and  had  twelve  children. 
(5)  David,  married  Mary  Hallock,  and  had  five 
children.  (6)  Thomas.  (7)  Fanny,  married 
Beech  Tuttle,  and  had  two  children.  (8)  John, 
married  Lydia  Barber,  and  had  seven  children. 
(9)  Catherine,  married  Daniel  Jones,  and  had 
twelve  children. 

Benjamin  Jenkins  (6),  eldest  son,  fourth 
child,  of  Thomas  Jenkins,  was  born  November 
26,  1792,  on  a  farm  where  a  part  of  West  Pitts- 
ton  now  stands,  known  as  the  Jenkins  Ferry 
farm.  He  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  and 
joiner  but  was  chiefly  a  farmer  by  occupation. 
He  was  captain  of  a  company  of  state  militia,  and 
there  gained  the  military  title  of  "Capt.  Ben," 
bv  which  he  was  generally  known.  Benjamin 
Jenkins  died  May  22,  1861.  He  married,  Jan- 
uary 21,  1813,  Sallie  Tuttle,  sister  of  Captain 
Chester  Tuttle,  of  Forty  Fort,  and  they  had 
they  had  children :  Thomas ;  Eleanor,  married 
James  Shaw ;  Elizabeth,  died  in  infancy ;  Hugh, 
died  in  infancy ;  Martha  Ann,  married  Peter 
Sine,  of  Exeter  township ;  Rachel,  married  Jude 
L.  Vandenburg ;  Catherine,  married  John  Baker  ; 
Holden  T.,  died  aged  ten  years ;  Mary,  married 
Jacob  Kern ;  Sarah,  married  Thomas  S.  Knapp  ; 
John  S.,  married  Rhoda  A.,  daughter  of  Miles 
Spencer,  of  Dallas ;  Adeline  E.,  married  Jesse 
Gangwer. 

John  S.  Jenkins  (7),  (Benjamin  6,  Thomas  5, 
John  4,  John  3,  Zachariah  2,  John  1)  fourth  son, 
eleventh  child,  of  Benjamin  Jenkins  and  his  wife 
Sally  (Tuttle)  Jenkins,  was  born  Exeter,  Jan- 
uary 21,  1835;  married  December  29,  i860, 
Rhoda  A.  Spencer,  daughter  of  Miles  Spencer 
and  his  wife,  Rhoda  Montross.  Their  children 
are :  Thomas  W.,  born  August  4,  1862 ;  died  in 
infancy.  E.  Coray,  born  July  13,  1864,  now 
living  in  Moosic,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a  clerk 
in  a  store.  He  married  Elizabeth  Leyshon, 
and  their  children  are  John  S.,  May,  Reta, 
Ralph.  Rhoda,  Walter  and  Eleanor.  Maggie,  died 
in  infancy.  Charles  G,  born  March  4,  1869,  near 
Scranton,  Penn.,  now  living  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
a  boiler  maker  and  steam  fitter.  He  married  Eliz- 
abeth Sanesberry;  two  children,  John  S.  and 
Charles  G. 

John  S.  Jenkins,  of  Pittston,  spent  his  early 
life  in  Exeter,  where  he  acquired  the  rudiments  of 
an  education  in  the  public  schools.  In  1847  he 
started  out  for  himself  and  found  employment 
with  Samuel  Benedict,  of  Pittston ;  two  years 
later,  1849,  he  began  business  for  himself,  boat- 


ing coal  on  the  North  Branch  canal,  between 
Pittston  and  New  York.  He  helped  to  take  the 
first  boat  load  of  coal  that  the  Pennsylvania  Coal 
Company  ever  took  to  New  York  City.  In  the 
second  year  of  the  war  of  186 1-5  he  enlisted  as 
private,  and  was  promoted  sergeant  of  Company 
G,  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-seventh  Pennsyl- 
vania Infantry,  and  served  with  the  regiment  un- 
til mustered  out  August  3,  1865.  He  then  re- 
turned to  Pittston  and  took  charge  of  the  Green- 
wood colliery  in  August,  1865,  and  was  its 
superintendent  outside  and  inside  till  1876. 
August  1,  1877,  ne  was  made  superintend- 
ent of  the  Spring  Brook  railroad,  a  lum- 
ber carrying  road  chiefly,  and  from  1 87 1  until 
1876  he  was  interested  in  a  large  general  store 
which  was  operated  under  the  firm  style  of  John 
S.  Jenkins  &  Co.  He  then  sold  out,  but  in  1879 
he  started  a  new  store  in  this  same  building  and 
continued  this  with  a  slight  interruption  till  1882, 
then  sold  out.  From  1879  t0  ^87  Mr.  Jenkins 
was  engaged  in  various  mining  enterprises,  leas- 
ing and  re-letting  coal  mines  and  rights,  in  many 
cases  developing  coal  lands  which  were  supposed 
to  be  unproductive.  In  1887  he  purchased  of 
John  Jermyn  a  mining  property  in  Blakeley  bor- 
ough, developed  it  into  a  paying  operation,  or- 
ganized the  Rush  Brook  Coal  Company  ,and  be- 
came its  president,  a  position  he  held  till  1899 
when  it  was  sold  to  the  Ontario  and  Western 
Railroad.  All  that  the  company  was,  and  all  that 
the  mine  was,  was  due  almost  wholly  to  the 
efforts  of  John  S.  Jenkins.  His  efforts  in  busi- 
ness life  have  been  successful  and  that  success  has 
been  deserved. 

Mr.  Jenkins  is  a  Republican,  and  has  held 
the  office  of  councilman  of  West  Pittston  a  num- 
ber of  terms  and  is  still  serving.  He  is  a  Mason, 
a  member  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  233,  of  Pitts- 
ton; a  member  of  the  A.  A.  S.  R.,  up  to  and  in- 
cluding the  thirty-second  degree ;  of  Keystone 
Consistory,  S.  P.  R.  S. ;  and  also  past  commander 
'  of  W.  G.  Nugent  Post,  No.  245,  G  A.  R.,  of 
Pittston.  H.  E.  H. 

BENNETT  FAMILY.  "Mil,  I  Consulit 
Dcus."  Such  is  the  motto  of  that  branch 
of  the  Bennett  family  under  consideration 
here ;  "a  very  ancient  family  of  which  a 
pedigree  of  thirteen  descendants  is  re- 
corded in  the  College  of  Arms,"  says  Burke ; 
and  a  family,  according  to  accepted  author- 
itv  "of  the  order  of  decent  gentry,"  who  were 
descended  from  two  brothers  of  Berkshire  who 
migrated  to  London  toward  the  close  of  the  six- 


256 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


teenth  century.     The  immigrant  ancestor  of  the 
family  in  America  was  Edward  Bennett,  of  Wilt- 
shire, England,  who  was  one  of  the  first  colonists 
of  Weymouth,  in  New  England ;  freeman  there 
1636,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  Rehoboth,  Mass- 
achusetts, where  he  died,  1646.     Little  is  of  rec- 
ord regarding  Edward  Bennett,  but  among  his 
sons  was  one  Samuel,  born  1628,  died  1684,  of 
Greenwich,  Rhode  Island,  where  he  bought  lands, 
1652 ;  was  made  freeman,  1655,  sergeant  of  mil- 
itia at  a  salary  of  £20,  1656 ;  was  voted  100  acres 
of  public   land   in   consideration   of  his  military 
services  during  the  war  with  the  Narragansetts 
and  also  with  King  Philip ;  was   deputy  to  the 
general  court,  1678.     This  Samuel  Bennett  had  a 
son  Samuel,  born  1654,  died  at  Coventry,  Rhode 
Island,  1735;  married   (1)    Sarah  Forsman,    (2) 
Desire  Berry,  (3)  Rachel .     He  was  by- 
trade  a   carpenter;   was    made     freeman,     1684; 
grand,  juror,  1688;  deputy  to  the  general  court, 
1688 ;  and  was  lieutenant  of  militia.     He  had  a 
son,   Samuel  Bennett,  born  in  Coventry,  Rhode 
Island,  1690,  to  whom  was  granted  by  his  father, 
in   171 1,  ten  acres  of  land.     He  married  Mary 
Stafford,  one  of  their  children  was  Ephraim  Ben- 
nett ;  another  was  Thomas  Bennett,  the  hero  of 
Wyoming,  who  was  in  Forty  Fort  at  the  time  of 
the  massacre,    and    whose    services    during    the 
Revolution  and  also  during  the  Pennamite  war 
have  been  referred  to  by  almost  every  chronicler 
of  contemporary  history.     Thomas  always  wrote 
his  surname  Bennet,  and  nearly  all  of  his  direct 
descendants  have  adopted  that  way  of  spelling 
the  name.     No  satisfactory  record  of  the  progeny 
of  the  third  Samuel  Bennett  is  found,  but  it  is 
reasonably    certain    that    Ephraim    Bennett    and 
Thomas  Benet  were  brothers  and  sons  of  Samuel 
Bennett  and  Mary   Stafford.     Another  son  was 
Ishmael    Bennett,    senior,   who    married   Abigail 
(Beers)    Weeks,   widow   of  Philip  Weeks,  who 
was  killed  in  the  massacre. 

Ephraim  Bennett,,  senior,  also  married  a  Mary 
Stafford,  a  descendant  of  Stukely  Westcott  and 
Rosanna  Hill,  who  were  of  the  twelve  persons 
baptized  by  Roger  Williams  upon  the  organiza- 
tion in  1638  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  the 
colonies.  Ephraim  Bennett,  the  elder,  was  a 
soldier  in  Colonel  Williams'  Massachusetts  regi- 
ment, and  was  in  the  battle  of  Lake  George,  Sep- 
tember 8,  1755.  He  was  taken  prisoner  with 
others  to  Canada  and  held  in  confinement  there 
until  1758,  when  he  was  released  through  the  in- 
tercession of  the  general  assembly  of  Massachu- 
setts. It  is  therefore  probable  that  at  the  time  of 
the  battle  Ephraim  Bennett  was  a  resident  in  the 
province  of  Massachusetts.     That  he  emigrated 


with  the  Connecticut  settlers  after  the  close  of 
the  Revolutionary  war  is  certain,  as  he  paid  taxes 
in  Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1783  and 
1785  ;  and  that  he  soon  afterward  went  up  the 
Susquehanna  is  equally  certain,  for  in  1795  he 
owned  and  sold  lands  in  what  is  now  Chemung 
count}'.  New  York. 

Ephraim  Bennett,  son  of  Ephraim  Bennett 
and  his  wife,  Alary  Stafford,  was  born  in  Rhode 
Island  in  1762,  and  died  in  1843  at  Watkin  Glen, 
New  York.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Bentley,  born 
in  Rhode  Island,  1759,  died  1839.  The  Bennett 
and  Bentley  families  appear  to  have  been  inti- 
mately associated  from  an  early  date.  They  left 
Kingstown,  Rhode  Island,  together  previous  to 
the  Revolution,  remained  in  Orange  county,  Xew 
York,  during  the  war,  and  afterward  removed 
in  company  to  the  Wyoming  regions  of  Penn- 
sylvania, probably  in  1782.  In  1789  they  went 
up  the  Susquehanna  and  settled  between  Athens, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Elmira,  New  York,  near  where 
Bentley  creek,  named  for  the  Bentleys,  empties 
into  the  Susquehanna.  Here  the  pioneer  heads 
of  the  families  lived  many  years,  and  and  from 
here  their  children  and  descendants  went  forth 
into  the  activities  of  business  life  and  settled 
themselves  in  various  sections  of  the  land.  The 
Bentleys  were  conspicuous  figures  in  American 
history  during  the  colonial  period  and  the  Revol- 
ution. The  American  ancestor  of  the  family  was 
William  Bentley,  who  sailed  from  London  for 
New  England,  September  19,  1635.  His  Eng- 
lish ancestors  were  superior  men  in  all  ways. 
Military  records  show  that  fourteen  Bentleys,  all 
of  this  family,  served  in  New  York  state  during 
the  Revolution  and  they  were  conspicuous  for 
bravery  and  daring.  William  Bentley,  the  im- 
migrant, had  a  son  William,  who  had  a  son 
William,  of  Stonington,  Connecticut.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  Elliott.  Their  son.  Green  M.  Bentley, 
was  one  of  the  famous  men  of  his  time  and  of  his 
family.  He  served  through  the  French  and  In- 
dian wars  and  also  in  the  Revolution,  and  the  old 
Tioga  county  (New  York)  town  was  named 
"Veteran"  in  allusion  to  his  long  and  loyal  mili- 
tary service.  He  was  the  maternal  great-grand- 
father of  Stephen  Beers  Bennett,  of  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania. 

Ephraim  and  Hannah  (Bentley)  Bennett  had 
eleven  children,  six  sons,  five  daughters.  Eph- 
raim was  a  private  in  Colonel  Hathorne's  regi- 
ment under  Captain  David  McCambly ;  and  at 
least  three  of  his  brothers,  James,  Abraham  and 
Thaddeus,  were  members  of  the  command  in 
which  their  father  was  sergeant.  Ephraim  Ben- 
nett located  at  the  head  of  Seneca  lake.  His  fourth 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


257 


child,  Colonel  Green  Bentley  Bennett,  was  born 
near  Elmira,  New  York,  November  27,  1797, 
died  1878.  He  removed  with  his  father  to  Cath- 
ennestown,  now  Havana,  Schuyler  county,  where 
his  young  life  was  spent.  Colonel  Bennett,  as 
he  was  generally  known,  married  ( 1 )  Cynthia 
McLure  (otherwise  known  as  McClure  and  also 
as  McLeur),  and  (2)  Anna  Beers  Tyler.  He 
was  the  owner  of  extensive  timber  lands  and 
milling  properties,  and  accumulated  a  fortune, 
but  this  was  swept  away  by  his  mistaken  con- 
fidence in  the  capacity  and  integrity  of  one  whom 
he  set  up  in  business.  He  was  colonel  of  militia 
previous  to  1840,  and  was  member  of  assembly 
in  1839;  was  superintendent  of  the  Chemung 
canal,  1846-48,  and  1851-52.  He  was  a  promi- 
nent figure  in  New  York  politics,  state  and  local, 
and  was  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school.  His 
children,  born  of  his  first  marriage,  were : 
Thomas  Streight,  born  1822,  married  Mary 
Brown.  John  McClure,  born  1824,  married  (1) 
Elizabeth  Tyler,  (2)  Clymena  Shutts.  Charles 
Mitchell,  born  1826,  married  Melissa  Cole.  Eph- 
raim,  born  1828,  died  1853  unmarried.  George 
Coryell',  born  1830,  died  1848.  Emily  Peck,  born 
1833,  married  L.  W.  Morse.  By  his  second  mar- 
riage he  had  one  child  : 

Stephen  Beers  Bennett,  born  Moreland, 
Cheming  county,  (now  Schuylkill  county)  New 
York,  February  12,  1840,  married,  December, 
1 865,  Sarah  Clymena  Shutts,  born  Terre  Haute, 
Indiana,  daughter  of  Nehemiah  Shutts  and 
wife  Louisa  Sanford. 

Stephen  Beers  Bennett,  being  country  bred, 
became  acccustomed  to  all  the  diversified  labors 
belonging  to  the  occupation  of  farming.  He  en- 
listed in  the  Forty-eighth  New  York  Volunteer 
infantry,  September  7,  1861,  and  served  with  that 
command  in  the  operations  at  and  near  Port 
Royal  Inlet  and  later  at  Port  Royal.  At  the  end 
of  about  fifteen  months  he  was  discharged,  and 
later  became  a  member  of  the  Norfolk  post  band, 
stationed  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  and  remained 
there  until  the  general  muster  out  in  1865.  Re- 
turning home  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Fall 
Brook  Coal  Company  at  Corning,  New  York. 
In  March,  1872,  he  removed  to  Pittston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  take  charge  of  the  operations  at  the  old 
Butler  colliery,  one  of  the  first  mines  operated 
in  that  district.  He  was  appointed  postmaster 
of  Pittston  in  1885,  and  during  his  term  estab- 
lished the  free  delivery  system  in  both  the  Pitts- 
tons.  In  1894  he  was  elected  burgess  of  We=t 
Pittston,  and  served  in  that  capacity  three  years. 
He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Indianapolis  convention 
that  nominated  Palmer  and  Buckner,  and  felt  it 
17 


an  honor  to  act  with  the  distinguished  Democrats 
and  citizens  who  were  opposed  to  the  Bryan  De- 
mocracy. He  is  now  president  of  the  Pittston 
Hospital  Association ;  a  member  of  Nugent  Post,. 
No.  245,  G.  A.  R. ;  past  eminent  commander  of 
Wyoming  Commandery,  K.  T. ;  a  member  of  the 
Scrantcn  New  England  Society ;  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society ;  and  member 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Chapter  of  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett 
had  two  children : 

Elizabeth,  born  in  Corning,  New  York, 
August  5,  1868,  married  Charles  S.  Morrow,  son 
of  the  late  President  Judge  Charles  D.  Morrow, 
of  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania ;  removed  to 
Duluth,  Minnesota,  where  he  died,  December, 
1893,  leaving  one  daughter,  Henrietta  Bennett 
Morrow,  born  Duluth,  June  6,   1891. 

Charles  Frederick,  born  West  Pittston,  De- 
cember 31,  1876,  educated  West  Pittston  High 
School ;  graduated  St.  Johns'  Military  School, 
Manlius,  New  York ;  commissioned  first  lieuten- 
ant Company  C,  Ninth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers 
for  service  during  the  Spanish-American  war ; 
mustered  out  of  service  October  29,  1898,  re- 
taining his  commission  in  N.  G.  P. ;  appointed, 
1900,  inspector  of  rifle  practice  with  rank  of  first 
lieutenant ;  subsequently  raised  to  rank  of  captain 
on  staff  of  Colonel  Dougherty  ;  served  thirty-eight 
days  during  the  coal  strike  of  1902 ;  member  of 
the  Wyoming  Commemorative  Association ;  the 
New  England  Society  of  Foreign  Wars,  and  of 
the  Military  Service  Institution.  H.  E.  H. 

S.  JUDSON  STARK.  In  the  early  days  of 
the  New  England  colonies  there  were  those  of 
the  surname  Starke  (sometimes  written  Stark, 
and  occasionally  Start,  for  these  forefathers  of 
ours  in  earlv  American  history  knew  no  arbitrary 
rules  of  spelling)  in  Massachusetts,  in  Connecti- 
cut, and  in  Rhode  Island. 

(1).  Aaron  Starke  was  among  the  first  of 
the  name  in  Connecticut.  He  served  under  Cap- 
tain John  Mason  during  the  Pequot  war  in  1637. 
and  several  years  later  this  same  Aaron  was. 
again  in  military  service  in  the  Narragansett  war 
of  1675,  under  the  same  commander.  Aaron 
Starke  was  of  Mystic  (the  eastern  part  of  the 
township  of  New  London,  Connecticut)  as  early 
as  1653,  and  in  the  year  1666  was  made  a  freeman 
in  Stonington  and  in  New  London  in  1669.  He 
w^<;  a  man  who  had  much  to  do  with  the  affairs 
cf  the  church  in  Stonington.  He  was  born  in 
England  in  1608,  but  the  year  of  his  immigration 
and  the  first  place  of  his  settlement  in  the  colonies 
is  uncertain.     He  died  in  New  London,  Connecti- 


23* 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


cut,  in  1685,  and  had  the  following  named  child- 
ren:  1.  Aaron,  born  about  1654,  married  Mehit- 
able  Shaw ;  2.  John,  born  about  1656 ;  3.  Will- 
iam, born  1664;  4.  Margaret,  married  John 
Fish  ;  5.     Elizabeth,  married  Josiah  Haynes. 

(II).  William  Stark,  son  of  Aaron,  born 
"1664,  died  1730.  He  was  reared  in  the  faith  of 
'■the  dominant  church  (Congregational)  but  after- 
ward became  a  Baptist,  and  one  of  the  most  sin- 
cere exponents  of  its  teachings,  as  well  as  one  of 
its  pillars,  being  deacon  of  the  church  until  his 

death.     He  married  Elizabeth  ,   and 

his  wife  was  equally  devout  in  religious  walk,  and 
a  faithful  mother  to  her  children,  who  were  as 
follows :  1.  William ,  born  at  Groton,  Con- 
necticut, 1687  ;  2.  Christopher,  of  whom  later ; 
3.  Daniel ;  4.  Phebe,  married  Thomas  Wal- 
worth. 

(III).  Christopher  Stark,  son  of  William 
and  Elizabeth  Stark,  born  at  Groton,  Connecticut, 
1698,  died  at  Wyoming,  1776,  married  at  Groton, 
April  1,  1722,  Joanna  Walworth,  daughter  of 
William  and  Abigail  Walworth,  of  New  London, 
1 69 1.  Christopher  Stark  was  one  of  the  earliest 
purchasers  of  land  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  from 
the  Susquehanna  Land  Company  at  Hartford, 
November  20,  1754.  He  moved  first  to  Beek- 
man's  precinct.  Dutchess  county,  New  York. 
Thence,  after  deeding  to  three  of  his  sons  his  full 
"one  right"  at  Wyoming,  he  moved  with  them 
in  1772-73  to  Wyoming.  Here  he  and  his  child- 
ren shared  with  the  other  Connecticut  settlers 
the  privations  of  pioneer  life  in  the  wilderness 
regions  of  Pennsylvania.  They  likewise  joined 
with  the  Yankees  in  the  defense  of  home  and 
property  against  the  unrelenting  Pennamite  au- 
thorities, and  also  shared  the  hardships  and  dis- 
asters which  befell  the  Westmoreland  county  sel- 
lers in  the  terrible  massacre  of  July  3,  1778,  when 
their  son,  Aaron,  fell  a  victim  of  Indian  revenge. 
Christopher  was  commissioned  ensign,  Third 
Company  of  Groton,  Connecticut,  1742.  Chris- 
topher and  Joanna  Stark  had  among  other  child- 
ren. 1.  Aaron  Stark,  born  November  3,  1732, 
slain  in  the  massacre  of  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778 : 

married     Margaret    .      After    the 

massacre  she  fled  with  her  children  back  to  Con- 
necticut, but  when  Sullivan  had  driven  the  In- 
dians from  the  Wyoming  section  some  of  the  sons 
returned  to  Westmoreland ;  among  them  was 
Daniel  Stark,  who  married  Charlotte  Worden, 
and  had :  John  D. ;  Olive,  married  James  Wor- 
den ;  Sarah,  married  Isaac  Wilcox ;  and  Hannah, 
married  Jacob  Miller.  Many  of  the  descendants 
■of  these  children  still  live  in  the  Wyoming  Val- 


ley. (See  Starke  Family,  Wilcox  Family,  and 
Miller  Family).  2.  James  Stark,  see  later. 
3.  William  Stark,  born  about  1747,  died  in 
Orange  county,  New  York,  1795.  He  married 
Polly  Carey.  He  also  returned  to  the  Wyoming 
Valley,  but  returned  later  to  Orange  county,  leav- 
ing a  large  family  of  descendants  on  Tunkhan- 
nock  Creek,  Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
in  Wyoming  Valley. 

(IV).  James  Stark,  third  son  of  Shristopher 
and  Joanna  (Walworth)  Stark,  was  born  May 
22,  1734,  died  July  20,  1777.  He  married,  1758, 
Elizabeth  Carey,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Henry 
Care}',  one  of  the  first  Baptist  ministers  of  Dut- 
chess count}-,  New  York.  James  Stark  had  en- 
tered the  army  under  Washington,  probably  in 
1776,  but  returned  to  the  valley  when  danger 
threatened,  and  died  of  smallpox.  James  Stark 
and  Elizabeth  (Carey)  Stark  had,  among  other 
children:  1.  Henry,  who  married,  November 
3,  1791,  Elizabeth  Kennedy,  and  was  the  ancestor 
of  James  Frederick  Stark,  of  Wyoming.  He  re- 
turned to  the  Valley  to  live,  and  his  descendants 
are  still  there,  some  of  them  holding  high  posi- 
tions in  the  activities  of  life.  2.  Samuel  Stark, 
of  whom  later. 

(V).  Samuel  Stark,  son  of  James  and  Eliza- 
beth (Carey)  Stark,  born  in  Dutchess  county, 
New  York,  October  8,  1771,  died  September  30, 
1840,  in  Michigan.  He  married  August  10, 
1793,  Polly  Birdsall,  who  bore  him  thirteen 
children,  four  sons  and  nine  daughters. 

( VI) .  Samuel  Stark,  third  son  of  Samuel  and 
Polly  (Birdsall)  Stark,  born  Cherry  Valley,  New 
York,  June  9,  1810,  died  Tunkhannock,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  15,  1879.  He  married,  March 
29,  1838,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Colonel  Abel  and 
Affa  (Harding)  Marcy,  and  granddaughter  of 
Zebulon  and  Jerusha  (Conant)  Marcy,  of  Tunk- 
hannock. Affa  Harding  was  daughter  of  John 
Harding,  of  Exeter,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  was  a  boy  at  the  time  of  the  Wyoming 
massacre  of  June  30,  1778,  and  saved  himself 
from  the  Indians  by  hiding  among  the  willows  on 
the  river  bank.  (See  Harding  Family).  Zeb- 
ulon Marcy  was  one  of  the  prominent  characters 
in  Wyoming  Valley  history.  In  1770  he  erected 
the  first  log  house  in  Pittston,  and  removing  from 
thence  in  1772,  he  built  his  log  cabin  on  Tunk- 
hannock Creek,  and  was  a  land  surveyor  in  old 
Putnam  township,  also  town  clerk,  frequently 
moderator  of  town  meetings,  and  proprietor's 
agent  and  clerk.  He  was  in  the  Valley  during 
the  troubles  with  the  Pennamites,  and  also  during 
the  Revolution,  and  was  as  loval  to  the  cause  of 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWAXXA  VALLEYS. 


259 


the  colonies  as  he  was  to  the  Connecticut  claim- 
ants, and  fought  with  all  the  determination  of  his 
Yankee  ancestors.  In  1779  he  was  commissioned 
justice  of  the  peace  under  Connecticut  authority, 
and  in  1800  was  appointed  to  the  same  office  by 
the  governor  of  Pennsylvania.  He  died  in  Tunk- 
hannock, Pennsylvania,  in  1834,  aged  almost 
ninety-one  years. 

Samuel  Stark  went  to  Tunkhannock,  1S27, 
and  found  employment  there  as  clerk  for  his 
cousin,  Henry  Stark.  In  1833  he  became  partner 
in  the  business,  and  from  that  time  until  1877 
was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  mercantile  and 
-financial  history  of  that  interesting  locality.  He 
dropped  merchandizing  in  1864,  and  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  Wyoming  National  Bank  of 
Tunkhannock,  and  was  its  cashier  from  1865 
until  he  retired  from  active  business  life  in  1877. 
In  many  respects  he  was  a  factor  for  good  in  the 
community  in  which  he  lived.  His  name  was  a 
.synonym  for  integrity  and  moral  worth.  He  was 
liberal  and  public-spirited,  generous  with  friends, 
Tcind  to  the  distressed,  charitable  with  those  who 
were  poor,  and  was  indeed  an  earnest.  Christian 
man.  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  Samuel  and  Lydia  (Marcy) 
Stark  had  five  children  who  grew  to  maturity : 
1.  Kate  M.,  married  John  Day;  2.  Eleanor  G., 
married  Stanley  W.  Little;  3.  Affa  C.  married 
(first)  Calvin  Detrick,  (second)  James  E.  Seeley: 
4.     Abel  M.,  died  unmarried ;  5.     S.  Judson. 

(VII).  S.  Judson  Stark,  youngest  child  of 
Samuel  and  Lydia  (Marcy)  Stark,  was  born  at 
Tunkhannock.  Pennsylvania,  October  2,  1850; 
married,  October  2,  1873,  Eva  W.  Keeney.  Mrs. 
Stark  is  the  only  daughter  of  Ephraim  J.  Kenney, 
and  wife  Elizabeth  Neigh,  of  Windham  town- 
ship, Pennsylvania.  Ephraim  was  prothonotary  of 
Wyoming  county  two  terms.  The  pioneer  of  the 
family  in  Wyoming  Valley  was  Mark  Keeney,  of 
Litchfield  county,  Connecticut,  where  he  was 
born.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish wars,  and  of  the  Revolution,  and  came  to 
Wyoming  in  1787,  settling  in  Braintrim  town- 
ship soon  after  1790.  His  son  Joshua  married 
Phebe  Sturdevant.  and  had  Seth  L.  Keeney,  who 
married  Mary  Wall  and  had  Ephraim  J.  Keeney, 
who  married  Elizabeth  Neigh. 

S.  Judson  Stark  was  educated  in  the  Tunk- 
hannock public  schools.  Wyoming  Seminar}-, 
Kingston,  Dickinson  College.  Carlisle.  Bry- 
ant &  Stratton's  Commercial  College.  Phila- 
delphia ;  he  was  not  graduated  from  Dickinson 
College  with  the  class  of  1873  as  was  his  pur- 
pose, as  ill  health  compelled  him  to  abandon  the 
•college  course.     He  then  entered  as  student  the 


Bryant  &  Stratton  Business  College,  and  took  a 
regular  commercial  course  of  study.  In  1872  he 
became  partner  with  Dr.  A.  B.  Woodward  in  the 
drug  business  in  Tunkhannock,  and  soon  after- 
ward became  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Stark, 
Osterhouse  Brothers,  dealers  in  general  merchan- 
dise. Later  on  he  was  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Tunkhannock  Toy  Company,  and  from  1886 
to  1888  was  engaged  in  the  furniture  business  on 
the  court  house  square  in  Tunkhannock.  He  was 
one  of  the  organizers  in  1872  and  the  first  treas- 
urer of  the  old  Triton  Hose  Company.  He  is 
a  Thirty-second  degree  Mason ;  member  of  Tem- 
ple Lodge,  Temple  Chapter,  and  of  Temple  Com- 
mander}", all  of  Tunkhannock,  and  of  Keystone 
Consistory,  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  of 
Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  the  latter  constituted  in 
1890,  and  he  is  one  of  its  charter  members.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
of  more  than  thirty  years'  standing,  and  has 
served  as  steward,  trustee,  and  superintendent  of 
its  Sunday  school.  He  is  now  a  resident  of  West 
Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  and  engaged  in  the  real 


estate  business. 


H.  E.  H. 


GRIFFIN  LEWIS  BALDWIN  is  a  descen- 
dant of  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  Milford 
colony,  his  line  being  Abed  (7),  1803;  Jude  (6) 
1775:  Jared  (5),  1731-2;  Caleb  (4),  1704:  Sam- 
uel (3),  1674-5;  Josiah  (2),  about  1644;  John 
(1).  The  latter  came  with  the  Milford  colony 
from  Buckinghamshire,  England,  and  the  vicin- 
ity of  Aylesbury,  Clinton  parish,  in  1639.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  his  ancestor,  Josiah  Baldwin, 
was  married  to  Mary  Camp,  of  New  Haven, 
daughter  of  Edward  Camp,  June  25.  1667.  and 
himself  to  Anna  D.  Harrison,  daughter  of  Jack- 
son Harrison  and  Rebecca  Millard,  June  25, 
1867,  two  hundred  years  to  a  day.  thereafter, 
there  having  been  five  intervening  generations. 

The  people  of  that  period  having  the  aborig- 
ines, an  unsubdued  wilderness,  and  poverty,  as 
surrounding  conditions  to  contend  with,  were  not 
disposed  to  disseminate  themselves  over  the  new 
country.  The  heads  of  four  generations  of 
Baldwins  were  born  where  the  original  ancestor 
had  settled,  at  Milford.     The  marital  unions  of 

this  line  were  John  to  Mary .  second  to 

Mary  Bruen,  of  Stapleford.  England :  Josiah  to 
Man-  Camp ;  Samuel  to  Rebecca  Wilkinson ; 
Caleb  to  Ann  Tibbals ;  Tared  to  Damaras  Booth ; 
Jude  to  Elenor  Watson ;  Abed  to  Philena  Lewis, 
and  G.  L.  to  Anna  D.  Harrison.  The  latter  three 
marriages  occurred  in  Luzerne  county. 

Jared  Baldwin,  who  was  born  the  same  year 
with  Washington,  had  been  a  commissary  of  a 


260 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


regiment  of  the  Connecticut  line  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  came  to  Luzerne  about  the  year  1795 
or  earlier,  with  his  sons,  Jared,  Tibbals,  Amos  and 
Jnde.  They  purchased  of  the  Susquehanna  Com- 
pany, who  acted  under  the  Connecticut  title,  a 
tract  of  land  extending  nearly  to  Harvey's  Lake 
from  the  Falls  of  Toby's  Creek.  Their  residence 
was  at  the  Falls,  where  the  village  of  Huntsville 
now  stands,  which  was  then  a  part  of  Plymouth 
township.  This  accounts  for  their  names  ap- 
pearing in  the  Plymouth  tax  list  in  1796.  When 
the  treaty  of  Trenton  confirmed  the  Penn  title 
thev  were  again  obliged  to  pay  tor  their  lands. 
At  the  Falls  they  built  a  saw  mill,  grist  mill  and 
felt  hat  factory,  Jude  having  learned  the  hatter's 
trade  in  Connecticut.  The  grist  mill,  which  was 
an  important  feature  of  a  new  settlement  in 
those  days,  stood  in  the  bank  between  the  road 
leading  to  Trucksville,  over  the  hill,  and  the  one 
leading  down  the  creek.  In  1809  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  The  saw  mill  stood  at  the  first 
bend  of  the  creek,  say  five  rods  above  the  pres- 
ent stone  bridge.  These  were  the  first  mills 
ver  built  at  the  Falls  of  Toby's  Creek.  An  un- 
usual flood  in  this  creek  in  1850  uncovered  the 
apron  of  the  original  flume,  the  planks  whereof 
were  fastened  down  to  the  bed  pieces  with  wooden 
pins.  This  floor  revealed  to  the  writer  the  work 
of  his  ancestors  done  more  than  fifty  years  be- 
fore, when  all  that  country  was  a  forest.  Tibbals 
died  at  Huntsville  and  Amos  removed  to  Pitcher, 
Chenango  county,  Xew  York.  Their  mother  died 
in  1816,  and  the  father  returned  to  Connecticut, 
where  he  died  the  next  year,  at  the  home  of  his 
son,  Dr.  Gabriel  Baldwin,  whose  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  President  Burr,  of  Princeton  Col- 
lege. 

Jude  Baldwin,  son  of  Jared  Baldwin,  remained 
on  a  part  of  the  original  purchase,  in  what  is  now 
Dallas  township,  and  married,  1797,  Elenor  Wat- 
son, daughter  of  Amariah  Watson,  who  owned  a 
farm  on  Elm  Hill,  in  now  Plymouth  borough,  and 
who  later  removed  to  Huntington,  driven  as 
others  were  out  of  the  valley  by  fever  and  ague. 
A  part  of  what  is  now  the  Huntsville  reservoir 
was  once  a  tamarack  forest  and  the  rest  a  marsh. 
A  dam  standing  where  the  present  dam  stands, 
raised  the  water  sufficiently  to  flood  and  kill  this 
timber,  which  caused  an  epidemic  of  typhus  fever, 
of  which  Jude  Baldwin  and  several  of  his  family 
died  in  the  years  1819-21.  Eventually  all  his  liv- 
ing sons  removed  to  Ohio — save  Abed,  who  en- 
tered upon  mercantile  and  manufacturing  pur- 
suits at  Huntsville,  where  he  died  in  1854.  Abed's 
name  originated  with  his  mother,  it  being  an 
abridgement  of  Abednego. 


Abed  Baldwin,  son  of  Jude  Baldwin,  was 
much  esteemed  by  his  neighbors.  He  was  of 
large  stature,  and  commanding  presence.  He 
took  much  interest  in  military  affairs  and  held 
the  rank  of  major  in  a  state  regiment.  His  wife 
was  Philena,  daughter  of  Rev.  Griffin  Lewis,  a 
pioneer  Baptist  minister,  an  immigrant  from 
Rhode  Island,  whose  wife  was  Hannah,  daugh- 
ter of  Jonah  Rogers.  Her  mother  was  Dille 
Chaffee,  and  it  was  her  grandmother,  the  Mrs. 
Rogers(  Hannah  .Ford),  who  died  in  the  "Shades 
of  Death,"  during  the  flight  after  the  Wyoming 
massacre  in  1778.  The  Rogers  house  stocd 
where  is  the  yard  of  the  old  Gaylord  house  in 
Plymouth.  Mrs.  Lewis'  brothers  were  too  young 
to  be  at  Wyoming,  though  her  brother  Jonah 
Rogers.  Jr.,  figures  in  the  history  of  that  period 
as  a  prisoner  with  Abram  Pike,  in  the  hands  of 
the  Indians.  This  connection  makes  G.  L.  Bald- 
win a  direct  descendant  in  the  tenth  degree 
(counting  John  first)  from  John  Rogers,  who 
was  burned  at  the  stake  at  Smithfield,  England, 
in  1555,  the  first  victim  of  Bloody  Mary's  reign. 
The  generations  are:  John  (the  martyr),  Xoah, 
John,  Joseph  (emigrant  to  America),  Hope, 
Josiah,  Jonah,  Hannah,  Philena,  Lewis,  G.  L. 
Baldwin.  Philena  died  at  Berrien  Springs,  Mich- 
igan, in  i860. 

The  children  of  Abed  who  became  adults 
were  :  Evaline  Avers,  1827 ;  Columbus  Jackson, 
1831  ;  Augusta  Eliza,  1835  ;  Griffin  Lewis,  1837, 
of  whom  later ;  Ira  Rollin,  1842.  Evaline,  died  in 
1847.  Columbus  J.  married  Lucy  Ann  Gager, 
of  Norwalk,  Ohio,  and  now  resides  there.  He  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  courts  of  Luzerne  county  in 
1858,  and  was  re-elected  in-i862  by  the  aid  of  the 
votes  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field.  This  vote  was 
adjudged  unconstitutional,  and  thereby  he  lost  the 
second  term.  He  was  thereafter  appointed  as- 
sistant United  States  internal  revenue  assessor 
for  the  district  west  of  the  river.  Augusta  E. 
married  Elisha  Atherton,  and  removed  to  Xor- 
walk,  where  she,  her  husband,  and  their  onlv  son, 
Walter  Abed,  have  "since  died.  His  remains  lie 
in  the  Soldier's  plot  at  Tombstone.  Arizona.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Eighty-seventh  Regiment, 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  later  of  a  Kansas 
State  Regiment.  His  history  is  well  told  in  the 
following  from  the   l]rilkes-Barrc  Record : 

"The  following  extract  is  from  an  article  on 
'Arizona's  Development'  in  the  San  Diego  (Cal- 
ifornia). Golden  Era,  for  May,  1889: 

"In  concluding  it  is  only  fair  to  mention  that 
in  his  efforts  to  make  the  hospital  a  model  one. 
Dr.  Willis  is  ably  seconded  by  Ira  R.  Baldwin,  an 
old   Union    soldier,    who   holds   the    position    of 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


261 


steward.  The  latter  is  the  hero  of  many  battles, 
many  hairbreadth  escapes,  .  wounds,  imprison- 
ments and  deprivations  in  our  country's  defense, 
and,  besides  being  personally  qualified  for  his 
present  position,  it  is  eminently  fitting  that  such 
posts  of  duty  and  responsibility  be  given  to  such 
men. 

"A  telegram  from  Tombstone,  Arizona,  an- 
nounces that  Ira  R.  Baldwin  died  there  Sunday, 
February  2,  1890. 

"Mr.  Baldwin  was  born  December  2,  1842,  at 
Huntsville,  this  county.  He  was  a  son  of  the 
late  Major  Abed  Baldwin,  and  a  brother  of  C. 
J.  Baldwin,  of  Norwalk,  Ohio,  and  of  G.  L. 
Baldwin,  of  Shickshinny,  the  latter  of  whom  is 
the  only  living  relative  of  the  name  of  a  once 
numerous  family,  now  living  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  breaking  out  of  the  war  found  Ira  in  Ohio, 
where  he  joined  an  infantry  regiment  and  has- 
tened to  the  front.  While  his  brother  Lewis, 
with  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  was  driving  the 
Rebels  from  the  crest  of  South  Mountain  and 
irom  the  plains  of  Antietam,  Ira  was  a  paroled 
prisoner  in  the  rear  of  Lee's  army,  having  re- 
mained with  his  regiment  ten  days  after  the  ex- 
piration of  his  enlistment  to  help  drive  back  the 
Rebel  horde  from  the  borders  of  his  native  state, 
^only  to  be  ignobly  surrendered  almost  without  a 
struggle,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  by  General  Miles, 
whose  name  he  ever  after  held  in  desecration,  and 
always  insisted  it  was  his  own  indignant  soldiers 
who  shot  Miles — for  it  is  true  he  was  killed  a  few 
minutes  after  he  had  capitulated. 

"The  enemy  held  more  prisoners  than  we, 
hence  the  government  would  not  exchange  pa- 
roled prisoners  whose  enlistments  had  expired,  so 
Ira  hastened  to  Kansas,  joined  the  militia  and 
helped  to  drive  Ouantrell  into  Indian  Territory 
after  he  had  sacked  Lawrence.  After  the  mus- 
ter out  he  went  to  Old  Mexico,  and  later  to 
A^ancouver's  Island,  and  finally  settled  in  Tomb- 
stone, where  Sunday  ended  a  life  fittingly  por- 
trayed in  the  extract  from  the  magazine  above 
quoted. 

"Burnside  Post,  37,  Department  of  Arizona, 
in  which  he  was  O.  D.,  bore  his  remains  to  their 
last  rendezvous  with  all  the  honors  due  a  dead 
patriot. 

"Rest  in  peace,  patriot,  friend  and  brother." 

Griffin  Lewis  Baldwin,  son  of  Abed  Baldwin, 
'was  born  August  27,  1837,  in  Huntsville,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  spent  twenty  years  of  his  life. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  and  Wyoming- 
Seminary  until  1857.  He  then  went  to  Norwalk, 
Ohio,  where  he  remained  two  years,  then  took  a 
•six  months'  trip  through  what  was  at  that  per- 


iod the  far  west ;  then  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  clerked  in  Reuben  J.  Flick's  store  for 
half  a  year.  He  then  engaged  with  Smith  & 
Shupp  of  Plymouth,  to  conduct  a  branch  store  at 
Huntsville.  In  the  contract  with  Smith  &  Shupp, 
June,  i860,  it  was  provided  that,  in  the  event  of 
the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  war  should  en- 
sue, Mr.  Baldwin  could  cancel  this  contract  in 
order  to  take  up  a  musket  for  the  defence  of  the 
Union.  Under  this  provision  he  gave  the  re- 
quired two'  weeks  notice  and  started  for  the  front, 
enlisting  in  Company  K,  Seventh  Regiment 
Pennsylvania  Reserve  Volunteer  Corps.  On  this 
contract  he  bases  his  belief  that  he  was  the  first 
Unionist  to  arrange  his  business  to  meet  the 
emergency  which  soon  arose.  He  was  immediately 
appointed'  clerk  to  the  regimental  adjutant,  and' 
though  not  required  by  army  regulations  to  do  so, 
always  took  his  place  in  line  when  a  battle  was 
imminent.  At  the  battle  of  Mechanicsville,  Vir- 
ginia, he  was  wounded  in  the  right  arm  by  a 
minie  ball  which  passed  through  it  near  the  el- 
bow, its  course  being  nearly  three  inches  through 
the  flesh.  He  was  the  first  man  of  his  company 
to  feel  the  sting  of  a  rebel  bullet,  though  two 
others  of  the  regiment  were  wounded  about  the 
same  moment.  He  was  sent  to  Eckington  and 
Findlay  general  hospitals ,  where  he  remained 
two  months,  but  was  discharged  at  his  own  re- 
quest. He  joined  the  army  at  Upson's  Hill, 
which  at  once  went  to  intercept  General  Lee  in 
his  invasion  of  Maryland.  They  passed  through 
Frederick  City  and  Middletown,  Maryland,  and 
fought  the  battle  of  South  Mountain,  Sunday 
afternoon,  September  14,  1862,  in  which  General 
Lee  was  defeated.  As  the  regiment  reached  the 
top  of  South  Mountain  the  contour  of  the  ground 
was  such  as  to  cause  the  flanks  to  crowd  the 
centre.  At  the  moment  when  an  order  was  given 
to  fall  back  to  straighten  the  line,  Mr.  Baldwin 
and  comrades  Byron  Fairchild,  Samuel  Mershon, 
Charles  Adams  and  Peter  Williamson  found 
themselves  two  rods  in  advance  of  the  line.  At 
this  crucial  moment  the  enemy  gave  direct  at- 
tention to  these  five  eager  men.  Fairchild  and 
Baldwin  threw  themselves  prone  behind  a  stump, 
and  several  sissing  minies  intended  for  them 
lodged  in  the  friendly  barrier.  Williamson  fell 
with  a  compound  fracture  of  the  thigh.  Adams 
stooped  to  render  needed  assistance  when  a  rebel 
bullet  entered  the  crown  of  his  head,  and,  falling 
across  Baldwin's  legs,  he  made  the  three  dying 
gasps  which  soldiers  had  become  familiar  with 
when  a  comrade  is  shot  dead. 

On  the  evening  of  the  16th  the  Reserves  took 
position  in  line  in  front  of  Antietam  creek.     The 


262 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Seventh  Regiment  was  assigned  to  support  Ran- 
som's battery.  This  was  before  sundown,  and, 
lying  prone  upon  the  ground,  it  was  ten  o'clock 
before  it  was  safe  to  sit  up,  owing  to  the  enemy's 
"spherical  case"  skimming  the  surface,  and  per- 
cussion and  fuse-shells  exploding  every  second 
about  them.  They  could  but  watch  the  cannoniers 
see  them  fight  and  die  for  the  old  flag.  In  one 
instance  a  headless  body  fell  to  the  ground,  a  pass- 
ing shot  having  obliterated  the  head.  For  sheer 
thirst  the  men  could  eat  little  hard  tack  for  sup- 
per, or  breakfast  next  morning.  At  first  sign 
of  light  on  the  17th  the  bugle  call  sounded  along 
the  line — the  most  solemn  sound  he  ever  heard.  It 
was  the  death  summons  to  thousands.  None  knew 
whose  turn  to  die  had  come ;  had  they  known,  few 
would  have  shirked,  for  the  old  flag  had  become 
dearer  than  life.  The  Seventh  Regiment  now 
moved  up  to  the  famous  cornfield  near  the  Dun- 
kard  church,  its  right  resting  on  the  turnpike, 
then  moved  by  the  left  flank,  filed  left,  thus 
changing  front,  and  there  met  a  line  of  the  enemy 
which  had  emerged  from  the  cornfield,.  Now  en- 
sued a  clear,  open  fight,  not  so  much  as  a  mullen 
stock  intervening.  It  was  a  case  of  stand  up, 
look  your  enemy  in  the  face,  and  take  your 
chances.  Mr.  Baldwin  was  now  on  the  right  of 
the  regiment — the  right  fell  back  under  the  storm 
of  bullets.  He  held  his  position,  thinking  the 
line  would  come  up.  But  it  did  not,  immediately. 
The  enemy  was  getting  nearer.  He  threw  him- 
self on  the  ground ;  turned  upon  his  back  to  load, 
then  on  his  face  to  fire,  while  our  line  was  firing 
over  him  and  those  who  lay  dead  and  wounded 
about  him.  The  enemy  got  near  enough  to  dis- 
tinguish the  faces.  He  sprang  back  to  the  line 
just  as  the  major  ordered  it  up,  ard  then  sprang 
to  a  line  with  the  colors  and  the  flank  dressed  on 
him.  A  minie  now  struck  his  fingers.  The 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fourth  Pennsylvania 
Regiment  came  to  the  relief  and  the  enemy  re- 
treated. This  was  the  most  supremely  happy 
moment  of  his  life.  Three  balls  had  cut  his 
equipments,  besides  the  one  which  hit  his  fingers. 
The  remnant  of  the  Seventh  took  shelter  in  a 
depression.  A  falling  ball  passed  by  Baldwin's 
nead,  striking  Jerry  Cooper  in  the  neck,  passing 
through,  lodging  against  the  skin  on  the  opposite 
side.  Later  Sergeant  Baldwin  was  detailed  to 
take  a  file  of  men  and  find  and  bury  the  body  of 
Lieutenant  Saunders,  who  had  been  shot  through 
the  heart  earlier  in  the  day.  Three  times  they 
partially  dug  a  grave,  and  each  time  were  driven 
away  by  the  enemy's  batteries.  Later  Mr.  Bald- 
win was  present  at  the  great  review  at  Culpeper, 


when  General  McClellan  was  removed  from 
command. 

At  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  when  the  Re- 
serves had  advanced  beyond  the  railroad,  Com- 
rade Joseph  Tubbs  and  Baldwin,  having  reached 
musket  range,  sought  a  fallen  tree  top  from  which 
they  poured  buck  and  ball  into  a  rebel  battery 
which  was  enfilading  our  line.  A  few  moments 
later  he  was  on  top  of  Fredericksburg  heights 
(the  left),  the  Reserves  having  cleaned  up  the 
enemy  the  full  length  of  their  front.  Had  not 
their  support  been  withdrawn  while  they  were  in 
action  they  could  have  cut  off  Lee's  right  divi- 
sion, rolled  up  his  line  on  its  centre,  and  Freder- 
icksburg would  have  been  a  Union  victory.  As 
our  brigade  was  rallying  on  a  big  oak  tree,  Chris- 
topher Keck  and  Comrade  Baldwin,  still  on  the 
very  front,  had  a  private  fight  with  a  few 
rebels.  Each  man  sprang  behind  a  tree,  and 
thus  partially  protected  carried  on  the  fight.  Keck 
received  a  ball  through  his  left  side,  and,  though 
he  still  lives,,  never  again  was  fit  for  service  oa 
the  front.  What  the  results  of  our  shots  were 
we  never  knew,  but  the  enemy  was  first  to  cease 
firing.  On  the  night  of  the  retreat  from  Fred- 
ericksburg, Baldwin  was  sergeant  of  the  detail 
which  stood  at  the  river  and  directed  the  differ- 
ent arms  of  the  service  to  their  proper  bridge. 
The  following  February  the  Reserves  were  or- 
dered to  Alexandria,  where  Mr.  Baldwin  was 
prostrated  by  severe  rheumatic  fever.  In  June, 
1864,  his  regiment  was  mustered  out,  and  he  re- 
ported to  Adjutant-General  Russell,  who  sent  him 
to  the  assistant  provost  marshal  general,  who  de- 
tailed him  as  chief  clerk  of  his  several  combined 
offices,  where  he  served  to  March  28,  1865,  when 
he  was  discharged. 

Soon  thereafter  he  entered  partnership  with 
his  former  employer,  Peter  Shupp,  in  the  mercan- 
tile business  at  Plymouth.  In  1869,  on  account 
of  impaired  health,  he  went  to  his  farm  in  Caro- 
line county,  Virginia,  where  he  also  kept  a  store. 
In  1873  he  sought  a  higher  altitude  at  St.  Al- 
bans, West  Virginia,  where  he  engaged  in  ship- 
ping walnut  timber.  Regaining  his  health  he  re- 
turned to  Ohio,  thence  to  Shickshinny,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  engaged  in  general  business,  lum- 
ber, mercantile  and  quarrying.  In  1890  Mr. 
Baldwin  purchased  one  half  interest  in  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Business  College,  of  which  he  be- 
came principal.  After  two  years,  his  health  again 
failing,  he  sold  out  his  interest  and  has  since  lived 
a  retired  life. 

During  his  residence  in  Virginia  he  served  as 
postmaster,  and  was  three  times  commissioned  by 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


263 


Military  Governor  General  Canby,  as  a  magis- 
trate of  Caroline  county,  but  declined  to  serve. 
He  was  charter  member  of  Wadsworth  Post,  No. 
10,  Department  of  Virginia,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  at  Fredericksburg,  Virginia.  Later  he 
was  a  member  and  commander  of  Post  No.  257, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  at  Shickshinny, 
Pennsylvania,  and  of  Encampment  No.  32,  Union 
Veteran  League  at  Bloomsburg,  and  has  held  the 
office  of  colonel  of  Encampment  No.  135  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  on  the  staff  of  General-in- 
Chief  G.  H.  C.  Miller.  He  is  a  member  of 
Conyngham  Post,  No.  97,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  and  is  now  its  commander.  He  holds 
membership  in  the  Christian  Church  at  Plymouth, 
and  his  son  and  daughters  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  church. 

From  the  school  of  the  anti-slavery  Democrat, 
in  which  Air.  Baldwin  had  been  reared,  it  was 
but  one  step  into  the  Republican  paty  in  1856, 
and  it  is  a  matter  of  pride  that  his  maiden  vote 
was  cast  for  John  Sherman  for  congress,  and 
Salmon  P.  Chase  for  governor  of  Ohio,  and  his 
first  presidential  vote  for  the  great  Lincoln,  in 
i860.  For  forty-nine  years  he  has  been  a  stead- 
fast Republican,  ever  ready  with  pen  or  vote  to 
vindicate  true  Republican  principles  by  contend- 
ing and  voting  against  all  shades  of  corruption  in 
civic  affairs.  He  holds  that  a  candidate  who 
secures  a  nomination  by  corrupt  means  is  not  a 
candidate  of  his  party,  but  of  boodlers,  and  there- 
fore, has  no  claim  upon  his  support. 

Mr.  I  Baldwin  married,  June  25,  1867,  Anna 
D.  Harrison,  daughter  of  Jackson  and  Rebecca 
(Millard)  Harrison,  of  Huntington  town- 
ship, Pennsylvania.  The  issue  of  this  union 
was  three  children,  the  first  of  which 
died  unnamed.  2.  Glenn  Abed,  born  Au- 
gust 30,  1872,  educated  in  the  private  school 
of  Professor  Walker,  at  Shickshinny ;  Wyom- 
ing Seminary,  and  Drew  Theological  Semi- 
nary, New  Jersey.  He  read  law  with  Hon.  C. 
D.  Foster,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and.  practiced 
law  two  years.  He  then  entered  the  above  named 
seminary,  studied  theology,  and  was  ordained  a 
minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
Oneida  Conference,  New  York,  and  later  mission- 
ary to  Rhodesia,  Africa,  and  is  now  stationed  at 
Sodus  Point,  New  York.  3.  Philena  Harrison, 
born  January  18,  1878.  She  is  a  graduate  of 
Wyoming  Seminary  and  of  Syracuse  University. 
Anna  D.  ( Harrison)  Baldwin,  mother  of  these 
children,  died  April  15,  1885.  Mr.  Baldwin  mar- 
ried (second)  December  6,  1893,  Sallie  De  Jar- 
nette,  daughter  of  Hon.  D.  C.  De  Jarn.ette  (mem- 
ber before  the  war  of  the  United  States  Congress 


and  former  member  of  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress) and  Louisa  (Dejarnette)  of  Caroline 
county,  Virginia.  Mr.  Baldwin  now  resides  in 
Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

LARNED  FAMILY  William  Learned,  of 
the  parish  of  Bermondsey,  in  the  county  of  Sur- 
rey, England,  the  ancestor  of  the  earliest  New 
England  families  of  Learned,  Lerned,  Larnedr 
and  Larnett,  and  various  other  perversions  of  the 
original  surname,  was  among  the  early  immi- 
grants in  Boston,  and  one  of  the  colony  of  plant- 
ers who  founded  Charlestown,  Massachusetts. 
He  does  not  appear  to  have  been  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  church  there,  but  was  admitted 
about  two  months  afterward,  in  the  tenth  month,. 
1632.  The  year  of  his  immigration,  also,  is  not 
certain,  but  probably  was  1625  or  1626.  In  1634 
he  was  admitted  freeman  in  Charlestown ;  in 
1635-36  was  appointed  selectman ;  in  1637  was 
chosen  one  of  four,  "instead  of  Goodman  Brak- 
enbury,"  to  divide  for  stinting  the  common  land ; 
in  1637  was  chosen  with  Goodman  Ewer  to  lay 
out  Widow  Wilkin's  two  acres ;  and  at  the  time 
of  the  controversy  with  Mrs.  Anne  Hutchinson, 
when  the  general  court  condemned  and  banished 
Rev.  John  Wheelwright,  William  Learned  was 
one  of  the  signers  of  the  remonstrance  against 
that  proceeding.  In  the  minutes  of  the  court, 
book  I.  205,  it  is  recorded:  ''Willi  Larnet,  ac- 
knowledged his  fault  in  subscribing  the  seditious 
writing  and  desiring  his  name  to  be  crossed  out, 
it  was  yielded  to  him  and  crossed." 

In  1638  William  Learned  with  five  others  . 
were  "desired  to  consider  some  things  tending  to- 
ward a  body  of  laws"  for  the  Charlestown  planta- 
tion ;  from  which  it  may  be  assumed  that  he  was 
a  man  of  good  sense,  and  of  consequence  among 
the  planters,  but  as  his  name  has  no  title  prefixed,, 
he  probably  was  not  a  man  of  any  high  position. 
He  was  one  of  thirty-two  persons  who  signed  the 
town  orders  in  1640,  when  a  movement  was  on 
foot  to  settle  Woburn,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
seven  who  on  August  14,  1642,  formed  the  first 
church  in  Woburn.  In  1643  an(l  again  in  1644- 
45  he  was  chosen  constable  and  one  of  the  select- 
men, and  he  held  these  offices  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  March  1,  1646.  He  had  a  wife,  Goodith, 
who  survived  him,  as  also  did  nearly  all  of  their 
six  children.  Isaac,  their  only  son  and  youngest 
child,  sold  his  lands  in  Woburn,  April  2,  1652, 
and  removed  to  Chelmsford,  where  lands  were 
laid  out  for  him,  and  where  he  evidently  was  a 
man  of  some  consequence,  selectman,  sergeant  of 
the  "train  band,"  and  otherwise  useful  in  town 
affairs.     He  died  November  27,  1657.     He  mar- 


264 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


ried,  July  9,  1646.  Mary  Stearns,  daughter  of 
Isaac  and  Mary  Stearns1,  of  Watertown,  Mass- 
achusetts. They  had  a  son.  Isaac,  born  Septem- 
ber 16.  1655,  who  married  Sarah  Bigelow  and 
settled  in  Framingham,  near  a  beautiful  pond, 
thirty-six  acres  in  extent,  which  to  this  day  is 
called  after  him  "Learned's  pond."  This  Isaac 
was  a  soldier  in  Captain  Davenport's  company, 
and  was  at  the  "Narragansett  fight."  where  he 
was  wounded.  He  was  of  that  part  of  Framing- 
ham  afterwards  called  Sherborn.  where  he  was 
received  as  an  inhabitant,  1679,  and  was  one  °f 
the  committee  to  procure  the  act  of  incorporation 
of  the  town,  1699,  was  four  times  selectman,  and 
fence-viewer  once.  He  died  September  15.  1737. 
William  Lamed  was  the  fifth  child,  second 
son,  of  Is~ac  Learned  and  wife  Sarah 
Bigelow.  He  married  Hannah  Bryant,  eld- 
est of  seven  daughters  of  Simon  and 
Hannah  Bryant,  of  Killingly,  Connecticut. 
'William  and  Hannah  settled  and  lived  in 
Killingly  until  they  removed  to  Sutton, 
where  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  church 
in  1720,  but  he  afterward  removed  to  Killingly. 
settling  in  the  north  parish,  where  he  was  deacon 
of  the  church,  surveyor  of  highways,  selectman, 
and  town  treasurer.  He  was  a  cordwainer.  He 
died,  1747.  He  left  a  son  Ebenezer.  who  was  for 
many  years  deacon  of  the  church  in  North  Kill- 
ingly. He  was  selectman  of  the  town,  and  is  re- 
ferred to  in  one  conveyance  of  land  in  1745.  as  a 
'"husbandman,"  and  in  another  in  17.SO  as  an  "inn- 
keeper." He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  ori- 
ginal proprietors  of  the  Connecticut  Susque- 
hanna Company,  and  his  name  is  found  on  the 
deed  given  by  the  Six  Nations  Indians  to  the  com- 
pany, 1754.  conveying  to  the  latter  the  Wyoming 
valley  region  of  country.  Ebenezer  Larned  mar- 
ried Kesiah  Leavens,  one  of  eight  daughters  of 
Justice  Joseph  Leavens,  of  Killingly.  who  was  one 
of  the  first  settlers  of  that  town.  Ebenezer  and 
Kesiah    had    seven    sons2    and    four    daughters. 


1.  Isaac  Stearns  came  to  America  in  1630,  prob- 
ably from  the  parish  of  Nayland  in  Suffolk,  and  settled 
in  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  where  he  was  admitted 
freeman.  1631  ;  was  selectman,  1659-70-71,  and  "had 
charge  in  1647  of  the  first  bridge  of  which  any  mention 
is  made  across  the  Charles  river,  at  Watertown. 

2.  Amasa  Larned.  eldest  son  of  Ebenezer  and 
Kesiah.  was  a  Yale  graduate.  1772,  and  was  member 
of  congress.  1791-95:  member  of  the  convention  to 
ratify  the  federal  constitution,  178S.  His  son  Ebenezer 
graduated  at  Yale..  1798.  and  his  grandson.  William 
Law  Larned.  graduated  there.  1851  ;  LL.  D..  1878.  He 
became  justice  of  the  New  York  state  supreme  court, 
and  at  one  time  served  on  the  general  term  bench,  and 
was  also  of  the  faculty  of  Albany  law  school.  He  still 
lives  in  Albany.  New  York. 


among  the  former  being  Theophiiu  .  fifth  son  an  1 
fifth  child.  He  married,  1780,  Patience  Whip- 
ple, of  Killingly,  and  in  1795  set  out  for  the  Ohio 
country,  but  stayed  within  the  territory  of  Penn- 
sylvania until  1806,  when  he  removed  to  Ontario 
count)-  in  the  Genesee  country  in  New  York 
state,  where  he  died,  1815.  A  deed  executed  in 
1795  described  him  as  of  Colchester,  Ulster 
county,  New  York,  and  conveys  to  Ephraim 
Lcckwcod  a  right  in  the  Connecticut  Susque- 
hanna L"nd  Company  which  Theophilus  inherited 
from  his  father. 

Theophilus  and  Patience  (Whipple)  Larned 
had  five  sons  and  five  daughters,  and  among  them 
Theophilus  was  the  sixth  child  and  fourth  son, 
born  1 79 1.  He  married  Elizabeth  (Betsey )  Smith, 
daughter  of  David  Smith  and  wife  Lucy  Mur- 
phy, widow,  daughter  of  Obadiah  Gore.  John 
Murphy,  first  husband  of  Lucy  Gore,  was  killed 
in  the  massacre  and  battle  of  Wyoming,  but  she 
escaped  and  found  temporary  refuge  on  the  Del- 
aware, near  Stroudsburg.  where  she  gave  birth  to 
a  son  in  Esquire  Depew's  barn.  She  afterward 
returned  to  Wyoming  and  married  David  Smith. 
This  Theophilus  Larned  came  to  the  Wyoming 
region  when  he  was  a  boy.  and  subsequently 
owned  a  farm  near  the  village  of  Wyoming. 
Theophilus  and  Betsey  (Smith)  Larned  had  chil- 
dren: Fanny,  born  December  12,  181 5,  died  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1825.  Mary,  born  December  22,  1816, 
married  J.  H.  Jenkins :  lived  in  Pittston,  Penn- 
sylvania. Lucy  Ann.  born  October  13.  1S13, 
married  Burton  Courtright.  Minerva,  born  Jan- 
uary 26,  1820,  married  Benjamin  Smith.  Daniel, 
born  January  30.  1822.  Henry,  born  April  20, 
1824.  Sarah,  born  February  18,  1826:  married 
James  Hoyt.  Frances  Elizabeth,  born  August 
30.  1827.  Hiram  D.,  born  February  28,  1829. 
Ann  Maria,  born  March  13,  1832.  George  Mar- 
vin, bom  March  8,  1834.  Rosanna,  born  August 
30.  1836. 

George  Marvin  Larned  was  born  at  Wyom- 
ing, Pennsylvania,  March  8,  1S34.  He  is  a 
clergyman  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
a  member  of  the  Central  Pennsylvania  confer- 
ence, and  lives  now  in  Hazelton,  Pennsylvania. 
He  married.  July  5,  1856,  Samantha  Benscoter, 
died  May  26.  1902,  daughter  of  Warren  Ben- 
scoter.3  They  had  children :  Frank  Warren, 
born  May  30.  1859.  Clara  Emma,  born  March  1, 
1861.     Minnie  Jane,  born  May  16.  1869.     Eddie 


3.  The  ancestors  of  the  Benscoters  were  of  the  early 
Dutch  colonists  who  settled  in  the  valleys  of  the  Hud- 
son and  Delaware  rivers.  James  Benscoter.  grandfather 
of  Warren,  came  from  the  Delaware  va'ley.  and 
brought  to  Humington  five  sons — Anthony.  John.  Abra- 


G^^I^Cd 


Cl/l^U^i 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


265 


Robert  Ashley  had  six  children :  David,  born 
Gore,  born  August  4,  187s,  died  December  3, 
1875.' 

Frank  Warren  Larned  was  born  in  Hunting- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  May  30,  1859,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  Dickinson  seminary,  Williamsport,  Dick- 
inson College,  Carlisle,  where  he  graduated,  B.  S. 
1880.  He  read  law  with  Hubbard  B.  Payne  and 
George  K.  Powell,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  Luzerne  county  May  21, 
1888.  Since  that  time  he  has  engaged  in  the  gen- 
eral practice  of  the  law,  giving  special  attention 
to  the  branches  of  his  profession  which  relate  to 
real  estate,  insurance,  and  banking.  In  1902  he 
organized  the  Luzerne  County  Trust  Company, 
and  is  its  secretary,  solicitor,  and  one  of  its  di- 
rectors. In  1902  he  organized  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Weatherby,  Carbon  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  is  a  director  and  one  of  its  stockhold- 
ers. In  1902  he  organized  the  Columbia  County 
National  Bank,  of  Benton,  Columbia  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  is  one  of  its  directors.  In 
1902  he  organized  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  of 
Lehighton,  Carbon  county.  Pennsylvania,  and  is 
one  of  its  directors.  In  1902  he  organized  the 
Fargo  and  Moorhead  Street  Railway  Company, 
of  Fargo,  North  Dakota,  and  is  its  president.  In 
1902  he  organized  the  Hazelton,  Weatherly  and 
Mauch  Chunk  Traction  Companv,  and  is  its  presi- 
dent. He  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Amer- 
ican Lumber  Company,  of  Chicago,  with  $6,000,- 
000  capital,  one  of  the  largest  corporations  of  its 
kind  in  the  world,  operating  in  New  Mexico,  and 
cutting  400,000  feet  of  lumber  per  day.  He  is 
attorney  for  the  Reading  Trust  Company,  of 
Reading,  Pennsylvania,  and  solicitor  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  for  the  Colonial  Trust  Company,  of  Read- 
ing. He  is  a  member  of  the  several  Masonic 
bodies  of  Wilkes-Barre — Lodge  No.  61,  Sheki- 
nah  Chapter,  and  Dieu  le  Veut  Commandery,  of 
Kevstone  Consistorv,  Scranton,  Pennsvlvania, 
and  of  Rajah  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S..  of 
Reading,  Pennsylvania. 

Frank  W.  Larned  married  (first)  February 
19.  1881,  Helen  F.  Kautner,  died  February  21, 
1882.  daughter  of  Lewis  M.  and  Emma  Kautner, 
of  Ashland,  Pennsylvania;  married  (second)  De- 
cember 15,  1888,  Estella  L.  Neuer.  bom  March 
23,  1863,  daughter  of  William  W.  Neuer  and  wife 
Elizabeth  Drake,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsvlvania. 


ham,  Isaac  and  Jacob.  Abraham  was  the  father  of 
Warren,  who  was  the  father  of  Samantha,  win  married 
Rev.  George  Marvin  Larned.  This  surname  is  known 
in  some  localities  as  Van  Scoten.  also  as  Vanbenscoten, 
and  occasionally  as   Benschoten  and   Benschoter. 


They  have  three  children :  Lewis  Marvin,  born 
January  7,  1882.  Ruth  Elizabeth,  born  March 
12  1890.  William  Neuer,  born  November  18, 
1892.  "  H.  E.  H. 

ASHLEY  FAMILLY.  Robert  Ashley,  the 
head  of  this  family,  was  an  early  settler  in  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts.  The  town  of  Springfield 
was  founded  in  the  spring  of  1636,  by  William 
Pynchon,  and  was  known  by  the  Indian  name  of 
Agawam.  The  planters  there  led  by  Pynchon 
came  from  the  older  settlement  of  Roxbury,  and 
thev  welcomed  to  their  homes  all  new  comers  who 
should  be  "approbated"  by  the  committee  chosen 
to  examine  and  pass  upon  the  characters  of  such 
strangers  as  appeared  within  their  gates.  The 
early  Springfield  records  do  not  mention  the  date 
of  the  arrival  at  that  plantation  of  Robert  Ashley, 
but  show  that  he  was  there  in  1639,  and  that  he 
died  there  November  29,  1682.  This,  so  far  as 
known,  was  the  first  recorded  appearance  of  Rob- 
ert Ashley  in  early  New  England  history,  and 
that  he  was  approved  and  accepted  as  a  towns- 
man is  evident  from  the  prominent  part  he  after- 
ward took  in  public  affairs,  and  the  influence  he 
exercised  among  the  planters  there  and  at  Wor- 
onoco(Westfield)and  Nonotuck  ( Norths mpton). 

Burt's  "First  Century  of  the  History  of 
Springfield,"  (1899)  says:  "The  first  mention  of 
Robert  Ashley  in  the  town  records  relates  to  a 
rate  agreed  upon  to  build  the  minister's  house, 
and  for  Mr.  Moxon's  maintenance,  which  was 
voted  January,  1639.  It  is  probable  that  he  came 
here  the  previous  year ;  from  whence  he  came  it 
is  not  known.  He  had  land  granted  him  soon 
after  his  arrival,  and  his  home  lot  as  first  men- 
tioned was  between  that  granted  to  John  Searle 
and  that  to  John  Dibble,  but  the  lot  on  which  he 
later  resided  was  that  next  north  of  the  present 
State  street.  He  was  elected  to  several  minor 
offices,  and  in  1653  was  chosen  one  of  the  select- 
men." He  was  selectman  from  1653  to  1656, 
i66t,  1663  and  1666. 

Robert  Ashley  married,  about  164.1.  Mary 
Horton,  widow  of  Thomas  Horton.  of  Spring- 
field, who  came  to  the  town  in  1636,  and  died 
1641,  but  was  not  one  of  the  original  settlers  of 
that  year.  He  witnessed  the  deed  by  which  the 
Indians  conveyed  their  land  to  Pynchon's  com- 
pany. In  early  Springfield  historv  Robert  Ash- 
lev  was  engaged  in  various  employments,  was 
frequently  juryman,  selectman  seven  years  from 
1653  to  to  1666,  and  otherwise  served  his  towrn 
in  various  capacities.  He  was  industrious  and 
upright,  and  a  man  of  strong  religious  principles. 


266 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


June  8,  1642,  of  whom  later.  Mary,  born  April 
6,  1644,  married  John  Root.  Jonathan,  born 
February  25,  1644,  married  Sarah  Wadsworth. 
Sarah,  born  August  23,  1648,  married  John  Root 
(2).  Joseph,  born  July  6,  1652,  married  Mary 
Parsons,  daughter  of  Cornet  Joseph  and  Mary 
(Bliss)   Parsons.      (See  Parsons  Family). 

David  Ashley,  of  Westfield  (originally  Won> 
noco),  eldest  son  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Horton) 
Ashley,  born  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  June 
3,  1642;  died  in  Westfield,  Massachusetts,  De- 
cember 8,  1717:  married,  New  Haven,  Connecti- 
cut, November  24,  1663,  Hannah  Glover,  born 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  May,  1646,  died  West- 
field,  Massachusetts,  June  7,  1722.  In  1661 
grants  of  land  were  made  in  the  west  field  (West- 
field)  to  Captain  Pynchon,  George  Colton  and 
Robert  Ashley,  and  in  1663-4  David  Ashley  was 
granted  a  thirty-acre  lot  at  Woronoco  on  condi- 
tion that  he  and  other  grantees  pay  the  Indians 
for  their  title  to  the  lands  and  "go  there  to  dwell," 
which  he  did  in  1666.  He  was  to  Westfield  more 
than  his  father  had  been  to  Springfield  ;  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  town,  and  one  of  its  prom- 
inent men  ;  was  selectman  twenty  terms  ;  clerk  of 
the  writs  three  years  ;  treasurer  1694 ;  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  church  in  Westfield  from  January  1, 
1679-80  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1718.  He 
had  eleven  children,  of  whom  Samuel  was  eldest. 

Samuel  Ashley,  son  of  David  and  Hannah 
Ashley,  was  born  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  Oc- 
tober 26,  1664,  died  Westfield,  1722 ;  married, 
Hadley,  Massachusetts,  April  27,  1686,  Sarah 
Kellogg,  born  Hadley,  August  27,  1666,  died 
Westfield,  January  30,  1729.  Samuel  Ashley 
was  a  carpenter,  farmer,  innkeeper,  mill  owner, 
land  proprietor  in  Westfield  and  prominent  in 
town  affairs ;  his  name  appears  in  the  records  as 
tythingman  and  selectman,  one  of  the  committee 
to  build  the  schoolhouse,  and  one  of  the  com- 
mittee to  settle  the  bounds  between  Westfield  and 
Springfield.  He  united  with  the  Westfield  church, 
April  15,  1714,  and  was  one  of  the  committee  to 
build  a  new  meeting  house  in  17 19.  He  had 
eleven  children,  all  born  in  Westfield. 

Daniel  Ashley,  third  child  of  Samuel  and 
Sarah  (Kellogg)  Ashley,  born  Westfield,  Sep- 
tember 7,  1691,  died  about  October,  1726;  mar- 
ried (published  intention  of  marriage  November 
15,  1718)  Mrs.  Thankful  Taylor,  widow  of 
Thomas  Taylor,  of  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  and 
daughter  of  Deacon  Eleazer  Hawks,  (of  John), 
and  his  wife,  Judith  Smead  (of  William).  Daniel 
Ashley  was  a  farmer  in  Westfield,  and  one  of  the 
original  proprietors  of  the  "Lower  Township" 
(Sheffield),  on  the  Housatonic  river.     He  was  a 


commissioner  from  Deerfield  to  attend  the  dele- 
gates from  the  Five  Nations,  and  conduct  them 
to  Boston  in  1723  to  hold  a  conference  with  the 
English  commissioners.  He  had  at  least  two  chil- 
dren, Samuel,  born  March  20,  1720;  and  Martin, 
born  September  17,  1724. 

Colonel  Samuel  Ashley,  oldest  child  of  Daniel 
and  Thankful  Ashley,  born  Westfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, March  20,  1720,  died  Claremont,  New 
Hampshire,  February  18,  1792 ;  married,  North- 
field,  Massachusetts,  1742,  Eunice  Doolittle,  born 
Northfield,  Massachusetts,  July  24,  1724,  died 
Claremont,  New  Hampshire,  1807,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Benjamin  and  Lydia  (Todd)  Doolittle. 

Colonel  Ashley  was  one  of  the  prominent  men 
of  New  Hampshire  during  Colonial  and  Revolu- 
tionary times.  He  enlisted  in  the  colonial  service 
at  Fort  Drummer,  under  Captain  Josiah  Kellog, 
Massachusetts  militia,  August  7,  1740,  and  was 
discharged  November  20,  1740:  re-enlisted  the 
next  day  in  Captain  Josiah  Willard's  company, 
serving  until  discharged,  March  4,  1741-2.  Two 
months  later  he  enlisted  again  under  Captain 
Willard,  served  from  May  25,  1742,  to  Novem- 
ber 21,  1742,  and  later  from  July  12,  1748,  to- 
June  7,  1749.  He  became  one  of  .the  original 
grantees  of  Winchester,  New  Hampshire,  under 
the  Massachusetts  charter,  but  when  the  bound- 
ary  line  was  settled  throwing  Winchester  into 
New  Hampshire,  1753,  he  was  an  original  grantee 
under  the  new  incorporation.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  selectmen  of  the  town.  He  was  also  an  ori- 
ginal grantee  of  the  towns  of  Hinsdale,  New 
Hampshire,  1760;  Windsor,  Vermont,  1761  ; 
Shreswbury,  Vermont,  1763,  and  Claremont.  New 
Hampshire,  1784.  He  was  appointed  a  justice 
of  the  peace  and  an  officer  of  the  militia  in  1760. 
and  was  prominent  as  a  land  owner  and  a  man  of 
means.  He  was  a  stanch  patriot,  and  threw  him- 
self with  zeal  on  the  side  of  the  colonies  in  the 
Revolutionary  period.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
provincial  council  from  Winchester,  May  10, 
1774,  and  to  the  convention  at  Exeter,  July  21, 
1774,  which  appointed  representatives  to  the 
continental  congress  at  Philadelphia,  1775.  He 
was  also  elected  a  member  of  the  committee  of 
safety  from  June  14,  to  October  31,  1775.  He 
was  appointed  also  colonel  of  the  First  Regi- 
ment, New  Hampshire  militia,  August  24,  1775, 
but  continued  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee of  safety  until  January  3,  1776,  when  he 
was  made  a  member  of  the  council  from  Cheshire 
county,  serving:  until  1780.  He  was  a  justice  of 
the  common  pleas  for  Cheshire  county.  January 
10,  1776,  and  was  authorized,  June  26,  1776,  to 
enlist  and  command  a  company  of  fifty  men  to-- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


267 


guard  the  western  frontier  of  the  state.  In  1777, 
when  Ticonderoga  was  in  great  danger,  he 
enlisted  109  men  and  marched  to  its  de- 
fense, serving  from  May  7  to  July  n. 
He  was  also  at  the  battle  of  Bennington, 
serving  upon  the  staff  of  General  Stark, 
and  was  with  Gates  at  Saratoga.  He  held  his 
rank  as  colonel  in  the  Thirteenth  (afterward 
Sixth)  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  until  he  re- 
signed, June  18,  1779,  having  been  chosen,  March 
24,  1779,  a  member  of  the  continental  congress, 
which  office,  however,  he  declined  before  congress 
assembled.  Colonel  Samuel  and  Eunice  (Doo- 
little)  Ashley  had  nine  children. 

Colonel  Samuel  Ashley,  third  child  of  Colonel 
Samuel  and  Eunice  (Doolittle)  Ashley,  was  born, 
Northfield,  Massachusetts,  September  29,  1747; 
died  Springfield,  Pennsylvania,  October,  1820; 
married,  Northfield,  Massachusetts,  August 
9,  1770,  his  cousin  Lydia,  daughter  of  Lu- 
cius Doolittle,  born  December  25,  1735. 
Samuel  Ashley  settled  in  Claremont,  New 
Hampshire,  and  from  there  entered  the 
Revolutionary  service  as  first  lieutenant  of 
the  fourth  company  in  Colonel  Bellow's 
Sixteenth  New  Hampshire  Regiment.  Later  he 
was  made  captain  in  the  New  Hampshire  line, 
and  after  the  close  of  the  war  was  commissioned 
lieutenant-colonel,  December  25,  1784,  and  sub- 
sequently colonel,  September  25,  1786,  of  the 
Fifteenth  Re°iment,  New  Hampshire  militia.  In 
the  spring  of  18 18  he  removed  with  his  son 
Charles  to  Springville,  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  although  then  more  than 
seventy  years  old  and  somewhat  infirm  as  the  re- 
sult of  his  earlier  strenuous  life,  he  must  be  re- 
garded as  the  pioneer  of  the  Ashley  family  in 
Pennsylvania.  He  died  two  years  after  his  set- 
tlement in  Springville,  and  the  work  of  pioneer 
life  in  the  then  wilderness  region  of  Susquehanna 
county  really  fell  upon  his  son  Charles. 

Charles  Ashley,  sixth  son  of  Colonel  Samuel 
and  Eunice  Ashley,  was  born  in  Claremont,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1782;  died  in  Waterloo,  Wiscon- 
sin, March  30,  1848;  married,  about  1802,  in 
Claremont.  Roccena  Goss,  born  February  11, 
1748,  died  Waterloo,  Wisconsin,  November  9, 
1861,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Rachel  (Gould) 
Goss.  Charles  Ashley  took  the  oath  of  allegiance 
at  Lemington,  Vermont,  probably  at  the  first  town 
meeting,  in  1796.  After  his  marriage  he  settled 
in  Danville,  Vermont,  where  he  lived  until  1811, 
when  he  returned  to  Claremont,  his  native  town. 
In  the  spring  of  1818  he  removed  to  Springville, 
Susouehanna  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
lived    until    he    removed    to    Waterloo,    Grant 


county,  Wisconsin,  a  few  years  before  his  death. 
His  occupation  was  farming.  He  held  a  number 
of  town  offices  at  different  times  in  his  life. 
Children  of  Charles  and  Roccena  (Goss)  Ashley  : 

1.  Nathaniel,  born  1803.  2.  Lydia,  born  June. 
25,  1805;  married  September,  1831,  Daniel  Ray- 
mond Burt,  of  Waterloo,  Wisconsin,  his  first- 
wife.  He  was  eight  generations  from  Henry 
Burt,  of  Springfield,  born  February  29,  1804,  and" 
died  January  7,  1884.  3.  Charles,  born  June  2, 
1807.  4.  Roccenna,  born  1809,  married,  1834, 
Jeremiah  E.  Dodge,  of  Waterloo,  Wisconsin.  5. 
Oliver,  born  January  2,  181 1.  6.  Samuel,  born 
June  18,  1813.  7.  Lucius,  born  May  7,  1815,  of 
whom  later.  8.  Caroline  Jones,  born  April  10, 
1817;  married,  April  10,  1838,  James  L.  Blakes- 
lee,  and  lives  (1896)  in  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 9.  •  William  Drinker,  born  Springville, 
Pennsylvania,  May  5,  1819.  10.  Rachel  Matilda, 
born  Springville,  Pennsylvania,  July  4,  1822 ;: 
married,  1843.  Jeremiah  E.  Dodge,  of  Waterloo,, 
Wisconsin,  and  lives  (1896)  in  St.  Paul,  Min- 
nesota. 

Lucius  Ashley,  son  of  Charles  and  Roccena' 
(Goss)  Ashley,  was  born  in  Claremont,  New 
Hampshire,  May  7,  1815;  died  in  Mauch  Chunk, 
Pennsylvania,  February  15,  1873;  married  in- 
Mount  Laffee,  Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania,. 
Caroline  Beadle,  born  Middletown,  county  Dur- 
ham, England,  March  9,  1821,  daughter  of  John 
and  Jennie  (Lowthaine)  Beadle.  Lucius  Ashley, 
when  an  infant  went  with  his  parents  to  Spring- 
ville, Pennsylvania,  and  from  there  to  Grant 
county,  Wisconsin.  For  several  years  he  was- 
in  the  employ  of  the  American  Fur  Company  in 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  and  then  returned  to 
Pennsylvania.  After  marriage  he  lived  several 
years  in  Nesquehoning,  Pennsylvania,  and  then 
removed  to  Mauch  Chunk,  where  the  remainder 
of  his  life  was  spent.  There  he  engaged  in  the 
business  of  building  boats  for  use  on  the  Lehigh 
canal,  and  later  was  in  the  lime  business.  Chil- 
dren of  Lucius  and  Caroline  ( Beadle)  Ashley : 
1.  Herbert  Henry,  born  December  1,  1843,  of" 
whom  later.  2.  Ellen  Bathsheba,  born  March  9, 
1848,  married,  June  25,  1868,  Asa  Robert  Beers, 
Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania.  3.  Rollin  Robert, 
born  March  15,  1851,  married,  October  21,  1874, 
Emily  Frances  Kline,  born  Mauch  Chunk,  June 
27,  18.S4,  died  December  23,  1884,  daughter  of" 
Frederick  C.  and  Marietta  (Staples)  Kline.  4. 
Caroline  Blakeslee,  born  March  13,  1857,  died" 
June  1,  1857.  5.  Marv  Alice,  born  May  11,  1859, 
died  December  29,  1864. 

Herbert  Henry  Ashley,  eldest  son  of  Lucius 
and  Caroline  (Beadle)  Ashley,  was  born  in  Nes— 


268 


THE   \VYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


quehoning",  Pennsylvania,  December  I,  1843; 
married  (first),  October  23,  1867,  Sophia  Bixley 
Struthers,  born  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  Jan- 
uary 18,  1845,  died  Newport  Mines  (now  Wan- 
amie)  Pennsylvania,  May  31,  1871,  daughter  of 
James  Robb  and  Ellen  (Tolan)  Struthers ;  mar- 
ried (second),  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1875,  Lydia  Kreidler  Davenport,  born 
Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  December  13,  1847, 
■daughter  of  Oliver  and  Livia  (Ransom)  Daven- 
port.   (See  Ransom  Family). 

Mr.  Ashley  was  formerly  superintendent  and 
treasurer  and  is  now  president  of  the  Parrish 
Coal  Company.  He  is  also  vice-president  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  Wilkes-Barre ;  life  member 
and  trustee  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society.  He  lives  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He 
had  three  children :  By  first  marriage,  Sophia 
-Ellen,  born  May  25,  1871.  By  second  marriage: 
Marion  Livia,  born  July  8,  1877 ;  Roccena  Goss, 
born  January  1,  1880.  H.  E.  H. 

REV.  THOMAS  POAGE  HUNT.  The 
Hunt  family  here  recorded  are  descendants  of 
'"The  Good  Chaplain  Hunt,"  who  came  to  Amer- 
ica with  Captain  John  Smith  and  others  who 
were  among  the  first  settlers  of  Virginia.  Chap- 
lain Hunt  returned  to  England,  where  his  sons 
were  warm  friends  of  King  Charles,  but  were 
compelled  to  flee  from  Cromwell's  sword.  One 
of  these  sons  came  to  Virginia  with  his  three 
sons,  each  of  whom  became  the  founder  of  a 
family  of  prominence  in  American  colonial  his- 
tory. Of  these  sons,  one  remained  with  his 
father  in  Virginia  ;  another  settled  in  New  Jersey, 
and  the  third  located  in  Alabama,  at  the  place 
afterward  named  for  him — Huntsville. 

Rev.  Thomas  Pitt  Hunt  was  &  descendant  of 
James  Hunt,  of  the  Virginia  branch  of  the  fam- 
ily. This  James  Hunt  was  one  of  the  first  three 
Presbyterians  in  Virginia.  His  second  son  was 
Rev.  James  Hunt,  born  Hanover,  Virginia,  1731. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  pastor  of  the  famous 
"Captain  John  Church,"  Maryland,  which  was 
founded  about  1761,  and  afterward  became 
known  as  the  "Cabin  John  Church."  Rev. 
James  lived  on  a  farm  called  Tusculum.  and  he 
partly  maintained  his  family  by  teaching  school, 
his  parish  not  being  strong  enough  to  entirely 
support  a  pastor.  Among  James  Hunt's  pupils 
was  the  afterward  celebrated  William  Wirt,  who 
remained  there  until  the  school  was  closed  in  1787. 
During  the  last  two  years  of  that  time  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Hunt  household,  and  was  thus 
brought  directly  under  the  influence  of  his 
teacher  and  pastor,  who  was  a  man  of  cultivated 


mind,  a  careful  student  himself,  and  the  possessor 
of  valuable  philosophical  apparatus.  As  a 
teacher  he  was  agreeable  and  quick  to  appreciate 
the  tastes  of  his  pupils,  and  was  kind  and  indul- 
gent in  his  intercourse  with  them.  Rev.  James 
Hunt  died  in  the  pastorate  of  the  "Cabin  John 
Church"  in  Montgomery  county,  Maryland,  June 

2,  1793,  aged  sixty-two  years.    He  married,  June 

3.  1762,  Ruth  Hall,  widow  of  Elisha  Hall.  She 
was  born  at  Neshaming,  Pennsylvania,  August 
20,  1725,  and  died  in  May,  1793,  aged  sixty-seven 
years.  Their  eldest  son  was  James  Hunt,  born 
November  25,  1763,  died  August  10.  1794. 

William  Pitt  Hunt  was  the  second  son  of 
Rev.  James  and  Ruth  (Hale)  Hunt.  He  was  born 
January  3,  1767,  baptized  February  28,  1767,  and 
married,  April  14,  1790,  Susanna  Watkins,  born 
Charlotte  county,  Virginia,  January  7,  1769,  died 
April  28,  1849,  daughter  of  Joel  and  Agnes  Wat- 
kins.  The  children  of  William  Pitt  and  Susanna 
(Watkins)  Hunt  were:  James  Watkins  Hunt, 
born  May  20,  1791.  died  June  8,  1817.  Ruth 
Hall  Hunt,  born  January  11,  1793,  died  Novem- 
ber 16,  1821.  Thomas  Poage  Hunt,  born  De- 
cember 3,  1794,  of  whom  later.  William  Pitt 
Hunt,  born  Charlotte  county,  Virginia,  April  18, 
1797,  died  October,  1810.  William  Pitt  Hunt 
was  a  lawyer,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College, 
and  a  tutor  there  before  he  took  up  the  study  of 
the  law.  His  wife,  Susanna  Watkins,  was  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  Joel  Watkins.  After  the 
death  of  her  husband  she  married  Rev.  Moses 
Hcge,  D.  D.,  who  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  president  of  Hampden  Sidney  College,  and 
professor  of  theology  in  Union  Theological  Insti- 
tute of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 

Rev.  Thomas  Poage  Hunt,  born  Charlotte 
county,  Virginia,  died  Philadelphia.  Pennsylva- 
nia, December  5,  1876 ;  married,  at  Charlie  Hope, 
Brunswick,  Virginia,  October  5,  1832,  Ann 
Meade  Feild,  born  Hobson's,  Brunswick,  Vir- 
ginia, January  31,  1804,  and  died  Wilkes-Barre. 
Pennsylvania,  September  11,  1875.  They  had 
children  : 

1.  Susan  Caroline  Hunt,  born  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina,  August  18,  1833,  now  living  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

2.  Anna  Meade  Hunt,  born  New  York  city, 
December  15,  1835,  married,  December  14,  1857, 
Andrew  J.  Welles,  of  Glastonbury,  Connec- 
ticut. Children :  Susie  Meade  Welles,  born 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  January  1,  1859;  died 
December  30,  i860.  Elizabeth  Welles,  born 
Wvoming,  Pennsylvania,  August  28,  i860; 
married,  May  7,  1890,  Rev.  Casper  R.  Greg- 
ory,   born    Oneida,    New    York,    November    13, 


^c 


^^2/vU^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


269, 


1S59 ;  graduated  from  Princeton  College,  New 
Jersey,  1880,  and  from  Lincoln  College,  Ox- 
ford, Pennsylvania,  1884;  came  to  Memorial 
Presbyterian  Church,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  served  acceptably  until  his  death 
December  2,  1891.  Thomas  Poage  Hunt  Welles, 
born  Carbondale,  Pennsylvania,  June  16,  1862; 
died  December  24,  1863.  Albert  Hunt  Welles, 
born  Wilkes-Barre,  June  11,  1864;  principal 
Scranton  high  school;  married  August  29,  1895, 
-> Stella  D.  Leach.  They  have  one  child,  Anna 
Hunt  Welles,  born  October  4,  1896.  Anna  Meade 
Welles,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  June  n,  1867;  died 
April  5,   1875. 

3.  Ruth  Hall  Hunt,  married  June  13,  1865, 
S.  Henri  Hibler.     She  died  March  5,  1866. 

4.  Lucy  Jane  Hunt,  married  November  19, 
186S,  Edward  B.  Twaddell,  of  Philadelphia. 
Children:  Lucy  Twaddell,  born  July  7,  1876. 
Thomas  Poage  Hunt  Twaddell,  born  March  19, 
1872;  died  March  19,  1874.  Alice  Worrell  Twad- 
dell, born  December  10,  1874 ;  died;  September 
19,  1878.  Ruth  Hunt  Twaddell,  born  Novem- 
ber 8,  1879;  died  November  12,  1879.  Francis 
Twaddell,  born  September  9,  1881  ;  died  March 
17,   1886. 

5.  Mary  Elizabeth  Watkins  Hunt,  married 
October  19,  1865,  George  S.  Rippard,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  She  died  July  17,  1899.  Their  children  : 
Anna  Hunt  Rippard,  born  February  9,  1868 ; 
died  June  17,1874.  Kate  Linden  Rippard,  born 
January  7,  1873;  married  October  1,  1902,  Ralph 
Shaver,  of  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  Helen 
Watkins  Rippard,  born  August  25,  1874.  Meade 
B.  Rippard,  born  July  1,  1876;  married  June  20, 
1900,  Emily  Williams,  of  Baltimore,   Maryland. 

The  American  ancestor  of  the  Feild.  family 
was  Theophilus  Feild.  who  came  from  Wales^ 
He  was  prominent  in  affairs  of  the  church  and 
also  in  the  business  life  of  the  town  in  which  he 
lived.  His  home  was  in  Blandford,  Virvinia,  and 
he  more  than  any  other  one  person  was  instru- 
mental in  bringing  to  Blandford  from  England 
materials  used  in  the  construction  of  the  first 
church  there.  He  was  married,  but  the  name  of 
his  wife  is  not  recalled.  He  had  five  sons.  His 
third  child  and  son,  Theophilus,  married  a  Miss 
Taylor.  Their  children  were  Theophilus,  George 
Richard,  Sarah,  and  Mary.  Dr.  Richard  Feild, 
the  third  son,  then  of  Octagon  Hall,  Brunswick, 
Virginia,  married  Ann  Meade,  who  was  a 
daughter  of  Andrew  and  Susannah  (Stith) 
Meade.  Their  children  were  Dr.  Andrew  Feild, 
Dr.  George  Feild,  Richard  Wythe  Feild,  Ann 
Meade  Feild,  who  married  Rev.  Thomas  P. 
Hunt,  and  Theophilus  Agricola  Feild. 


Andrew  Meade  was  a  merchant  and  planter 
having  a  large  estate  in  lands.  His  son,  David 
Meade,  married  Susanna  Everard,  daughter  of 
Sir  Richard  Everard,  Bart.,  who  was  governor 
of  North  Carolina  under  the  Lords  Proprietors.. 
When  the  province  was  purchased  from  the 
crown,  Sir  Richard  returned  to  Engiand  and 
died  there  in  1732  or  1733. 

A  tribute  by  a  gentleman  of  Wilkes-Barre  to- 
the  memory  of  the  late  Thomas  P.  Hunt  brings  ' 
to  our  mind  a  venerable,   wise  and  good  man,, 
whose  life  and  labors  were  largely  devoted  to  the 
welfare  of  the  people : 

"No  man  exerted  a  greater  moral  and  religious  1 
influence  in  the  valley  than  did  the  Rev.  Thomas 
P.  Hunt,  or,  as  he  was  familiarly  called;  'Father 
Hunt,'  who  had  a  nature  filled  with  kindness  and  > 
sympathy  for  erring  humanity,  and  by  the  union 
of  benevolence,   mildness    and    energy    adapted  1 
himself  to  any  character  and  to  every  situation. 
He  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  moral 
ills  which  affect  human  nature  and  it  is  to  the 
profound  impression  this  knowledge  made  upon, 
his  life  and  character  that  we  ascribe  that  tender  ( 
commiseration  which  he  displayed  so  powerfully 
in  all  his  actions.     He  was  renowned  as  a  tern-  , 
perance  lecturer  and  reformer,  and  he  brought  to 
the  work  a  courage  inclined  to    aggression,    and  ( 
strengthened  by  an   unshaken  conviction  of  the 
duties  and  of  the  greatness  of  the  mission. 

"His  simplicity  of  character  was  a  testimony  in  ^ 
favor  of  the  charm  of  virtue,  and  he  considered 
nothing  as  innocent  that  could  wound  virtue  in  ' 
the  slightest  degree.    He  detested  affectation  and 
his  mind  was  dead  to  vanity.     He  possessed  a. 
natural  eloquence,  and  even  those  who  did  not  , 
yield  to  his  pathetic  exhortations  did  not  refuse 
him  esteem,  confidence  and  admiration.     He  was  / 
a  friend  of  the  afflicted,  the  bold  reprover  of  vice,  ' 
the  gentle  guide  to  the  wanderer,  and  the  spirit  of 
christian  love  in  him  was  a  power  that  touched  I 
the  souls  of  men,  and  drew  them  from  the  wine- 
cup  when  it  was  red.     He  was  deservedly  emi-  | 
nent  for  his  learning,  compact  reasoning,  purity, 
vigor    and    picturesquesness    of    his    style,    the  f 
graphic  fervor  of  statement,  the  grandeur  of  the 
truths  he  reiterated  and  illustrated,  and  the  di-  , 
rectness,  faith  and  zeal  with  which  he  persuaded  ' 
men  to  enlist  under  the  banner  of  temperance. 
His  religious  papers  were  excellent  for  their  high  | 
ethical   tone  and   for  their  natural   and  fine  re-  , 
flectiveness. 

"He  was  contemporary  with  Father  Theobold  \ 
Matthew ;  both  were  world-renowned  and  earnest  / 
missionaries,  and  exercised  an  immense  influence- 
over  the  intellectual.     Societies  and  leagues  were  / 


.270 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


/ 


/ 


/ 


formed,  periodicals  were  established,  and  the 
Temperance  Society  then  pledged  to  the  tem- 
perate use  of  intoxicants,  but  having  for  its  object 
the  suppression  of  the  liquor  traffic,  rapidly  grew 
into  total  abstinence.  Father  Hunt  was  a  Godly 
man  whose  hallowed  memory  we  delight  to 
honor.  He  was  eminent  as  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel,  also  the  leading  temperance  advocate  on 
the  continent,  and  the  purpose  to  which  he  has 
concentrated  the  powers  of  his  great  intellect  and 
heart,  during  a  long  and  laborious  life,  with  earn- 
est zeal  and  Christian  humanity,  was  to  honor 
God  and  do  good  to  his  fellowmen.  In  the  varied 
walks  of  life,  in  the  scenes  in  which  he  mingled, 
in  the  pulpit,  in  the  council  of  the  church,  in  the 

.  social  circle,  in  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  family, 

.his  example  radiated  the  sunbeams  of  christian 
'.benevolence  and  kindness  all  along  his  path. 

"This  expression  and  tribute  of  personal  re- 
gard is  due  him  whom  the  entire  community  know 

"  only  to  honor,  and  we  will  ever  cherish  his  chris- 
tian example,  which  bore  a  stamp  of  sacred  truth 
which     the  revolution  of  the  world   will  never 

■  efface.  He  left  behind  him  an  imperishable  rep- 
utation as  a  forcible,  eloquent  and  conscientious 
minister  of  the  gospel,  and  with  the  grace  that 
adorns  the  christian  and  entitled  him  to  the  es- 
teem of  prosperity,  he  possessed  the  virtues  that 
constitute  an  amiable,  enlightened,  virtuous  and 

-wise  man."  H.  E.  H. 

HON.  CHARLES  H.  PRICE.  The  first 
American  ancestor  of  Hon.  Charles  H.  Price  of 
whom  we  have  direct  or  positive  knowledge  was 
James  Price,  of  Maidenhead,  now  Lawrenceville, 
New  Jersey.  He  was  probably  a  son  of  John 
Price,  who  brought  a  certificate  from  Wooster, 
England,  to  the  Philadelphia  Monthly   Meeting 

•of  Friends,  dated  3  mo.  14,  1683. 

(I)  James  Price  was  a  large  landholder  in 
Maidenhead  township  as  early  as  1698,  and  was 

.also  a  prominent  man  in  that  community.  He 
w^as  commissioned  a  lieutenant  of  provincial  mil- 
itia March  19,  17 14,  and  his  son  John  was  a  cap- 
tain in  the  provincial  service  later.  His  sons  so 
far  as  the  old  records  disclose,  were :  Captain 
John,  died  in  Maidenhead  in  1773,  leaving  three 
sons,  James,  David  and  John,  and  four  daugh- 
ters, Elizabeth,  wife  of  James  Slack;  Susannah, 
wife  of  \Vjniarn_JHjint ;  Letitia,  Mary  Price,  and 
a  daughter  of  his  deceased  son  Solomon.  James 
Price,  son  of  James,  married  in  1737  Elizabeth, 

•daughter  of  George  Ely,  of  Trenton,  and  died  in 
1741,  leaving  an  only  child.  George.  Of  Thomas 
Price  we  have  little  record ;  he  was  named  as  one 


of  the  administrators  of  his    brother    James  in 
1740. 

(II)  David  Price,  son  of  James,  became  an 
extensive  landowner  in  Hopewell  township, 
Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersey,  and  in  1756  pur- 
chased two  hundred  acres  in  Middletown  town- 
ship, Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  near  New- 
town, of  John  Crawley,  and  removed  thereon. 
He  died  in  1765,  leaving  two  sons,  Nathan  and 
James;  and  four  daughters,  Rebecca,  wife  of 
Daniel  Price,  of  Kingwood,  New  Jersey ; 
Eleanor,-  wife  of  Benjamin  Stackhouse ;  Sarah, 
and  Susanna.  The  two  latter  were  minors,  and 
guardians  were  appointed  for  them  by  the  or- 
phans' court  of  Bucks  county,  in  March,  1766, 
Sarah  being  nineteen  and  Susanna  twelve.  Sarah 
died  in  1767  in  Merion,  Chester  county,  leaving 
a  will  in  which  she  devises  her  estate  to  John, 
Rebecca,  Smith,  Elizabeth,  Sarah,  Phebe,  James 
and  David  Price,  children  of  her  brother  Nathan  ; 
James,  Pamelia  and  Rebecca,  children  of  her 
brother  James  ;  Peter,  and  Thomas,  and  Elizabeth 
Price,  children  of  her  sister  Rebecca  Price;  Re- 
becca and  James  Stackhouse,  children  of  her  sis- 
ter Eleanor;  and  to  her  sister  Susannah.  On 
February  6,  1768,  Daniel  Price,  of  Kingwood, 
New  Jersey,  and  Rebecca,  his  wife,  and  Benjamin 
Stackhouse  and  Eleanor  his  wife,  executed  a  deed 
to  Nathan  and  James  Price  for  all  the  interest  of 
Rebecca  and  Eleanor  in  the  several  tracts  of  land 
which  their  father,  David  Price,  died  seized,  sit- 
uated in  Hopewell,  New  Jersey,  and  Middletown, 
Bucks  county.  This  deed  recites  the  death  of 
Sarah,  "unmarried  and  without  issue,"  and  that 
Susannah  was  yet  a  minor.  May  18,  1776,  Susan- 
nah, having  come  of  age  and  the  wife  of  Joseph 
Mahr,  of  Northarhpton  county,  Pennsylvania, 
makes  a  conveyance  of  her  interest  to  "Nathan 
Price,  eldest  son  of  David  Price,  deceased,  now  of 
the  County  of  Hunterdon  and  State  of  New  Jer- 
sey," and  to  William  Sattertlnvaite  and  Sarah 
Price,  executors  of  the  will  of  James  Price,  late 
of  Middletown  township,  Bucks  county,  de- 
ceased. James,  having  married  Sarah  Huddle- 
son,  October  11,  1762,  died  leaving  a  widow 
Sarah,  and  children  James,  Pamela  and  Rebecca. 
The  latter  married  William  Weaver,  and  the 
former  John  Keuser,  1784. 

(III)  Nathan  Price,  as  shown  by  the  above 
recited  records,  removed  to  Kingwood.  New  Jer- 
sey, soon  after  his  father's  death,  where  he  be- 
came a  prominent  citizen.  He  was  elected  sheriff 
of  Hunterdon  county  in  1806,  and  served  a  term 
of  three  years.  His  sons,  John,  James  and 
Smith,  either  remained  in  Bucks  countv  on  the  re- 


y/ZCC4 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


?7i 


moval  of  their  father  to  New  Jersey,  or  returned 
there  soon  after.  Smith,  born  September  n, 
1748,  died  October  17,  1816,  married,  September 
1,  1776,  Martha,  daughter  of  Joseph  Carver,  of 
Buckingham,  and  (second)  Hannah  Burroughs. 
He  was  a  storekeeper  at  Gardenville,  Plumstead 
township,  and  became  a  large  landowner  in  that 
vicinity.  He  left  five  sons  and  one  daughter, 
who  have  numerous  descendants  in  Bucks  county 
and  elsewhere.  James  was  married  at  Bucking- 
ham Meeting  of  Friends  in  1785  to  Naomi, 
daughter  of  Paul  Preston. 

(IV)  John  Price  was  a  taxpayer  in  Plum- 
stead  towwnship  in  1779,  and  "John  Price's  Es- 
tate" is  taxed  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land  in  the  same  township  in  1781.  No  record 
of  probate  proceedings  on  his  estate  have  been 
found.  From  the  family  Bible  of  his  son  George 
Price,  we  learn  that  his  wife's  name  was  Jane, 
and  that  George  was  born  August  2,  1774. 

(V)  George  Price  was  a  resident  of  King- 
wood,  Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersey,  on  arriv- 
ing at  manhood,  and  had  probably  resided  with 
his  grandfather,  Nathan  Price,  after  the  death 
of  his  father.  He  married  in  1797  Catharine, 
daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  (Keiple)  Sny- 
der, of  Kingwood,  who  was  born  November  19, 
1781.  Children  of  George  and  Catharine  (Sny- 
der) Price:  John  Snyder,  born  November  28, 
1798,  died  June  27.  1827.  Joseph,  born  Septem- 
ber 2,  1800,  died  July  22,  1804.  Eleanor,  born 
February  21,  1802,  married  William  Thornton. 
Jane,  born  October  14,  1804,  died  July  28,  1870. 
Letitia,  born  April  14,  1807,  married  Levi  Brown. 
Emeline,  born  April  5,  1809,  died  May  22,  1878, 
married  Captain  James  Maloney.  George  Price, 
born  July  14,  181 1,  died  October  3,  1892.  Eliza- 
beth, born  November  15,  1813,  still  living  (1905) 
in  the  same  house  where  she  was  born  at  Browns- 
burg,  Upper  Makefield  township,  Bucks  county, 
aged  ninety-one  years.  Charles  Burroughs, 
father  of  Charles  H.  Price,  born  August  1,  1819, 
died  April  20,  1888.  George  Price,  father  of 
these  children,  died  February  13,  1852,  at  Browns- 
burg,  and  his  widow  Catharine  on  April  10,  1867. 
George  Price  sold  his  real  estate  in  Kingwood, 
New  Jersey,  in  1808,  and  shortly  afterward  re- 
moved to  Brownsburg,  where  his  death  occurred. 

John  Snyder  and  wife  Margaret  Keiple,  par- 
ents of  Catharine  Price,  were  married  February 
22,  1 78 1,  and  the  records  show  that  Catharine  was 
their  only  child.  John  Snyder  died  in  1789,  and 
his  widow  married  a  year  later  Isaac  Van  Camp. 
The  Snyders  were  doubtless  Germans,  but  had 
been  residents  of  New  Jersey  for  several  genera- 


tions. John  Snyder,  grandfather  of  John  Sny- 
der, who  married  Margaret  Keiple,  was  a  large 
landowner  in  Morris  county  in  1748,  and  his  son 
John  Snyder  purchased  land  in  Kingwood  in 
1762.  John  Snyder,  the  father  of  Catharine 
Price,  was  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
acres  in  Kingwood  at  his  death,  and  this  des- 
cended to  the  said  Catharine  Price  and  was  con- 
veyed by  her  and  her  husband  to  her  stepfather, 
Isaac  Van  Camp,  in  1808.  Margaret  Snyder 
Van  Camp  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob  Keiple,  of 
Amwell  township,  Hunterdon  county,  New  Jer- 
sey, who  died  in  1797,  far  advanced  in  years. 
His  widow,  Catharine  Keiple,  died  in  March, 
1801.     They  were  of  Holland  descent. 

(VI)     Charles   Burroughs   Price    was    born 
August  1,  1819.     In  1840  he    came    to    Wilkes- 
Barre,    Pennsylvania,    and   purchased    the    first 
hearse  ever  owned  in  that  city.     For  a  number  of 
years  he  followed  carpentering  and  undertaking, 
and,  as  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  made  all 
his  coffins  by  hand.     Later  he  gave  up  the  un- 
dertaking part  of  the  business,  and  devoted  his 
attention  exclusively  to  carpentering  and  build- 
ing.    Subsequently  he  erected  in  connection  with 
O.  B.  Hilliard,  the  first  planing  mill  in  this  part 
of  the  country,  which  he  operated  for  a  time  and 
then  disposed  of  his  interest  to  O.  B.   Hilliard 
and  in  1856  he  built  another  mill  which  he  con- 
tinued to  operate  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.     In 
1875  his  son,  Charles  H.  Price,  special  subject  of 
this  review,  was  admitted  to  partnership  and  the 
firm  conducted  an  extensive  business,  giving  em- 
ployment to  a  number  of  men.     Mr.  C.  B.  Price 
was  a  Republican  in  politics,  taking  an  active  in- 
terest in  city  affairs,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
council.     On  November  7,  1842,  Mr.  Price  mar- 
ried Mary  A.   Goucher,  who  was  born  in  Sole- 
bury,     Bucks    county,    Pennsylvania,    in    1820, 
daughter    of    William    and    Hannah     (Quick) 
Goucher,    of    Solebury,    whose   family    consisted 
of  four  other  children,  namely :  Louis,  Elizabeth, 
John  and  Mary  Ann.     William  Goucher  was  a 
native  of  Sussex  county,  New  Jersey,  and  was 
probably  of  French  Huguenot  descent.   '  He  set- 
tled in  Plumstead  township,  Bucks  county,  about 
1800,  and  later  purchased  land  near  Carverville, 
Solebury  township,  where  he  died  in  1822.     His 
widow,  Hannah  (Quick)  Goucher,  died  in  1824. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  John  Quick,  of  King- 
wood,  who  died  in  1798,  and  granddaughter  of 
John  Quick,  who  died  in  1771.     Their  American 
ancestor  was  Tunis  Quick,  who  married,  October 
30,  1689,  AToutje  Haring,  born  March  3,   1663, 
daughter  of  Jan  Peterson  Haring,  who  was  born. 


27 2 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


in  Holland,  December  26,  1633,  and  his  wife 
Grietje  Cosyn,  whom  he  married  in  1662.  Tunis 
Quick  and  his  mother  Romora  Quick,  purchased 
a  large  tract  of  land  in  Hunterdon  county  in 
1 713.  Their  descendants  are  now  very  numer- 
ous in  that  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price  were 
the  parents  of  five  children:  I.  Emma.  2. 
Jennie,  died  young.  3.  Charles  H.  4.  George 
E.  5.  Laura  K.,  wife  of  H.  C.  Miller,  who  re- 
sides on  Main  street,  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Price  were  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  Their  deaths  occurred  respectively 
April  20,  1888,  and  July  1,  1894. 

Laura  K.  Price,  youngest  daughter  of  Charles 
Burroughs  and  Mary  A.  (Goucher)  Price,  was 
born  March  31,  1859,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania. She  was  educated  at  the  public  schools  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  this  was  supplemented  by  a 
four  years'  course  at  Seminary,  from  which  she 
was  graduated  in  1879.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  October  24,  1884,  she  became  the  wife 
of  Henry  Clay  Miller,  who  was  born  November 
9.  1858,  was  educated  at  the  public  schools  and 
at  Wyoming  Seminary,  graduating  from  the  lat- 
ter institution  with  the  class  of  1877.  For  six 
years  thereafter  he  served  as  bookkeeper  for  his 
father  at  Valley,  New  Jersey,  and  then  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  for  several 
years  he  served  in  a  similar  capacity  for  the  Mor- 
gan gun  factory. 

G.  M.  Miller,  father  of  Henry  C.  Miller,  was 
for  many  years  engaged  in  iron  mining  at  Val- 
ley, Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersey,  and  later 
took  up  his  residence  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  served  for  a  number  of  years  in 
the  capacity  of  city  treasurer  and  tax  collector. 
He  was  a  worker  along  the  lines  of  advance- 
ment and  higher  civilization,  was  a  man  of  irre- 
proachable character,  and  well  endowed  with 
firmness  and  stability.  His  wife,  Jane  Stark  Miller, 
daughter  of  John  and  Cornelia  (Wilcox)  Stark, 
bore  him  five  children :  Eva,  married  P.  R.  Bor- 
den, of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
three  children:  Garrett  M.,  John  F.,  and  Evert 
Borden.  Ida.  married  Woodward  Leavenworth, 
and  their  children  are :  Alice,  wife  of  Frederick 
Boynton,  of  Chicago,  Illinois :  Helen,  who  re- 
sides at  home ;  and  Woodward,  Jr.,  who  died  in 
February,  1905,  aged  fifteen  years.  (See  Leav- 
enworth sketch  elsewhere  in  this  work).  Kate 
E.,  married  Jesse  Morgan.  Henry  Clay.  A 
child  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Miller,  father 
of  these  children,  died  at  his  home  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  in  1895,  aged  sixty-six  years. 

(VII)     Hon.  Charles  H.  Price  was  born  in 


Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August  10,  1848. 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  Early  in  life  he  became  actively 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  milling  business, 
becoming  a  partner  in  1875,  and  this  connection 
continued  up  to  the  death  of  his  father,  when  he 
leased  the  mill,  which  was  located  on  the  site  of 
what  is  now  the  yards  and  station  of  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Traction  Company,  known  as  the  "Laurel 
Line."  He  then  engaged  in  his  present  business, 
real  estate,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time 
is  devoted  to  looking  after  the  Price  estate  and 
in  settling  up  its  affairs.  He  takes  an  active  in- 
terest in  the  Republican  party,  and  has  held  var- 
ious offices  of  trust  and  responsibility.  In  1902 
he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  his  term  expiring  in  1905.  He  was  a 
member  of  both  branches  of  council,  in  which  he 
served  in  the  capacity  of  presiding  officer.  He 
is  a  member  of  Wyoming  Lodge,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  and  the  Knights  of  Malta. 
In  1874  Mr.  Price  married  Harriet  L.  Agin, 
who  was  born  in  Brownsburg,  Bucks  county, 
Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Albert  G.  and  Mary 
(Brown)  Agin,  the  former  named,  now  deceased,, 
having  been  engaged  in  general  merchandise  and. 
real  estate.  Their  children  were :  Charles  B., 
born  April  20,  1875,  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  while  a  student  at  the  Harry  Hillman  Aca- 
demy. Albert  G.,  born  January  12,  1878,  died 
at  the  age  of  two  years.  Stacy  B.,  born  October 
9,  1883,  who  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
of  Wilkes-Barre  and  is  now  (1905)  in  the  Pen- 
nington Seminary  of  New  Jersey.  Marshall  O, 
born  June  25,  1890,  now  a  student  in  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  High  School.  The  mother  of  these  child- 
ren died  April  25,  1898.  Mr.  Price  married 
(second)  Emily  P.  Hann,  who  was  born  in 
Hackettstown,  New  Jersey,  daughter  of  Morris 
Hann  and  Harriet  ( Pell)  Hann,  an  old  Wilkes- 
Barre  family ;  her  father  was  a  prosperous  agri- 
culturist. One  son  is  the  issue  of  this  union, 
Burroughs   Hann    Price,   born   April    10,     1900. 

H.  E.  H. 

WALTER  STERLING  CASTERLIN.  at- 
torney, of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  also  chief  deputy 
coroner  of  Luzerne  county,  having  served  in  the 
latter  capacity  since  January,  1905,  is  a  native  of 
the  city  in  which  he  now  resides,  bora  September 
27,  1 87 1,  a  descendant  of  a  Scotch-Irish  an- 
cestry. 

George  Casterlin  (great-great-grandfather) 
was  born  in  New  Jersey,  and  there  followed  the 
trade  of  blacksmith  for  a  number  of  vears.     At 


THE   WYOMING   AXD   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


273 


an  early  date  he  came  to  Pennsylvania  and  located 
in  the  Wyoming  valley.  He  married  Hannah 
Lickers,  whose  brother,  Henry  Lickers,  is  buried 
under  the  Wyoming  Battle  Monument.  George 
and  Hannah  (Lickers)  Casterlin  were  forced  to 
flee  in  the  night  to  escape  from  the  Indians ;  they 
lost  sight  of  each  other,  and  were  not  reunited 
until  after  they  crossed  the  Delaware  river  and 
landed  in  Sussex  county,  New  Jersey.  Here 
they  remained  and  reared  their  family,  among 
whom  was  George  Casterlin,  of  whom  further. 

George  Casterlin  (great-grandfather)  was 
born  in  Sussex  county.  New  Jersey,  1775,  and 
there  followed  the  trade  of  blacksmith.  He 
married,  1805,  Jennie  Evans,  born  1776,  daugh- 
ter of  Robert  and  Kathrine  (Decker)  Evans,  the 
former  of  whom  came  to  America  and  settled  in 
New  Jersey,  and  the  latter  was  a  daughter  of 
Squire  Decker,  of  Deckerstown,  New  Jersey, 
which  was  named  for  him.  George  and  Jennie 
(Evans)  Casterlin  were  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren: William.  George,  Nathaniel,  James  (see 
forward)  ;  Thomas,  Robert,  Harvey,  Harriet, 
Mehitable.  and  Eleanor.  They  were  Scotch  Pres- 
byterians in  religion. 

James  Casterlin  (grandfather)  was  born  July 
25,  1808,  died  February  13,  1882.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  Sussex  county,  New  Jersey,  where  he  was 
educated,  and  where  he  learned  the  trade  of 
blacksmith,  which  he  followed  for  many  years. 
In  1832  he  located  in  Franklin  township,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  purchased  five  hundred  acres 
of  land,  two  hundred  of  which  he  cleared  and  cul- 
tivated in  conjunction  with  his  trade.  His  wife 
was  Eliza  (Ailing)  Casterlin,  born  in  Sussex 
county.  New  Jersey,  October  n,  1810,  died  Oc- 
tober 10,  1 901,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Nancy 
(Roarich)  Ailing,  who  came  from  Scotland,  the 
latter  a  daughter  of  Captain  Goshen  and  Betsy 
(Massam)  Roarich,  who  were  natives  of  Pep- 
percotton,  New  Jersey.  Captain  and  Betsy  Ai- 
ling have  six  children :  Lucy,  married  a 
Whalen  ;  Sally,  married  a  Carre  ;  Lizzie,  married 
a  Search,  of  New  Jersey ;  Kate,  married  a  Clay ; 
Millie,  married  a  Smith  ;  Nancy,  married  Benja- 
min Ailing,  mentioned  above.  'Benjamin  Alling's 
parents  died  when  he  was  only  seven  years  of 
age.     They  were  natives  of  Scotland. 

James  and  Eliza  (Ailing)  Casterlin  were  the 
parents  of  ten  children ;  two  died  in  infancy,  and 
eight  came  to  maturity:  1.  John,  married  Julia 
Rosencranse  and  resides  in  Scranton,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 2.  Mary,  now  dead ;  married  C.  H. 
Williams,  resides  in  West  Pittston.  3.  Louis, 
married  Malisia  Whitam,  both  deceased.  4.  Jos- 
eph, married  Mary  Rosencranse,  a  sister  of  Julia, 

18 


mentioned  above,  and  they  reside  in  Orange, 
Pennsylvania.  5.  J.  George,  married  Elizabeth 
King,  both  deceased.  6.  Louisa,  married  Robert 
Furmaiij  of  Wyalusing,  now  deceased.  7.  Asa, 
of  Orange,  Pennsylvania,  see  forward.  8. 
Minda,  born  March  17,  1849,  in  Franklin  town- 
ship, Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania ;  married, 
1868,  Alvin  Holmes,  born  January  30,  1842,  in. 
Dexter,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  Alvin  and  Minerva 
( Ingersoll )  Holmes,  who  came  from  England. 
Alvin  and  Minda  (Casterlin)  Holmes  had  two 
children:  Herbert  Leland,  born  June  23,  1871, 
died  June  19,  1881  ;  and  Frederick  Sackett,  born 
May  22,  1887.  Mr.  Holmes  is  a  member  of  the 
contracting  firm  of  Holmes  &  Son,  and  resides  in 
West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania. 

Asa  Casterlin  (father)  was  born  at  Orange, 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  2,  1842.  In 
early  life  he  learned  the  wheelwright's  trade, 
which  he  followed  at  different  places  for  several 
years.  After  his  marriage  he  removed  to  Scran- 
ton. where  he  remained  two  years,  then  located 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  resided 
four  years,  after  which  he  took  up  his  abode  in 
Pittston,  remaining  eleven  years,  and  in  1881 
came  to  Franklin  township,  where  he  purchased 
a  part  of  the  old  homestead,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  acres,  on  which  he  now  resides,  and 
which  he  has  cultivated  to  a  high  degree  of  per- 
fection. On  August  4,  1 89 1,  his  house  took  fire 
and  burned  down,  and  subsequently  he  erected 
a  fine  modern  residence  on  the  same  site.  For  a 
short  period  of  time  he  served  as  a  private  in  the 
Civil  war.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Mr.  Casterlin  married, 
March  17,  1868,  Mary  Blakslee,  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  1845,  daughter  of  Jerome  and  Margaret 
Blakslee,  and  a  representative  of  an  old  New 
England  family,  members  of  which  followed  var- 
ious professions,  including  the  bench,  bar,  and 
pulpit.  Their  children  are:  Walter  Sterling, 
born  September  27,  1871,  see  forward;  and 
Frank,  born  at  Pittston,  January  29,  1873,  edu- 
cated at  the  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the 
Business  College  at  Glen  Falls,  New  York,  and 
now  has  charge  of  the  Anthracite  Detective 
Agency.  He  resides  at  Scranton,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ninth  Regiment  National  Guard  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  married  Edith  Parrish,  of 
New  York  City.  Asa  Casterlin  and  his  wife  are 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Walter  Sterling  Casterlin  acquired  his  pre- 
liminary education  at  the  public  and  high  schools 
of  West  Pittston,  and  this  was  supplemented  by 
attendance  for  one  year  ( 1890)  at  the  Wyoming 
Seminary,  Kingston,  and  two  vears  at  the  Mans- 


274 


THE   WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


field  Normal  School,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated with  honors  in  1893.  He  served  for  one 
term  as  teacher  in  the  public  school  at  Cambra, 
after  which  he  went  to  Nanticoke  and  was  princi- 
pal of  the  public  schools  there  for  six  years.  He 
then  accepted  the  office  of  deputy  prothonotary 
for  a  term  of  three  years,  but  after  two  years 
service  resigned  and  entered  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  Law  School,  which  he  attended  one 
year.  He  then  opened  an  office  for  the  active 
practice  of  his  profession  in  the  Bennett  block, 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  now  enjoys  a  lucrative  patron- 
age. He  casts  his  vote  for  the  candidates  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  in  January,  1905,  was  ap- 
pointed chief  deputy  coroner  of  Luzerne  county 
under  Coroner  Dr.  D.  W.  Dodson,  of  Nanticoke. 
Mr.  Casterlin  attends  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  He  is  a  member  of  Camp  No.  408,  Pa- 
triotic Order  Sons  of  America,  and  Lodge  No. 
541,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Nanticoke. 
Mr.  Casterlin  married,  December  31,  1903, 
Blanche  McHenry,  daughter  of  Hon.  James  and 
Bethia  (Tubbs)  McHenry,  of  Cambra,  Penn- 
sylvania, whose  family  consisted  of  ten  children : 
1.  Pauline,  deceased.  2.  Silas,  a  salesman. 
3  Alice,  widow  of  Clinton  Hughes,  late  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  4.  Stanley,  a  professor  of  music, 
resides  at  Cambra.  5.  Eva,  resides  at  Cambra. 
6.  Ray,  a  clerk,  resides  at  Nanticoke.  8.  Tor- 
rence,  a  clerk,  resides  at  Nanticoke.  8.  War- 
ren, deceased.  9.  Fannie,  deceased.  10. 
Blanche,  wife  of  Walter  S.  Casterlin.  Hon. 
James  McHenry,  deceased,  was  a  prosperous 
merchant  of  Cambra,  and  for  two  terms  repre- 
sented his  district  in  the  state  legislature,  when 
this  and  Lackawanna  county  were  one.  Mr.  Mc- 
Henry and  his  family  were  members  of  the 
Christian  Church. 

Mr.  Casterlin  owns  a  fine  home  at  No.  269 
North  Main  street,  and  also  purchased  the  old 
homestead  at  Cambra,  where  he  resides  in  the 
summer  months.  H.  E.  H. 

THOMAS  ALLEN  WRIGHT.  This  well- 
known  civil  engineer  and  general  manager  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Traction  Company  was  born  in 
Ouakertown,  Bucks  county.  Pennsylvania,  No- 
vember 30,  1863,  son  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth 
(Morgan)  Wright.  He  is  the  fifth  Thomas  in 
direct  line,  his  father,  grandfather,  great-grand- 
father and  great-great-grandfather  having  borne 
the  same  name,  and  is  a  representative  of  an  old 
and  highly  estimable  Quaker  family  of  Bucks 
cpi'ntv,  the  orio-'nal  American  ancestor  of  which 
settled  in  Maiden  Creek  township  prior  to  or 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century. 


The  first  Thomas  Wright  was  born  May  15, 
1719.  The  second  Thomas  was  born  February 
14,  1757,  died  March  18,  1821,  married  Decem- 
ber 10,  1783,  Deborah  Starr,  whose  birth  took 
place  February  8,  1764,  and  she  died  December 
21,  1836.  The  third  Thomas  Wright,  grand- 
father of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
1789.  He  was  a  prominent  farmer  of  Maiden 
Creek,  and  served  as  an  elder  in  the  Friends' 
Meeting  of  that  township,  where  he  died  June  26, 
1852.  On  November  14,  1833,  he  married  Abi- 
gail Foulke,  who  was  born  January  5,  1794.  Her 
death  occurred  in  1869.  Abigail  Foulke  was  a 
daughter  of  John  and  granddaughter  of  Samuel 
and  Ann  Foulke.  Samuel  was  the  son  of  Hugh 
and  from  the  latter  the  line  of  descent  is  trace- 
able through  Edward,  Jr.,  and  Edward,  Sr..  to  its 
English  progenitors,  who  had  their  origin  in  one 
of  the  early  dukes  of  Cornwall,  living  in  the  early 
part  of  the  Fourth  century.  The  fourth  Thomas 
Wright,  father  of  Thomas  A.  Wright,  was  born 
in  Maiden  Creek  township,  August  19,  1837.  He 
was  in  early  life  a  farmer,  but  relinquished  that 
occupation  and'  became  a  civil  engineer.  After 
serving  as  city  engineer  in  Reading  and  also  in 
Philadelphia  for  a  number  of  years,  he  went  to 
Luzerne,  Luzerne  count)',  where  he  engaged  in 
the  milling  business.  In  1897  he  resumed  his 
profession,  but  three  years  later  retired  perma- 
nently from  active  business  pursuits  and  is  now 
residing  in  Wilkes-Barre  with  his  son.  On  De- 
cember 27,  i860,  he  married  Elizabeth  Morgan, 
who  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  in 
1838,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Theresa  (Wint) 
Morgan.  Of  this  union  there  were  three  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  are  living,  namely :  Mary, 
born  September  14,  1861,  is  the  wife  of  George 
Walton,  of  Factoryville,  Pennsylvania ;  and 
Thomas  A.,  the  principal  subject  of  this  sketch. 
The  youngest  child,  Elizabeth,  born  March  3, 
1867,  died  August  22,  1867.  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
(Morgan)  Wright  died  in  1865.  She  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Friends'  Meeting,  as  is  also  her  husband. 

Thomas  Allen  Wright  acquired  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  Ouakertown.  He 
subsequently  pursued  a  course  of  study  at  the 
business  college  of  Wyoming  Seminar}-  in  Kings- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  and  then  turned  his  attention 
to  the  study  of  civil  engineering.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  served  as  assistant  to  the  well-known 
civil  engineer,  W.  H.  Sturdevant.  He  finally 
turned  his  attention  to  railroad  work,  assisting  in 
the  survey  of  the  Harvey's  Lake  Branch  Railway, 
and  in  1892  entered  upon  the  survey  of  the  pres- 
ent street  railway  system  of  Wilkes-Barre,  with 
which  he  has  ever  since  been  officially  connected. 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA   VALLEYS. 


275 


-In  1S97  he  was  made  general  manager  of  the 
maintenance  of  way  department,  and  two  years 
later  was  appointed  general  superintendent  of  the 
•entire  system,  consisting  of  nearly  one  hundred 
miles  of  track,  all  of  which  was  surveyed,  con- 
structed, and  brought  to  its  present  high  standard 
■of  excellence  under  his  immediate  direction.  Mr. 
Wright  is  prominently  identified  with  the  Ma- 
.sonic  order,  in  which  he  has  taken  thirty-two  de- 
grees, Scottish  Rite.  In  1886  Mr.  Wright  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Helen  Reese,  who 
was  born  in  Luzerne,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Sarah  (France)  Reese,  the  former  of  whom  was 
a  native  of  Hunlock  township,  and  his  wife  was 
born  in  Dallas,  this  state.  Her  father,  who  was 
a  prosperous  farmer,  died  in  Hunlock,  in  1890. 
Mrs.  Wright  is  the  eldest  of  six  living  children, 
the  others  being :  Edward  Reese  ;  Emma,  wife  of 
D.  A.  Gilbert ;  Calista,  who  married  George  Shep- 
herd ;  George  Reese,  who  with  his  sister  Sadie  is 
residing  at  the  old  homestead  in  Hunlock.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wright  have  one  son,  Thomas  A..  Jr., 
who  was  born  July  30,  1887.  H.  E.  H. 

JEROME  GREEX  MILLER  is  of  Irish  des- 
cent. His  great-grandfather.  Rev.  Alexander 
Miller,  who  was  born  in  Ireland  came  to  America 
when  eleven  years  old,  studied  for  the  ministry  of 
the  Gospel,  and  became  a  clergyman  of  the 
Congregational  church.  He  was  reckoned  an 
eminent  scholar  for  that  day  and  a  dignified 
preacher.  His  son  Alexander  Miller,  born  Volun- 
town,  Windham  county,  Connecticut,  is  said  by 
his  son,  Rev.  John  Miller,  in  his  autobiography, 
to-have  been  "a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  tal- 
ents, refined  manners  and  good  education,"  and 
a  member  of  the  Universalist  church.  He  mar- 
ried Mercy  Hall,  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church 
in  Rhode  Island  across  the  line  from  Connecti- 
cut. He  had  five  sons  and  one  daughter.  In 
1789  he  moved  his  family  to  Plainfield,  Connecti- 
cut, bought  a  farm,  and  probably  died  there. 

Rev.  John  Miller,  son  of  Alexander  and 
Mercy  (Hall)  Miller,  was  born  at  Voluntown, 
February  3,  1775,  died  Abington,  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  February  19,  1857,  aged  eighty- 
two  years  and  sixteen  days;  married  (first), 
Plainfield,  Connecticut,  February  18,  1797,  Polly 
Hall,  second  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Elsie  Hall. 
She  died  about  1817,  aged  forty-two  years.  He 
married  (second),  April  13,  1823,  Elizabeth  Grif- 
fin, daughter  of  James  Griffin,  of  Providence,  now 
Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  and  sister  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Griffin,  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  Elder  Miller,  as  he  was  always 
called,  had  very  few  educational  facilities  in  his 


youth,  as  he  worked  on  a  farm  when  sixteen 
years  old,  but  he  was  a  great  reader  and  had  the 
power  of  discrimination  and  retention;  he  read 
only  good  books.  He  records  the  fact  in  his 
autobiography  that,  "the  winter  when  he  was 
seventeen  years  old  he  taught  a  large  school  at 
Plainfield,  following  this  occupation  for  several 
years."  In  1794  he  bought  one  hundred  acres 
of  land  near  Albany  and  farmed  it  for  three 
years ;  in  1797  returned  to  Plainfield,  and  early  in 
February,  1802,  removed  to  Abington,  then  Luz- 
erne county,  Pennsylvania,  and  under  very  great 
difficulties  built  a  home  for  his  family,  his  three 
hundred  and  twenty-six  acres  costing  him  forty 
dollars.  His  wife  was  the  first  woman  to  start 
housekeeping  in  this  wilderness  neighborhood. 
Business  on  the  farm  prospered  and  his  property 
soon  became  one  of  the  best  cultivated  farms  in 
Abington.  Mr.  Miller  had  learned  the  tinner's 
trade  and  had  also  learned  something  of  farming, 
and  was  a  practical  surveyor  and  naturally  in- 
genious. He  was  postmaster  of  Abington  sixteen 
years,  from  181 1  to  1827.  He  was  a  generous  con- 
tributor to  education  and  religion,  giving  over 
three  hundred  dollars,  nearly  the  whole  cost,  to 
build  Abington  Baptist  Church,  one  hundred  dol- 
lars to  Madison  Academy,  of  which  he  was  the 
first  president  and  a  trustee,  and  as  much  to  build 
the  Baptist  church  at  Waverly.  1  His  heart  was 
not  in  worldly  affairs.  Converted  when  eighteen 
years  old  he  united  with  the  Baptist  church,  and 
obeying  the  call  of  duty  he  aided  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Sturdevant  in  organizing  at  Abington,  No- 
vember 18,  1802,  a  church  of  which  he  was  or- 
dained the  pastor.  His  field  was  large,  his  ener- 
gies untiring,  his  zeal  according  to  knowledge, 
and  the  membership  in  time  extended  sixty  miles 
east,  west,  north  and  south.  His  relations  to  this 
church  lasted  over  fifty  years,  from  1802  to  18.53. 
"Eighteen  hundred  funeral  sermons,  nine  hun- 
dred marriages  and  near  two  thousand  baptisms," 
indicated  the  life  work  of  this  tireless,  devoted 
and  godly  missionary.  In  1853  he  retired  from 
this  church  and  continued  his  ministry  in  the 
Newton  church  until  his  death.  At  the  close  of 
his  pastorate  he  could  say  that  no  church  of  any 
denomination  in  northern  Pennsylvania  had  so 
many  members  as  Abington  Baptist  church. 
Rev.  John  and  Mercy  (Hall)  Miller  had  eight 
children,  among  whom  were  : 

Joseph  B.  Miller,  of  whom  later.  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin Miller,  born  Abington,  March  4,  1809, 
now  deceased ;  he  married,  April  25,  1833,  Ruth 
Dean,  daughter  of  Ezra  Dean,  of  Abington.  She 
died  about  1886,  aged  seventy-seven.  Mr.  Miller 
was  a  farmer,  a  Baptist  deacon  and  minister.   He 


276 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


had  Caroline,  John  W.,  of  Scranton,  and  Eliza- 
beth. Sophia,  born  Abington,  June  5,  181 1,  died 
1843,  married,  January  31,  1829,  Immanuel 
Northup,  son  of  John  and  Patience  (Clark) 
Northup,  and  grandson  of  Jeremiah  G.,  and  De- 
borah (Arnold)  Northup,  of  Rhode  Island  and 
Abington,  Pennsylvania.  They  had  one  son, 
Henry  W.  Northup,  of  Scranton,  and  four  daugh- 
ters. 

Joseph  B.  Miller,  son  of  Rev.  John  and  Mercy 
(Hall)  Miller,  was  born  in  Abington.  He  mar- 
ried Emily  Green,  daughter  of  Dr.  Henry  Green, 
the  first  resident  physician  of  the  township. 
Joseph  B.  Miller  was  a  farmer,  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  church  of  Abington,  of  which 
he  was  also  a  deacon,  and  of  which  he  was  the 
clerk  for  twenty-eight  years. 

Jerome  Green  Miller,  only  son  of  Joseph  B. 
and  Emily  (Green)  Miller,  was  born  in  Abing1 
ton,  February  27,  1835,  married  October  13,  1864, 
Emily  Lindsey  Hollenback,  daughter  of  John 
Hollenbeck,  of  Wyalusing,  and  his  wife  Rebecca 
Daugherty,  and  granddaughter  of  George  and 
Hannah  (Barton)  Hollenback,  the  former  a  son 
of  Johannes  and  Eleanor  (Jones)  Hollenback, 
and  a  brother  of  Colonel  Matthias  Hollenback, 
with  whom  John  Hollenback,  of  Wyalusing,  was 
long  engaged  in  business.  (See  Welles  and  Hol- 
lenback Families).  Mr.  Miller  was  educated  at 
Madison  Academy,  Waverly,  Pennsylvania,  of 
which  his  grandfather,  Rev.  John  Miller,  was 
president.  At  this  academy  were  educated  also 
Hon.  Garrick  Mallery  Harding,  George  R.  Bed- 
ford, Esq.,  Alexander  H.  Farnum,  Esq.,  G.  B. 
Nicholson,  Esq.,  D.  L.  Patrick,  Esq.,  and  others 
of  the  Luzerne  county  bar.  After  leaving  the 
academy  Mr.  Miller  studied  law  with  the  firm  of 
Fuller  and  Harding  (Henry  M.  Fuller  and  Judge 
G.  M.  Harding),  at  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  April  24,  1898,  and  has  been 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  with  suc- 
cess ever  since.  He  was  the  Republican  candi- 
date in  1861  for  the  office  of  district  attorney 
of  Luzerne  county,  and  was  declared  elected,  but 
his  election  was  contested  in  the  courts.  By 
counting  the  votes  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field  he 
had  a  majority  of  about  150,  but  by  rejecting  this 
vote  he  was  defeated.  The  question  was  brought 
before  Judge  John  N.  Conyngham  of  the  lower 
court,  who  decided  that  the  vote  of  the  soldiers 
was  legal,  should  be  counted  and  that  Mr.  Miller 
was  elected.  The  case  was,  however,  appealed  to 
the  supreme  court,  where  it  was  held  that  the  act 
allowing  the  soldiers  in  the  field  to  vote  was  un- 
constitutional and  their  votes  should  not  be 
counted.      Mr.  Miller,  after  holding  the  office  for 


six  months,  was  removed  by  the  decision  of  the 
supreme  court  and  Hon.  E.  15.  Chase,  his  Demo- 
cratic opponent,  took  the  office.  Mr.  Miller  en- 
listed in  the  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  as  second 
lieutenant  of  Captain  Agib  Ricketts'  company  in 
1861  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Antietam  or 
Sharpsburg,  Maryland.  He  was  discharged  from 
this  service,  but  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg he  again  enlisted  as  a  private  soldier,  and 
when  the  emergency  was  passed  returned  to  his- 
practice.  Mr.  and'  Mrs.  Miller  have  two  sons: 
George  Hollenback,  of  Long  Island  ;  and  Walter,, 
of    Wilkes-Barre,    Pennsylvania. 

H.  E.  H. 

JAMES  MARTIN  COUGHLIN,  superinten- 
dent of  the  city  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  a  well-known  educator,  is  a  native 
of  Fairmount  township,  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, born  November  12,  1848,  a  son  of  John 
and  Diana  (Seward)  Coughlin,  grandson  of  Den- 
nis and  Alary  (O'Brien)  Coughlin,  and  a  des- 
cendant of  Irish  lineage. 

John  Coughlin  was  born  in  Kilrish,  county- 
Clare,  Ireland,  18 10.  He  was  reared  and  edu- 
cated in  his  native  land,  and  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen years  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  employed  bv 
Titus  Seward,  of  Huntington  township,  Luzerne 
county,  who  was  a  contractor  for  the  Lehigh  Val- 
ley Railroad  Company,  and  who  also  devoted 
considerable  attention  to  the  buying  and  selling  of 
land.  Later  Mr.  Coughlin  settled  on  lands  in. 
Fairmount  township,  Luzerne  county,  and  in  ad- 
dition to  agricultural  pursuits  served  as  fireman 
and  engineer  in  various  sawmills.  During  the 
civil  war  he  enlisted  as  a'  private  in  Company  I, 
One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Regiment  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers,  under  Captain  Hughes,, 
served  two  and  a  half  years,  and  was  honorably 
discharged  with  a  sergeant's  certificate.  He  mar- 
ried Diana  Seward,  daughter  of  Titus  and  Clar- 
issa (Forbes)  Seward,  the  former  of  whom  came 
to  Huntington  Valley  from  Connecticut  and  died 
in  the  prime  of  life,  and  the  latter  died  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety-two  years.  Titus  Seward 
was  a  descendant  of  Enos  Seward,  Sr.,  born  July 
7,  1735,  and  a  son  of  Enos  Seward,  Jr.,  who 
married  Sarah  Goss  and  lived  in  Granville,  Mass- 
achusetts, until  he  came  to  Huntington  and  occu- 
pied the  farm  formerly  owned  by  his  father-in- 
law.  Philip  Goss,  Sr.,  the  father  of  Airs.  Sarah 
(Goss)  Seward,  was  one  of  the  first  claimants  of 
land  in  Huntington.  His  sons  (Philip,  Solomon, 
David,  Comfort  and  Nathaniel),  were  with  their 
father  in  the  place  before  the  Indian  and  Tory 


U^t^<L  7P(,     jreH^Y^*"^ 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


277 


invasion  of  1778.  Solomon  Goss  was  a  prisoner 
in  Forty  Fort  with  Captain  John  Franklin  and 
others  for  a  short  time.  The  names  of  Philip 
and  Comfort  Goss  are  enrolled  among  the  first 
two  hundred  settlers  who  braved  the  hardships 
and  dangers  of  the  advance  force  who  came  "to 
man  their  rights."  Before  the  massacre  of  Wyom- 
ing the  family  of  Philip  Goss,  Sr.,  lived  on  the 
farm  now  occupied  by  Levi  Seward. 

John  and  Diana  Coughlin  had  children  :  Mary 
Ann,  a  resident  of  Shickshinny ;  Caroline,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Nathan  Laning ;  Titus,  died  in 
infancy ;  James  Martin,  mentioned  later ;  Doro- 
thea, died  in  early  life ;  Clarissa,  widow  of  Simon 
Remaly,-  of  Shickshinny  ;  Henrietta,  married  Clar- 
ence Wheeler ;  Nan  S.,  a  teacher  in  the  city- 
schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Dennis  O'Brien,  a 
"well-known  lawyer  of  Wilkes-Barre,  who,  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1883,  married  Emma  Hughes,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Edward  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Norris) 
Hughes,  of  West  Berwick,  Columbia  county. 
Her  father,  Edward  W.  Hughes,  was  the  son  of 
James  Hughes,  whose  wife  was  Elizabeth  Swet- 
land, daughter  of  Joseph  Swetland,  a  descendant 
of  Luke  Swetland,  of  Kent,  Connecticut,  and  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dennis  O'Brien  Coughlin  had  nine 
children :  Nanette,  Elizabeth,  Clara,  Donald 
'Otto,  Frank,  Edward,  Emma,  Evaline,  and  Wal- 
ter James.' 

James  M.  Coughlin,  eldest  son  of  John  and 
Diana  (Seward)  Coughlin,  is  in  a  large  degree 
self-educated.  Much  of  his  study  when  young 
was  at  night,  and  his  instruction  by  others  was 
limited  to  that  which  he  received  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  village.  Of  a  naturally 
receptive  mind  and  possessing  a  desire  for 
knowledge,  he  equipped  himself  so  thoroughly 
that  when  twenty  years  of  age  he  was  well  quali- 
fied as  a  teacher.  His  first  experience  was  gained 
in  the  Montgomery  school,  where  he  taught  for 
one  term.  For  two  years  following  he  taught 
in  the  Mossville  school  in  Fairmount  township 
and,  in  succession,  in  a  private  school  for  one 
year ;  in  a  public  school  in  Red  Rock  for  two 
years ;  in  a  private  school  at  McKendry,  Union 
township  ;  and  a  public  school  in  Butler  township. 
He  then  advanced  to  the  principalship  of  the  Ben- 
nett grammar  school  at  Mill  Hollow,  borough  of 
Luzerne,  in  which  he  rendered  efficient  service 
for  a  period  of  three  years.  For  a  year  after- 
ward he  taught  in  a  private  school  in  Muhlen- 
burg,  and  then  was  appointed  principal  of  the 
New  Columbus  Academy.  Here  he  remained 
three  years,  and  then  removed  to  Kingston, 
where  he  taught  in  the  public  schools  until  1878, 


when  he  was  elected  superintendent  of  schools  for 
Luzerne  county.  The  efficient  manner  in  which 
he  filled  this  important  position  is  attested  by 
the  fact  that  his  official  term  of  three  years  was 
three  times  extended  by  successive  re-elections  to 
cover  a  period  of  twelve  years,  and  this  is  of 
greater  significance  in  view  of  the  further  fact 
that  none  of  his  predecessors  had  served  for 
more  than  two  consecutive  terms.  The  magni- 
tude of  his  labors  while  here  is  in  some  degree 
measurable  by  statistics.  When  he  first  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  superintendent  the  county  of 
Luzerne  included  that  of  the  present  Lacka- 
wanna. More  than  eight  hundred:  schools  came 
under  his  supervision,  and  in  the  first  year  he 
examined  eleven  hundred  and  fifty-five  teachers. 
Since  then,  coming  down  to  the  present  year,  in 
addition  to  the  other  duties  of  the  office,  he  has 
examined  fifteen  thousand  teachers.  During  the 
year  of  1890-91  he  was  vice-principal  of  the 
Bloomsburg  State  Normal  School,  having  under 
his  supervision  the  department  of  civics  and  his- 
tory. He  was  re-elected  for  another  term,  but 
resigned  in  order  to  accept  the  superintendence 
of  the  Wilkes-Barre  city  schools,  a  position 
which  he  is  still  holding,  having  been  re-elected 
to  another  three  year  term  in  1905. 

Mr.  Coughlin  has  made  a  fine  record  as  an 
educator.  From  his  very  entrance  upon  his  vo 
cation  and  during  his  entire  career  as  a  teacher, 
he  has  never  ceased  to  be  a  student.  As  a  teacher 
he  has  been  engaged  in  every  department  of 
schoolroom  work,  from  the  primary  to  the  gram- 
mar school,  and  in  private  schools  and  academies. 
His  intimate  knowledge  of  school  conditions, 
necessities  and  possibilities,  his  enthusiasm  in 
their  interests,  and  his  enterprise  and  progressive- 
ness  in  all  pertaining  to  their  advancement  in  use- 
fulness, have  for  many  years  past  brought  him 
into  frequent  demand  as  a  lecturer  before  educa- 
tional bodies.  He  has  appeared  before  Teachers' 
Institutes  in  every  county  in  Pennsylvania  except 
three,  and  has  spoken  in  the  principal  cities  of  the 
state.  He  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  at  Le- 
banon Valley  College,  and  has  addressed  educa- 
tional assemblages  in  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  North  Carolina,  Ohio  and  Nebraska. 
He  served  as  president  of  the  State  Teachers' 
Association  of  Pennsylvania,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  College  and  University  Council  of  Pennsyl- 
vania under  appointment  of  Governors  Hastings, 
Stone  and  Pennypacker.  He  enjoys  a  wide  and 
personal  acquaintance  in  educational  circles 
throughout  the  Union,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  advanced  practical  educators  in  the  country. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  order  of  Free  and  Ac- 


278 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


cepted  Masons,  of  Kingston.  He  and  his  family 
are  members  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  formerly  a 
member  of  the  Kingston  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society. 

Mr.  Coughlin  married,  December  26,  1878, 
at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  Mary  E.  Welter,  born 
November  10,  1853,  daughter  of  Joseph  F.  and 
Barbara  (Lawrence)  Welter.  She  taught  school 
in  Dallas,  later  in  Kingston  borough  up  to  1876, 
and  graduated  from  Wyoming  Seminary,  1878. 
She  also  became  proficient  in  art  and  painting. 
Their  children  are :  Ellen  Martin,  born  December 
13,  1879,  a  graduate  of  Wellesley  College,  Massa- 
chusetts, class  of  1902;  Florence  Rowena,  born 
December  21,  1881,  died  May  8,  1883;  Clarence 
D.,  born  July  27,  1883,  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
College,  class  of  1905  ;  James  Martin,  Jr.,  born 
February  15,  1886,  a  student  at  Cornell  Univer- 
sity ;  Joseph  Welter,  born  September  29,  1889,  a 
student  at  the  city  high  school,  Wilkes-Barre ; 
Mildred  Marion,  born  July  16,  1892-;  Hale  Sew- 
ard, born  September  7,  1894;  Robert  Lawrence, 
born  March  24,  1900. 

Joseph  F.  Welter,  father  of  Mrs.  James  M. 
Coughlin,  was  born  in  Warren  county,  New  Jer- 
sey, October  2j,  1828,  son  of  Conrad  and  Mary 
(Fulkerson)  Welter.  Conrad  Welter  was  born 
near  Hackettstown,  New  Jersey,  1799,  a  son  of 
Jacob  Welter,  who  was  a  son  of  Henry  Welter, 
who  was  born  in  Germany,  1735,  enlisted  in  May, 
1775,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  from  Roxbury, 
Morris  county,  New  Jersey,  under  Colonel  John 
M.  Helme,  and  served  three  years.  July  24,  1832, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-nine  years,  he  applied  for  a 
pension  and  the  claim  was  allowed.  After  the 
war  he  settled  at  Foxhill,  New  Jersey,  and  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  farmer.  He  died  in 
1839,  having  attained  the  extreme  old  age  of  one 
hundred  and  four  years.  Conrad  Welter  (grand- 
father) was  a  farmer  by  occupation ;  he  died  at 
the  age  of  eighty-seven  years  and  five  months. 
His  wife,  Mary  (Fulkerson)  Welter,  died  at  the 
age  of  forty  years. 

Joseph  F.  Welter,  son  of  Conrad,  was  edu- 
cated in  a  private  school  in  the  neighborhood  of 
his  home,  and  was  a  farmer.  In  1856  he  re- 
moved to  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Avoca, 
Luzerne  county.  In  1859  he  moved  to  Or- 
ange ;  in  1866  to  Dallas,  and  in  1871  to 
Kingston  township,  now  Dorranceton  borough, 
where  for  many  years  he  has  led  a  retired  life. 
He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  first  borough 
council,  served  twelve  vears,  and  as  assessor  two 


terms.  He  has  also  taken  an  active  interest  in. 
the  public  schools  and  served  at  times  as  a  school 
director.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  of  Kingston,  has  held  the  office 
of  trustee  thirty  years,  served  on  the  board  of 
stewards  ten  years,  has  been  class  leader  and  sup- 
erintendent, librarian  and  secretary  of  the  Sunday 
school.  He  married,  January  1,  1850,  Barbara 
Lawrence,  born  April  11,  1828,  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  (Labar)  Lawrence,  the  former  a 
farmer  in  Bushkill,  Pike  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  died  aged  seventy-six  years,  the  latter  dying 
at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  They  had  six  chil- 
dren :  Alvan,  born  November  26,  1850,  died  1878  ; 
Mary,  born  November  10,  1853,  the  wife  of 
James  M.  Coughlin  ;  Horace,  born  March  1,  1857, 
died  in  infancy ;  Joshua  Lewis,  born  February  23, 
1858,  see  below ;  Rosa,  born  July  24,  i860,  died 
1861 ;  Edith,  born  September  23,  1868,  died  June 
10,  1897;  she  was  a  graduate  in  art  in  Wyoming 
Seminary,  and  married  Harry  D.  Flanagan,  of 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  cashier  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Nanticoke.  Mr.  Flanagan  is  a 
member  of  the  State  Bank  Association,  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  and  Knights  Templar  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
Mr.  Flanagan  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of" 
two  children :  Ruth  and  Dorothy,  the  latter  of 
whom  died  in  infancy. 

Joshua  Lewis  Welter,  fourth  child  of  Joseph 
F.  and  Barbara  (Lawrence)  Welter,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  school  of  Luzerne  borough ; 
Wyoming  Seminary,  graduating  in  1878 ;  and 
Syracuse  University,  New  York,  graduating  in' 
1882.  He  is  now  head  of  the  chemistry  depart- 
ment in  the  high  school  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania. Mr.  Welter  was  for  years  instructor 
in  mathematics  in  the  Colorado  State  School  of" 
Mines  at  Golden,  Colorado.  He  returned  to 
Wyoming  Valley  and  studied  law  with  Edwin  P. 
and  J.  Vaughan  Darling,  and  was  admitted  to' 
the  bar  of  Luzerne  county,  June  6,  1885.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society,  was  for  years  Curator  of  Palae- 
ontology, and  is  now  Curator  of  Palaeozology  in: 
that  society.  H.  E.  H. 

SAMUEL  LE  ROI  BROWN,  a  leading- 
merchant  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  head  of  the  oil 
house  of  S.  L.  Brown  &  Co.,  was  born  in  the- 
village  of  Pleasant  Mount,  Wayne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  5,  1833.  His  life  history  is 
prolific  in  suggestion  and  encouragement  to- 
aspiring  youth,  and  is  particularly  remarkable 
and  instructive  as  illustrating  the  power  of  a= 
resolute  character  in  the  face  of  disaster  and  ob- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


279 


stacks  sufficient  to  discourage,  if  not  appal,  the 
stoutest  heart.  He  is  descended  from  New  Eng- 
land ancestors  who  were  of  English  origin.  His 
paternal  grandmother  was  a  cousin  of  John  Han- 
cock, of  Massachusetts,  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 

Thomas  Hancock  Brown,  father  of  Samuel 
L.  R.  Brown,  was  a  native  of  Stonington,  Con- 
necticut. In  early  life  he  removed  to  Otsego 
county,  New  York,  where  he  remained  until 
1822,  when  he  married  Lucy  Howe,  a  native  of 
Danbury,  Connecticut,  and  they  removed  to 
Pleasant  Mound,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was 
successfully  engaged  for  many  years  in  general 
merchandise  and  in  the  saddlery  and  harness 
business,  being  at  that  period  the  largest  manu- 
facturer in  that  section  of  the  state,  his  trade  ex- 
tending from  Binghamton,  New  York,  to  Coch- 
ecton  on  the  Delaware,  as  also  through  the  then 
extensive  lumber  regions  on  the  Delaware  river, 
and  where  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent. 
Mr.  Brown  was  brought  up  among  Quakers,  and 
the  moral  and  practical  tone  imparted  to  his  char- 
acter bv  his  early  association  with  these  worthy 
people  exerted  a  most  benign  and  favorable  in- 
fluence upon  his  entire  subsequent  life.  His 
business  career  was  marked  by  the  highest  probity 
and  integrity,  was  remarkably  successful,  and  in 
every  respect  a  model  worthy  of  the  closest  imi- 
tation. The  old  family  homestead  of  his  parents 
at  Pleasant  Mount  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his 
sou,  Samuel  Le  Roi  Brown,  also  the  parental 
farm,  and  both  are  preserved  in  good  condition 
by  the  present  owner.  In  1872  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Thomas  H.  Brown  celebrated  their  golden  wed- 
ding with  an  unbroken  family  circle.  He  died  in 
1878,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  and  his  wife 
passed  away  six  years  later,  aged  eighty-five 
years. 

Samuel  Le  Roi  Brown  began  to  attend  school 
at  the  early  age  of  three  years,  and  terminated 
his  studies  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  with  the  con- 
sent of  his  father.  Having  a  decided  inclination 
toward  commercial  life,  he  at  once  found  employ- 
ment as  junior  clerk  in  a  store  at  Pleasant  Mount 
and  developed  such  a  remarkable  aptitude  for 
business  that  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  three 
months  he  was  put  in  full  charge  of  the  books. 
His  salary  to  begin  with  was  $50.00.  a  year,  but 
the  third  year  it  was  raised  to  $150.00,  and  out 
of  this  limited  compensation  a  small  portion  was 
saved  each  year.  At  the  close  of  the  fourth  year 
he  accepted  a  clerkship  in  the  largest  store  at 
Honesdale,  Pennsylvania,  but  two  years  later  ill 
health  forced  him  to  resign.  Upon  recovery  he 
spent  two  years  at  Burrows  Hollow,  in  the  large 


general  store  conducted  by  Judge  Burrows.one  of 
of  the  most  worthy  residents  of  that  section,  and 
that  time  doing  the  largest  business  of  any  house 
in  Susquehanna  county.  In  1853  young  Brown, 
now  nearing  manhood,  engaged  in  a  general  mer- 
chandising business  with  his  elder  brother,  H.  W. 
Brown,  at  Pleasant  Mount.  Six  years  later  he 
assumed  charge  of  a  branch  of  the  business,  then 
established  at  Herrick  Center,  and  gave  it  his 
personal  attention  for  a  period  of  four  years. 
In  both  of  these  stores  he  retained  an  interest, 
the  latter  named  being  conducted  under  the  style 
of  S.  L.  Brown  &  Company.  In  1863  Mr.  Brown 
purchased  a  tannery  property  at  Pleasant  Mount, 
which  afterward  became  known  as  the  Pleasant 
Mount  Tannery.  This  establishment  was  con- 
verted by  him  into  a  sole  leather  tannery,  and  for 
several  years  was  conducted  with  remarkable 
success.  The  great  decline  in  prices  which  took 
place  in  1866  and  1867  seriously  interfered  with 
this  era  of  prosperity,  and  Mr.  Brown  was  forced 
to  succumb  after  carrying  his  extensive  stock 
nearly  twenty  months.  This  unfortunate  cir- 
cumstance cost  him  the  sum  of  $60,000,  and  even 
his'  household  goods  were  swept  away  in  tht 
financial  disaster.  It  was  a  startling  experience 
for  the  careful  merchant  to  see  the  results  of 
twenty  years'  prudent  saving  and  unremitting 
labor  vanish  into  nothingness  through  causes 
over  which  he  could  exert  no  control.  But  al- 
though the  blow  was  a  severe  one,  his  business 
instincts  were  not  demoralized,  and  without 
wasting  any  time  in  futile  grief,  he  resolutely  re- 
entered the  business  field,  determined  if  possible 
to  conquer  adverse  fate. 

Mr.  Brown  secured  a  position  as  traveling 
salesman  for  the  wholesale  grocery  firm  of  Weed, 
Avers  &  Co.,  of  Binghamton,  New  York,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  six  months,  in  the  mean- 
time removing  his  residence  to  the  city  named. 
The  vocation"  of  traveling  salesman  not  being 
congenial  to  him,  however,  he  accepted  a  position 
as  bookkeeper  and  general  manager  of  the  whole- 
sale department  of  the  firm  of  Conyngham  & 
Paine,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  a  concern 
then  conducting  several  thriving  stores  in  various 
parts  of  the  county,  and  doing  a  business  of 
nearly  $1,000,000  annually,  and  for  ten  years  re- 
mained in  their  service.  In  1879,  when  this  firm 
was  dissolved,  Mr.  Brown  was  again  the  posses- 
sor of  considerable  capital.  He  purchased  a  plot 
of  ground  on  Market  street,  the  same  being  a 
portion  of .  the  site  now  covered  by  the  large 
block  which  bears  his  name  (which  is  two  hun- 
dred feet  square,  four  stories  high,  completed  in 
1886,  but  in  1900  was  torn  down  by  a  cyclone,  but 


28o 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


rebuilt  by  him  in  one  hundred  days  I .  having  a 
frontage  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  feet  on 
Market  street  and  two  hundred  feet  on  the  Le- 
high Valley  Railroad,  and  established  thereon  a 
general  wholesale  oil  business,  which  from  the 
beginning  was  a  marked  success.  The  site  of 
this  imposing  structure  is  one  which  is  admir- 
ably adapted  for  a  large  wholesale  business,  being 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of.  and  having 
track  connections  with  four  lines  of  railroads,  and 
otherwise  favorably  located.  Mr.  Brown  early 
perceived  its  great  advantages,  and  it  speaks 
volumes  for  his  business  shrewdness  to  record 
the  fact  that  on  the  same  day  the  announcement 
was  made  of  the  dissolution  of  the  firm  employ- 
ing him,  he  was  negotiating  for  its  purchase. 
The  present  firm  of  S.  L.  Brown  &  Co.  is  the 
most  extensive  oil  house  in  northeastern  Penn- 
sylvania, and  his  partners  in  it  are  his  cousin, 
W.  W.  Brown,  and  his  eldest  son,  T.  W.  Brown. 
His  younger  son,  Russell  S.  Brown,  was  in 
charge  of  a  branch  establishment  at  Nanticoke, 
Pennsylvania,  but  is  now  in  Phillipsburg.  The 
business  of  the  house,  although  chiefly  local,  is 
very  large,  comprising  as  it  does  almost  all  of  the 
oil  trade  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  region.  A 
further  illustration  of  Mr.  Brown's  excellent  bus- 
iness judgment  and  methods  is  afforded  by  his 
experience  in  "Brown's  Book  Store."  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  a  property  which  he  purchased  in  1876, 
and  made  a  success  of,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  he  gave  it  but  little  personal  attention,  and 
that  his  four  predecessors  in  ownership  had  failed 
in  the  same  establishment. 

In  1887  Mr.  Brown  became  interested  in  de- 
veloping coal  lands  at  Mill  Creek.  Luzerne 
county,  where  he,  with  other  capitalists,  organ- 
ized the  Keystone  Coal  Company  with  a  capital 
of  S.100,000,  of  which  he  was  chosen  president. 
Mr.  Brown  is  a  large  owner  of  the  stock  of  this 
companv.  He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  and 
a  director  of  the  Langcliffe  Coal  Company,  lo- 
cated at  Pleasant  Valley,  Pennsylvania,  with  a 
capital  of  $300,000 :  a  new  breaker  was  com- 
pleted in  1890  which  had  a  capacity  of  from  six 
hundred  to  eight  hundred  tons  per  day,  and  in 
1900  the  Langcliffe  Coal  Company  leased  these 
mines.  Since  1886  Mr.  Brown  has  been  a  di- 
rector in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  a  position  to  which  he  was  elected  without 
his  knowledge.  He  is  also  a  director  in  the 
Hazard  Manufacturing  Company,  (of  which  he 
has  been  secretary  and  treasurer  since  1899) 
(wire  rope  works)  of  Wilkes-Barre.  which  is 
the  second  in  size  in  the  country,  ranking  immed- 
iately after  the  Roebling;  works  at  Trenton,  New 


Jersey.  He  was  a  director  in  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Electric  Light  Company,  which  was  run  to  g 
advantage,  and  sold  out  at  a  profit  to  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Gas  Company.  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  board  of  trade  of  Wilkes-Barre.  in 
which  he  held  the  offices  of  trustee  and  first  vice- 
president  for  twenty  years,  then  tendering  his 
resignation.  He  is  a  life  member  and  trustee 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  So- 
ciety, one  of  the  oldest  and  most  reputable  scien- 
tific bodies  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  and  of  Penn- 
sylvania. He  takes  a  deep  interest  in  church 
work,  is  one  of  the  incorporated  trustees  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Diocese  of  Central  Penn- 
sylvania, a  member  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  and 
warden  of  St.  Stephen's  Church.  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania.  For  forty  years  Mr.  Brown  has 
been  a  total  abstainer  from  liquors,  and  he  is 
well  known  as  a  believer  in  temperance  and  a 
supporter  of  temperance  movements.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  order  for  fifty  years,  joining  Eodge 
No.  218,  at  Honesdale.  Pennsylvania.  1855.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club. 

Mr  Brown  has  achieved  his  business  suc- 
cesses wholly  independent  of  speculation,  which 
he  has  conscientiously  avoided.  Every  dollar 
he  possesses  has  been  earned  in  open  and  legiti- 
mate business  enterprises,  honorably  conducted  in 
every  detail.  No  better  proof  of  the  innate  hon- 
esty of  the  man  can  be  adduced  than  the  fact  that 
he  has  voluntarily  paid  off  debts,  aggregating 
$14,000,  from  which  he  was  legally  relieved  at 
the  time  of  his  bankruptcy  in  1869.  He  is  quick 
to  perceive  the  merits  of  new  inventions  and  ap- 
pliances and  never  hesitates  to  adopt  the  most 
modern.  He  was  the  first  merchant  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  make  connection  with  the  telephone  ex- 
change for  business  purposes.  He  was  also  the 
first  to  introduce  incandescent  lighting,  putting 
into  his  establishment  a  private  plant  which  is 
still  in  use  in  the  block.  He  was  the  first  to  em- 
ploy steam  elevators,  supplying  his  block  with  six 
of  the  most  approved  design.  In  man}'  other 
ways  he  has  shown  that  he  is  a  progressive  type 
of  citizen  and  business  man,  not  only  willing  but 
anxious  to  keep  fully  abreast  of  the  times.  It  is 
rarelv  that  there  is  compressed  into  the  record  of 
one  business  life  so  many  and  such  varying  ex- 
periences. Beginning  as  a  clerk,  at  the  age  of 
thirteen  years,  he  succeeded  and  without  assist- 
ance, save  that  which  is  open  to  any  ambitious 
spirit  and  tactful  judgment  in  this  great  country 
of  ours,  in  securing  for  himself  a  leading  position 
in  commercial  life  and  acquiring  a  snug  com- 
petence.    Then,    in    a    new    enterprise,    offering 


^K  6^k^L^^4 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


281 


still  higher  business  rewards,  and  during  several 
years  seeming  to  fully  justify  the  offer,  he  meets 
reverses  from  causes  arising  exclusively  out  of 
the  general  business  conditions  of  the  country, 
loses  all  and  goes  back  to  the  duties  of  a  wage 
earner.  In  a  comparatively  few  years  more,  how- 
ever, we  find  him  once  again  established  on  his 
own  account,  the  responsible  head  of  several  large 
enterprises  and  a  promoter  of  and  assistant  in 
others,  in  possession  of  another  snug  fixed  in- 
come, a  leading  man  in  the  industrial,  religious 
and  social  world  about  him.  In  the  midst  of  his 
struggle  to  regain  the  lost  ground,  he  loses  his 
efficient  wife  and  helpmeet.  The  qualities  re- 
quisite to  the  surmounting  of  the  difficulties,  the 
heroic  meeting  of  the  misfortunes  and  ultimate 
recovery  therefrom,  with  restoration  of  fortune 
wholly  lost,  are  those  upon  which  progressive 
communities  and  successful  states  are  builded. 
Honesty,  untiring  industry,  readiness  in  the  per- 
ception of  the  value  that  is  in  new  things  and 
courage  in  applying  them,  these  are  the  import- 
ant, the  essential  factors  that  are  conspicuous 
among  the  characteristics  of  Mr.  Brown  which 
are  commended  to  the  young  of  the  land,  who 
have  a  genuine  ambition  to  become  something 
more  than  mere  "hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of 
water"  as  a  necessary  equipment  for  the  attain- 
ment of  their  goal. 

Mr.  Brown  married  in  1855,  Miss  Almira 
•Gritman,  of  Carbondale,  Pennsylvania,  daughter 
of  William  C.  Gritman,  a  physician,  who  prac- 
ticed successfully  there  for  a  number  of  years, 
dying  at  the  age  of  eighty,  and  a  sister  of  P.  C. 
Gritman,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Carbondale. 
The  issue  of  this  marriage  was  seven  children, 
the  sole  survivors  being  the  two  sons  previously 
mentioned,  T.  W.,  who  married  Emily  P.  Fos- 
ter, daughter  of  Thomas  L.  Foster,  who  was 
president  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Mauch 
Chunk ;  and  Russell  S...  who  has  charge  of  three 
telephone  stations  in  Philipsburg,  Pennsylvania. 
Mrs.  Brown,  the  mother  of  these  children,  died 
in  1871.  In  1877  Mr.  Brown  married  Miss  El- 
len May  Woodward  Chapman,  daughter  of  Judge 
J.  W.  Chapman,  of  Montrose,  Pennsylvania, 
formerly  associate  justice  of  the  Thirty-fourth 
judicial  district  of  Pennsylvania.  Judge  Chap- 
man was  a  prominent  factor  in  politics,  was  fre- 
quently called  the  father  and  later  the  grand- 
father of  the  Republican  party,  and  for  many 
}'ears  edited  the  most  prominent  Republican  pa- 
per in  Susquehanna  county.  He  was  a  civil  en- 
gineer by  orofession  and  followed  the  same  up 
to  1886.  He  died  in  1888,  at  the  advanced  age 
•  of  eightv-eierht  vears.     Mr.  Brown  has  a  book  on 


engineering  used  by  Judge  Chapman  and  his 
father,  which  was  printed  in  1784,  and  from  this 
book  he  received  his  first  lesson  in  surveying,  and 
later  his  son  did  likewise.  Three  sons  were  the 
issue  of  this  marriage:  Carlton  Conyngham, 
connected  with  the  Manganese  Steel  Safe  Corn- 
pan}-,  manufacturers  of  safes ;  he  married  Flor- 
ence E.  Casey,  of  New  York  City.  Robert 
Chapman,  who  resides  at  home.  Stanley  Ward- 
well,  a  student  at  Lehigh  University,  class  of 
1907,  pursuing  a  course  in  mechanical  engineer- 
ing. Mrs.  Brown,  the  mother  of  these  three 
sons,  died  May  3,  1905,  aged  fiftv-five  years. 

H.'  E.  H. 

COLONEL  GEORGE  N.  REICHARD,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  native  of  that 
city,  born  October  13,  1834,  son  of  Judge  John 
and  Wilhelmina  (Schrader)  Reichard.  The  fam- 
ilies of  which  he  is  a  representative  in  both  par- 
ental lines  were  of  early  establishment  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  its  members  were  among  the  indus- 
trial pioneers  of  the  Wyoming  Valley. 

( 1 )  John  Reichard  ( father)  was  born  in 
Frankenthal,  Rhenish  Bavaria.  May  24,  1807,  a 
son  of  George  Reichard,  keeper  of  the  Red  Lion 
Inn,  on  the  public  square  of  that  city.  In  1833, 
when  twenty-six  years  old,  John  Reichard  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  and  came  to  Lower 
Smithfield  township,  Northampton  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  resided  for  a  year  with  George 
F.  Bamberger,  deceased,  for  many  years  a  resi- 
dent of  Wilkes-Barre,  who  was  from  his  native 
town,  and  had  then  been  in  the  country  about 
three  years.  In  1834  Mr.  Reichard  located  perma- 
nently in  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
brewing  business.  The  beginning  of  the  brewery 
was  made  by  Thomas  Ingham,  on  River  street, 
below  LTiion,  in  the  days  when  all  the  materials 
used  were  wagoned  from  Philadelphia.  Ingham 
was  succeeded  by  Christian  Reichard  (a  cousin  of 
John  Reichard),  who  conducted  the  business  until 
1834,  when  it  was  purchased  by  John  Reichard. 
John  Reichard  materially  enlarged  the  buildings, 
and  later  they  were  dismantled  and  the  machinery 
reinstalled  in  the  spacious  new  structures  now 
occupied  by  the  Pennsylvania  Brewing  Company, 
but  retains  the  name  of  Reichard  &  Weaver. 

John  Reichard  was  not  only  an  enterprising 
man  of  business,  but  he  was  prominent  in  com- 
munity affairs  and  exercised  a  potent  influence 
therein.  In  1843  he  aided  in  organizing  the 
Wyoming  Jaegers,  one  of  the  earliest  German  or- 
ganizations in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  for  many  years 
the  most  prominent,  was  elected  its  first  captain, 
and  occupied  that  position  for  several  years.     He 


282 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


also  aided  in  organizing  the  Concordia  Society,  of 
which  he  was  the  first  president,  was  an  honorary 
member  of  the  Saengerbund,  and  was  a  member 
of  various  social  organizations.  He  was  post- 
master in  Wilkes-Barre  in  1853  and  1854.  In 
1861  (November  23),  he  was  commissioned  an 
associate  judge  of  the  Luzerne  county  courts.  In 
1867  he  was  appointed  by  President  Johnson  to 
the  United  States  consulship  at  Ravenna,  Italy. 
For  the  more  than  half  a  century  during  which 
Captain  Reichard  (as  he  was  more  frequently 
called  than  by  his  judicial  title),  was  active  in 
business  and  public  affairs,  his  honesty  and  in- 
tegrity were  never  questioned,  and  he  was  held 
in  honor  as  one  of  the  city's  useful  citizens.  Dur- 
ing his  later  years  he  spent  much  of  his  time  in 
the  land  of  his  nativity,  and  died  while  on  a  re- 
turn voyage  home(  his  twenty-seventh  across  the 
Atlantic),  and  was  brought  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  and  buried.  In  April,  1833,  tne 
year  in  which  he  engaged  in  business  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  he  married  Wilhelmina  Schrader,  who  was 
also  a  native  of  Frankenthal,  Bavaria,  a  daughter 
of  Nicholas  Schrader,  and  who  died  October  3, 
1874.  Her  family  figured  conspicuously  in  the 
early  history  of  the  valley,  one  of  its  members  be- 
ing Captain  Philip  Schrader,  who  was  with  Gen- 
eral Sullivan  as  captain-lieutenant  of  the  German 
Battalion  in  the  expedition  against  the  Indians 
in  1779..  John  Reichard,  Jr.,  son  of  John  Reich- 
ard, had  in  his  possession  (and  they  are  still  in 
the  family),  various  commissions  issued  to  Cap- 
tain Philip  Schrader :  As  captain-lieutenant,  June 
16,  1779 ;  captain  of  a  company  of  rangers,  Sep- 
tember 10,  1781  ;  captain  in  the  corps  of  infantry 
commanded  by  Major  James  Moore,  September 
25>  I783;  and  one  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  of 
Northampton  county,  April  1,  1806.  Judge 
John  and  Wilhelmina  (Schrader)  Reichard  had 
sixteen  children,  eight  of  whom  grew  to  matur- 
ity, and  the  following  named  survived  their 
father :  Colonel  George  N.  Reichard,  see  for- 
ward; Henry  Colt,  married  Jenny,  daughter  of 
Elias  Griffin  ;  John,  married  Eliza  C,  daughter 
of  Gould  P.  Parrish ;  Charles  Wolf,  married  Car- 
rie E.,  daughter  of  David  C.  Harrington ;  Alber- 
tina  L.,  deceased,  married  the  late  J.  H.  Swoyer ; 
Catherine  F.,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  married  C.  H. 
Leonard,  deceased ;  Helena,  married  the  late  M. 
A.  Holmes,  and  second1  wife  of  J.  H.  Swoyer; 
Julia,  deceased,  married  Colonel  E.  A.  Hancock, 
of  Philadelphia  (See  sketch  elsewhere  in  this 
work),  and  who  is  survived  by  a  son,  James  Han- 
cock, a  graduate  of  Princeton  University,  class 
of  1883. 

(11)     Colonel     George     Nicholas    Reichard, 


eldest  child  of  Judge  John  and  Wilhelmina 
(Schrader)  Reichard,  received  his  preliminary 
education  in  private  schools,  and  pursued  ad- 
vanced branches  in  Deacon  Dana's  Academy  in 
Wilkes-Barre.  On  leaving  school  he  entered  upon 
clerical  work  in  his  father's  brewery,  and  was 
thus  engaged  at  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion. 
When  President  Lincoln  issued  his  first  call 
for  seventy-five  thousand  men,  in  April,  1861, 
Mr.  Reichard  was  among  the  first  to  respond, 
and  at  once  recruited  a  company  which  was 
mustered  into  "  the  service  of  the  United 
States  as  Company  G,  Eighth  Regiment  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteer  Infantry,  and  of  which  he  was 
elected  and  commissioned  captain.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  of  service  he  returned  home, 
and  shortly  afterward  aided  in  recruiting  Com- 
pany C,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment,  being  elected  and  commissioned 
in  the  same  rank  as  in  the  three  months'  service. 
He  was  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel  just  after 
the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  May  5-6,  1864, 
served  with  that  rank  during  the  remainder  of  the 
war  and  was  honorably  discharged  June  12,  1865, 
two  months  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities  and 
the  disbandment  of  the  rebel  armies.  His  service 
had  thus  covered  the  entire  civil  war  period,  and 
he  had  participated  in  many  of  the  most  mo- 
mentous campaigns  and  desperate  battles  of  that 
stupendous  conflict.  He  was  engaged  in  all  the 
battles  with  his  regiment,  among  which  were  Fitz 
Hugh  Creek,  Pollock's  Mill  Creek,  Chancellors- 
ville,  Gettysburg,  and  the  Mine  Run  compaign ; 
also  the  battles  in  the  Wilderness,  Laurel  Hill, 
Spottsylvania,  North  Anna,  Bethesda  Church, 
Cold  Harbor,  Weldon  Railroad,  Hatcher's  Run, 
and  other  minor  engagements.  In  the  movements 
against  Richmond,  the  rebel  capital,  in  1864,  and 
the  storming  of  Petersburg,  June  18,  he  was  also' 
an  active  participant.  He  was  twice  wounded — 
at  Gettysburg,  and  in  the  charge  at  Petersburg. 
After  his  return  home  Colonel  Reichard  was 
appointed  United  States  assistant  assessor  of  in- 
ternal revenue,  under  the  LTnited  States  Treas- 
ury Department,  and  served  in  that  capacity  for 
several  years,  handling  business  of  the  greatest 
importance  and  much  complexity,  and  acquitting 
himself  most  creditably.  He  also  gave  some  time 
to  law  reading,  and,  while  he  did  not  enter  upon 
the  practice,  he  found  the  technical  knowledge 
thus  gained  to  be  of  great  advantage  in  his  sub- 
sequent business  career.  In  1869  he  became  as- 
sociated with  his  father  in  the  brewing  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Reichard  &  Son,  and  this 
style  was  maintained  until  the  death  of  Judge- 
Reichard,  August  19,  1884.       Shortly  afterward 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


283 


Colonel  Reichard's  brother,  John,  junior,  came  in 
as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Reichard's  Sons.  The 
business  was  conducted  under  the  latter  name 
until  January  1,  1889,  when  John  Reichard,  Jr., 
retired  on  account  of  failing  health,  and  George 
Weaver  and  Mrs.  J.  G.  Reichard  (  the  last  named 
being  the  widow  of  Colonel  Reichard's  brother 
Henry),  were  admitted  to  partnership,  the  firm- 
name  appearing  as  Reichard  &  Company.  The 
interest  of  Mrs.  Reichard  was  subsequently  pur- 
chased, and  the  firm  name  of  Reichard  &  Weaver 
was  adopted.  In  1897  the  property  was  sold  to 
the  Pennsylvania  Central  Brewing  Company,  in 
which  corporation  Colonel  Reichard  became  a 
director  and  vice-president,  and  the  Reichard 
plant  continued  to  be  known  by  its  own  corporate 
title,  thus  preserving  to  it  the  identity  of  the  fam- 
ily which  had  brought  it  to  such  large  dimen- 
sions. 

In  addition  to  his  connection  with  the  great 
industry  above  named,  Colonel  Reichard  has  also 
served  for  many  years  as  a  director  in  the  An- 
thracite Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  is  now  vice- 
president  of  that  corporation,  and  is  a  director  in 
the  Hazard  Manufacturing  Company,  the  In- 
terstate Telephone  Company  of  New  Jersey, 
Wilkes-Barre  &  Wyoming  Valley  Traction  Com- 
pany, the  Dallas  &  Harvey  Lake  Traction  Com- 
pany, and  the  Consolidated  Telephone  Company. 
In  all  his  business  relations  he  is  recognized  as  a 
man  of  signal  ability  and  entire  integrity,  and 
through  the  various  corporations  with  which  he 
is  identified  he  has  aided  materially  in  promoting 
the  industrial  and  financial  interests  of  the  city 
and  the  region  dependent  thereto.  In  politics 
he  holds  independent  views,  but  has  ever  taken 
a  deep  interest  in  the  larger  affairs  of  the  com- 
munity. In  1868  he  was  elected  to  the  city 
council,  and  there  rendered  efficient  service  for 
a  period  of  three  years.  During  this  time  the 
first  stone  pavements  were  laid  and  the  first  street 
improvements  made.  Colonel  Reichard  treas- 
ures with  loyal  interest  the  memories  of  the 
dreadful  battle  years,  and  is  numbered  among 
the  most  active  of  the  members  of  the  Military 
Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  Pennsvlvania  Com- 
manderv ;  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and 
the  Union  Veteran  Union,  and  was  the  first  col- 
onel commanding  the  last  named  body,  whose  dis- 
tinction it  is  to  limit  its  membership  to  honorably 
discharged  soldiers  and  sailors  who  have  to  their 
credit  two  or  more  years  of  honorable  military 
service.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity  for  nearly  half  a  century,  having  been 
made  a  craftsman  and  master  mason  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  Lodge,  No.  61,  in  the  year  he  attained  his 


majority,  and  now  affiliated  with  Landmark 
Lodge,  No.  442,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of. 
which  he  is  a  charter  member.  He  is  also  con- 
nected with  Mauch  Chunk  Council,  Royal  and 
Select  Masters,  and  with  Packer  Commandery, 
Knights  Templar,  of  the  same  city ;  and  holds- 
membership  with  local  lodges  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  with  various 
other  fraternal  and  social  organizations,  includ- 
ing the  Westmoreland  Club.  With  his  wife  he  is 
a  communicant  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church. 

October  27,  1875,  Colonel  Reichard  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Grizzy  E.  Gil- 
christ, daughter  of  Peter  McC.  and  Elizabeth 
(Horton)  Gilchrist,  natives  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  the  former  born  in  Saratoga  and  the  latter 
in  Windsor,  and  who  died  respectively  in  1870 
and  1884.  Peter  Gilchrist  was  proprietor  of  the 
Phcenix  Hotel,  which  was  erected  near  the  pres- 
ent site  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  Hotel.  His  wife 
was  a  daughter  of  Miller  Horton,  who  was  a 
man  of  great  enterprise — a  farmer,  real  estate 
dealer,  and  who  in  the  early  days  conducted  a 
leading  stage  line.  H.  E.  H. 

FREDERICK  C.  AHLBORN,  a  late  resi- 
dent of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  whose  death' 
on  April  30,  1893,  removed  from  the  city  one  of 
its  representative  business  men,  was  a  native  of 
Bavaria,  born  February  10,  1830,  one  of  the  nine 
children  born  to  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Gagel) 
Ahlborn,  five  of  whom  came  to  the  United  States,, 
namely :  Frederick  C,  Mrs.  Kleuert,  Mrs.  Hil- 
bert,  Henry  and  Charles. 

Henry  Ahlborn  (father)  was  born  in  Han- 
over, where  the  early  part  of  his  life  was  spent.. 
After  his  marriage  he  lived  in  Schney,  Bavaria, 
where  he  was  a  manufacturer  of  porcelain  china, 
making  goods  for  the  Turkish  government.  He 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years,  and  his  wife 
passed  away  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of 
forty-eight. 

Frederick  C.  Ahlborn  was  a  resident  of  Ba- 
varia until  he  attained  the  age  of  twenty-two,  in 
the  meantime  attending  the  common  schools  and 
pursuing  his  studies  under  the  tutorship  of  his- 
uncle,  a  clergyman.  In  1852  he  came  to  Amer- 
ica, locating  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  accepted 
a  clerkship,  and  also  spent  a  short  period  of  the 
time  in  traveling.  He  then  changed  his  place  of 
residence  to  Pottsville,  Pennsylvania,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  was  actively  connected  with  a 
country  produce  concern.  Later  he  removed  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  purchased  a  soap 
factory,  and  up  to  1870  devoted  his  entire  atten.- 


j>84 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


"tion  to  the  manufacture  of  soap.  In  that  year  he 
engaged  in  the  pork  packing  business  in  connec- 
tion with  his  other  enterprise,  but  later,  owing  to 
•the  steady  increase  in  the  new  project,  abandoned 
his  former  occupation,  and  directed  his  entire 
energy  and  thought  to  building  up  the  new  line, 
which  at  the  time  of  his  death  had  reached  ex- 
tensive proportions  and  was  one  of  the  leading 
industries  in  that  section.  In  all  his  transactions 
he  acquitted  himself  in  such  a  way  as  to  gain  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  was 
associated,  and  his  business  capability  was  rec- 
ognized throughout  the  community.  He  was  a 
director  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and  Sav- 
ing Company,  a  member  of  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  and  an  adherent  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  Republicanism. 

Mr.  Ahlborn  married  (first)  in  1855,  Maria 
Stahlmann,  who  died  in  1866,  leaving  three 
daughters  who  are  now  the  wives  of  Emil  Rohrig, 
of  Bamberg,  Bavaria ;  Carl  Finger,  and  Ira  Mar- 
vin, of  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr.  Ahlborn  married 
(second)  in  1871,  Henrietta  Teufel,  a  native  of 
Bavaria,  who  was  the  eleventh  child  of  Andrew 
and  Sophie  Teufel,  the  former  a  Lutheran 
clergyman.  Henrietta  Teufel  was  educated  in 
the  family  of  Baron  von  Thungen,  a  fraternity 
brother  of  her  father's,  being  especially  instructed 
in  foreign  languages.  It  was  as  a  teacher  of 
French  and  German  that  she  came  to  America ; 
after  her  arrival  in  the  United  States  she  went 
west,  where  she  taught  in  the  high  school  at 
Marshall  City,  Michigan,  until  her  marriage. 
Two  sons  and  five  daughters  were  the  issue  of 
this  marriage,  namely:  Frederick,  a  wholesale 
grocer :  Dr.  Maurice  B.,  and  three  of  the  five 
daughters  surviving — Hildegarde,  Ernestine  and 
Emma. 

Dr.  M.  B.  Ahlborn  married  Eleanor  Thomas, 
daughter  of  Isaac  M.  Thomas,  (see  Thomas 
Family) ,  and  they  are  parents  of  one  son,  Hervey 
Dunlap  Ahlborn. 

H.  E.  H. 

WILLIAM  LA  FAYETTE  RAEDER  is  of 
German  and  Knickerbocker  descent.  His  grand- 
father was  John  Raeder,  born  February  2,  1794, 
at  Heppenheim,  Hesse  Darmstadt,  Germany, 
died  July  14,  1866,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  some  years  previously  he  had  joined 
five  of  his  sons  who  were  settled  in  that  locality. 
He  was  married  in  1817  to  Anna  Katrina  Seil- 
heimer,  of  Fromesheimer  Greiss  Alzey,  Hesse 
Darmstadt ;  they  had  nine  children. 

John  Raeder,  junior,  eldest  son  of  John  and 
Anna   K.    (Seilheimer)     Raeder,    was    born    at 


Heppenheim,  German)-,  '  )ctober  25,  1820,  died 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  October  3,  1896.  He  sailed 
from  Havre  to  New  York  in  the  "Oneida,"  July 

1841,  and  made  the  voyage  in  the  remarkably 
short  time  of  twenty-eight  days.  He  at  once 
made  his  way  to  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  found  employment,  first  at  White  Ha- 
.ven,  then  in  Ransom  township,  and  later  at 
Wilkes-Barre.  In  the  autumn  of  1841  he  was 
employed  on  the  Lehigh  canal  at  White  Haven ; 
from  1842  to  1846  he  was  employed  at  Ransom, 
and  in  the"  latter  year  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre 
and  took  charge  of  the  old  Wyoming  Hotel,  a 
once  famous  hostelry  which  stood  on  South 
Main  street,  where  the  Christel  Block  now 
stands.  In  1849  ne  returned  to  Ransom  and  took 
up  farm  work,  but  the  end  of  another  year  found 
him  engaged  as  a  mason  in  the  construction  of 
the  North  Branch  canal,  making  his  home  at 
Gardner's  Ferry.  He  was  admitted  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  August  6,  1851,  by  the  court 
of  quarter  sessions  of  Luzerne  county.  He  re- 
moved from  Ransom  township  to  the  borough  of 
Pittston,  Luzerne  county,  in  April,  1857,  where 
he  took  charge  of  the  storage  vaults  connected 
with  John  Reichard's  brewery  at  Wilkes-Barre. 
He  became  landlord  of  the  Union  Hotel  at  Pitts- 
ton,  in  April,  1864. 

While  residing  in  Pittston,  Mr.  Raeder  be- 
came one  of  the  organizers,  and  served  as  a  di- 
rector of  the  Pittston  Street  Railway  Company, 
and  for  several  years  was  a  director  of  the  Peo- 
ple's Bank  of  Pittston.  He  was  elected  as  a 
member  of  the  town  council  of  the  borough  of 
Pittston  in  1868.  He  was  commissioned  by  Gov- 
ernor Packer,  of  Pennsylvania,  September  17, 
i860,  second  lieutenant  of  the  Pittston  Yagers, 
in  the  Second  Brigade,  Ninth  Division,  Pennsyl- 
vania Militia.  He  was  a  member  of  Thistle 
Lodge,  No.  512,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  of  Falling  Spring  Lodge,  No.  236, 
Knights  of  Pythias. 

Mr.  Raeder  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  April, 
1873,  having  purchased  the  Washington  Hotel  on 
West  Northampton  street.  In  the  hall  on  the 
third  floor  of  this  building  the  old  "Wyoming 
Yagers,"  (a  well  known  militia  company  of  Ger- 
mans, which  existed  prior  to  the  Civil  war)  had 
had  their  armory  and  held  their  balls  and  other 
social  functions.  At  a  later  date  the  Wyoming 
Artillerists,     a     militia     company     dating    from 

1842.  occupied  this  same  hall  for  their  armory. 
Mr.  Raeder  conducted  a  hotel  in  this  building  for 
several  years,  and  then  retired  from  business,  but 
continued  to  reside  in  the  hotel  building  until 
1895.     Since  September,   1895,  the  building  has 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


28  V 


been  occupied  by  the  United  Charities  Society  of 
Wilkes-Barre  and  the  Luzerne  County  Humane 
Association. 

John  Raeder,  junior,  was  married,  November 
1,  1847,  to  Melinda,  ninth  child  of  Johannes  and 
Vina  (Mowry)  Wendell,  born  October  26,  182S, 
died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  May  18,  1894.     Johannes 
Wendell,    baptized    November    16,    1788,    was    a 
descendant,  in  the  sixth    generation,    of    Evert 
Jensen  Wendell,  born  at  Emden,  Hanover   (now 
Prussia),   and   came  to   New  Amsterdam    (now 
New  York  City)  about  1642.     He  was  married 
(first)   July  31,   1644,    to    Susanna    Du    Trieux 
(now   Truax)    and    their    second    son,    Captain 
Johannes  Wendell,  born  February  2,   1649,  died 
November  20,  1691,  was  in  1682  agent  for  Mary- 
land to  receive  the  indemnity  from  the  Five  Na- 
tion  Indians    for  depredations    they    had    com- 
mitted in  that  province.     He  was  a  justice  of  the 
peace,    1684-85  ;   ruling  elder  in  the  Dutch   Re- 
formed  Church,    1686 ;   commissioner   of  Indian 
affairs,  1684-90;  commissioned  captain  of  the  Al- 
bany (New  York)  company,  1685;  mayor  of  Al- 
bany,   1690.     Captain    Wendell    married    (first) 
Maritie  Meyer,  daughter  of  Jellis  Pieterse  and 
Elsie    (Hendricks)   Meyer,  and   (second)    Eliza- 
beth Staats,  daughter  of  Major    Abraham    and 
Catrina    Jockemse   (Wessels)     Staats.       Captain 
Wendell  had  by  his  marriages  thirteen  children, 
of  whom  Isaac  Wendell,  sixth  son,  was  born  No- 
vember  5,    1686,   married    November    28,    17 17, 
Catalyna,  daughter  of  Dr.  Hendrick  and  Maria 
(Schuyler)    Van   Dyke.     Dr.   Van   Dyke   was   a 
physician  of  Albany,  and  son  of  Hendrick  Van- 
Dyke,  schout  fiscal  of  Governor  Stuyvesant,  and 
a  member  of  the  governor's  council.     He  came 
to  New  Amsterdam  1639-40,  and  was  a  promi- 
nent figure   in  the  early  history  of  that  colony. 
He  married,  February  3,  1689,  Maria  Schuyler, 
daughter  of  Arent   Schuyler,  freeman    of    New 
York  City,    1695,   and    son    of    Colonel    Philip 
Pieterse  Schuyler,  grandfather  of  General  Philip 
Schuyler   of    the    Revolutionary    army.     Maria 
(Schuyler)    Van   Dyke   was    the    grandaunt   of 
General    Schuyler.     Isaac   and     Catalyna     (Van 
Dyke)  Wendell  had  nine  children,  of  whom  Hen- 
drick, baptized  March   16,  1729,  died  at  Water- 
vliet,  New  York,  in  April,   1809,  was  the  sixth 
son.     He  was  married,  June  17,   1750,  to  Cata- 
lina,  daughter  of  Sybrant   G.  and  Janette    (Bo- 
gaart)    Van    Schaick,    of    Albany,    New    York. 
Sybrant  G.  Van  Schaick,  who  was  the  mayor  of 
Albany  in   1761,  was  the  son  of    Anthony    and 
grandson  of  Captain  Gosen  Gerritse  Van  Schaick, 
brewer  of  New  Amsterdam  as  early  as  1649.     ^n 
1657  Captain  Van  Schaick  owned  a  large  amount 


of  property  in  Albany.  In  July,  1754,  Sybrant. 
Van  Schaick,  junior,  son  of  Sybrant  G.  Van. 
Schaick  and  brother  of  Mrs.  Hendrick  Wendell, 
witnessed  at  Albany — with  John  J.  Wendell, 
brother  of  Hendrick  Wendell — the  deed  executed 
by  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  to  the  Susque- 
hanna Company  for  a  large  tract  of  land,  includ- 
ing Wyoming  Valley,  on  the  Susquehanna  river. 
(See  Harvey's  "History  of  Wilkes-Barre,"  I: 
276,  277).  Hendrick  and  Catalina  (Van. 
Schaick)  Wendell  had  four  children,  of  whom. 
Gerrett  Wendell  was  the  second.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1789  to  Machtelt,  born  October  15.  1758, 
daughter  of  Hannes  and  Elizabeth  Van  Heem- 
straat,  (or  Henstreet),  and  they  had  two  daugh- 
ters and  two  sons,  the  youngest  of  whom,  Johan- 
nes Wendell,  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  John  Raeder. 
Vina  Mowry,  wife  of  Johannes  Wendell,  born 
1792,  died  November  29,  1879,  was  tne  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Hopie  (Harrington)  Mowry,  who- 
came  from  Rhode  Island  to  Lake  George.  Isaac 
Mowry  was  descended  from  Roger  Mowry,  who 
came  to  Massachusetts  with  the  Plymouth  colony, 
was  made  freeman  May  18,  1631,  and  located  at 
Providence,  Rhode  Island,  in  1643.  John  and 
Melinda  (Wendell)  Raeder  had  five  children, 
three  of  whom  grew  to  maturity:  Catharine- 
Elizabeth,  married  Francis  Marion  Rush ;  Will- 
iam La  Fayette ;  and  Ella  A.,  married  Frederick 
M.  Heitzman. 

William  La  Fayette  Raeder,  son  of  John  and 
Melinda  (Wendell)  Raeder,  was  born  November 
27,  1854,  near  Gardner's  Ferry,  in  Ransom  town- 
ship, Lackawanna  (then  Luzerne)  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  removed  in  April,  1857,  with  his- 
father's  family  to  Pittston.  He  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  that  borough,  and  later  the  West 
Pittston  Seminary,  where  under  Prof.  Wallace  J. 
Bruce,  the  principal,  he  prepared  for  college.  In 
September,  1872,  he  entered  the  freshman  class 
of  Lehigh  University,  where  he  pursued  the  reg- 
ular course  in  civil  engineering.  Locating  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  his  parents  were  then  re- 
siding, he  became  a  member  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley  Coal  Company  corps  of  engineers.  Soon 
afterwards  he  gave  up  this  employment  and  ac- 
cepted a  position  with  Messrs.  Virtue  &  Yorston, 
publishers,  fixing  his  headquarters  at  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania.  In  the  spring  of  1877  he  re- 
turned to  Wilkes-Barre,  entered  the  law  office  of" 
Edwin  P.  &  John  Vaughan  Darling,  as  a  student 
of  law,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts 
of  Luzerne  county  June  6,  188 1.  While  pursu- 
ing his  law  studies  Mr.  Raeder  assisted  in  estab- 
lishing Wilkes-Barre's  first  telephone  system,  and 
acted  as  solicitor  and  collector  for  the  company,. 


^86 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA   VALLEYS. 


owning  and  operating  the  system  until  his  ad- 
mission to  the  bar.  In  the  early  years  of  his 
practice  he  established  and  published  for  some 
time  The  Real  Estate  Intelligencer,  which  was 
from  the  start  a  local  authority  on  the  subjects  to 
which  it  was  devoted. 

Air.  Raeder  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  has 
always  taken  an  active  part  in  political  matters, 
particularly  in  those  of  his  native  county.  He 
has  never  been  a  seeker  after  public  office,  but 
at  the  Luzerne  county  Democratic  convention  in 
1904  was  nominated  for  representative  to  the 
Fifty-ninth  Congress  from  the  Eleventh  con- 
gressional district  of  Pennsylvania  (comprising 
Luzerne  county,  with  a  population  of  over  two 
hundred  and  seventy  thousand),  by  acclamation, 
which  action  was  unprecedented  in  the  history  of 
political  parties  in  Luzerne  county.  However,  in 
the  great  political  upheaval  which  occurred 
throughout  the  country,  and  particularly  in  Penn- 
sylvania, in  November,  1904,  Mr.  Raeder  was 
■defeated  by  his  Republican  competitor. 

In  1878  Air.  Raeder  became  an  original  mem- 
ber and  eighth  corporal  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Fencibles,  an  infantry  company  which  was  the 
nucleus  of  the  present  Ninth  Regiment,  National 
Guard  of  Pennsylvania,  and  which  became  Com- 
pany B  of  that  organization  in  June,  1879.  In 
the  spring  of  1879  he  was  honorably  discharged 
from  the  service  in  order  to  assist  in  organizing 
a  new  infantry  company,  which  became  Com- 
pany F  of  the  Ninth  Regiment,  and  of  which  he 
was  appointed  a  sergeant. 

Air.  Raeder  is  now  serving  his  second  con- 
secutive term  as  president  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
of  Wilkes-Barre ;  he  was  representative  from 
^that  body  on  the  joint  committee  on  election 
code  of  Pennsylvania.  He  is  also  president  of 
the  Gesang-Yerein  Concordia,  the  leading  male 
singing  societv  of  Northeastern  Pennsylvania, 
which  has  had  successful  existence  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  in  competitions  at  national 
saengerfests  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  and  Balti- 
more, Maryland,  has  won  first  prizes.  Air. 
Raeder  is  and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years 
an  active  member  of  the  Concordia  chorus.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Bar  As- 
sociation, the  Wilkes-Barre  Law  and  Library  As- 
sociation, the  Lawyers"  Club,  and  the  Pen  and 
Pencil  Club,  of  Philadelphia :  the  Westmoreland 
Club,  the  Franklin  Club,  and  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Press  Club,  and  the  famous 
Clover  Club,  of  Philadelphia ;  and  is  a  director 
•of  the  Boys'  Industrial  Association  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  president  of  the  Dorranceton  Realty 


Company.  He  has  been  for  a. number  of  years 
an  active  member  of  Wilkes-Barre  Lodge,  No. 
109,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
and  has  very  frequently  filled  the  station  of  ex- 
alted ruler  of  the  lodge  on  public  occasions,  un- 
til he  was  finally  elected  to  that  office — which  he 
now  holds.  He  was  made  a  Free  Mason  in 
Lodge  No.  61,  Free  and  Accepted  Alasons, 
Wilkes-Barre,  August  28,  1882.  In  1889  and 
again  1890  he  was  master  of  the  lodge,  and  for 
several  years  now  has  been  one  of  its  three  trus- 
tees. He  is  a  companion  of  Shekinah  Chapter, 
No.  182,  Royal  Arch  Alasons,  and  of  Alount 
Horeb  Council,  No.  34,  Royal  and  Select  Alas- 
ters,  and  a  Sir  Knight  of  Dieu  le  Yeut 
Commandery,  No.  45,  K.  T.,  all  located  in 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Caldwell 
Consistory  (thirty-second)  degree),  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  located  at  Bloomsburg, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  charter  member  of  Irem 
Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of 
the  Alystic  Shrine,  constituted  at  Wilkes-Barre  in 
1895.  Air.  Raeder  his  been  chief  rabban  of 
the  Temple  from  its  beginning,  and  is  also  one 
of  its  representatives  to  the  imperial  council. 

Air.  Raeder  was  married  February  17.  1885, 
to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George  and  Eunice 
(Callahan)  Worrell,  of  Elmira,  New  York.  John 
Worrell,  born  in  Oare,  Berkshire,  England,  1658,' 
died  Edgmont,  Delaware  county,  Pennsylvania, 
February  4,  1742,  located  first  in  Chester.  Dela- 
ware county,  1682.  In  1684  he  removed  to  Alid- 
dletown  township,  Delaware  county,  whence  in 
1695  ne  moved  to  Edgmont  township,  where  he 
died.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  as- 
sembly from  Chester  county  in  1716.  He  was 
twice  married;  first,  1684,  to  Frances  Taylor, 
died  Edgmont,  October  13.  1712,  widow  of 
Thomas  Taylor,  of  Northenby,  Flintshire.  Eng- 
land, who  died  1682;  second,  April  9.  1714.  to 
Sarah  Goodwin,  daughter  of  Thomas  Goodwin, 
of  Edgmont,  and  a  prominent  preacher  among 
the  Friends.  Bv  his  second  marriage  Air.  Wor- 
rell had:  Elizabeth,  born  January  29.  1715 ; 
Alary,  born  April  27.  1717;  John  (twin),  born 
August  26,  1719;  Peter  (twin),  born  August  26, 
1719:  Sarah,  born  July  19.  1722;  Thomas,  born 
September  21.  1724;  Thomas,  second,  born  June 
29,  1728,  and  Alary,  born  February  24,  1730. 

John  Worrell,  fourth  child  of  John  and  Sa- 
rah (Goodwin)  Worrell,  born  August  26.  1719, 
married  April  18.  1741.  Priscilla  Lewis,  of  Edg- 
mont township,  Delaware  county,  and  had :  Sam- 
uel Worrell,  born  Edgmont  June  21.  1754.  died 
Februarv  14,  1827.  married  1786,  Alartha  Gam- 
ble, of  Edgmont,  born  1759,  died  December  26, 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


287 


1826.  Mr.  Worrell  was  disowned  by  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends  for  having  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  One  hundred  and  ten  young  men 
of  this  society  entered  the  Continental  service 
from  Delaware  county  and  were  also  disowned. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Worrell  had :  Lewis ;  John, 
of  Pequa  Valley;  Priscilla  and  Rachel. 

Lewis  Worrell,  eldest  son  of  John  and  Mar- 
tha (Gamble)  Worrell,  born  in  Edgemont,  Oc- 
tober 13,  1737,  died  Cape  May,  New  Jersey, 
March  24,  i860,  married,  in  1810,  Millicent  Tay- 
lor, of  Cape  May,  born  1790,  died  1865.  He 
learned  the  potter's  trade  at  Westtown,  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1817  settled  at 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  lived  on  North  River  street 
above  Market  street,  until  1840,  where  he  car- 
ried on  the  pottery  business,  in  connection  with 
a  lumber  yard.  In  1848  he  retired  from  busi- 
ness. In  1854  he  removed  to  Elmira,  New  York, 
whence  in  May,  1858,  he  moved  to  Cape  May, 
New  Jersey,  where  he  died.  Mr.  Lewis  Wor- 
rell during  his  long  residence  in  Wilkes-Barre 
earned  the  esteem  of  all  its  people.  One  who 
remembers  him  well,  having  had  intimate  busi- 
ness and  social  associations  with  him,  says  "He 
was  a  man  of  fine  physique,  with  sparkling  blue 
eyes,  intelligent,  and  in  every  respect  compan-  ■ 
ionable.  He  was  full  of  energy  and  business 
tact  and  the  very  soul  of  honor  and  integrity. 
He  lived  in  the  Emley  house,  on  River  street, 
and  his  pottery  stood  on  the  present  site  of  the 
Urquhart  property,  where  Arnold  Bertels  now 
resides.  It  was  an  industrial  establishment  of 
no  small  consequence  in  a  borough  of  the  size 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  flourished  under  his  care- 
ful management.  Mr.  Worrell  was  a  devout 
churchman,  and  an  ardent  participant' in  all  ef- 
forts to  help  his  less  fortunate  fellows  and  add 
to  the  good  and  prosperity  of  his  city."  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Lewis  Worrell  had  one  son,  George. 

George  Worrell,  son  of  Lewis  and  Millicent 
(Taylor)  Worrell,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  1824, 
died  Elmira,  New  York,  July  21,  1887,  married 
October  18,  1853,  Eunice  Callahan,  born  Decem- 
ber 24,  183 1,  died,  a  devout  communicant  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  September  21, 
1904,  at  the  summer  residence  of  Mr.  Raeder, 
Harvey's  Lake,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Cole) 
Callahan,  and  had  two  sons  and  two  daughters, 
the  younger  daughter  being  Elizabeth,  the  wife 
of  William  L.  Raeder.  The  Elmira  Advertiser, 
speaking  of  Mr.  Worrell  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
said  "He  was  always  an  active  and  intelligent 
business  man.  At  different  times  in  his  career 
he  had  been  associated  with  the  Nobles  Manu- 


facturing Compan}-,  and  with  the  companv  that 
operated  the  woolen  mills,  but  was  chiefly  known 
as  a  successful  coal  dealer.  He  brought  the  first 
car  load  of  Pittston  coal  to  Elmira  in  a  canal 
boat  on  the  once  prosperous  Chemung  canal,  and 
was  the  first  to  introduce  the  product  of  the  Pitts- 
ton  mines  into  Rochester,  New  York,  and  other 
cities.  In  political  life  he  was  not  unknown, 
serving  several  times  as  member  of  the  com- 
mon council  of  Elmira,  and  board  of  super- 
visors. These  trusts  were  discharged  to  the 
credit  of  himself  and  the  satisfaction  of  his  con- 
stituents of  the  third  ward.  He  was  a  member 
of  St.  Omer's  Commandery  and  was  connected 
with  Grace  Protestant  Episcopal  Church."  The 
Gazette  said  of  him  "Personally,Mr.  Worrell  was 
one  of  the  pleasantest  of  men.  He  was  one  of 
those  generous,  whole  souled  men,  quiet  and  un- 
ostentatious in  his  way,  but  never  withholding 
his  aid  from  any  deserving  one.  Few  perhaps 
knew  him  intimately,  but  they  can  testify  to  his 
worth  as  a  man,  a  citizen  and  a  neighbor." 

William  L.  and  Elizabeth  (Worrell)  Raeder 
have  four  children :  Millicent  Worrell,  born  Sep- 
tember 27,  1888 ;  Marjory  Elizabeth,  born  Oc- 
tober 8,  1 89 1  ;  William  John,  born  September  , 
18,  1894,  a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society ;  and  Marian  Irene, 
born  June  12,  1896.  (Abridged  by  permission 
from  sketch  of  William  L.  Raeder,  by  Rev. 
Horace  E.  Havden,  in  Kulp,  796.) 

H.  E.  H. 

JOHN  W.  RAEDER.  William  Raeder, 
fourth  son  of  John  Raeder  and  wife  Anna  Ka- 
trina  Seilheimer,  the  immigrant  ancestors  of  the 
family  in  this  country,  was  born  in  Hesse  Darm- 
stadt, Germany,  in  1833,  came  to  America  in 
1853,  and  settled  in  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. For  some  years  prior  to  his  death  he  was 
a  hotel-keeper  and  restauranter ;  in  religion  a 
Lutheran ;  in  politics  a  Democrat.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1857  and  lived  about  two  years  in  White 
Haven,  Pennsylvania,  and  removed  thence  to 
Wilkes-Barre  in  1859.  Here  they  both  died, 
William  on  February  22,  1866,  and  Mary  Balz,1 
his  wife,  February  2,  1896. 

John  W.  Raeder,  eldest  son  of  William  Rae- 
der and  wife  Mary  Balz,  was  born  at  White  Ha- 
ven, Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  November 
8,  1858,  and  in  infancy  was  taken  by  his  parents 
to   Wilkes-Barre,    where   he   was   educated,   and 


1.  Mary  Balz,  born  Hesse  Darmstadt.  November  8, 
1836,  was  daughter  of  Nicholas  Balz.  born  Hesse 
Darmstadt  about  1805,  came  to  America  about  1850, 
and  died  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  1881. 


288 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


has  since  lived.  He  attended  the  private  school 
of  J.  B.  Dow  for  a  short  time  and  attended  the 
public  school  until  he  reached:  the  age  of  thir- 
teen years,  left  the  schoolroom  and  learned  the 
trade  of  book-binding.  This  he  followed  as  a 
journeyman  until  1881,  when  he  began  business 
for  himself,  adding  to  book-binding  a  department 
of  blank  book  making.  This  was  the  founda- 
tion of  the  present  extensive  corporate  company 
in  Wilkes-Barre  known  as  "The  Raeder  Blank 
Book,  Lithographing  and  Printing  Company,"  of 
which  John  W.  Raeder  was  the  manager  and 
actual  head  from  its  incorporation  in  1899  until 
1904,  when  he  was  made  president  in  addition. 
As  now  operated  the  company's  business  is  ex- 
tensive ;  its  plant  occupies  a  six-story  building, 
gives  employment  to  nearly  one  hundred  em- 
ployees, and  the  reputation  of  the  house  for  good 
work  extends  throughout  the  country.  Polit- 
ically,.Mr.  Raeder  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Board  of  Trade,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society ;  has  filled  all  the  chairs  and  is  now  wor- 
shipful master  (1905)  of  Landmark  Lodge,  No. 
442,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  member  of  Shekinah  Chap- 
ter, No.  182,  R.  A.  M. ;  of  Mount  Horeb  Coun- 
cil, No.  30,  R.  and  S.  M. ;  of  Dieu  le  Veut  Com- 
mandery,  No.  45,  K.  T. ;  of  Irem  Temple,  A.  A. 
O.  N.  M.  S.,  and  of  the  Keystone  Consistory 
(320),  A.  A.  S.  R.,  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  one  of  its  deacons,  and  secre- 
tary of  its  Sunday  school;  a  member  since  1876 
of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  in  which  he 
has  held  the  offices  of  secretary,  vice-president, 
and  president ;  is  also  superintendent  of  the 
Nuangola  Lake  Sunday  School,  and  president 
of  its  board  of  trustees. 

John  W.  Raeder  married,  at  Tamaqua,  Penn- 
sylvania, December  20,  1882,  Elizabeth  Barnes 
Draper,  born  February  15,  1858,  daughter  of 
William  Draper2  and  wife  Agnes  Weir.  Their 
children,  all  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  are:  Robert 
Duncan,  born  October  10,  1884;  Ruth  Weir,  born 
April  4,  1887 ;  Agnes  Marie,  born  July  14,  1889 ; 
J.  Milford,  born  April  4,  1892;  Irving  Balz,  born- 
October  6,  1895  ;  Lewis  Draper,  born  February 
21,  1901.  H.  E.  H. 

NIRAM  P.  JORDAN,  a  representative  busi- 
ness man  of  Wilkes-Barre,  being  engaged  in  the 


2.     William  Draper  was  a  native  of  England,  and 

was  a  boot  and  shoe  merchant.     Agnes  Weir,  his  wife, 

was  born  in  Scotland ;  Elizabeth  Draper,  their  daughter, 

wife  of  John  W.  Raeder,  was  educated  in  the  Tamaqua 

public  schools. 


hat  and  fur  business  for  the  long  period  of  thirty- 
four  years,  is  a  native  of  Hillsdale,  Columbia 
county,  New  York,  born  November  15.  1844. 
This  branch  of  the  Jordan  family  was  founded  in 
this  country  by  three  brothers  who  came  from 
England,  one  settling  in  the  south,  one  in  New 
York,  from  which  the  present  line  is  descended, 
and  one  elsewhere. 

William  Jordan,  great-grandfather  of  Niram 
P.  Jordan,  a  descendant  of  the  brother  who  set- 
tled in  New  York,  was  born  in  Westchester  coun- 
ty, New  York,,  and  participated  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  John  Jordan,  grandfather  of  Niram 
P.  Jordan,  was  a  resident  of  Palmyra,  New  York, 
where  he  followed  agricultural  pursuits.  His 
wife,  Sarah  (Allen)  Jordan,  bore  him  children: 
Steven,  Abram,  William,  John,  Niram  and  Re- 
becca. 

Abram  Jordan,  father  of  Niram  P.  Jordan, 
was  born  at  Hillsdale,  New  York,  1807.  Hi; 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  there- 
after cultivated  the  old  homestead  farm  near 
Hillsdale,  whereon  his  death  occurred.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  Mary  Snyder,  born  1806,  died  1848. 
They  had  seven  children:  1.  Caroline,  mar- 
ried Frank  W.  Henry,  of  Morris,  Illinois,  and 
had  three  children :  Carleton,  Everett,  and  Rose 
Henry.  2.  Ann,  married  George  L.  Palmer,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  formerly  of  Hillsdale,  and  had 
four  children :  Rosina,  Ida,  Mary  and  Anna 
Palmer.  3.  John,  married  in  Illinois,  Helen 
Moore,  who  bore  him  children :  Edith,  Clyde, 
Horace  and  Lulu.  4.  Benjamin,  married  Chris- 
tina Pectel,  of  Hollowville,  Columbia  county, 
New  York,  and  had  one  son,  Dewitt  C.  Jordan. 
5.  William  A.,  married  Mary  Apley,  of  Crary- 
ville,  Columbia  county,  New  York,  and  had  one 
son,  Fred  A.  Jordan.  6.  George,  died  and 
buried  at  Hillsdale,  New  York,  1866.  7.  Niram 
P.,  mentioned  hereafter. 

Abram  Jordan  married  (second)  Ellen  Sny- 
der, sister  of  his  first  wife,  and  their  children 
were:  7.  Samuel,  married  Alice  Cole,  of  Al- 
lentown,  Pennsylvania,  and  has  one  son,  Floyd 
A.  Jordan  ;  the  family  reside  in  Allentown.  8. 
Carle'ton,  died  in  infancy  at  Hillsdale,  New 
York,  and  buried  there.  9.  Emma,  died  at  Hol- 
lowville, New  York,  1899. 

Niram  P.  Jordan,  son  of  Abram  and  Mary 
(Snyder)  Jordan,  spent  his  childhood  and  early 
boyhood  at  Hillsdale,  New  York,  attending  the 
public  schools,  where  he  obtained  a  practical  ed- 
ucation. At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  entered  the  employ  of 
G.  L.  Palmer,  proprietor  of  a  hat  and  fur  busi- 
ness, with  whom  he  remained  twelve  vears,  and 


^A^t^CZ^^  cxU^.  M^^^i 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


289 


in  the  meantime  attended  school  and  in  this  way 
supplemented  the  knowledge  gained  during  his 
early  days  and  also  thoroughly  qualified  himself 
for  a  life  of  usefulness  and  activity.  After  sev- 
ering his  connection  with  Air.  Palmer,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-seven,  he  engaged  in  business  for  him- 
self in  the  same  line  at  No.  15  West  Market 
street,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  has  continued  there  up 
to  the  present  time,  a  period  of  thirty-four  years. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum  since  its  incep- 
tion. Air.  Jordan  married,  May  27,  1861,  Elean- 
or E.  Blake,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  eld- 
est daughter  of  Thomas  and  A'lary  (Smith) 
Blake,  who  had  six  children,  namely :  Eleanor, 
Fannie,  wife  of  James  T.  Murphy,  of  Chancel- 
lorville,  Pennsylvania ;  Hettie,  wife  of  Thomas 
Sperring,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania ;  Sal- 
lie,  wife  of  Albert  Tillyer,  of  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  Harrison  Wright,  died  Wilkes-Barre ; 
James  Gore,  married  Abi  Butler,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  has  two  children ;  they  reside  in  New 
York. 

Niram  P.  and  Eleanor  E.  (Blake)  Jordan 
had  one  son,  Harry  Emley,  born  December  18, 
1869.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  at  the  Harry  Hillman  Academy,  and  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  entered  the  employ  of  his  fath- 
er at  No.  15  West  Market  street,  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  has  continued  up  to  date.  He  is  a  member 
of  Lodge  No.  109,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  of  Wilkes-Barre;  Lodge  No.  61, 
F.  and  A.  AI. ;  Shekinah  Chapter  No.  182,  R. 
A.  AI. ;  Dieu  Le  Vieut  Commandery,  No.  45, 
K.  T. ;  and  Irem  Temple,  Nobles  of  the  Alystic 
Shrine,  the  Westmoreland  Club,  Franklin  Club 
and  Concordia  Society.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  Harry  Emley  Jordan  married  Alarie 
Elizabeth  Lape,  born  August  14,  1874,  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  died  July  23,  1902,  at 
Ogunquit,  Maine,  and  buried  in  Hollenback  Cem- 
etery, Wilkes-Barre.  Alarie  Elizabeth  (Lape) 
Jordan  was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  A.  A.  and  Fran- 
ces V.  (Line)  Lape,  of  Nanticoke,  Pennsylva- 
nia. Niram  P.  Jordan,  wife  and  son  are  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Presbvterian  Church  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

ALEXANDER  H.  VAN  HORN.  The  Van 
Horns  came  from  Hoorne,  in  Holland,  with  the 
first  settlers  of  New  York,  and  the  ancestor  of 
the  branch  of  the  family  of  which  Alexander  H. 
Van  Horn  is  a  representative  was  Bernard  Van 
Horn,  captain  of  a  Dutch  trading  vessel,  who 
settled  in  Tinicum,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania. 

The  line  of  descent  is  traced  through  Sam- 

19 


uel  Van  Horn,  who  was  born  in  Tinicum, 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  November,  1752, 
and  died  June,  1852,  nearly  one  hundred  years 
old.  He  was  apprenticed  in  his  boyhood  to  a 
Quaker  who  was  a  chair  and  spinning  wheel 
maker  in  Philadelphia.  While  in  his  employ  the 
Revolutionary  war  broke  out,  and  young  Sam- 
uel was  among  the  first  to  enlist  under  General 
Washington,  serving  four  years  in  the  struggle 
for  independence,  He  married  Kathryn  Evens, 
daughter  of  Edwin  Evens,  of  Gwynedd,  Alont- 
gomery  county,  Pennsylvania.  They  began  their 
married  life  in  Hamilton  township,  Alonroe 
count}-,  and  in  A-Iay  of  1780  she  rode  from  Ham- 
ilton to  Philadelphia  on  horseback  to  escape  from 
the  Indians,  carrying  her  eldest  son  Isaac,  then 
a  babe  of  six  weeks  old,  in  lier  arms,  her  hus- 
band being  still  in  the  service  of  his  country.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  they  returned  to  Hamilton 
township.  The  Indians  still  troubled  them,  and 
in  the  summer  of  1786  Mrs.  Van  Horn  shot  an 
Indian  who  was  hidden  behind  the  out-door 
oven,  but  whose  feathers  in  his  headdress  showed 
above  the  same,  thus  disclosing  his  hiding  place. 
Air.  and  Airs.  Samuel  Van  Horn  had  five  chil- 
dren, all  born  at  Hamilton  :  Isaac,  see  forward  ; 
Edwin,  married  Nancy  Hicks ;  Samuel,  married 
Rachel  Thomas ;  Amos,  married  Ellen  Dodson ; 
and  Benjamin.  Samuel  Van  Horn  and  his  family 
removed  to  Salem,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  1794.  He  later  went  to  Kentucky  with 
his  sons  Amos  and  Benjamin,  but  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-six  years  returned  to  Sa- 
lem on  a  visit.  Returning  to  Kentucky,  he  died 
there. 

Isaac  Van  Horn,  son  of  Samuel  and  Kathryn 
(Evens)  Van  Horn,  was  born  in  Hamilton 
township,  Monroe  county,  Pennsylvania,  April 
2,  1780,  and  died  November  26,  1852.  He  was 
married  at  Salem,  Luzerne  county,  October  2, 
1801,  to  Elizabeth  Dodson,  born  in  Mahoning 
Valley,  Carbon  county,  Pennsylvania,  Septem- 
ber 24,  1783,  died  October  24,  1867,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Rhodes)  Dodson.  Sam- 
uel Dodson  was  a  member  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, while  his  first  wife,  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
Rhodes,  and  his  second  wife,  Judith  Gregory, 
who  was  born  on  the  ocean  when  her  parents 
were  coming  to  this  country,  were  A'loravians, 
and  their  children  were  baptized  in  the  Aforavian 
Church,  but  in  1808  joined  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  in  which  their  children  were  there- 
after brought  up.  Elizabeth  (Dodson)  Van 
Horn  had  an  elder  sister  Abbie,  who  was  cap- 
tured by  the  Indians  in  April,  1780,  when  she 
was   thirteen   years  old,   and  held   captive   until 


290 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


she  was  ransomed,  December,  1785.  Children 
of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Dodson)  Van  Horn: 
Samuel,  born  July  27,  1802,  married  Phebe 
Howe,  of  Pottsville,  Schuylkill  county,  Novem- 
ber 15,  1830,  and  had  Amanda,  Mary  Jane,  Den- 
ton, Ira,  Christian,  Robert,  Wesley  and  Rose; 
Abram,  born  February  29,  1804,  see  forward; 
John  Dodson,  born  November  24,  1806,  married 
Esther  Dodson,  January,  1831,  and  had  Frank 
Asbury,  Mary  Elizabeth,  Julius,  Chester,  Abigail 
and  Aclelia;  Hannah,  born  October  4,  1809,  mar- 
ried Henry  Ebert,  1836;  Rachel  Thomas,  born 
July  22,  1812,  married  (first)  William  Conner, 
July,  1830,  who  died  1833,  and  she  married 
(second)  James  Hewett  Abbott ;  Thomas  Rhodes, 
born  February  16,  1815,  married  August  1,  1840, 
Anna  Maria  Abbott,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  died  November  26,  1882;  Joseph  Ev- 
ens, born  November  16,  1817,  married  Mary 
Canfield ;  Merrit  Isaac,  born  July  7,  1820,  mar- 
ried Mary  Barr,  of  Mauch  Chunk,  185 1,  and 
died  September,  1904;  Nathan,  born  December, 
1822,  married  Ann  Armitage  Rose,  of  Susque- 
hanna county;  Sarah  Elizabeth,  born  August  29, 
1826,  married  Solomon  Washburn  (now  de- 
ceased), 1844. 

Abram  Van  Horn,  second  son  of  Isaac  and 
Elizabeth  (Dodson)  Van  Horn,  was  born  at  Sa- 
lem, Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  February 
29,  1804,  and  died  in  1891,  aged  eighty-six  years. 
He  was  a  farmer  in  Hunlock  township,  and  fol- 
lowed that  pursuit  throughout  the  active  years 
of  his  life.  He  married,  October  2,  1829,  Olive 
Hubbs,  daughter  of  William  Hubbs,  of  New 
York,  and  wife  Hannah  Ostrander,  whose  fath- 
er was  a  colonel  under  General  Washington ;  she 
died  in  1897,  aged  ninety  years.  Colonel  Os- 
trander was  a  man  of  position  and  great  wealth 
for  his  day,  holding  under  grant  from  the  crown 
one  of  the  large  estates .  for  which  New  York 
was  famous  in  colonial  days.  Children  of  Abram 
and  Olive  (Hubbs)  Van  Horn:  William,  now 
leading  a  retired  life  at  Berwick,  Pennsylvania ; 
Alexander  H.,  see  forward;  Francis,  a  builder 
by  trade,  resides  in  Houston,  Texas ;  Adelia, 
wife  of  William  Cook,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
James,  a  farmer,  resides  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Hunlock  township,  which  property  has  been  in 
the  family  since  1829;  Elizabeth,  deceased; 
Janette,  married  Matthew  Holgate,  July  28, 
1875,  died  February  28,  1876.  Mr.  Van  Horn 
was  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  and  his  wife 
were  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

Alexander  H.  Van  Horn,  second  son  of 
Abram  and  Olive  (Hubbs)  Van  Horn,  was  born 


in  Hunlock  township,  Luzerne  county,  February 
22,  1833.  He  attended  the  common  schools  and 
pursued  advanced  studies  at  Wyoming  Seminary, 
Kingston,  Pensylvania.  He  became  connected 
with  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation  Company 
at  Summit  Hill,  Carbon  county,  in  1855,  and  re- 
mained as  superintendent  until  1864,  when  he 
engaged  in  the  coal  business  for  himself,  contin- 
uing until  January  1,  1868,  and  conducting  an  ex- 
tensive business.  In  1871  he  removed  to 
Wilkes-Barre  and  became  interested  in  various 
corporations.  He  was  elected  a  director  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and  Savings  Bank,  1872, 
and  was  elected  president  in  1880,  which  posi- 
tion he  still  holds,  being  one  of  the  oldest  bank 
officers  in  the  city.  This  bank,  erected  in  1898, 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  bank  buildings  in 
the  Wyoming  valley.  Mr.  Van  Horn  is  also  in- 
terested in  a  number  of  other  business  enterprises 
in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  for  eight  years  between  1870  and  1880  was 
a  director  of  schools.  He  and  his  family  attend 
the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Mr.  Van  Horn  married,  in  1867,  Harriet  Ab- 
bott, daughter  of  James  H.  Abbott,  a  carpenter 
and  joiner  by  trade,  at  Summit  .  Hill,  Carbon 
county,  where  he  died  in  1872.  Two  children 
were  born  of  this  marriage :  Edwin  S,.  superin- 
tendent of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Iron  Manufacturing 
Company,  and  Maud,  wife  of  Dr.  Meixell,  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  in  1875,  aged  thirty-nine  years.  Mr.  Van 
Horn  was  married  (second)  April  23,  1885,  to 
Dora  Louisa  Reading,  born  in  Urbana,  Illinois, 
March  4,  1857,  daughter  of  Augustus  Bertron 
and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Barber)  Reading.  They 
had  four  children:  Olive,  Gertrude,  Mary  and 
dor  a. 

Col.  John  Reading,  the  ancestor  of  Mrs.  A'Tan 
Horn,  was  a  man  of  gentle  birth  and  good  edu- 
cation. He  came  to  New  Jersey  about  16S7, 
probably  from  London,  England,  where  his  fam- 
ily dates  back  to  the  thirteenth  century.  His 
son,  Gov.  John  Reading,  great-great-great-grand- 
father of  Dora  Louisa  Reading,  was  born  in 
Camden,  New  Jersey,  one  of  two  children,  him- 
self and  Elise.  He  was  educated  in  Eng- 
land, and  was  the  wealthiest  man  in  Hunterdon 
county,  New  Jersey.  He  held  many  offices  of 
trust  and  responsibility  under  King  George  III. 
At  his  father's  death  he  was  chosen  by  the  king 
to  run  the  boundary  lines  between  New  Jersey 
and  New  York.  His  son,  Hon.  Joseph  Reading, 
great-great-grandfather  of  Dora  Louisa  Reading, 
was  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  day,  judge  of 
common  pleas,  presiding  judge  of  the  orphans' 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


291 


court,  and  served  in  the  council.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  Amwell  Presbyterian  Church.  His  son, 
Samuel  Ryerson  Reading,  was  the  great-grand- 
father of  Dora  Louisa  Reading.  William  An- 
derson Reading,  son  of  Samuel  Kyerson  Reading, 
and  grandfather  of  Dora  Louisa  Reading,  re- 
ceived under  will  of  his  father  a  large  estate  on 
the  banks  of  the  Delaware  river,  near  Raven 
Rock,  a  part  of  which  is  still  in  the  possession 
■of  the  family.  His  son,  Augustus  Bertron  Read- 
ing, was  father  of  Airs.  Dora  Louisa  (Reading) 
Van  Horn.  H.  E.  H. 

FRED  MARTIN  ALLEN,  identified  with 
the  educational  interests  of  the  city  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  in  that  he  established  and 
has  conducted  the  institution  known  as  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Business  College,  traces  his'  an- 
cestry back  to  Samuel  Allen,  who  came  to  Amer- 
ica in  the  "Mayflower"'  in  1620.  Said  Samuel 
Allen  and  wife  Ann  settled  at  Braintree,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  was  born  a  son  Samuel  in  1632. 
This  son  is  the  American  representative  of  the 
Allen  family,  and  the  descendants  of  the  branch 
-to  which  Fred  Martin,  the  subject  of  our  sketch, 
belongs,  is  as  follows:  Ebenezer  (2),  son  of 
Samuel  (1),  born  1674.  Jacob  (3),  son  of- 
Ebenezer,  born  1702.  Jacob  (4),  son  of  Jacob, 
born  1739.  He  was  captain  of  a  company  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  was  killed  at  Saratoga 
at  the  capture  of  Burgoyne,  September  19,  1777. 
He  had  a  son  Jacob  (5),  born  1763.  Jacob  (6), 
son  of  Captain  Jacob,  as  above,  was  a  lieutenant 
in  his  father's  company  and  stood  by  his  side  when 
he  was  killed  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne.  He 
married  Susanna  Alden,  sister  of  John  Alden,  the 
Puritan.  They  moved  to  Cummington,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  Almon  was  born  1797.  He  died 
1836,  and  is  buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Mansfield, 
Pennsylvania,  which  cemetery  he  gave  to  the 
.town.  Almon  (7),  son  of  Jacob,  married  Polly 
Bates,  and  they  had  Fordyce  Almon  (8),  born  at 
Cummington,  Massachusetts,  1820,  married  to 
Jane  Martin  1852,  and  had  Fred  Martin  (9), 
subject  of  this  sketch,  born  October  13,  1854,  at 
Smethport,  McKean  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Fordyce  Almon  Allen,  eldest  child  of  Almon 
and  Polly  (Bates)  Allen,  was  born  at  Cumming- 
ton, Massachusetts,  in  1820.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  Pennsylvania,  to  which 
state  his  parents  removed  soon  after  his  birth. 
The  great  amount  of  knowledge  which  he  ac- 
quired in  after  years  was  due  entirely  to  his  in- 
dustry and  earnestness  as  a  student.  He  was  an 
-omnivorous  reader,  and  had  the  happy  faculty  of 
heing;  able  to  select  and  remember  what  was  best 


worth  selecting  and  remembering.  He  began 
teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  Coudersport, 
Potter  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  Smethport,  Mc- 
Kean county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  also  county 
superintendent  of  schools  of  McKean  county. 
About  the  year  1857  ne  established  a  private 
school  at  \Vest  Chester,  Chester  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, from  which  school  in  later  years  grew 
the  West  Chester  State  Normal  School. 

In  1864  he  became  principal  of  the  Mansfield 
State  Normal  School,  located  at  Mansfield,  Tioga 
county,  Pennsylvania.  This  position  he  held  al- 
most continuously  until  the  time  of  his  death  in 
the  year  1880.  This  school  is  greatly  indebted 
to  him  for  its  success.  He  took  charge  when  its 
fortunes  were  at  the  lowest  ebb,  and  by  his  in- 
domitable courage,  energy  and  strength  of  char- 
acter elevated  it  to  the  front  rank  of  the  state  nor- 
mal schools  of  Pennsylvania.  He  also  identified 
himself  with  the  interests  of  the  town  of  Mans- 
field;  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  widely 
known  Mansfield  Fair ;  was  a  vestryman  in  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  the  town,  and  secured  the 
passage  by  the  legislature  of  a  prohibitory  law 
forbidding  the  sale  of  intoxicants  within  two 
miles  of  the  Mansfield  State  Normal  School. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  a  self-edu- 
cated man,  he  was  held  to  be  one  of  the  educa- 
tional authorities  on  teaching  in  the  United 
States.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  con- 
ducted more  county  teachers'  institutes  in  the  dif- 
ferent states  of  the  Union  than  any  other  person, 
and  was  noted  as  an  instructive  and  entertaining 
lecturer.  He  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Agricultural  Society.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 
At  the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  by 
the  rebels,  he  was  one  of  the  thirty-day  militia 
men,  stationed  at  Reading,  Pennsylvania.  In 
politics  he  was  of  the  Republican  party.  Mr. 
Allen  married  Jane  Lovicy  Martin,  daughter  of 
Alexander  Martin,  a  prominent  lumberman  of 
Portage,  New  York.  There  was  born  to  them : 
1.  Fred  Martin,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  2. 
Willis  Gaylord,  died  in  infancy.  3.  George 
Fordyce,  drowned  in  Narragansett  Bay  from 
school-ship  "Portsmouth,"  on  which  he  was 
serving.  4.  Stella  Rae,  who  still  resides  with 
her  mother  at  Mansfield,  Pennsylvania. 

Fred  Martin  Allen,  eldest  child  of  Fordyce 
Almon  and  Jane  (Martin)  Allen,  was  born  at 
Smethport,  McKean  county,  Pennsylvania,  Oc- 
tober 13,  1854.  At  the  age  of  three  years  his 
parents  removed  to  West  Chester,  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  to  Mansfield, 
Tioga   county,    Pennsylvania,   where   he    resided 


292 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


until  he  attained  the  age  of  twenty-four  years. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the 
State  Normal  School  of  Mansfield,  Pennsylvania. 
He  graduated  from  the  Normal  School  in  1875  ; 
from  the  Oberlin  Telegraph  School  in  1876;  from 
the  Lowell  Business  College  of  Binghamton,  New 
York,  in  1877 ;  and  from  the  Eastman  Business 
College  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  in  1882. 
For  several  years  he  taught  in  the  Normal  School 
and  kept  the  books,  and  later  was  appointed 
steward  of  said  institution,  in  which  capacity  he 
was  serving  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death. 

In  the  year  1880  he  established  a  business  col- 
lege in  Mansfield  in  a  building  which  he  had  con- 
structed for  the  purpose.  This  business  he  con- 
ducted until  1882,  when,  believing  that  the  town 
was  too  small  for  a  school  of  the  kind,  he  removed 
it  to  Elmira,  New  York,  and  established  it  in  what 
was  known  as  the  Advertiser  Building.  Forty 
students  accompanied  Mr.  Allen  to  Elmira,  and 
a  special  car  was  chartered  for  the  purpose.  The 
opening  of  Mr.  Allen's  school  in  Elmira  was  the 
dawn  of  the  up-to-date  teaching  of  business  in 
that  section,  and  the  present  Elmira  School  of 
Commerce  practically  embodies  the  principles 
set  forth  at  the  time  of  its  inception. 

In  January,  1886,  having  sold  his  Elmira 
College,  he  took  charge  of  the  Williamsport  Com- 
mercial College,  which  he  had  purchased.  This 
school  he  conducted  until  the  year  1898,  when  he 
sold  it  and  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  established  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Business  College,  of  which  he  is  still  presi- 
dent. This  institution  is  very  prosperous,  and  is 
considered  as  the  leading  school  of  the  kind  in  the 
Wyoming  Valley,  being  accorded  the  patronage 
of  a  most  excellent  body  of  young  men  and  wo- 
men.    (1906). 

Mr.  Allen  married,  August  6,  1879,  at  Mans- 
field, Pennsylvania,  Clara  Holloway  Wentworth, 
second  daughter  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Wentworth,  D.  D., 
clergyman  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
who  was  at  that  time  presiding  elder  of  the  El- 
mira district,  and  resided  at  Mansfield.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Allen  are  the  parents  of  three  children : 
1.  Jean  Martin,  married  Percy  Miles  Safford, 
great-grandson  of  Elisha  Blackman,  so  promi- 
nently connected  with  the  events  of  the  Wyoming 
massacre;  resides  at  Muskegon,  Michigan,  and 
has  one  child,  Margaret.  2.  Richard  Went- 
worth, accountant,  resides  at  present  (1906)  at 
Virginia,  Minnesota.  3.  Elizabeth  Stephenia, 
lives  with  parents  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Allen  is  a  member  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania  ; 


a  Free  and  Accepted  Mason,  and  in  politics  is  a 
Republican. 

Airs.  Allen  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  John 
Brodhead  Wentworth,  D.  D.,  a  clergyman  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Genesee  Confer- 
ence, New  York.  Dr.  Wentworth  was  born  in 
Dover,  New  Hampshire,  in  1826;  graduated  with 
honors  from  Vermont  University  in  185 1;  and 
soon  after  married  Clara  M.  Drew,  daughter  of 
Stephen  Drew,  M.  D.,  of  New  Hampshire.  His 
father,  Charles  Drew,  of  Virginia,  liberated  about 
the  year  1820  oVer  fifty  slaves  and  gave  to  each 
an  acre  of  land.  Dr.  Wentworth  was  a  son  of 
Richard  Wentworth  and  Betsey  Brodhead  Went- 
worth. Betsey  Brodhead  was  a  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain Luke  Brodhead,  of  Delaware  Water  Gap, 
Pennsylvania,  a  captain  of  Pennsylvania  cavalry 
during  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Mrs.  Allen  possesses  a  valuable  set  of  library 
edition  books  on  the  Wentworth  family.  These 
volumes  were  compiled  by  the  late  Hon.  John 
Wentworth,  the  first  mayor  of  Chicago,  Illinois, 
the  most  picturesque  and  prominent  figure  of  old 
Chicago.  He  was  familiarly  known  as  "Long 
John  Wentworth"  on  account  of  his  extreme 
height,  and  for  thirty  years  he  employed  agents 
throughout  Europe  and  America  collecting  data 
of  the  Wentworth  family.  From  this  data  we 
learn  that  the  Wentworth  family  can  be  traced 
in  an  unbroken  line  to  the  year  1066,  the  time  of 
William  the  Conqueror,  back  of  which  time  no 
family  except  royalty  can  be  traced  accurately  as 
there  were  no  surnames.  In  the  early  history  of 
this  country  the  Wentworths  took  a  prominent 
part,  two  men,  John  Wentworth  and  Benning 
Wentworth,  having  been  governors  of  New 
Hampshire  under  King  George.  H.  E.  H. 

BENEDICT  J.  WETHERBEE.  Very  little 
is  known  of  the  early  history  of  the  Wetherbees 
of  this  particular  line.  David  Wetherbee  was  a 
farmer  on  Fishing  creek,  in  Columbia  county. 
Among  his  sons  was  William  H.  Wetherbee, 
who  fought  with  the  Union  army  throughout  the 
war  of  1861-65,  first  as  private  in  Battery  M, 
Second  Pennsylvania  Light  Artillery,  being  pro- 
moted lieutenant. 

William  H.  Wetherbee  was  born  in  Jackson 
township,  Luzerne  county,  about  seventy  years 
ago,  and  is  a  farmer.  He  had  little  opportunity 
to  acquire  an  education  during  his  youth,  and 
when  he  returned  from  his  army  life  was  a  man 
of  sense,  discernment  and  wide  experience.  He 
married  Lucy  Harding,  who  was  daughter  of 
Harrv  Harding,  and  a    descendant    of  the  New- 


THE   WYOMIXG  AXD   LACKAWAXXA  VALLEYS. 


293 


England  Hardings,  some  of  whom  were  pioneers 
in  the  Wyoming  Valley,  and  patriots  of  the  Rev- 
olution, heroes  and  victims  of  the  historic  Wyom- 
ing battle  and  massacre,  and  an  account  of  which 
familv  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  work. 
William  H.  Wetherbee  and  his  wife  Lucy  Hard- 
ing now  live  at  Orange,  Luzerne  county.  Their 
children  were :  Harry,  born  1857 :  Benedict  J., 
born  1859 ;  Xorman  L.,  born  1861,  now  in  Chi- 
cago, Illinois ;  Sally  May,  born  1870,  widow  of 
William  Crossman,  now  living  in  West  Pittston ; 
Mary  and  Delia,  who  died  in  infancy ;  John,  now 
of  Orange,  Pennsylvania :  George,  living  in 
Wilkes-Barre ;  and  Lucy,  wife  of  Floyd  Xulton, 
living  at  Orange,  Pennsylvania. 

Benedict  J.  Wetherbee.  second  son  and  child 
■of  William  H.  and  Lucy  (Harding)  Wetherbee, 
was  born  in  Exeter  township.  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania.  August  2,  1859.  and  was  reared 
■on  a  farm.  He  attended  the  winter  term  of  the 
common  schools  until  he  was  nineteen  years  old, 
and  then  taught  in  Vernon,  Wyoming  county, 
thus  earning  the  means  necessary  to  provide 
himself  with  a  better  education.  He  attended 
Beaumont  Academv  one  term,  then  returned  to 
teaching,  this  time  in  his  own  home  district :  later 
he  attended  Orangeville  Academv  two  terms,  and 
then  again  became  teacher.  In  1879  he  went  to 
Illinois  and  began  the  study  of  medicine  with  his 
uncle.  Dr.  Everett,  of  Troy  Grove ;  while  there  he 
taught  a  district  school  and  also  a  singing  school 
in  order  to  maintain  himself  and  provide  the 
means  necessary  to  complete  his  medical  educa- 
tion. In  1880  and  1 88 1  he  was  a  student  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Xew 
York :  then  again  he  had  recourse  to  teaching ; 
later  matriculated  at  the  Rush  Medical  College, 
Chicago,  and  graduated  there,  M.  D.,  1884.  Then 
for  a  time  necessity  compelled  him  to  return  to 
the  pedagogue's  desk,  and  after  two  years  he 
located  for  medical  practice  in  Hutchinson,  Kan- 
sas, where  he  lived  until  1897,  when  he  removed 
to  Wilkes-Barre  and  entered  the  ranks  of  the 
profession  in  his  native  county.  While  living  in 
the  west  Dr.  Wetherbee  was  president  of  the 
Reno  County  (Kansas)  Medical  Society,  was 
secretary  of  the  surgical  section  of  the  Kansas 
State  Medical  Society  and  a  member  of  the  South 
Kansas  Medical  Society.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Medical  Association,  of  the  Luzerne 
County  Medical  Society,  and  also  of  the  fraternal 
society.  Knights  of  Malta.  Dr.  Wetherbee  mar- 
ried, at  Orangeville,  Pennsylvania,  April  6.  1886, 
Delia  Patterson,  daughter  of  Archibald  Patter- 
son and  Beulah  (Welch)  Patterson.  Mrs.  Weth- 
erbee is  a  graduate  of  Orangeville  Academv,  and 


also  a  graduate,  M.  D.,  1896,  of  Kansas  Medical 
College.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wetherbee  have  no 
children.  H.  E.  H. 

EDWARD  RHYS  RODERICK,  M.  D.,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  born  at  Warrior  Run,  Luzerne 
county.  Pennsylvania,  April  20,  1872,  is  a  repre- 
sentative of  a  family  of  Welsh  origin.  He  is  a 
grandson  of  Edward  and  Eleanor  Roderick,  na- 
tives of  Cardiganshire,  Wales,  where  the  entire 
career  of  Edward  Roderick  was  spent  and  his 
death  occurred  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Dr. 
Roderick  is  a  son  of  James  Edward  and  Sarah 
(Davies)  Roderick,  whose  births  occurred  in 
Cardiganshire,  Wales,  December  10,  1841,  and 
Xew  York  City,  1842,  respectively. 

James  Edward  Roderick  (father)  was  edu- 
cated in  the  land  of  his  birth,  and  in  1864  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  settling  at  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  engaged  in  mining  for 
the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company.  After  a  short 
period  of  time  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  engaged  with  the  Lehigh  &  Wilkes- 
Barre  Coal  Company,  remaining  with  them  until 
February,  1866.  when  he  was  appointed  mine 
foreman  at  the  Empire  Shaft.  In  June,  1870,  he 
accepted  a  position  as  general  superintendent  un- 
der A.  J.  Davis  &  Company,  Warrior  Run,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  June,  1881,  when  he  was 
appointed  by  the  state  to  the  position  of  mine  in- 
spector for  the  Fourth  District  of  Pennsylvania ; 
he  served  the  term  of  five  years,  and  at  its  expira- 
tion was  reappointed,  and  served  three  years  of 
his  second  term.  He  then  tendered  his  resigna- 
tion in  order  to  accept  a  more  lucrative  position 
as  general  superintendent  for  Linderman  &  Skeer, 
to  which  he  was  appointed  in  May,  1889;  he  was 
in  charge  of  six  collieries,  which  gave  employ- 
ment to  fourteen  hundred  men,  and  the  daily 
output  was  about  two  thousand  tons  of  coal.  Mr. 
Roderick  educated  himself  to  qualify  as  mining 
engineer,  and  advanced  gradually  from  the  posi- 
tion of  miner  to  that  of  chief  of  the  Department 
of  Mines  of  Pennsylvania,  which  position  he  holds 
at  present  ( 1906) .  Mr.  Roderick  took  an  active 
part  in  municipal  affairs  and  the  improvement  of 
his  adopted  city,  and  his  influence  was  of  vast  im- 
portance in  the  ranks  of  the.  Republican  party,  the 
principles  of  which  organization  he  firmly  advo- 
cated for  many  years.  In  1879  he  was  a  candi- 
date for  countv  treasurer  on  the  Labor-Green- 
back ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Societv  of  Engineers,  and  several  mining  so- 
cieties! He  also  holds  membership  in  the  Ancient 
Order  of  Foresters.  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.     He  is 


294 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  re- 
sides in  Hazelton,  Pennsylvania. 

James  Edward  Roderick  married  Miss  Sarah 
Davies,  a  native  of  New  York  City,  and  a  des- 
cendant of  a  Welsh  ancestry,  who  bore  him  the 
following  children :  Nellie,  born  September  25, 
1869,  wife  of  D.  C.  Jones,  a  grocer,  and  they  re- 
side in  Wilkes-Barre.  Edward  Rhys,  mentioned 
hereafter.  James  Edward,  Jr.,  born  January  28, 
1875,  a  lawyer,  resides  at  Harrisburg.  John  D., 
bom  February  28,  1878,  died  1888,  interred  at 
Hollenback  cemetery.  Mrs.  Roderick,  who  prior 
to  her  marriage  was  a  teacher  and  member  of  the 
choir  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  died  in  1880. 

Dr.  Edward  Rhys  Roderick,  son  of  James  Ed- 
ward and  Sarah  (Davies)  Roderick,  resided  until 
eight  years  of  age  at  Warrior  Run,  his  birthplace, 
and  then  went  to  Hazelton.  He  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  Hazelton,  and  the  Nazareth 
Moravian  School,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1888,  then  Princeton  University,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  A.  B.  in  1892,  after  which  he 
entered  the  medical  departi'nent  of  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  graduating  M.  D.  from  the  same 
in  1895.  He  then  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  and 
served  as  house  surgeon  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  City 
Hospital  during  the  years  1895-96,  and  filled  a 
similar  position  in  the  Wills  Eye  Hospital,  Phila- 
delphia, 1896-97,  and  Manhattan  Hospital,  New 
York  City,  1898.  Since  1898  to  the  present  time 
(1906)  he  has  been  the  attending  oculist  to  Mercy 
Hospital,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  since  1903  at 
Pittston  Hospital.  In  1902  he  was  appointed 
division  oculist  for  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad, 
in  which  capacity  he  is  still  serving.  Dr.  Rod- 
erick is  a  member  of  the  Medical  Society  of  Lu- 
zerne County,  State  Medical  Society,  and  Ameri- 
can Medical  Society.  He  is  a  member  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  West- 
moreland Club.     His  politics  are  Republican. 

Dr.  Roderick  married,  June  1,  1898,  Kath- 
leen Leonard  Reichard,  daughter  of  Henry  C. 
and  Jennie  (Griffin)  Reichard,  and  granddaugh- 
ter of  Colonel  John  Reichard,  who  served  as  col- 
onel of  the  "Bucktails"  during  the  Civil  war,  was 
prominent  in  military  and  lodge  affairs  in  the 
citv  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  died  in  1884,  aged 
seventy-five  years ;  his  remains  are  interred  in 
Hollenback  cemetery.  Henry  C.  Reichard  (see 
Reichard  Family),  who  was  also  prominent  in 
military  and  lodge  affairs  in  Wilkes-Barre,  died 
in  1894,  aged  fifty-six  years,  and  was  buried  in 
Hollenback  cemetery.  Mrs.  Roderick  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the 
Moravian  Seminary,  at  Lititz,  Pennsylvania, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Roderick  had  three  children :  James 


Edward,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  December  22, 
1899;  George  Reichard,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
October  19,  1901  ;  and  Edward  Griffin,  born  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  June  11,  1903.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Roderick  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  H.  E.  H. 

JOHN  PARRY  POLLOCK,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  who  at  the  present  time  fi905j  is  alder- 
man of  the  fourth  ward  of  the  city,  this  being  his 
second  term  of  office,  was  born  in  Corning,  New 
York,  February  6,  185 1.  a  son  of  Allan  and  Susan 
E.  (Parry)  Pollock.  Allan  Pollock  was  born  at 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  November  28,  1805,  a 
son  of  Thomas  Pollock,  who  served  as  teller  in 
the  Royal  Bank  of  Scotland.  Allan  Pollock  was 
a  speculator  in  real  estate,  published  a  magazine 
at  Philadelphia.  Pennsylvania,  for  many  years 
resided  in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  the  year  1889.  His 
wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Susan  E.  Parry, 
was  born  in  Lexington,  Virginia.  She  was  the 
mother  of  four  children :  John  P.,  Effie  B.,  wife 
of  E.  C.  Prendergast.  of  Scranton ;  Susan  C,  of 
Scranton ;  and  William  B.,  who  died  in  infancy. 

John  P.  Pollock  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  at  Philadelphia,  after  which  he  took  up 
the  drug  business  and  followed  the  same  for  a 
number  of  years.  In  1867  he  removed  to  Scran- 
ton, where  during  his  two  years  residence  he  fol- 
lowed his  profession.  He  then  located  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  for  two  years  served  as  prescription 
clerk  for  P.  M.  Barber,  on  Public  Square,  where 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and  Savings  Bank  is 
now  located,  but  resigned  from  this  position  in 
order  to  accept  that  of  deputy  recorder  of  deeds, 
and  was  subsequently  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  the 
prothonotary,  which  he  held  until  1878,  discharg- 
ing his  duties  with  credit  and  efficiency.  He 
was  then  appointed  deputy  treasurer  of  Luzerne 
county,  which  responsible  position  he  filled  until 
1882,  in  which  year  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
government  at  Washington,  D.  C,  and  was  spec- 
ial examiner  of  pensions  up  to  1885.  Four  years 
later  he  returned  to  Washington  and  filled  the 
same  office  again,  having  been  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Harrison,  and  when  Hon.  George  W.  Shonk 
was  elected  to  represent  the  twelfth  district  of 
Wilkes-Barre  at  Washington,  Mr.  Pollock  served 
as  his  private  secretary,  continuing  in  that  capac- 
ity up  to  1893.  He  then  returned  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  in  1898  was  elected  alderman  of  the 
fourth  ward,  re-elected  in  1903,  and  during  his 
tenure  cf  office  has  won  the  approbation  of  his- 
colleagues  and  supporters  for  the  excellent  judg- 
ment displayed   in  the  discharge   of  the   varied' 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


295 


duties  pertaining  thereto.  His  influence  as  a 
citizen  has  been  felt  in  all  measures  having'  for 
their  object  the  welfare  of  the  people  and  the  in- 
terests of  the  community.  He  is  a  staunch  ad- 
herent of  the  principles  advocated  by  the  Repub- 
lican party.  In  1899  Mr.  Pollock  was  married 
to  Mrs.  Jessie  C.  Johnston,  widow  of  the  late  An- 
drew C.  Johnston,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  born 
in  1868,  was  married  to  the  above  named  in  Janu- 
ary, 1887,  died  1890,  and  was  buried  at  Middle- 
ton,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Pollock  had  one  child 
by  her  first  marriage,  Clarie,  born  1S89,  who  is 
now  attending  the  high  school  at  Wilkes-Barre. 
No  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pollock. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pollock  are  members  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church.  Mrs.  Pollock  is  a 
daughter  of  the  late  Van  Campen  Coolbaugh, 
who  was  born  at  Middle  Smithfield,  Monroe 
county,  Pennsylvania,  1830,  died  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  1889.  He  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  bus- 
mess,  and  for  many  years  owned  and  operated  a 
large  mill  at  Middletown.  Pennsylvania.  In 
1888  he  moved  his  residence  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
retired  from  business,  and  his  few  remaining 
years  were  spent  in  ease  and  comfort.  In  1865 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Clara  Kendig,  born 
in  Middletown.  1837,  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Sarah  (Rutherford)  Kendig  ,and  four  children 
were  the  issue :  Edwin,  an  electrician  of  New 
York  City;  Jessie  C,  wife  of  John  P.  Pollock; 
John,  a  mining  engineer  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  and 
Sarah  K,  who  resides  with  her  mother  in  the 
city  of  Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

THOMAS  R.  CONNOR,  truant  officer  of 
the  public  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia, in  which  capacity  he  has  served  since  1897. 
was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  March 
30,  1841.  His  parents  were  John  and  Rozilla 
(Madison)  Connor,  and  his  ancestors  were  na- 
tives of  Ireland,  they  having  left  to  their  descend- 
ants many  of  the  admirable  characteristics  of 
that  race  of  people. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  James  Connor,  was 
born  in  Ireland,  November  27,  1788.  Upon  his 
emigration  to  this  country  he  located  first  in 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  later  moved  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  tract  of 
land  whereon  Thomas  R.  Connor  now  resides 
was  taken  out  of  the  patent  office  by  Hugh  Con- 
nor and  his  brother.  This  tract  of  land  extend- 
ed from  Northampton  to  Market  streets,  and 
from  Washington  to  Canal  streets,  being  now 
valued  at  a  very  high  price.  He  gave  his  atten- 
tion to  the  tilling  of  the  soil,'  from  which  he  de- 
rived a  comfortable  livelihood.     He  was  one  of 


the  early  founders  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  which  he  served  as  deacon  for  many  years. 
James  Connor  was  married  three  times ;  his  first 
wife,  who  was  the  grandmother  of  Thomas  R. 
Connor,  was  a  Miss  Wilse,  whose  father  was  a 
very  wealthy  man  in  his  day,  owning  a  number 
of  sloops  that  plied  between  Albany  and  New 
York.  James  Connor  died  in  1834.  His  son, 
John  Connor,  father  of  Thomas  R.  Connor, 
was  born  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  Dur- 
ing his  boyhood  he  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  received 
his  education.  After  his  marriage  to  Rozilla 
Madison  (a  descendant  of  the  Madisons  who 
were  in  the  Wyoming  massacre  and  who  fled  to 
Easton,  together  with  a  large  number  of  the 
early  settlers,  fourteen  of  whom  died  from  fa- 
tigue in  this  flight  to  escape  the  savages),  he  re- 
moved to  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania.  Mr. 
Connor  was  superintendent  of  the  Lehigh  and 
Navigation  Coal  Company,  and  built  the  locks  in 
the  canals,  also  the  "planes"  which  are  used  for 
hoisting  coal  over  the  mountains,  and  in  addition 
to  these  built  "arks"  to  carry  coal  to  Philadel- 
phia. He  was  formerly  a  Whig  and  later  a  Re- 
publican in  politics.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were 
consistent  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  which  faith  they  reared  their  children,  eight 
in  number :  William  J.,  Uranah  M.,  wIto  mar- 
ried Thomas  Connor  and  is  mother  of  one  child ; 
Wilson  B.,  Hugh  C,  Emily  H.,  David  C,  John 
M.  and  Thomas  R.  John  Connor  died  at  his 
home  in  Wilkes-Barre,  whither  he  had  removed 
from  Mauch  Chunk,  in  1867,  aged  eighty-two 
years.  His  wife,  Rozilla  (Madison)  Connor, 
was  born  at  Lake  George,  New  York,  January 
24,  1799,  and  died  May  5,  1865,  in  the  sixty-sev- 
enth year  of  her  age. 

Thomas  R.  Connor  was  reared  and  educated 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  in  1854,  when  thirteen 
years  <~>f  age,  began  learning  the  bakery  and  con- 
fectionery business,  working  at  the  same  for  a 
period  of  four  years.  He  then  clerked  in  a  dry 
goods  store  for  one  year,  and  the  following  three 
years  was  employed  as  a  stationary  engineer  by 
the  Empire  Coal  Company.  April  13,  1861,  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  he  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany F,  Eighth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teers, known  as  the  Wyoming  Artillery ;  upon 
arrival  at  Harrisburg  he  was  appointed  a  drum- 
mer, and  at  Chambersburg  was  transferred  to 
Company  B,  same  regiment.  After  a  service  of 
three  months  he  was  honorably  discharged  Au- 
gust 14,  1861.  Later  he  re-enlisted  as  a  private, 
September  7th,  in  Company  L,  Twenty-third 
Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,   and   March 


296 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA   VALLEYS. 


1,  1862,  was  transferred  to  Company  D,  Sixty- 
third  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  He 
participated  in  all  the  battles  of  this  regiment 
from  Fortress  Monroe  to  Richmond,  as  follows : 
Williamsburg,  May  6;  Bottoms  Bridge,  May  19; 
Fair  Oaks,  May  31,  where  he  was  wounded; 
the  seven  days  fight  before  Richmond,  June  25 
to  July  1 ;  the  Seven  Pines,  July  2  and  7 ;  White 
Oak  Swamp  and  Turkey  Bend,  July  30 ;  Mal- 
vern Hill,  August  1  to  August  5 ;  Maryland, 
September  16  and  17;  Williamsport,  September 
19  and  20 ;  expedition  on  the  upper  Potomac  and 
Hancock,  Maryland,  in  October.  He  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  Second  Division,  Sixth  Corps, 
to  the  Fourth  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  known  as 
Harris's  Brigade,  and  participated  in  the  follow- 
ing battles :  Storming  of  Maryland  Heights, 
September  3,  1863 ;  reconnoissance  of  Rappa- 
hannock river,  May  3  and  4 ;  Gettysburg,  July 
5  ;  Fair  Field  Gap,  July  5 ;  Rappahannock  Sta- 
tion, November  7 ;  Manassas  Gap  Railroad,  No- 
vember 27 ;  repulse  of  Mosby's  cavalry  on  wag- 
on train,  November  26  to  30,  and  Luscent  Grove, 
November  27 ;  was  wounded  at  Spottsylvania, 
May  11,  1864.  He  was  honorably  discharged 
from  the  service  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment September  2,  1864.  The  five  brothers  of 
Mr.  Connor  (William  J.,  Hugh  C,  David  C, 
Wilson  B.  and  John  M.)  also  served  during  the 
Civil  war.  John  M.  rose  to  the  rank  of  first  lieu- 
tenant, and  participated  in  the  following  battles : 
Bloody  Angle,  where  he  was  wounded ;  Cold 
Harbor ;  siege  of  Petersburg ;  Green  Station ; 
Charleston  and  a  number  of  others. 

Upon  his  return  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Mr.  Con- 
nor was  employed  as  a  stationary  engineer  for 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Company,  remaining  from 
1865  to  1868,  and  the  following  two  years  was 
engaged  in  the  local  express  business  between 
Wilkes-Barre  and  Kingston.  On  July  1,  1870, 
he  received  the  appointment  of  outside  foreman 
at  the  Gray  Breaker  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  and 
Lehigh  Coal  Company  on  Coal  street,  where  he 
remained  one  year.  He  then  went  to  the  No.  5 
breaker,  remaining  until  1873,  then  to^  the  Dia- 
mond breaker  in  1881,  then  as  superintendent 
of  the  Empire  division  for  three  years,  then  as 
outside  superintendent  of  the  Hollenback  shaft 
from  1884  to  1887.  In  1897  he  was  appointed 
to  his  present  position  oc  truant  officer  of  the 
public  schools.  Mr.  Connor  has  always  taken  a 
keen  interest  along  educational  lines,  and  served 
in  the  capacity  of  school  director  from  1884  to 
1887.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Conyngham  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public. 


Mr.  Connor  was  married  February  20,  1867, 
to  Jennie  Primer,  who  was  born  in  Dundaff, 
Pennsylvania,  a  daughter  of  Henry  A.  and  Har- 
riet (Brink)  Pruner,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Their  children  are:  Hattie  M..  Harrv 
P.,  Ruth  B.  and  Daisy.  They  also  have  an  adopt- 
ed daughter,  Helen.  Mr.  Connor  and  his  fam- 
ily are  members  of  Franklin  Street  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  H.  E.  H. 

HARRIE  BENJAMIN  COURTRIGHT,  a 
prosperous  business  man  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was 
born  in  Plains  township,  Pennsylvania,  February 
!!?>  1857,  a  son  of  James  and  Ruth  Gore  (Searle') 
Courtright. 

James  Courtright  was  born  in  Plains.  During 
the  active  years  of  his  career  he  was  extensively 
engaged  in  the  buying  and  selling  of  western 
horses,  deriving  therefrom  a  goodly  income.  He 
is  now  leading  a  retired  life  at  his  home  in 
Kingston,  surrounded  with  peace  and  plenty, 
and  enjoying  the  fruits  of  many  years  of  toil  and 
activity.  On  September  19,  1854,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Ruth  Gore  Searle,  who  was  born 
January  16,  1832,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
(Stark)  Searle,  a  granddaughter  of  Roger 
Searle,  and  a  great-granddaughter  of  Constant 
Searle,  who  migrated  from  Connecticut  to  Penn- 
sylvania, and  who  was  killed  in  the  Wyoming 
massacre.  (See  Greene  Family.)  His  son, 
Roger  Searle,  aforementioned,  was  then  sixteen 
years  of  age  and  also  participated  in  the  battle 
but  escaped  from  the  terrible  slaughter  of  the 
Indians. 

John  Searle  (father)  was  born  in  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  February  15,  1795,  died  October 
20,  1863.  He  was  the  owner  of  stage  lines  from 
Wilkes-Barre  to  Montrose,  that  being  the  means 
of  travel  in  those  early  days,  and  was  actively 
interested  in  stage  and  mail  routes  until  his  de- 
cease. In  September,  1822,  he  married  Mary 
Stark,  who  was  born  at  Plains,  Pennsylvania, 
February  16,  1800,  died  April  16,  1891,  a'daugh- 
ter  of  the  late  Henry  Stark.  (See  Stark  Fam- 
ily.) All  the  years  of  her  life  were  spent  on 
the  farm  where  she  was  born,  where  the  shaft 
of  the  Enterprise  colliery  is  sunk.  The  house 
in  which  she  was  born  was  built  by  her  father, 
who  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  town- 
ship of  Plains.  The  children  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.   Searle  are  as  follows : 

1.  James,  born  July  8,  1823,  died  Novem- 
ber, 1863 ;  his  wife,  Candace  (Green)  Searle, 
died  November,  1859. 

2.  Clarrissa,  born  November  14,  1824,  mar- 
ried, April  24,   1850,   Nelson  N.  Dean,  now  de- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


297 


ceased,  and  their  children  are :  James  Elmer, 
born  September  10,  1851,  and  Willis  L.,  born 
February  5,  1857.     (See  Dean  Family.) 

3.  Kathryn,  born  July  11,  1827,  married, 
April  24,  1850,  Edwin  Williams,  and  their  chil- 
dren are:  James,  born  September  9,  185 1,  mar- 
ried Ella  Dumbould ;  George  W.,  born  May, 
1855,  married  Eva  L.  Shoemaker;  Mary,  born 
November  22,  1858,  wife  of  D.  Rouse,  M.  D. ; 
Martha  C,  born  April  22,  1861,  wife  of  William 
Burner ;  Ruth  C,  born  October  22,  1863,  wife  of 
Lewis  Yost ;  Helen,  born  August  24,  1866,  and 
Elizabeth  V.,  born  June  24,  1869,  wife  of  John 
T.  Yoakum. 

4.  Elizabeth  M.,  born  October  5,  1829,  mar- 
ried, April  25,  1853,  Norman  T.  Vorse,  and  their 
children  are :  Charles,  born  September  24,  1854, 
married  Augusta  Tyrrell,  August  24,  1878,  and 
Frank  W.,  born  February  5,  1856,  married  Ag- 
nes Nuten,  October  27,  1877. 

5.  Ruth  Gore,  born  January  16,  1832,  wife 
of  James  Courtright,  as  aforementioned,  and 
their  children  are:  John  S.,  born  July  21,  1855, 
married  Ellen  Lathrop,  January  17,  1877,  and 
their  children  are :  Sarah  L.  and  Florence ;  they 
reside  in  Montrose,  Pennsylvania ;  Harrie  Ben- 
jamin, born  February  19,  1857,  mentioned  at 
length  hereinafter. 

6.  John  R.,  born  July  30,  1835,  was  a  lieu- 
tenant in  the  Fifty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Regi- 
ment, United  States  Volunteers,  and  died  in  the 
service  at  Camp  Suffolk,  Virginia,  December  13, 
1862. 

7.  Martha  M.,  born  May  29,  1838,  wife  of 
James  D.  Green,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  else- 
where in  this  work. 

8.  May,  born  September  13,  1833,  became 
the  wife  of  the  Rev.  J.  K.  Peck,  and  their  chil- 
dren are :  Carrie,  born  February  28,  1857,  wife 
of  J.  Wood  Piatt,  and  mother  of  two  children : 
William  and  Ruth  Piatt;  Mary  A.,  born  Novem- 
ber 28,  1861 ;  Jesse  L.,  born  March  28,  1864, 
married  Jeanette  Bryden  and  they  have  one  child, 
Kenyon  Peck ;  and  Ruth  C,  born  August  14, 
1873,  wife  of  Charles  C.  Hurd. 

Harrie  B.  Courtright,  son  of  James  and  Ruth 
Courtright,  received  his  preliminary  education  in 
the  public  schools  adjacent  to  his  home;  this  was 
supplemented  by  attendance  at  Kingston  Semi- 
nary and  Starkie  Seminary,  at  Seneca  Lake,  New 
York.  He  gained  his  first  experience  in  business 
life  by  working  for  his  father,  and  later  served 
•a  clerkship  in  a  grocery  store  and  for  G.  L. 
Palmer,  a  hatter.  In  1874  he  entered  into  part- 
nership with  James  T.  Murphy,  brother  of  the 
late  Dr.   J.   A.    Murphy,   and   in   1876  they   dis- 


posed of  the  business  to  Kirkendall  &  White- 
man.  He  then  engaged  in  the  livery  business, 
disposing  of  the  same  in  1880  to  George  Niver, 
after  which  he  went  to  Leadville  and  Brecken- 
ridge,  Colorado,  and  for  two  years  prospected 
for  silver.  He  then  located  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  January  1,  1883,  was  appointed  super- 
intendent of  letter  carriers,  the  first  in- 
cumbent of  the  office,  under  A.  S.  Orr, 
postmaster.  He  retained  the  position  under 
Postmaster  Joseph  K.  Bogert,  who  died  in  of- 
fice, Asa  R.  Brundage  serving  as  acting  post- 
master until  the  appointment  to  office  of  Mrs. 
Bogert,  widow  of  Joseph  K.  Bogert.  On  July 
15,  1887,  after  serving  over  four  years,  Mr. 
Courtright  resigned  from  his  office  and  engaged 
in  the  livery  and  sales  stable  business  with  his 
father,  James  Courtright,  who  was  an  extensive 
dealer  in  western  horses.  Upon  the  retirement 
of  Mr.  Courtright,  Sr.,  in  1897,  his  son  contin- 
ued the  business  and  is  engaged  in  it  at  the  pres- 
ent time  (1905).  Mr.  Courtright  believes  that 
the  principles  laid  clown  in  the  Republican  plat- 
form are  the  best  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the 
nation  and  he  therefore  votes  that  ticket.  Mr. 
Courtright  married,  March  7,  1876,  Clara  Ida 
Wells,  daughter  of  William  S.  and  Jane  A.  (Jack- 
son) Wells.  Their  children  are:  Ruth  Searle, 
born  January  24,  1877;  Josephine  Wells,  born 
July  17,  1878,  and  James  Wells,  born  February 
2,  1887.  The  family  attend  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  They  reside  in  a  comfortable 
home  at  No.  41  North  Franklin  street,  Wilkes- 
Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

IRA  E.  HARTWELL,  a  well  known  civil 
engineer  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  who 
has  held  many  positions  of  importance,  traces  his 
descent  back  to  Solomon  Hartwell,  the  founder 
of  the  family  in  America.  Solomon  Hartwell  was 
a  native  of  England,  who  landed  in  Massachu- 
setts and  finally  settled  at  Concord,  New  Hamp- 
shire. He  married  Abigail  Davis,  and  they  had 
a  number  of  children,  of  whom  were  Solomon 
and  John. 

Solomon  Hartwell  was  born  in  Concord,  New 
Hampshire,  married  Tabitha'  Hill,  and  had  a 
numerous  family.  John,  son  of  Solomon  and 
Tabitha  (Hill)  Hartwell,  married  Jane  Whitney, 
of  Central,  New  York,  and'  they  raised  a  family 
of  twelve  children,  one  of  whom  was  Nathan 
Hartwell,  who  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  and  upon 
leaving  school  was  apprenticed  to  a  blacksmith. 
He  learned  this  trade  thoroughly  and  followed  it 
all  his  life  very  successfully.     He  lived  in  Chau- 


298 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


tauqua  county,  New  York,  until  1861,  when  he 
removed  to  Hammonton,  New  Jersey.  Nathan 
Hartwell  married  Almina  Lake,  of  Chautauqua 
county,  New  York,  daughter  of  Luther  and  Lu- 
anda (Walker)  Lake,  of  Chautauqua  county, 
formerly  of  Vermont.  The  Lakes  were  also  one 
of  the  old  pioneer  families  of  New  York  and 
some  of  their  ancestors  settled  near  Standing 
Stone,  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania.  Nathan 
and  Almina  Hartwell  had  three  children :  Allen, 
born  1843,  wn0  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Wyoming 
Artillery  and  enlisted  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  war  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third 
Regiment  Infantry  of  Pennsylvania  and  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war  with  great  bravery,  and 
rose  to  the  rank  of  captain.  He  married  Sadie 
Webster,  of  Daleville,  near  Moscow,  Pennsylva- 
nia. Allen  and  Sadie  Hartwell  both  died  in  Ham- 
monton, New  Jersey,  and  are  buried  in  that 
town.  They  had  no  children.  2.  Ida  E.  (twin), 
born  November  27,  1849,  married  Alborn  War- 
ren, of  Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  and  had 
two  children — Maud  and  Daisy ;  Maud  residing 
in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  married  F. 
Bradbery,  of  Hammonton,  New  Jersey ;  Daisy- 
died  1895  at  Hammonton,  New  Jersev.  3.  Ira 
E.  (twin),  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Nathan 
Hartwell  and  his  wife  both  died  in  Hammon- 
ton, New  Jersey,  and  are  buried  there. 

Ira  E.  Hartwell,  second  son  of  Nathan  and 
Almina  (Lake)  Hartwell,  was  born  November 
27,  1849,  i°  Chautauqua  county,  New  York.  He 
lived  in  the  town  of  his  birth  until  the  year  1861, 
when  he  removed  with  the  family  to  Hammonton, 
New  Jersey.  Here  he  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  upon  leaving  them  went  to  the 
East  Cleveland  (Ohio)  Seminary  and  continued 
his  education  there.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he 
commenced  his  business  career  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  obtaining  a  position  with  the  city  engineer, 
a  position  which  he  held  for  three  years.  He 
then  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  and  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  William  V.  Ingham,  then  in  business  for 
himself  as  civil  engineer,  now  city  engineer  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  remainng  with  him  for  one  year. 
At  the  end  of  this  period  he  obtained  a  position 
with  James  P.  Weller,  county  surveyor,  and  held 
this  for  two  years.  He  then  accepted  employ- 
ment with  William  H.  Sturtevant,  also  a  civil 
engineer,  and  remained  with  him  until  1879, 
when  he  commenced  business  in  the  same  line 
for  himself,  and  has  carried  this  on  up  to  the 
present  time.  Mr.  Hartwell  has  been  actively 
connected  with  many  public  undertakings,  among 
them  the  Wilkes-Barre  and  Harvey's  Lake  Rail- 
road, now  known  as    the    Lehigh    Valley ;    the 


Wilkes-Barre  and  Eastern  Railroad  from  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania,  which  Mr. 
Hartwell  built  alone,  and  which  is  now  known 
as  the  Susquehanna  and  Western ;  the  first  elec- 
tric road  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the  electric  road 
from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Luzerne  borough,  includ- 
ing the  North  street  bridge,  Wilkes-Barre ;  the 
Binghamton  Southern  from  Binghamton,  New 
York,  to  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania ;  the  road 
from  Lofty,  Pennsylvania,  to  the  Allegheny 
river  near  Kittanning,  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
also  identified  with  a  number  of  preliminary  sur- 
veys for  railroads.  From  about  1883  to  1893  he 
made  a  specialty  of  mining  engineering,  being 
associated  with  P.  Butler  Reynolds,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Hartwell  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Vulcan  Lodge,  No.  — ,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  politics  he  belongs 
to  the  Republican  party.  His  family  are  Pres- 
byterians. Mr.  Hartwell  has  held  the  following 
offices :  School  director'  for  Wilkes-Barre  for 
three  years ;  chief  engineer  and  director  of 
Wilkes-Barre  and  Harvey's  Lake  railroad ;  chief 
engineer  and  director  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  Wil- 
liamsport railroad ;  chief  engineer  and  director  in 
Wilkes-Barre  and  Eastern  railroad ;  president  of 
the  Midway  Connecting  railroad,  Wilkes-Barre 
to  Nanticoke ;  chief  engineer  and  director  in  Peo- 
ple's Railway,  Wilkes-Barre  to  Port  Jervis,  New 
York ;  president  of  the  Westminster  Coal  Com- 
pany of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Mr.  Hartwell  married.  July  14,  1875,  Mar- 
garet Jenkins,  born  April  29,  1848,  in  Pottsville, 
Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary 
Jenkins,  both  deceased,  of  Pottsville,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Mrs.  Hartwell  Was  one  of  seven  children. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ira  E.  Hartwell  have  had  six  chil- 
dren:  1.  Clarence  Lake,  born  April  29,  1876,  who 
graduated  from  Cornell  University,  is  now  en- 
gineer for  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  &  Pacific 
railroad,  stationed  at  Topeka,  Kansas ;  2.  Ethel 
M.,  born  October  12,  1877,  died  June  11,  1905, 
at  Wilkes-Barre ;  3.  Addison  W.,  born  July  3, 
1879,  died  January  26,  1887,  at  Wilkes-Barre; 
4.  Jessie  C,  born  August  27,  1883 ;  5.  Natalie, 
born  February  8,  1886;  6.  Frances  V.,  born  Au- 
gust 30  1889,  H.  E.  H. 

CHARLES  W.  SPAYD.  M.  D.,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and 
surgery,,  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania, 
born  in  Philadelphia,  March  3.  1840.  a  son  of 
John  E.  and  Catherine  Ann  (Bibi°;hause)  Spayd, 
who  were  respectively  natives  of  Germany  and 
Pennsylvania. 

He  comes  of  a  most  honorable   ancestry   in 


</wJr 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


299. 


both  parental  lines.  His  paternal  grandfather, 
John  E.  Spayd,  came  to  this  country  a  practical 
gunmaker,  and  made  firearms  for  the  colonial 
troops  during  the  Revolution,  and  directed  others 
in  the  same  work.  He  subsequently  returned  to 
his  native  province  of  Saxony,  served  in  the  Prus- 
sian army,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  French 
army  under  Napoleon,  in  1797,  and  was  kept  in 
captivity  for  three  years.  His  health  was  much 
impaired  by  his  incarceration,  and  he  died  at  the 
age  of  fifty-nine  years.  In  1802  his  widow  came 
to  the  United  States,  bringing  her  family  of  three 
children,  and  lived  to  the  great  age  of  one  hun- 
dred years,  dying  in  1846. 

John  E.  Spayd,  son  of  the  parents  before 
named,  was  a  child  when  he  came  to  the  country 
with  his  widowed  mother.  He  was  reared  in 
Philadelphia,  and  studied  for  the  ministry,  and 
later  for  the  medical  profession.  He  did  not  enter 
upon  either  of  these  callings,  however,  but  be- 
came interested  in  the  manufacture  of  planes.  In 
1854  he  was  incapacitated  by  a  stroke  of  paraly- 
sis, but  lived  until  1873,  when  he  passed  away 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  His  sister 
Martha  married  George  Ott,  and  made  her  home 
in  the  west,  and  the  other  sister,  Mary,  married 
George  Frey,  and  resided  in  Wisconsin.  John 
E.  Spayd  married  Catherine  Ann  Bibighause, 
born  in  Tinicum.  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  a 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Bibighause.  Her 
father  was  a  native  of  the  Rhenish  Palatinate, 
who  came  with  his  father  to  the  United  States  in 
the  sloop  "Sally  Ann."  Dr.  Bibighause  taught 
school  in  Nazareth,  Northampton  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  later  located  in  Philadelphia,  where 
he  studied  for  the  ministry.  He  entered  upon  pas- 
toral labors  with  the  German  Reformed  Church 
of  Salem,  and  was  subsequently  called  to  St. 
John's  Church,  Philadelphia,  with  which  he  re- 
mained a  beloved  and  successful  pastor  for  the 
long  period  of  thirty  years,  and  there  died  in 
1851.  His  children  were:  Jacob,  a  marble  cutter 
in  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  who  died 
aged  eighty-eight  years ;  Charles,  a  physician, 
who  died  in  Philadelphia  from  cholera,  in  1854; 
John,  also  a  physician,  practicing  in  Middles- 
burg,  Snyder  county,  and  came  to  his  death  by 
accident  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years ;  Samuel 
H.,  a  wholesale  hardware  merchant  in  Philadel- 
phia, who  died  aged  seventy-eight  years  ;  Thomas, 
a  lawyer,  who  was  elected  to  congress  from  the 
Lebanon  county  district,  and  died  at  the  earlv  age 
of  thirty-seven  years  ;  William,  a  sculptor  of  na- 
tional fame,  who  died  in  Philadelphia,  aged  sev- 
entv-six  years :  Catherine  Ann,  who  became  the 
wife  of  John  E.  Spayd ;  Elizabeth,  who  married 


John  A.  Bell,  of  Philadelphia ;  Mary  A.,  who 
married  Dr.  John  A.  Pifer,  deceased,  of  Mifflin- 
burg ;  Martha,   who  married  Dr.   Henrv  Wiler, . 

D.  D.,  of  Ohio :  and  Henrietta,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Dr.  William  Piper.  To  John  E.  and 
Catherine  Ann  (Bibighause)  Spayd  were  born 
ten  children,  of  whom  six  came  to  maturity : 
Amelia,  who  became  the  wife  of  Michael  Davis,, 
and  died  aged  seventy-eight  years ;  Rev.  Henry 

E.  Spayd,  D.  D.,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  Uni- 
versity, and  in  ministerial  connection  with  the 
church  in  Plains,  Luzerne  county ;  Amanda  W., 
who  died  unmarried ;  Henrietta,  who  married 
George  Monroe,  of  Philadelphia ;  Dr.  Charles  W. 
Spayd,  of  whom  later ;  Mary  Ann,  who  married 
Casey  Stark,  deceased,  and  now  resides  with  her 
brother,  Dr.  Spayd.  The  mother  of  this  family 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years.  She  and 
her  husband  were  members  of  the  German  Re- 
former church. 

Charles  W.  Spayd,  M.  D.,  ninth  child  of  John 
E.  and  Catherine  Ann  (  Bibighause)  Spayd,  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  .  Philadelphia,  and 
after  passing  through  the  high  school  entered 
upon  the  study  of  medicine  in  the  Philadelphia 
Medical  College,  and  completed  his  professional 
studies  in  the  Pennsylvania  Medical  College,  to 
which  his  instructors  removed,  and  remained 
there  until  1861,  completing  a  two  years  course 
in  addition  to  his  previous  studies.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war,  in  the  same  year,  he  suc- 
cessfully passed  examination  before  the  United' 
States  medical  board  and  was  commissioned  as- 
sistant surgeon,  and  assigned  to  duty  in  the- 
United  States  General  Hospital  at  St.  Louis,. 
Missouri.  Later  he  was  transferred  to  the  hos- 
pital steamer  "Empress,"  serving  with  the  army 
of  General  Grant  on  the  Tennessee  and  Missis- 
sippi rivers,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until 
August  16,  1862,  when  he  was  granted  leave  of" 
absence  on  account  of  disability  contracted  in  the 
line  of  duty,  having  had  arduous  labors  devolv- 
ing upon  him  in  the  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
from  the  .battle  of  Shiloh,  and  the  operations ; 
about  Memphis  and  elsewhere  in  the  strenuous 
campaign  of  that  vear.  Returning  home  for  re- 
cuperation, on  recovery  he  received  authoriza- 
tion to  accept  the  commission  of  assistant  sur- 
geon of  the  Fifty-third  Regiment  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  and  later  was  promoted  to  full  sur- 
geon with  the  rank  of  major.  He  was  connected 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  the  various 
battles  and  operations  beginning  under  the  lead- 
ership of  General  Joseph  Hooker,  in  1863,  and" 
ending  with  the  dramatic  ending  at  Appomattox,, 
an  incident  of  his  experience   being  the  opera- 


3°o 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


.tions  leading  up  to  Gettysburg,  the  great  battle 
there,  and  the  pursuit  of  the  discomfited  enemy — 
scenes  which  left  an  indelible  impression  upon  his 
mind.  He  received  an  honorable  discharge  on 
June  30,  1865,  his  services  being  held  in  requisi- 
tion for  nearly  two  months  after  the  collapse  of 
the  rebellion,  this  long  retention  after  the  great 
mass  of  the  medical  corps  had  been  mustered  out 
of  service  being  the  highest  possible  attestation 
to  his  ability.  Returning  to  Philadelphia,  Dr. 
Spayd  entered  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  April  4,  1866.  Shortly  afterward  he 
located  in  Wilkes-Barre  and  engaged  in  practice 
:in  which  he  has  continued  to  the  present  time,  en- 
joying a  wide  reputation  for  ability,  and  partic- 
ularly in  the  field  of  surgery.  In  1885  he  estab- 
lished the  Spayd  drug  store,  at  159  East  Market 
street,  which  he  conducts  in  connection  with  his 
practice.  He  has  served  long  and  faithfully  in 
various  official  positions  in  the  line  of  his  pro- 
fession, as  county  physician  from  1867  to  1872, 
and  as  coroner  from  1881  to  1884.  He  is  medi- 
cal examiner  for  a  number  of  the  leading  life  in- 
surance companies,  including  the  Travelers'  New 
York  Life,  Northwestern  Mutual,  and  the  United 
States.  He  was  for  some  years  a  member  of  the 
Luzerne  County  Medical  Society.  He  is  promi- 
nent in  Grand  Army  circles,  and  was  a  charter 
member  of  Conyngham  Post,  in  which  he  has 
long  served  as  surgeon,  and  a  member  of  the 
"Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society.  A 
Democrat  in  politics,  he  exercises  a  potent  influ- 
■ence  in  behalf  of  the  party,  advocating  its  prin- 
ciples with  ability  and  vigor.  Dr.  Spayd  mar- 
ried, March  3,  1868,  Miss  Barbara  J.  Hay, 
daughter  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Cridler)  Hay,  of 
Scotch  and  German  origin  respectively.  They 
had  one  child,  Samuel  B.,  who  died  an  infant. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Spayd  attend  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  H.  E.  H. 

MARCUS  SALZMAN,  rabbi  of  the  Bnai 
Brith  Jewish  Congregation  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  is  an  earnest,  untiring  and  success- 
ful laborer  in  the  field  he  has  chosen. 

Tobias  Salzman,  father  of  Rev.  Marcus  Salz- 
man, was  born  in  Germany  in  1846,  and  emi- 
grated to  this  country  in  the  early  sixties.  He  had 
received  an  excellent  education  in  Breslau,  Ger- 
many, and  when  he  concluded  to  make  his  home 
in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  he  accepted  a  position 
as  cantor  in  one  of  the  synagogues  of  that  city, 
and  held  this  position  for  many  years.  He  mar- 
ried Frederica  Rosenheim,  who  was  born  in  Hof- 
fenheim,  Germany,  daughter  of  Jacob  Rosenheim, 


who  died  in  Germany,  and  they  have  had  five 
children,  of  whom  three  are  living :  Marcus ; 
Jacob,  who  is  a  broker  in  Baltimore,  Maryland ; 
and  Edward,  who  is  an  artist  in  Paris.  Mrs.  Salz- 
man died  July  31,  1905. 

Marcus  Salzman,  eldest  child  of  Tobias  and 
Frederica  (Rosenheim)  Salzman,  was  born  in 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  December  11,  1871.  His 
preliminary  education  was  obtained  in  the  public 
and  high  schools  of  Baltimore,  and  after  his 
graduation  from  the  latter  named  institution  went 
to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  entered  the  Hebrew 
Union  College  and  McMicken  University,  pur- 
suing the  theological  course  and  being  graduated 
therefrom  in  1893.  His  first  appointment  was  as 
rabbi  of  the  Jewish  Reformed  Temple,  the  He- 
brew Educational  Society,  at  Charleston,  West 
Virginia,  and  he  ministered  to  the  people  of  that 
congregation  for  two  and  a  half  years,  faithfully 
discharging  all  the  duties  of  his  sacred  office.  He 
then  received  a  call  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, as  rabbi  of  the  Bnai  Brith  Congregation, 
worshipping  at  115  South  Washington  street, 
and  he  has  served  these  people  with  the  greatest 
acceptability  ever  since.  The  part  now  filled  by 
Rabbi  Salzman  has  heretofore  been  filled  by  cap- 
able men,  namely:  Moses  Strasser,  Herman 
Rubin,  David  Stern,  Victor  Rundbacken,  and 
Israel  Joseph,  but  the  present  incumbent  measures 
well  up  to  his  responsibilities  and  to  those  who 
have  preceded  him.  He  is  an  eloquent  speaker, 
and  feels  to  the  full  the  dignity  and  vast  oppor- 
tunities of  his  high  calling.  Personally  he  is 
very  popular  among  his  people,  taking  a  keen 
interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  their  material  wel- 
fare and  success,  and  the  best  interests  of  the 
community  ever  find  in  him  a  friend  who  is  ready 
in  the  advancement  of  all  enterprises  for  the  pub- 
lic good.  The  congregation  Bnai  Brith  was  or- 
ganized for  occasional  worship  in  1840.  They 
dedicated  their  first  synagogue  in  August.  1849. 
Prior  to  1871  it  was  the  only  Jewish  congregation 
in  Wilkes-Barre.  In  that  year  another  congre- 
gation was  organized  which  in  1881  became  the 
parents  of  two  smaller  communities — Bnai  Jacob 
and  Holche  Yosher.  In  1902  a  fourth  synagogue 
was  dedicated  to  the  use  of  the  youngest  congre- 
gation, Oheb  Zedek.  Marcus  Salzman  married, 
March  1,  1904,  Hannah  Bloch,  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Re- 
becca (Levison)   Bloch.  H.  E.  H. 

DTCKOA^ER  FAMILY.  In  Wilkes-Barre 
and  Luzerne  countv  the  Dickover  family  has 
been  known  a  little  less  than  one  hundred  years, 
but  in  eastern   Pennsvlvania  the  history  of  the 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


30 1' 


family  dates  to  the  Revolution  and  even  earlier, 
for  Henry  Dickover,  of  Mountville,  (then  called 
Millersville)  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania, 
was  a  private  in  Captain  John  Withers  battalion 
of  Lancaster  County  Associators,  destined  for 
service  in  the  Jerseys.  Henry  Dickover's  name 
appears  on  a  muster  roll  dated  Lancaster,  August 
19,  1776,  which  bears  special  remark  as  to  his 
service.  Family  tradition  tells  of  the  sufferings 
of  the  military  prisoners  confined  at  Carlisle, 
where  soldiers  fought  for  the  clothes  of  their 
dead  comrades.  It  is  understood  that  Henry 
Dickover  was  one  of  the  guards  that  escorted  the 
Hessian  prisoners  to  that  place,  and  afterward 
was  probably  on  guard  duty  there. 

This  Henry  Dickover  had  eleven  sons  and 
one  daughter :  Samuel,  Lewis,  John,  George, 
Jacob,  William,  Benjamin,  Joseph,  Falty,  Valen- 
tine, Polly  and  a  son  whose  name  is  lost.  Sev- 
eral of  the  sons  removed  with  their  families  to 
Indiana,  where  they  settled  and  were  thrifty  and 
industrious  men,  some  of  them  raising  large 
families,  which  indeed  appears  to  have  been  no- 
ticeable in  each  generation  from  Henry's  time 
down  to  within  quite  recent  years.  Samuel  Dick- 
over, eldest  son  of  Henry  Dickover,  had  seven- 
teen children,  and  in  1898  eleven  of  them  were 
still  living,  the  youngest  then  being  more  than 
fifty  years  old.  Jacob  Dickover,  also  son  of 
Henry  Dickover,  married  three  times,  and  was 
the  father  of  eighteen  children.  The  family  is 
noted  for  the  longevity  as  well  as  the  prolificy  of 
its  members. 

George  Dickover,  fourth  son  of  Henry  Dick- 
over, was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, November  13,  1787,  and  died  December 
31,  1864,  aged  seventy-seven  years.  He  came  to 
Luzerne  county  and  settled  in  Wilkes-Barre  about 
18 10,  being  then  twenty-three  years  old.  He 
was  a  mason  by  trade.  He  married  Katharine 
Reimer,  born  February  16,  1793,  died  August  3, 
1844,  daughter  of  Henry  Reimer,  and  his  wife, 
who  was  a  Miss  Correll,  her  first  name  now  un- 
known, but  her  father,  Philip  Correll,  was  a  sol- 
dier of  the  Revolution,  and  married  Catherine 
Schug.  Nine  children  were  born  to  George  and 
Katharine  (Reimer)  Dickover:  Henry,  George, 
Elizabeth  (wife  of  Peter  Stoh)  ;  William,  Kath- 
arine, (wife  of  Amos  Sands)  ;  Louisa  (wife  of 
Miles  Barnum)  ;  John;  Charles;  Mary,  (wife  of 
Oscar  Lewis). 

William  Dickover,  son  of  George  and  Kath- 
arine (Reimer)  Dickover,  was  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  December  15,  1819.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  there,  and 


at  the  early  age  of  ten  years  entered  the  employ 
of  his  uncle,  Philip  Reimer,  in  the  wool  carding 
and  cloth  dressing  business  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  remained  two  years.  The  following 
3'ear  he  was  employed  by  Ziba  Bennett,  and  in. 
1832,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  first  com- 
menced to  learn  his  trade  of  plastering  and  gen- 
eral masonry  in  Wilkes-Barre  under  his  father, 
and  continued  with  him  with  occasional  varia- 
tions, including  working  on  his  father's  farm  and 
other  labor,  until  1840,  when  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  when  he  completed  his  apprenticeship  and 
began  as  a  journeyman  workman,  continuing  as 
such  for  ten  years.  He  then  engaged  in  business 
for  himself  as  contractor  at  No.  22  Ross  street, 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  now  resides.  His  first 
contract  was  the  A.  C.  Laning  foundry  on  Canal 
street,  which,  with  additions,  is  still  standing  on. 
the  old  site.  He  was  closely  identified  with  the 
business  interests  and  progress  of  his  native  city,, 
and  built  many  of  the  most  prominent  buildings  in 
his  time,  several  of  the  structures  which  front  the- 
square  today  being  monuments  of  his  skill  and. 
ability.  In  1853,  after  the  fire,  he  rebuilt  the 
Wyoming  Seminary  building;  in  1858  the  Long- 
enstein  building;  in  i860  the  Wyoming  Bank 
building;  in  1864  the  Wyoming  Valley  Hotel;: 
and  in  1870  the  Music  Hall  building,  which  has. 
been  replaced  by  the  Sterling  Hotel.  In  1870  he- 
began  the  manufacture  of  brick  at  North  River 
and  Maple  streets,  Wilkes-Barre.  The  demand 
for  brick  was  constantly  increasing,  this  necessi- 
tating rapid  enlargement  of  the  plant  and  sub- 
sequent removal  to  more  commodious  quarters. 
In  1875,  the  contracting  business  having  grown: 
to  large  proportions,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
his  son,  George  Dickover,  and  in  1883  the  brick- 
manufacturing  was  also  taken  in,  under  the  firm- 
name  of  William  Dickover  and  Son,  which  con- 
tinued until  1898,  when  William  Dickover,  the 
senior  member,  retired  from  active  pursuits. 
Among  the  buildings  of  note  which  were  erected' 
by  the  firm  were  the  following :  the  Laning,  the- 
Welles,  People's  Bank,  Jonas  Long's,  the  Oster- 
hout,  which  was  burned  clown,  and  the  public 
schools  of  Franklin,  South  Washington,  Wyom- 
ing and  Union  streets. 

In  1842  Mr.  Dickover  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  Wyoming  Volunteer  Artillery  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  a  member  from  1842  to  1846, 
also  for  several  years  at  a  later  date.  He  joined' 
the  militia  (minute  men)  just  before  the  battle  of 
Antietam,  at  which  conflict  they  were  held  in  re- 
serve, and  later  disbanded  and  sent  home.  About 
1850  he  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Cen-- 


-3°2 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


tral  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  was  one  of  its  original  trustees,  and  has 
always  been  on  the  board,  serving  now  (1905)  in 
the  capacity  of  president;  he  was  a  member  of 
.  the  building  committee,  and  has  held  nearly  all 
the  offices  in  the  church.  He  has  always  been  an 
earnest  advocate  of  the  principles  of  Republican- 
ism, and  served  two  years  as  poor  director  for 
the  central  district  of  Luzerne  county.  In  i860 
he  became  a  member  of  Wyoming  Lodge,  No.  39, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he 
:  is  now  past  grand.  He  has  also  held  membership 
in  the  Sons  of  Temperance  and  United  American 
Mechanics.  Mr.  Dickover  is  the  oldest  native 
born  business  man  residing  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

William    Dickover    married,    December    24, 
1844,    Elizabeth    Olver,    daughter    of    John    and 
Sarah    (Aunger)    Olver.     John  Olver  was  born 
.  in  Cornwall,  England,  September  5,  1790,  and  on 
■  coming  to  America  settled  at  Beach  Pond,  now 
Beach  Lake,  Wayne  county,  Pennsylvania.     He 
.  married,  February  18,  1814,  Sarah  Aunger,  who 
died  in  1870.     He  died  in  October,  1866.     Seven 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickover: 
Maria,  died  February  14,  1897,  buried  at  Forty 
Fort;  Lavinia,  wife  of  H.  L.  Moore,  resides  in 
Wilkes-Barre;     George     T.,     married     Frances 
:  Stockton,    resides   in    Wilkes-Barre ;    Sarah,    de- 
ceased, buried  at  Forty  Fort ;  Abi,  deceased,  bur- 
ied at  Forty   Fort;   Helen,   deceased,   buried   at 
Forty-Fort ;  Hattie,  wife  of  J.  B.  Howell,  resides 
in    Wilkes-Barre.     Mr.    Dickover    has    fourteen 
grandchildren  and   four  great-grandchildren. 

George  T.  Dickover,  only  son  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  (Olver)  Dickover,  was  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  January  28,  1849.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  that  borough 
and  subsequent  city,  and  at  Wyoming  Seminary. 
He  learned  the  trade  of  bricklayer  with  his  father, 
worked  with  him  and  under  him  as  a  journeyman, 
in  the  course  of  time  became  his  foreman  and  su- 
perintendent, and  eventually  his  partner  in  busi- 
ness. Since  his  admission  to  the  firm  in  1883  the 
annual  output  in  manufactured  brick  has  in- 
creased from  one  million  to  more  than  eight  mil- 
lions in  1904.  When  his  father  retired  from 
business  in  1898,  George  T.  succeeded  to  the 
partnership  properties,  and  is  now  sole  proprie- 
tor. He  is  also  serving  in  the  capacity  of  vice- 
president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Paint  Company. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Central  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  and  a  member  of  its  official  board, 
a  director  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Heat,  Light  and 
Motor  Company,  and  a  member  of  Landmark 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  of  the 
National  Association  of  Brick  Manufacturers. 


George  T.  Dickover  married  at  Camden,  New 
Jersey,  April  25,  1883,  Frances  Stockton,  daugh- 
ter of  Richard  and  Deborah  ( Harrison  j  Stock- 
ton. The  Stocktons  of  New  Jersey  were  promi- 
nent figures  in  American  history  in  the  time  of 
the  Revolution.  .Richard  Stockton,  ancestor  of 
Frances  (Stockton)  Dickover,  was  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
otherwise  was  prominent  in  national  affairs.  Five 
children  were  born  to  George  T.  and  Frances 
(Stockton)  Dickover:  Georgia  A.,  William  S., 
Gertrude  M.,  and  Helen  O.,  and  Harold  R., 
both  of  whom  died  in  early  childhood. 

H.  E.  H. 

JOHN  CALVIN  BELL,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
cashier  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and  Savings 
Bank,  was  born  in  York  county,  Pennsylvania, 
on  March  23,  1850,  a  son  of  Harvev  and  Eliza- 
beth Bell. 

He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Anderson- 
town,   Pennsylvania,  where  he  acquired  a  good 
preparatory   education,   and  pursued   the  higher 
branches  of  study  at  Millersville  Normal  School, 
Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1872.    After  his  graduation  he 
taught  school  at  Summit  Hill  for  one  year.    The 
following  year  he  was  appointed  to  the  principal- 
ship   of   the   schools   at  Dauphin,   Pennsylvania, 
which  he  retained  until  1874,  when  he  accepted 
the  position  of  principal  of  the  Soldiers  Orphans' 
School  at  McAllisterville,  Pennsylvania.     In  Sep- 
tember, 1875,  he  located  in  Wyoming,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  for  two  years  served  in  the  capacity 
of  principal  of  the  school  in  that  town.     In  Sep- 
tember,   1877,   he  located   in  Wilkes-Barre,   and 
during  four  years  thereafter  served  as  principal 
of  the  schools  of  the  second  district.    The  career 
of  Mr.  Bell  as  an  educator  was  noted  for  capa- 
bility and  efficiency.     In  June,  1881,  he  accepted 
a  position  as  bookkeeper  in  the  First   National 
Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  retaining  the  position  un- 
til April,   1886,  when  he  was  elected  city  clerk, 
in  which  capacity  he  served  with  credit  until  Jan- 
uary 19,  1887.    He  then  entered  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Deposit  and   Savings  Bank  as  cashier,  and  has 
served  in  that  position  to  the  present  time,  1905. 
Mr.  Bell  married,  April  15,  1874,  Emma  Vir- 
ginia Abbott,  daughter  of  James  and  Rachel  Ab- 
bott, of  Summit  Hill,  Pennsylvania.     Three  chil- 
dren were  the  issue  of  this  union :  Bessie  Rachel, 
born  at  Wyoming,  September  6,  1875,  died  Au- 
gust 18,  1876 ;  Warren  Abbott,  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  September  23,  1881,  now  employed  on  The 
Wilkes-Barre  Leader:  Mabel   Virginia,  born   in 
Wilkes-Barre,  October  29,  1883,  now  a  student  at 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


303 


.Syracuse  University.  Mrs.  Bell,  the  mother  of 
these  children,  died  June  22,  1901,  and  her  re- 
mains were  interred  in  Forty  Fort  cemetery.  On 
June  18,  1904,  Mr.  Bell  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Clara  Estelle  Breese,  daughter  of  Murray  and 
Mary  E.  (Courtright)  Breese.  (See  Courtright 
family)-  Murray  Breese  was  a  son  of  Lot  and 
Falla  (Jenkins)  Breese,  the  latter  named  having 
been  a  daughter  of  Colonel  John  Jenkins,  who 
enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  a  personal  friend 
of  General  George  Washington.  (See  Jenkins 
family).  His  wife,  Mary  E.  (Courtright)  Breese 
is  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Clara  (Williams) 
Courtright,  of  Plains,  Pennsylvania.  Murray 
Breese  died  July  31,  1882.  Subsequently  his 
widow  became  the  wife  of  John  Sharps,  of  Wy- 
oming, Pennsylvania,  whose  death  occurred  Au- 
gust 21,  1903.  H.  E.  H. 

WILLIAM    PERRY   BILLINGS,   assistant 
cashier  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,    was    born    at    Tunkhannock,    Wyoming 
county,    Pennsylvania,    March    8,    1869,    son    of 
Perry  Stark  and  Frances  Evaline  (Lull)  Billings. 
Perry  Stark  Billings  was  born  on  Tunkhan- 
nock creek,  about  three  miles  from  the  town  of 
Tunkhannock,   Wyoming  county,    Pennsylvania, 
October  7,  1830.    He  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon  schools   and   Wyoming   Seminary,   and  his 
boyhood  was  spent  in  assisting  with  the  varied 
and  arduous  duties  of  farm  life.     Upon  attain- 
ing manhood  he  erected  a  saw  mill  on  Tunkhan- 
nock creek  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
lumber,  which  business  he  continued  throughout 
the  active  years  of  his  career,  and  the  mill  is  in 
operation  at  the  present  time  (1905),  being  con- 
ducted by  Edgar  Billings,  brother  of  Perry  Stark, 
and   uncle  of  William   P.    Billings.     He   was   a 
thorough  and  practical  man  of  business,  honest 
and  upright  in  all  his  transactions.     By  his  mar- 
riage to  Frances  Evaline  Lull  five  children  were 
born,  as   follows:  Jennie,   deceased;   Hattie,   de- 
ceased ;  Kate,  deceased ;  Jennie  M.,  wife  of  James 
C.  Thayer,  of  Tunkhannock,  cashier  of  the  Citi- 
zens' National  Bank,  of  Tunkhannock ;  and  Will- 
iam Perry.     Mr.  Perry  S.  Billings  died  June  13, 
1900,  and  left  behind  him  the  priceless  heritage 
1    of  an  untarnished  name. 

William  Perry  Billings  acquired  his  early 
education  in  his  native  village,  and  in  1886  en- 
tered Wyoming  Seminary  and  there  pursued 
advanced  studies,  graduating  therefrom  in  1890. 
In  May,  1890,  he  accepted  a  position  as  runner 
in  the  "Second  National  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  after  a  brief  period  of  one  and  a  half  years 
■was  promoted  to  the  position  of  deposit  book- 


keeper,  from  that  to   general   bookkeeper,   from 
that  to  teller,  and  in  1900  was  elected  assistant 
cashier,  in  which  capacity  he  still  serves.     He  is 
also  a  director  in   the   same   institution,   having 
been  elected  to  that  position  in  January,  1904.  He 
was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Citizens' 
National  Bank  of  Tunkhannock,  of  which  he  is 
also  a  director;  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Gas  and  Electric   Company,   which  was  sold  to 
Forest  &  Company  of  Philadelphia,  and  John  G. 
White  &  Company  of  New  York ;  in  1902  was 
elected  trustee  of  the  Wesleyan  University,  Mid- 
dletown,  Connecticut,  for  three  years,  and  in  1903 
was    elected   trustee   of   Wyoming   Seminary   at 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  for  three  years.     He  is 
a    member    of    the    First    Methodist    Episcopal 
Church,  in  which  he  is  a  steward  and  a  member 
of  the  official  board.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic order,  affiliated  with  Landmark  Lodge,  No. 
442,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  Shekinah  Chapter,  No.  182, 
R.  A.   M. ;  Dieu  le  Veut  Commandery,  No.  45, 
Knights   Templar,   and  Keystone   Consistory   of 
Scranton ;  and  is  also  a  member  of  Irem  Temple 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.     He  is  a  member 
of  the  Westmoreland  Club,  and  is  Democratic  in 
politics.      Mr.    Billings   married,    September    11, 
1891,  Mazie  Bound,  daughter  of  J.  C.  and  Fan- 
nie (Hunlock)   (See  Hunlock  family)  Bound,  of 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania.     Her  father  has  charge 
of  the  Wilkes-Barre,   Dallas   &   H.   L.    railroad 
business  at  Wilkes-Barre.     Mrs.  Billings  is  the 
elder   of   two   children,    her   brother   being   Ed- 
ward  Bound.     The   children   of   Mr.   and   Mrs. 
Billings  are:  Francis,  born  February  27,    1894; 
and  Andrew  H.,  born  October  8,  1897.    The  fam- 
ily reside  in  an  attractive  home  at  No.  98  South 
River  street,   Wilkes-Barre.  . 

H.  E.  H. 

GEORGE  ALBERT  CLARK,  M.  D.,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  born  near  Chambersburg,  Frank- 
lin county,  Pennsylvania,  September  6,  1861,  is 
a  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Searight)  Clark, 
natives  of  Dauphin  and  Cumberland  counties, 
Pennsylvania,  respectively,  and  a  grandson  of 
William  Clark,  also  of  Dauphin  county,  where 
their  ancestors  had  resided  for  several  gener- 
ations. 

William  Clark  was  a  farmer  in  Dauphin 
county,  throughout  the  active  years  of  his  career. 
He  and  his  wife  had  four  children.  (1)  William, 
Jr.,  mentioned  hereinafter.  (2)  Charles,  mar- 
ried Barbara  Metz,  issue :  Laura,  William  A., 
Annie,  Emma  and  Arthur.  (3)  Mary,  who  mar- 
ried Mr.  Eshelman.  (4)  Elizabeth.  William 
Clark  died  in  Franklin  county,  about  sixty  years 


304 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


of  age,  and  his  remains  were  interred  in  Cham- 
bersburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  admired  and 
respected  by  all  for  his  integrity  and  uprightness. 

William  Clark  (son  of  William  Clark),  was 
born  in  Dauphin  county,  Pennsylvania,  about 
1822.  He  attended  the  public  schools  at  Hum- 
melstown,  Pennsylvania,  worked  on  his  father's 
farm  until  1848,  when  he  began  farming  for  him- 
self in  Franklin  county,  continuing  at  the  same 
occupation  there  up  to  the  time  of  his  decease. 
He  was  a  director  in  and  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  Centennial  Fire  Insurance  Company  at 
Shippensburg.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  at  Green  Village,  Pennsylvania.  Wil- 
liam Clark  married  in  1848,  Sarah  Searight, 
daughter  of  Gilbert  Searight,  a  native  of  Cum- 
berland county,  Pennsylvania,  whose  ancestors 
came  from  Lancaster  county,  and  were  of  Penn- 
sylvania pioneer  stock.  Mrs.  Clark  was  born 
near  Carlisle,  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Their  children  were  as  follows :  1.  Gilbert  Sea- 
right, born  July  4,  185 1,  resides  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  2.  Sara  Elizabeth,  born  1853,  mar- 
ried John  W.  Bossart,  and  had :  Sarah  and  Alice 
Bossart.  They  reside  in  Franklin  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. 3.  William  James,  born  1855,  mar- 
ried (first)  Mary  Walker,  and  had  two  children: 
Sara  and  Mattie  Clark.  He  married  (second) 
Lottie  Croft.  They  reside  in  St.  Thomas.  4. 
Charles  Francis,  born  1857,  married  Mattie  Wal- 
ker, and  resides  in  Stuttgart,  Arkansas.  5. 
John  Edward,  born  December  1,  1859,  died  1903, 
and  was  buried  in  Chambersburg.  6.  George 
Albert,  born  September  6,  1861,  mentioned  here- 
after. 7.  Samuel  Nichols,  born  December  7, 
1863,  died  about  1895,  and  is  buried  in  Cham- 
bersburg. 8.  Minnie  Martha,  born  in  1866, 
married  William  Ferguson,  and  had :  Edna  and 
Bruce  Ferguson.  Mrs.  Ferguson  died  in  June, 
1 90 1.  They  reside  near  Chambersburg.  9. 
Alice  Bertha,  born  1873,  died  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years,  and  is  buried  in  Chambersburg.  Two 
other  children  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Clark  were  members  of  Falling  Springs  Presby- 
terian Church,  at  Chambersburg,  and  in  1876 
were  instrumental  in  the  organization  of  the 
Central  Presbyterian  Church,  at  Chambersburg, 
in  which  William  Clark  was  a  trustee  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  William  Clark  died  May  1,  1885, 
aged  sixty-three  years,  and  his  remains  are  in- 
terred at  Chambersburg. 

George  Albert  Clark,  eon  of  William  and' 
Sara  (Searight)  Clark,  remained  on  the  home- 
stead farm  until  eighteen  years  of  age,  assisting 
with   the   work   thereof   during  the    spring   and 


summer  months  and  attending  the  public  schools 
of  Green  township,  Franklin  county,  during  the 
winter  months.  When  sixteen  years  old  he  en- 
tered the  State  Normal  school,  at  Shippensburg, 
and  taught  during  two  winters,  ,1880-1881,  and 
in  the  tall  of  1882  entered,  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
graduating  therefrom  M.  D.,  in  1885.  He  then 
located  at  Shickshinny,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
practiced  until  1890,  when  he  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  locating  at  No.  326  South  Main  street, 
where  he  has  since  engaged  in  general  practice. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Luzerne  County,  the 
Pennsylvania  State,  and  the  American  Medical 
societies.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  In 
1900  he  joined  the  Wyoming  Lodge,  No. 
39,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He 
is  a  member  of  Knights  of  Malta,  Prince  of 
Peace  Commandery,  Wilkes-Barre,  since  1898, 
and  of  the  Patriotic  Sons  of  America  No. 
118,  Wilkes-Barre.  Dr.  Clark  has  in  his  posses- 
sion an  old  grandfather  clock  175  years  old, 
which  is  in  first-class  condition,  made  by  his 
great-great-uncle,  Andrew  Cathcart,  who  was  a 
fine  clock  maker.  This  is  an  heirloom  in  the 
Clark  family,  a  relic  of  the  days  that  have  long 
gone  by  and  is  highly  prized  by  Dr.  Clark  and  his 
family.  Dr.  Clark  married,  January  19,  1888, 
Elizabeth  Nesbitt,  born  June  14,  1859,  daughter 
of  William  and  Margaret  (Phillips)  Nesbitt. 
William  Nesbitt  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  in 
early  life  came  to  the  United  States.  He  mar- 
ried, at  Shamokin,  Pennsylvania,  Margaret  Phil- 
lips, who  bore  him  the  following  children:  1. 
Robert,  married  Sallie  Hamer,  of  Northumber- 
land county,  and  had :  Elizabeth  and  Robert  Nes- 
bitt ;  they  reside  in  Philadelphia.  2.  John,  went 
to  North  Carolina  and  married  there.  3.  Laura„ 
married  Samuel  Flickinger,  and  has  Robert  and 
Peyton  Flickinger ;  they  reside  in  Norfolk,  Vir- 
ginia. 4.  Elizabeth,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Clark. 
The  children  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Sarah  Margaret,  born  April  7,  1889 ;  John 
Teasdale,  born  November  9,  1891  ;  Robert  Nes- 
bitt, born  July  27,  1803  ;  Alice  Elizabeth,  born 
October  17,  1895 ;  and  Helen,  born  November 
21,  1898.  Dr.  Clark  and  his  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania.  H.  E.  H. 

HAHN  FAMILY.  Gustav  Heinrich  von 
Hahn  was  one  of  the  four  first  counsellors  of  the- 
kingdom  of  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  and  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  the  district  of  the  Black  For- 
est. He  had  a  son  Gustav  Hahn,  born  near  the- 
city  of  Stuttgart,  kingdom  of  Wurtemburg,  Ger- 


THE   WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


305 


many,  October  23,  1830,  and  well  educated  in  the 
lyceum  at  Rentlingen,  and  the  University  of  Tu- 
bingen,  where  he  graduated  with  high  honors. 
At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  the  younger  Gustav 
entered  the  German  army  and  served  two  years, 
acquiring  there  a  splendid  military  training  and 
education.     He  then  sailed  for  America,  landed 
at  the  port  of  New  York,  September  22,  1854,  and 
two  months  later  took  up  his  abode  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  became  an  employe  of  Robert  Baur  in  the 
office    of    the    Democratic    Waechter,    then    the 
only  German  Democratic  newspaper  in  the  entire 
region.     In  1855  this  young  German  student  took 
up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Ed- 
mund L.  Dana,  finished  his  course  with  Judge 
Stanley  Woodward,  and  came  to  the  bar  in  Lu- 
zerne county,  February    18,    1861.     During    the 
greater  part  of  this  period,  however,  Mr.  Hahn 
was  professor  of  modern  languages  in  Wyoming 
Seminary,   Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  for  the 
six  months  preceding  his  admission  to  the  bar  was 
clerk  in  the  office  of  the  prothonotary  of  Luzerne 
county.     On  April  20,   1861,  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war  of  1861-1865,  Mr.  Hahn  enlisted  in 
the   three  months  service   under  the  president's 
first  call  for  volunteers,  and  was  a  member  of  that 
somewhat  noted  company  known  as  the  "Wyom- 
ing Jaegers" ;  was  elected  its  second  lieutenant ; 
this  company  was  mustered  into  service  as  Com- 
pany G,  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infan- 
try.    At  the  end  of  his  term  of  enlistment  Lieut- 
enant Hahn  was  mustered  out  of  service  and  re- 
turned to  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  practice  of  law. 
In  1864  he  was  appointed  United  States  commis- 
sioner, which  office  he  still  holds.     Gustav  Hahn 
married,  December  7,   1861,  Mehitabel  A.  Mun- 
son,  born  July  2,   1834,  died  August   19,    1889, 
daughter    of    Salmon    Munson1    and    Ruhamah 


1.  Salmon  Munson  was  son  of  Walter  Munson, 
who  married  Mehetabel  Trowbridge,  who  removed 
from  Connecticut  to  Dutchess  county,  New  York ; 
thence  to  Greene  county,  same  state,  and  thence,  in 
1857,  to  Luerne  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  Munsons 
are  an  old  New  England  family,  and  this  particular 
branch  is  descended  from  Richard  M'onson  (or  Mun- 
son), an  early  settler  in  New  Hampshire,  afterward  of 
New  Hann  and  still  later  of  Wallingford,  Connecticut. 
Salmon  Munson's  great-grandfather  was  Obadiah  Mon- 
son,  whose  son  Wilmot  Munson  was  one  of  the  earliest 
Connecticut  settlers  in  the  Wyoming  Valley,  but  who 
returned  to  Connecticut  before  the  massacre  in  1778. 
Walter  Munson,  son  of  Wilmot,  lived  in  Connecticut 
until  he  attained  manhood.  Salmon  Munson  was  born 
in  Franklin  township,  Pennsylvania,  December  13, 
1808,  and  always  lived  there. 


Lewis2,  of  Franklin  township,  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania.  They  had :  Byron  G.  Hahn,  and 
Ruhamah  Hahn,  who  married  October  20,  1896, 
Isaac  R.  Moister,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  civil  engineer 
and  district  superintendent  Lehigh  Valley  Coal 
Company.  He  died  December,  1896.  She  was 
educated  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  schools  and  at  the 
Wyoming  Seminary.  She  also  graduated  from 
the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital  School  for  trained 
nurses  and  follows  her  profession  in  that  city. 

Byron  G.  Hahn,  son  of  Gustav  Hahn  and  wife 
Mehitabel  Munson,  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  March  24,.  1865,  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  that  city,  also  in  the 
Harry  Hillman  Academy,  class  of  1886,  and  La- 
fayette College,  class  of  1890 ;  admitted  to  the  Lu- 
zerne bar  in  1893;  practicing  lawyer  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  since  that  date ;  deputy  collector  of  internal 
revenue,  February,  1898,  March,  1900;  postmas- 
ter of  Wilkes-Barre,  April  1,  1900,  to  February 
1,  1905  ;  member  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Wilkes-Barre ;  of  Wilkes-Barre  Lodge, 
No.  704,  I.  O.  O.  F. ;  Outalissa  Encampment,  39, 
I.  O.  O.  F. ;  Columbia  Council,  43,  J.  O.  U.  A. 
M. ;  Washington  Camp,  408,  P.  O.  S.  of  A. ;  John 
Knox  Commandery,  12,  Knights  of  Malta ;  Colo- 
nel T.  C.  Harkness  Camp,  169,  S.  of  V. ;  married, 
November  18,  1896,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Nellie  B.  Moister,  daughter  of  Isaac  and 
Sarah  Moister.  They  have  one  child,  Helen  M. 
Hahn,  born  Dallas,  Pennsylvania,  September  28, 
1900.  H.  E.  H. 

CHARLES  DANIEL  REITER.  The  name 
of  Reiter  has  been  a  well  known  one  in  the  state 
of  Pennsylvania  for  many  years.  John  Reiter, 
the  first  of  this  family  to  settle  in  America,  was 
born  in  Germany,  as  was  his  wife  also.  They 
came  to  this  country  about  the  year  1830,  and  lo- 
cated in  Henderson  township,  Jefferson  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  they  engaged  in  farming  and 
opened  a  country  store.  They  possessed  German 
thrift  and  industry  in  a  high  degree,  and  were 
soon  fairly  on  the  road  to  prosperity.  John 
Reiter  died  about  1886,  in  Jefferson  county,  and 
is  buried  there.  He  and  his  wife  had  the  follow- 
ing named  children:  r.  John,  mentioned  here- 
after. 2.  George,  a  resident  of  Sykes,  Jeffer- 
son county,   Pennsylvania.     3.     Henry,   also  re- 


2.  Ruhamah  Lewis  was  daughter  of  Oliver  Lewis, 
and  was  born  in  Orange  county,  New  York.  Revs. 
Oliver  Lewis  and  George  Lewis  were  her  nephews,  as 
also  were  Revs.  Joshua  S.  Lewis  and  George  C.  Lewis. 
(Kulp.) 


20 


3°6 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


sides  at  Sykes.     4.     Daniel,  a  resident  of  Green- 


brier, West  Virginia. 


o- 


Adam,  lives  in  Okla- 


homa. 6.  August,  resides  in  Dubois,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 7.  Elizabeth,  married  John  Scheyer  of 
Minnesota.  8.  Christina,  married  Adam  Lott, 
of  Paradise,  Jefferson  county,  Pennsylvania.  9. 
Magdalene,  married  Philip  Muth,  resides  at  Big 
Run,  Pennsylvania.  10.  Mary,  married  Charles 
Muth  and  Punxsutawney,  Pennsylvania. 

John  Reiter,  son  of  John  and  Magdelena 
(Hess)  Reiter,  was  born  in  Jefferson  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  spent  his  entire  life  in  that 
place.  His  education,  which  was  received  in  the 
old  log  school  house,  did  not  extend  over  a  great 
period  of  time,  but  as  he  was  a  very  studious  lad 
and  anxious  to  acquire  as  good  an  education  as 
the  opportunities  afforded,  he  succeeded  in  ac- 
quiring a  very  fair  amount  of  knowledge.  He 
began  work  on  the  farm  at  a  very  early  age  and 
continued  at  this  occupation  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  then,  in  connection  with  the  cultiva- 
tion of  his  farm,  engaged  in  the  lumber  business, 
and  followed  both  these  occupations  with  untiring 
energy  and  success  until  his  retirement  from  bus- 
iness in  1900,  when  he  removed  to  Troutville, 
Pennsylvania,  where,  with  his  wife,  he  still  re- 
sides. In  politics  Mr.  Reiter  has  always  been  a 
Democrat.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  the  United  States,  is  an  elder  in  the 
church,  and  has  at  various  times  held  other 
offices,  such  as  treasurer,  etc.  Ernestine,  his 
wife,  is  also  a  member  of  the  church,  and  they 
are  both  regular  attendants  and  active  workers  in 
that  field.  Mr.  Reiter  married  Ernestine,  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  and  Ernestine  Muth.  Charles 
Muth  died  in  German}-  in  1879,  while  on  a  visit 
to  that  country;  his  wife,  Ernestine,  died  in  1875. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Reiter  were  the  parents  of 
eleven  children,  seven  of  whom  are  now  living : 
1.  Charles  Daniel,  of  whom  later.  2.  Samuel 
O.,  a  farmer  of  Troutville,  Pennsylvania,  resides 
on  the  old  homestead,  and  married  Laura  Lim- 
berg ;  they  have  one  son,  David.  3.  Clara  M., 
married  Jacob  Beightol,  resides  at  Glen  Camp- 
bell, and  has  one  son,  William.  4.  Franklin  P., 
resides  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  is 
employed  by  the  Tennant-Richards  Lumber  Com- 
pany of  that  city.  5.  Aaron  M.,  an  engineer  on 
the  Buffalo,  Rochester  and  Pittsburg  Railroad, 
resides  at  Dubois,  Pennsylvania.  6.  Rosanna 
M..  resides  at  Troutville.  Pennsylvania.  7.  John 
George,  resides  at  Troutville,  and  is  now  a  student 
in  the  high  school.  Those  of  the  children  who 
have  died  are  :  Lizzie  :  William  ;  Jessie  ;  and  one 
who  died  in  infancy. 

Charles  Daniel  Reiter.  son  of  Tohn  and  Ernes- 


tine (Muth)  Reiter,  was  born  near  Troutville, 
Clearfield  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  19, 
1867.  He  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  then  entered  the  Excelsior  Normal 
School  at  Mehaffy,  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  with  credit.  He  lived  on  the 
homestead  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  when  he  began  teaching  in  the  public 
schools  of  Clearfield  county,  and  taught  there  for 
three  terms.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  a 
mercantile  life.  He  entered  the  store  of  his 
uncle,  Charles  Muth,  in  Elmora,  Pennsylvania, 
as  manager  and  retained  this  position  for  one 
year,  when  he  entered  the  Rochester  Business 
University,  from  which  he  graduated  in  August, 
1892.  In  November  of  the  same  year  he  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre  and  accepted  a  position  as  teacher 
in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Business  College,  having 
charge  of  the  commercial  department,  remaining 
until  June,  1893,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  the 
position  of  assistant  secretary  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
He  held  this  for  one  year,  and  then  became  the 
general  secretary  of  the  Kingston  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  which  position  he  resigned 
at  the  end  of  one  year.  For  the  next  few  years 
he  was  a  solicitor  for  the  [Mutual  Life  Insurance 
Company,  and  until  August,  1897,  when  he  en- 
tered the  service  of  the  Bradstreet  Company  as  a 
regular  reporter  in  charge  of  the  Scranton  district 
for  one  vear.  and  then  in  charge  of  Dauphin 
county  for  one  year,  after  which  he  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre  for  the  same  company,  and  held  the 
position  of  superintendent  until  December  1, 
1905.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Ten- 
nant-Richards Lumber  Company  as  a  salesman. 
Mr.  Reiter's  political  affiliations  are  Republican. 
He  is  a  member  of  Central  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  of  which  he  is  a  district  steward,  and 
teacher  of  Friendship  class  in  the  Sunday  school, 
a  class  which  has  a  membership  of  one  hundred  , 
and  twenty-five.  Mrs.  Reiter  is  a  member  of  the 
same  church,  is  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday  School, 
and  is  also  an  active  worker  in  the  religious  field. 
Mr.  Reiter  is  a  director,  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  the  New  Century  Correspondence  School.  He 
married.  September  19.  1899,  Josephine  Merrel, 
born  August  15,  1867,  daughter  of  William  and 
Augusta  (Gitt)  Merrel.  Mr.  and  [Mrs.  Merrel 
are  the  parents  of  nine  children:  1.  John,  de- 
ceased. 2.  Albert  E..  who  has  been  a  salesman 
for  Smith  &:  Frantz  for  twenty-three  years.  He 
married  [Minnie  Frantz  and  they  had  the  follow- 
ing children :  Mildred.  Ada.  Albertine.  and 
Edith.  3.  Emma  F.  C,  married  George  L.  C. 
Frantz,  and  had  the    following    children :    Jean, 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


30.7 


Ailene,  Catharine,  Jett,  Leonard,  and  Roscoe.  4. 
Lillian  Adelaide,  deceased.  5.  Oscar,  deceased. 
6.  Edward,  deceased,  buried  in  Hollenback  cem- 
etery, Wilkes-Barre.  7.  Bertha,  married  Or- 
lando Osterhout,  a  shoe  dealer  in  McKeesport, 
Pennsylvania.  8.  Josephine  C,  married  Char- 
les Daniel  Reiter.  9.  Benjamin  F.,  manager  of 
the  Leader  Chemical  Manufacturing  Company 
of  Wilkes-Barre :  he  married  Miss  Carrie  Otto, 
•of  Northumberland  county,  and  resides  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Charles  Daniel  Reiter  are  the  parents  of  one 
■child,  Benjamin  Merrel,  born  September  20,  1901. 

H.  E.  H. 

THOMAS  REBAUGH  MARTIN,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  a  lawyer  of  standing  at  the  bar  of 
Luzerne  county,  is  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  a 
member  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known  fam- 
ilies of  that  state.  His  great-grandfather,  Will- 
iam Martin,  came  from  Dublin,  Ireland,  and  set- 
tled in  Chicago,  Illinois,  married  a  Miss  Bush; 
they  had  one  daughter,  married  to  Mr.  Kier,  of 
Pittsburg,  the  discoverer  of  petroleum,  and  one 
•son,  William,  of  whom  later. 

William  Martin,  son  of  William  and  

(Bush)  Martin,  spent  his  life  in  Washington 
county,  Maryland.  He  was  a  man  of  the  highest 
honor  and  integrity,  respected  and  esteemed  by 
all  who  came  in  contact  with  him,  whether  in 
professional  or  social  life.  He  occupied  various 
official  positions,  among  them  justice  of  the  peace 
which  office  he  held  for  fifty  years.  He  exerted  a 
large  influence  for  good  in  the  community,  and 
his  counsel  and  advice  was  sought  and  followed 
in  many  important  affairs.  He  drew  all  the  legal 
papers,  etc.,  and  being  well  versed  in  the  law  not 
one  case  in  a  hundred  was  reversed  by  the  higher 
courts.  He  also  possessed  most  excellent  busi- 
ness and  executive  ability,  was  sagacious  and  far- 
sighted,  and  his  enterprise,  and  his  progressive 
spirit  were  important  factors  in  the  success  he 
-achieved  during  his  active  career.  He  married 
a  Miss  Lawrence,  of  English  ancestry,  and  two 
children  were  born  to  them :  Samuel,  a  lawyer 
of  more  than  local  fame,  and  David  L.,  mentioned 
hereafter.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin,  who  were 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  which 
they  took  an  active  interest,  died  at  the  ages  of 
seventy-five  and  seventy-six  years,  respectively. 

David  L.  Martin,  son  of  William  Martin  and 
his  wife. Lawrence,  was  born  near  Hagers- 
town, Maryland,  and  educated  in  the  common 
schools  there.  During  his  early  years'  he  was  a 
farmer  and  stock  dealer,  conducting  extensive 
"operations  in  the  vicinity  of  Hagerstown,  Wash- 


ington county.  He  was  honorable  and  upright 
in  all  his  dealings  with  his  fellowmen,  and  was 
identified  with  every  measure  that  tended  to  pro- 
mote the  welfare  and  growth  of  the  community. 
He  was  an  Independent  in  politics.  Mr.  Martin 
married  Mary  Spickler  Brumbaugh,  also  a  native 
of  Washington  county,  Maryland,  daughter  of  a 
Mr.  Brumbaugh,  of  Holland  ancestry, whose  fam- 
ily consisted  of  three  children:  Thomas,  Mary 
Spickler,  above  mentioned,  and  Elizabeth  Brum- 
baugh. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  had  five  children: 
William,  a  farmer  of  Washington  county,  Mary- 
land. Samuel,  a  resident  of  Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  conducts  a  dairy  and  cattle 
ranch.  Thomas  Rebaugh,  mentioned  hereafter. 
Alice,  wife  of  Napoleon  S.  Brumbaugh,  of  Wash- 
ington county,  Maryland.  Mary,  deceased,  who 
was  the  wife  of  John  Hummell,  of  Harrisburg. 
David  L.  Martin  died  in  Franklin  township,  just 
across  the  state  line  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
spent  his  last  years.  His  wife  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty-nine  years. 

Thomas  Rebaugh  Martin,  son  of  David  L.  and 
Mary  S.  Martin,  was  born  May  26,  1849,  near 
Hagerstown,  Washington  county,  Maryland.  He 
began  his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  county,  and  subsequently  attended  in  turn 
Mercersburg  College  and  the  Franklin  and  Mar- 
shall College,  Lancester,  Pennsylvania,  graduating 
from  the  last  named  institution  in  1874.  He 
then  entered  upon  a  course  of  law  study  under  the 
preceptorship  of  D.  G.  Eshelman,  Esquire,  of 
Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  and  continued  his  prep- 
aration for  his  profession  under  Attorney-Gen- 
eral Andrew  K.  Seyster,  of  Hagerstown,  Mary- 
land. In  the  latter  part  of  1875  he- was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  Washington  county,  Maryland,  at 
Hagerstown,  and  in  January  of  the  following 
year  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Lancaster  county, 
Pennsylvania.  He  then  located  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  April  10,  1876,  and  later  to  the  su- 
preme, superior  and  L'nited  States  courts.  A 
stranger  among  the  people,  and  meeting  many 
competitors  at  the  bar  to  which  he  came,  his  pros- 
pects were  anything  but  flattering.  He  possessed 
however,  the  elements  most  necessary  to  success 
under  such  untoward  circumstances.  It  was  not 
long,  therefore,  until  his  industry  and  ability 
found  recognition,  and  in  time  he  obtained  a  pro- 
fessional footing  and  from  that  on  his  success  was 
assured.  In  the  years  which  have  intervened, 
his  practice  has  continually  augmented  in  extent 
and  importance.  A  Democrat  in  politics,  he 
is  known  throughout  his  section  as  an  aggressive 
exponent   of  the  principles   and   policies   of   his 


3oS 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


party.  During  the  last  twenty  years  he  has  prob- 
ably appeared  as  frequently  before  political  assem- 
blages as  any  other  speaker  in  his  district.  In 
1885  his  name  was  brought  before  the  conven- 
tion for  the  office  of  district  attorney,  but  his 
nomination  was  defeated.  He  was  nominated 
for  the  office  in  1897,  elected  and  served  with 
distinction  in  the  office  until  1901.  During  this 
time  he  prosecuted  the  sheriff  and  seventy  depu- 
ties for  participation  in.  the  Lattimer  riots,  this 
being  one  of  the  most  prominent  cases  to  come 
before  the  courts  in  many  years  and  attracting 
wide-spread  attention  and  comment.  In  1900  he 
was  a  candidate  for  judge,  and  in  1902  for  con- 
gress. Mr.  Martin  is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

He  married,  June  28,  1877,  Anna  A.  Stirk, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  Stirk,  of  Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania.  They  had  one  daughter,  Florence 
Virginia  Martin,  who  married,  December,  1904, 
William  A.  Aikman,  a  civil  and  mining  engineer 
of  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  formerly  of  Potts- 
ville,  Pennsylvania.  Isaac  Stirk  was  in  the 
wedgeware  or  queensware  business  in  Philadel- 
phia for  a  number  of  years,  but  he  engaged  later 
in  the  leaf  tobacco  business  in  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania, which  he  has  continued  to  the  present  time. 
His  family  consisted  of  six  children,  among  whom 
were  :  Anna  A.,  the  eldest ;  Edward,  a  resident  of 
Jacksonville,  Florida ;  and  Isaac,  who  is  engaged 
in  business  with  his  father.  Mrs.  Stirk  died  May/ 
1905,  aged  sixty-eight  vears. 

H.  E.  H. 

DAVID  OREN  McCOLLUM.  This  well- 
known  business  man  of  Wilkes-Barre  is  de- 
scended from  pioneer  settlers  in  Columbia  coun- 
ty, his  grandfathers  on  both  sides,  Ephraim  Mc- 
Collum  and  Hon.  Isaac  Kline,  having  located 
there  just  prior  to  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  each  were  prominently  identified  with 
the  early  development  of  that  locality. 

Ephraim  McCollum  was  a  native  of  New  Jer- 
sey and  went  to  Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania, 
in  1796.  According  to  tradition  he  was  a  land 
agent.  Settling  in  Derry  township  he  cleared 
and  fertilized  a  large  tract  of  timber  land,  and  by 
strenuous  toil  became  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
farmers  in  that  section  of  the  county.  The  farm 
buildings,  which  he  erected  more  than  a  hundred 
years  ago,  are  still  standing,  and  their  present 
state  of  preservation  affords  an  excellent  example 
of  the  thorough  manner  of  construction  in  vogue 
at  that  time,  as  well  as  the  superior  quality  of 
the  material  used.  Ephraim  McCollum  was 
twice  married  and  both  he  and  his  second  wife, 


who    was    before    marriage,    Catherine    McFall, 
lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.       They  reared  a  large 
family  of  children,  none  of  whom  are  now  living. 
Jacob  McCollum,  son  of  Ephraim  McCollum, 
was  born  in  Derry,  January   1,   1801.     Learning 
the  tanner's  and  currier's  trade  he  followed  that 
occupation  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home  until  1826, 
when  he  removed  to  a  farm  in  Benton  township, 
Columbia  county,  and  turned  his  attention  to  ag- 
riculture.      After  the  death  of  his  wife  he  re- 
moved   to    Jerseytown,    Pennsylvania,    his    old 
home,  and  resided  there  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life,  which  terminated  at  the  age  of  eighty-five 
years.     Jacob    McCollom  married   Sarah   Kline,. 
a  native  of  Orangeville,  Columbia  count)-,  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Willet)  Kline.      Her 
grandfather,    Abraham   Kline,    came    from    New 
Jersey  in  1796,  settling  at  Orangeville  as  a  pio- 
neer, and  his  original  farm  house  is  still  stand- 
ing.      He  was  prominent  among  the  early  set- 
tlers of  Orangeville.       His  son,  Isaac,  who  ac- 
companied him  from  New  Jersey,  became  a  well- 
to-do  farmer   of   Orangeville,   and  was   actively 
identified  with  political  affairs,   representing  his 
district  in  the  legislature.       Isaac  Kline  died  at 
the   age   of   sixty-seven   years.        Elizabeth,    his 
wife,    whose    parents     were    also    pioneers     in 
Orangeville,  lived1  to  a  good  old  age.       Isaac  and 
Elizabeth  Kline  were  members  of  the  Presbyter- 
ion  church.  Their  children  were :  Charity,  Sarah, 
Hiram,  Lovina,  Peter,  Elizabeth,  Aramenta,  x\b- 
raham  and   Mary.       Jacob   and    Sarah    (Kline) 
McCollum  were  the  parents  of  twelve  children,, 
eleven  of  whom  grew  to  maturity.       Of  these 
Hiram  W.,  John  P.,  Isaac  K.,  Mary  A.,  Cath- 
erine S.,   Sarah  E.,  and  Abraham  H.  are  dead, 
the  last  named  having  died,  1905.    The  survivors 
are :    Calvin,    who    resides    in    Espy,    Columbia 
county ;  Ephraim,  a  resident  of  Michigan  ;  Will- 
iam Willet,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey ;  David  O., 
of  whom  later ;  and1  Charity  A.,  of  Orangeville. 
Mrs.  Sarah  (Kline)  McCollom  died,  1872,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-eight  years. 

David  Oren  McCollum,  son  of  Jacob  McCol- 
lum, was  born  in  Benton  township,  Columbia 
county,  August  21,  1848.  Reared  upon  a  farm 
where  labor  was  strenuous  and  recreation  scarce, 
his  educational  opportunities  were  limited  to  a 
few  months  attendance  at  the  district  school  dur- 
ing the  winter  season.  He,  however,  made  good 
use  of  these  slender  advantages,  and  when  eigh- 
teen years  old  was  able  to  take  a  clerkship  in  a 
general  store  at  Hazelton,  Pennsylvania,  which 
he  retained  for  a  period  of  six  years.  He  then  se- 
cured a  position  in  the  county  commissioners'' 
office  at  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  advanced  sue- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


309 


•cessively  through  various  county  offices,  holding 
•the  appointment  of  deputy-sheriff  for  three  years 
and  that  of  deputy  warden  in  1892.  He  acted 
•as  private  secretary  for  Brigadier-General  Paul 
A.  Oliver,  the  well-known  powder  manufacturer 
of  Olivers'  Mills  from  1880  to  1885.  Later  he 
was  called  to  act  as  auditor  for  the  Peoples'  and 
Lackawanna  Telephone  Companies,  in  which 
capacity  he  continued  until  1902.  In  the  latter 
year  he  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance 
business  at  Wilkes-Barre,  in  company  with  H.  C. 
Shepherd,  under  the  firm  name  of  McCollum  and 
Shepherd,  his  partner  being  a  member  of  the 
Shepherd  family,  whose  history  will  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  This  enterprise  proved 
successful  from  the  start,  and  the  firm  is  now 
transacting  a  large  and  constantly  increasing 
business.  Mr.  McCollum  is  a  thirty-second  de- 
gree Mason,  Scottish  Rite,  member  of  Caldwell 
Consistory  sitting  in  the  Valley  of  Bloomsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  and  officially  connected  with  some 
of  the  local  and  grand  bodies  of  the  state  of 
the  York  Rite,  being  past  worshipful  master  of 
Wyoming  Lodge,  No.  468,  having  entered  the 
fraternity  as  apprentice  in  1 87 1 ;  past  high  priest 
of  Shekinah  Chapter.  No.  182,  Royal  Arch 
Masons ;  past  thrice  illustrious  grand  master  of 
Mount  Horeb  Council  No.  34,  Royal  and  Select 
Master,  also  past  most  puissant  grand  master 
of  the  Royal  and  Select  Masters  of  the 
state ;  past  eminent  commander  of  De  Le 
Vieut  Commandery,  No.  45,  Knights  Tem- 
plar, also  division  commander  of  the  six- 
teenth division ;  an  officer  of  the  Lodge  of  Per- 
fection ;  member  and  formerly  recorder  of  Irem 
Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order,  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Royal 
Arcanum  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the  Order  of  the 
Eastern  Star,  of  Pittston,  of  which  latter  his 
wife  and  children  are  members. 

Mr.  McCollum  married  (first)  1876,  Martha 
W.  Shoemaker,  of  Wyoming,  daughter  of  the 
late  William  S.  and  Miria  (Tripp)  Shoemaker, 
the  former  of  whom  was  a  prosperous  farmer 
and  lifelong  resident  of  that  town.  William  S. 
and  Miria  (Tripp)  Shoemaker  were  the  parents 
of  seven  children.  Mrs.  Martha  W.  McCollum 
died  at  the  age  of  forty  years,  leaving  two  children 
namely :  Edna  M.,  and  Victor  W.  Edna  M.  Mc- 
Collum is  a  graduate  of  the  Atlantic  School  of 
Osteopathy  and  is  now  practicing  osteopathy  in 
Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  Victor  W.  McCollum 
is  a  mining  engineer,  connected  with  the  Dela- 
ware and  Hudson  Coal  Company,  with  headquar- 
ters in  Scranton.  Like  his  father  he  is  far  ad- 
vanced in   Masonry,  being-  a  member  of  all  the 


York  and  Scottish  Rite  bodies.  David  O.  Mc- 
Collum married  (second)  Elizabeth  Knauss,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  daughter  of  the  late  Joseph 
Knauss,  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  for  many  years 
in  charge  of  the  woodworking  department  of  the 
New  Jersey  Central  Railway.  Joseph  Knauss, 
whose  death  occurred  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  was  well 
educated,  reading  and  writing  both  German  and 
English  fluently.  He  was  a  veteran  of  the  civil 
war.  Among  his  children  are :  Clara,  wife  of 
William  Chapin,  of  Wyoming;  Anna  D.,  wife  of 
H.  M.  Montgomery,  of  Hazelton ;  Lewis  and 
Frank  V.  Knauss,  of  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  the  lat- 
ter being  president  and  general  manager  of  the 
Portsmouth  Stove  and  Range  Company,  and  in- 
terested in  several  other  industrial  enterprises, 
and  Mrs.  McCollum.  H.  E.  H. 

DR.  LEWIS  HARLOW  TAYLOR.  DR. 
ERNEST  USTICK  BUCKMAN.  Philip  Tay- 
lor, of  Oxford  township,  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  his  wife,  Julianna  Taylor,  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  and  early  settlers  of  the 
present  site  of  Tacony,  Pennsylvania,  were  the 
ancestors  of  Dr.  Lewis  Harlow  Taylor  and  his 
medical  associate,  Dr.  Ernest  Ustick  Buckman, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Benjamin  Taylor,  son  of  Philip  and  Julianna 
Taylor,  born  Oxford  township,  Philadelphia, 
1695,  died  Ljpper  Makefield  township,  Bucks 
county,  Pennsylvania,  December  19,  1780,  aged 
eighty-five,  will  proved  1781,  married,  1719, 
Hannah  Towne,  born  1697,  died  December  25, 
1780,  aged  eight}'- three,  daughter  of  John  and 
Deborah  (Booth)  Towne.  Benjamin  was  a 
farmer  and  blacksmith  in  Newtown  and  Upper 
Makefield  townships,  Bucks  county,  for  nearly 
sixty  years.  He  purchased  430  acres  of  land  in 
Newtown  township  1730,  and  this  he  conveyed  to 
his  sons  Timothy  and  Bernard  in  1747.  '  He  be- 
came a  large  land  owner  in  both  Upper  and 
Lower  Makefield  and  Newtown  townships,  and 
was  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  his  time  in 
that  locality.  He  was  a  taxpayer  in  Newtown 
township,  owning  250  acres  of  land  in  1779.  taxes 
£100.15.0.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  the  meetings  of  the  Society  were 
frequently  held  at  his  house.  He  was  one  of 
the  committee  of  four  appointed,  1752,  to  erect  a 
meeting  house  for  the  Society ;  this  was  25x30 
feet,  and  one  story  high,  enlarged,  1764,  by 
twenty  feet,  and  was  used  as  a  hospital  for  the 


(In  the  first  four  generations  of  this  Taylor  family 
the  editor  is  especially  indebted  to  Mr.  Warren  S.  Ely, 
genealogist,  Doylestown,   Pennsylvania. — H.  E.  H.) 


3io 


THE  WYOMING  AXD   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


patriot  troops  when  Washington  held  the  Dela- 
ware river,  December,  1776.  Taylorville,  named 
for  the  Taylor  family,  was  called  "McConkey's 
Ferry"  during  the  Revolution,  from  Captain 
William  McConkey,  who  then  operated  the  ferry 
for  many  years,  where  Washington  and  his  army 
crossed  the  river  to  attack  the  British  at  Trenton, 
December  25,  1776.  Benjamin  Taylor's  will 
names  his  children  and  also  his  grandchildren, 
Sarah  Conrad,  Hannah  Williams  and  Esther 
Jones.  It  also  recites  having  conveyed  land  to 
his  son,  Bernard,  as  shown  under  Bernard.  Ben- 
jamin and  Hannah  Taylor  had:  1.  LTrsula, 
born  12  mo.  17,  1719-20.  2.  Benjamin,  born 
n  mo.  10,  1720-21.  Died  10  mo.  23,  1749.  3. 
Hannah,  born  1  mo.  15,  1722,  married  4  mo.  8, 
1749,  Joseph  White.  4.  Bernard,  born  12  mo. 
21,  1724,  of  whom  later.  5.  Peter,  born  4  mo. 
11,  1727,  died  11  mo.  1748.  6.  Timothy,  born 
6  mo.  6,  1729,  of  whom  later.  7.  Philip,  born 
1  mo.  19,  1731,  died  10  mo.  18,  1748.  8.  Sarah, 
born  1  mo.  25,  1734,  died  8  mo.  6,  1757.  9. 
John,  born  10  mo.  12,  1737,  died ;  mar- 
ried 5  mo.  21,  1760,  Hannah  Lucas.  10.  Jacob, 
born  3  mo.  15,  1739,  died  4  mo.  3,  1749. 

Bernard  Taylor,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Han- 
nah (Towne)  Taylor,  born  in  Newtown  town- 
ship, 12  mo.  21,  1724,  died  Newtown  township, 
November,  1789,  married  at  Falls  Meeting, 
Bucks  county,  December  31,  1746,  Marv  Kirk- 
bride,  daughter  of  Mahlon  and  Marv  ( Sotcher) 
Kirkbride.  By  will  dated  10  mo.  17,  1789,  pro- 
bated, Bucks  county,  November  21,  1789,  Barnard 
devised  to  his  Benjamin,  "all  my  plantation  where- 
on I  dwell  with  all  the  buildings,  appurtenances, 
utensils,  Horses,  Cows,  Sheep,  etc."  To  his 
nephew,  Bernard  Taylor,  son  of  brother  Timothy, 
his  farm  in  Upper  Makefield  township,  and  to  his 
son  Mahlon,  £500  which  he  owes.  He  made  his 
son  Benjamin  Taylor  executor.  In  the  will  of 
Benjamin,  son  of  Bernard,  1831,  conveying  to 
his  son  Benjamin  Taylor,  Jr.,  (Deed  Book  53, 
ing  the  same  tract  of  land  which  Benjamin  Tay- 
lor and  Hannah,  his  wife  by  Indenture  the  22 
day  of  2nd  mo.,  1747,  conveyed  to  their  son  Ber- 
nard and  which  the  son  Bernard  Taylor  by  his 
last  will  and  testament  devised  to  his  son  Ben- 
jamin party  hereto  who  now  conveys  the  same  to 
his  son  Benjamin  Taylor,  Jr.,  (Deed  Book  53, 
page  76).  Benjamin  and  Mary  Taylor  had:  1. 
Mahlon,  born  7  mo.  8,  1747,  died  4  mo.  26,  1799; 
probably  married  5th  mo.  21,  1784,  Mary  Stokes. 
2.  Benjamin,  born  10  mo.,  24,  1751,  of  whom 
later.  3.  Mary,  born  11  mo.  7,  1755,  died  2  mo. 
19,  1781. 

Timothy  Taylor,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Han- 


nah (Towne)  Taylor,  born  Newtown  township, 
6  mo.  6,  1728,  died  8  mo.  26,  1780,  married  I  first) 
12  mo.  27,  1752,  Letitia  Kirkbride,  daughter  of 
Mahlon  and  Alary  (Sotcher)  Kirkbride;  she  died 
about  1770.  He  married  (second)  11  mo.  19, 
1772,  Sarah  Yardley,  born  2  mo.  17,  175 1,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Ann  (Budd)  Yardley  and 
granddaughter  of  Thomas  and  Ann  (Biles) 
Yardley.  Timothy  Taylor  was  a  carpenter,  liv- 
ing all  his  life  near  Newtown,  his  father  convey- 
ing to  him,  1754,  150  acres  of  his  Newtown  plan- 
tation. He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  June  7, 
1784,  and  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas, 
Bucks  county,  September  29.  1784.  He  and  his 
brother  Bernard  were  two  of  the  trustees  ap- 
pointed by  Falls  Monthly  meeting,  1753,  to  pur- 
chase land  and  erect  Makefield  meeting  house. 
His  first  wife,  Letitia,  was  granddaughter  of 
Joseph  and  Sarah  (Stacy)  Kirkbride,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Mahlon  and  Rebecca  1  Ely ) 
Stacy,  who  were  married  at  Cinder  Hill,  York- 
shire, England,  1668.  Joseph  Kirkbride  was  a 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  1712-20, 
and  justice  of  Bucks  county,  1708-26.  Mahlon 
Kirkbride  was  member  of  Pennsylvania  Assem- 
bly 1740-56,  and  justice  1749-52.  They  were 
among  the  largest  land  owners  in  Bucks  county. 

Timothy  Taylor,  had  by  his  first  marriage: 
Joseph,  of  whom  later ;  Hannah,  who  married 
5mo.  19,  1774.  William  Field:  Stacy — Timothy 
— Mahlon — David — Jonathan  K. — and  Bernard. 
By  his  second  marriage  he  had :  Ann,  married 
nmo.  1,  1792,  Jacob  Cadwallader — William; 
Deborah,  married  Samuel  Cary ;  Sarah,  married 
i2mo.  22,  1798,  Phineas  Briggs. 

Benjamin  Taylor,  son  of  Bernard  and  Mary 
(Kirkbride)  Taylor,  bom  10  mo.  24,  1751,  died 
Newtown  township,  August  or  September,  1832, 
married  (first)  Falls  Meeting.  8mo.  22,  1772, 
Elizabeth  Borroughs,  born  31110.  27,  1 75 1 ,  died 
January  14,  181 1.  He  married  (second)  i2mo. 
17,  1812,  Ann  Beans,  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Sarah  (Paxson)  Beans  of  Solebury,  who  died 
without  issue.  The  will  of  Benjamin  Taylor,  "the 
elder,  far  advanced  in  years,"  was  dated  41110.  1, 
1831,  proved  September  11,  1832.  He  devised 
to  his  wife  Ann  the  household  goods  she  brought 
with  her  at  the  time  of  her  marriage ;  to  his 
daughter  Nancy  the  use  and  profits  of  the  plan- 
tation conveyed  to  his  son  Benjamin  in  accord- 
ance with  articles  of  agreement  bearing  date 
41710.  1,  1826.  "To  Eliza  Taylor,  widow  of  my 
son  Samuel,  the  house  and  lot  where  she  lives 
during  her  life,  then  to  be  sold  by  my  Executors 
and  the  proceeds  to  be  paid  to  her  children."  He 
wills  ten  dollars  to  the  estate  of  his  son  Charles, 


THE   WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


3" 


and  with  land  also  to  sons  Bernard,  Mahlon, 
Benjamin  and  David  B.  "To  my  grandsons 
Jacob  Cadwallader  and  Charles  Cadwallader  and 
granddaughter  Elizabeth  Sellers,  an  affectionate 
remembrance,  and  I  am  happy  in  believing  that 
the}-  are  blessed  with  a  competence  without  my 
feeble  aid,"  names  daughters  Lydia  Yardley  and 
Elizabeth  Warren,  and  gives  700  acres  of  land  in 
Fairfield  township,  Huron  county,  Ohio,  to  his 
daughters  Mary  Cadwallader  and  Lydia  Yardley 
and  their  heirs  :  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth  (Bor- 
roughs)  Taylor  had: 

Mary,  born  7  mo.  29,  1773;  died  5mo.  20. 
179S,  married  iomo.  21,  1790,  Cyrus  Cadwalla- 
der, born  41110.  6,  1763  (of  Jacob,  Jacob,  John), 
who  married  (second)  February  20.  1800,  Mary 
Taylor,  daughter  of  Joseph  Taylor,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Timothy  Taylor.  By  his  first  wife 
Cyrus  C.  had  Jacob,  Charles  and  Elizabeth. 

Samuel,  born  nmo.  15,  1776,  of  whom  later. 

John,  born  121110.  12,  1774,  died  8  mo.  19, 
1776. 

Charles,  born  71110.  17,  1779. 

Lydia,  born  51110.  11,  1781  ;  married  Samuel 
Yardley. 

Ann  (Nancy),  born  121110.  23,  1783;  died 
single. 

Bernard,  born  91110.  27,  1786;  married  Lydia 
Hoff,  daughter  of  John. 

Elizabeth,  born  iimo.  25,  1788;  married  2mo. 
15,  1810,  Joseph  Warner. 

Mahlon  K,  born  6mo.  4,  1791 ;  died  21110.  23, 
1870 ;  married  Elizabeth  Hoff. 

Benjamin,  born  31110.  7,  1793 ;  married  21110. 
15,  1816,  Rebecca  Knowles. 

David  Barton,  born  21110.  9,  1795  ;  married 
Elizabeth  Field. 

Joseph  Taylor,  eldest  son  of  Timothy  and 
Letitia  (Kirk'bride)  Taylor,  born  Newtown, 
Bucks  county,  1753,  died  Lower  Makefield.  1832. 
He  married,  121110.  11,  1777,  Mercy  Knowles, 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Sotcher)  Knowles. 
loseph  Taylor  was  a  farmer  in  Lower  Make- 
field,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  Mrs.  Taylor  was  granddaughter  of 
Robert  and  Mercy  (Brown)  Sotcher.  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Lofter) 
Sotcher.  Joseph  and  Mercy  Taylor  had  nine 
children:  Letitia,  born  1773,  married  121110.  12, 
1779.  Samuel  Bunting:  Mary,  born  1780,  mar- 
ried 21110.  20,  1880,  as  his  second  wife,  Cyrus 
Cadwallader:  Sarah,  born  1783,  married  John 
Comfort;  Rachel,  born  1789,  died  1879,  married 
Mathew  Cunningham  ;  Ann.  born  1794,  married 
Richard   Janney ;    Susanna,   born    1797,   married 


John  Palmer;  Joseph,  born  1799.  married  Anna 
Betts. 

Samuel  Taylor,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Eliza- 
beth (Burroughs)  Taylor,  born  iimo.  5,  1776,  at 
Taylorville,  Pennsylvania,  died  before  1831 ; 
married,  1799,  Eliza  Hutchinson.  He  was  at  one 
time  a  large  land  owner  in  Bucks  count)'.  Sam- 
uel and  Eliza  Taylor  had  nine  children:  Joseph, 
married  Anna  Maria  Armstrong ;  Charles : 
Amos,  married  Phebe  Cadwallader,  daughter  of 
Cyrus  and  Mary  (Taylor)  Cadwallader;  James, 
married  Mary  Johnson ;  Samuel  Buell,  born 
May  7.  1809,  ot'  whom  later ;  Mary,  married 
twice,  each  time  a  Howell;  Benjamin,  died  un- 
married ;  Mahlon,  married  Phebe  Bennett. 

Samuel  Buell  Taylor,  son  of  Samuel  and 
Eliza  (Hutchinson)  Taylor,  born  Ma}'  7,  1809, 
died  February  25,  1870,  married  March  29,  1833, 
Margaret  Head  Baker,  born  January  19,  1812, 
died  May  23.  1880,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Man- 
Brown  (Ustick)  Baker,  descended  from  Henry 
Baker,  of  Bucks  county,  1784.  Alary  Brown 
Ustick  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Thomas  Ustick, 
M.  A.,  and  his  wife.  Hannah  Whitear,  son  of 
Stephen  and  Jane  (Rul.ind)  Ustick,  and  grand- 
son of  Thomas  Ustick,  of  Cornwall,  England,  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth  Shackerly,  of  New-  York. 
Jane  Ruland  was  sister  of  Rev.  Luke  Ruland, 
for  many  years  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church, 
Patchogue,  Long  Island.  Samuel  B.  and  Mar- 
garet H.   ( Baker)  Taylor  had  : 

Henrv  Baker  Tavlor,  born  July  21,  1835,  died 
July  9,  1858. 

Mary  Baker  Taylor,  bom  June  8,  1837,  of 
whom  later. 

Hutchinson  Taylor,  born  November  4.  1838, 
married  March  20,  1866,  Mary  Frances  Taylor, 
daughter  of  Marshall  and  Mary  P.  Taylor  of 
Taylorville,  and  had :  Marshall,  Eldredge  T., 
Justin  H.,  and  Lillian. 

Sarah  B.  Taylor,  born  July  25,  1840. 

Frederick  Taylor,  born  November  17,  1842, 
married  April  6,  1869,  Ruth  Anna  Snyder, 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Snyder,  and  had 
Mary  S.  and  Margaret  T. 

Susan  UJstick  Taylor,  born  March  25,  1S45, 
died  April  5,   1845. 

Samuel  B.  Taylor,  born  November  13.  1847, 
died  Mound  City,  Kansas,  April  30,  1873. 

Lewis  Harlow  Taylor,  born  July  29,  1850,  of 
whom  later. 

Mary  Baker  Taylor,  second  child  of  Samuel 
Buell  and  Margaret  Head  (Baker)  Taylor,  bom 
June  8,  1837.  married  November  1.  i860, 
Micaijah  Speakman  Buckman,  born  September  5, 


■312 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


1838,  died  June  16,  1904,  son  of  Stacy  C.  and 
Sarah  Ann  (Briggs)  Buckman,  of  Newtown 
township,  Bucks  county,  descended  from  Sarah 
Taylor  and  Phineas  Briggs,  nmo.  22,  1798. 
Micaijah  Speakman  Buckman  was  a  step-grand- 
son of  Micaijah  Speakman,  a  land  owner  of  Con- 
cord township,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania, 
1767.  Micaijah  S.  and  Mary  B.  (Taylor)  Buck- 
man  had : 

1.  Elmer  Ellsworth  Buckman,  born  August 
11,  1861,  married  October  5,  1893,  Bertha  M. 
Bannister,  daughter  of  Rev.  Edward  Bannister 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Buckman 
is  a  teller  of  the  Wyoming  National  Bank, 
Wilkes-Barre  ,and  a  member  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society.  Thev  have 
three  children :  Helen,  Alice,  Henry  Taylor. 

2.  Ernest  Ustick  Buckman,  M.  D.,  born 
August  1,  1863,  married  June  21,  1893,  Elizabeth 
Thompson,  granddaughter  of  Thomas  Wambold, 
of  Doylestown,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania. 

Dr.  Buckman  is  a  graduate  of  Millersville 
Pennsylvania  State  Normal  School,  and  taught 
school  for  five  years,  and  then  studied  medicine 
at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  graduating 
M.  D.,  1892.  He  is  associated  in  his  profession 
with  his  uncle,  Dr.  Lewis  Harlow  Taylor.  Dr. 
Buckman  is  a  member  of  the  Luzerne  County 
Medical  Society,  vice-president  1903,  and  secre- 
tary for  three  years ;  member  of  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Le- 
high Valley  Medical  Society,  the  American  Med- 
ical Association,  and  the  American  Otological 
Society,  also  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Histor- 
ical and  Geological  Society,  and  of  the  staff  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Buckman  had  six  children :  Mary,  Lewis  Taylor, 
Edgar  Thompson,  Ruth,  Elizabeth  and  Samuel 
Thompson. 

3.  Margaret  Tavlor  Buckman,  born  June  8, 
1865. 

4.  Lizzie  Baker  Buckman,  born  November 
3,  1868,  died  September  23,  1879. 

5.  Sarah  Ann  Buckman,  born  October  6, 
1870. 

6.  Eleanor  Brooks  Buckman,  born  Decem- 
ber 22,  1873. 

LEWIS  HARLOW  TAYLOR,  A.  M.  M.  D.. 
youngest  child  of  Samuel  Buell  and  Margaret 
Head  (Baker)  Taylor,  was  born  in  Taylorville, 
Pennsylvania,  July  29,  1850.  Married,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  June  4,  1884,  Emily  Beard 
Hollenback,  daughter  of  John  Welles  and  Anna 
Elizabeth  (Beard)  Hollenback,  granddaughter 
of  Charles  F.  Welles  and  his  wife  Eleanor  Jane 
Hollenback,   the    daughter   of    Colonel    Matthias 


Hollenback,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  (See  Hollenback 
family).  Dr.  Taylor  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  Taylorville,  and 
then  entered  the  State  Normal  School  at  Mil- 
lersville, Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  from 
which  institution  he  graduated  July,  1871.  He 
removed  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  elected  principal  of 
the  Franklin  Street  Grammar  School  of  that 
town.  After  serving  in  this  position  for  three 
years  he  was  elected  principal  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  High  School,  which  he  filled  also  for  three 
years — 1875  to  ^7  7 — when  he  resigned  to  enter 
upon  the  study  of  medicine.  In  1877  he  entered 
the  Medical  School  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, graduating  with  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine  in  1880,  the  subject  of  his  graduat- 
ing thesis  being  "The  Microscope  and  the  Busy 
Practitioner."  During  the  summer  of  1880  he 
took  a  post-graduate  course  of  study  on  Diseases 
of  the  Eye  and  Ear,  and  returned  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  begin  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
Later  in  1883  and  1884,  he  pursued  his  special 
studies  in  the  famous  schools  of  Vienna,  Austria, 
returning  home  in  1884.  He  was  appointed  med- 
ical inspector  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Board  of 
Health,  serving  for  nine  years,  1885-94,  when 
the  growing  duties  of  his  profession  made  it 
necessary  to  resign  this  office.  Dr.  Taylor  is  a 
member  of  the  Luzerne  County  Medical  Society, 
was  president  in  1885,  and  is  now  librarian  and 
historian.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Lehigh 
A-^alley  Medical  Society  of  which  he  was  presi- 
dent, 1891 ;  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  Medical 
Society,  of  which  he  has  twice  been  elected  vice- 
president  ;  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  the  American  Ophthalmo- 
logical  Society,  the  Philadelphia  Pathological  So- 
ciety, one  of  the  attending  physicians  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital  since  1884,  now 
twenty-one  years ;  he  is  now  the  ophthalmologist 
of  this  institution.  He  has  also  served  as  sec- 
retary of  the  hospital  staff ;  member  of  the  con- 
sulting staff ;  of  the  board  of  trustees ;  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Hospital  Training 
School  for  Nurses.  In  1891  Dr.  Taylor  re- 
ceived from  Lafayette  College  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  Master  of  Arts.  He  is  a  trustee  of  the 
Osterhout  Free  Library  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  of  the 
Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania ; 
member  and  trustee  of  the  First  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  and  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  of  that  city.  He  is 
a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society  of  Wilkes-Barre,  of  which 
Mrs.  Tavlor  is  also  a  life  member.     He  served 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


3L3 


as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees,  1890-93, 
and  is  now  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the 
society.  Although  a  very  busy  man.  he  has 
found  time  to  use  his  pen,  and  has  written  num- 
erous medical  papers  which  have  been  published 
in  the  proceedings  of  various  societies.  Dr. 
Taylor  has  associated  with  him  in  his  practice  his 
nephew.  Dr.  Ernest  .Ustick  Buckman. 

Dr.  Lewis  H.  and  Emily  B.  Taylor  had  two 
children :  Anna  Hollenback  Taylor  and  Margaret 
Taylor,  who  died  in  her  seventh  vear. 

THE  DERR  FAMILY.  In  Wyoming  Val- 
ley history  the  surname  Derr  does  not  stand  for 
pioneership.  but  for  enterprise,  thrift  and  public 
spirit.  In  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  history 
under  the  colony,  the  surname  does  represent  an 
element  of  early  settlement,  an  element  of  pro- 
gression in  keeping  with  the  times  in  all  genera- 
tions of  ancestral  life  of  the  family  in  America. 
The  representatives  of  the  Derr  surname  who 
have  figured  so  prominently  in  Wilkes-Barre  his- 
tory during  the  last  half  century  are  descended 
from  two  old  and  substantial  German  families — 
Moelich  and  Dorr,  each  of  which  may  be  brieflv 
mentioned. 

Johannes  Moelich  (John  Mellick,  of  Bed- 
minster)  was  a  son  of  John  Wilhelm  and  Anna 
Catharine  Moelich,  of  Bensdorf-on-the-Rhine, 
Germany,  where  he  was  born  February  26,  1702, 
and  baptized  in  the  Evangelical  head  church  by 
the  Rev.  Johannes  Reusch.  He  married,  Bens- 
dorf,  November  1,  1723,  Maria  Cathrina,  daugh- 
ter of  Burgomaster  Gottfried  Kirburger.  Early  in 
1735  Johannes  embarked  with  his  wife,  his  four 
children  born  in  Bensdorf.  and  his  youngest 
"brother.  Johan  Gottfried,  in  the  ship  "Mercury," 
and  landed  at  Philadelphia  on  May  29,  1725. 
Tradition  says  that  Johannes  Moelich  remained 
in  Pennsylvania  about  ten  years.  He  appears  in 
New  Jersey  in  December,  1747.  as  purchaser  of 
four  hundred  and  nine  acres  of  land  in  Green- 
wich township,  Sussex  (now  Warren)  countv, 
fronting  on  the  Delaware  river  and  Pohatcong 
creek.  In  1750  he  was  living  in  Readington 
township,  Hunterdon  count)-,  where  he  estab- 
lished one  of  the  first  tanneries  in  the  province,- 
Tut  which  he  subsequently  sold.  Until  his  death 
he  was  active  in  the  affairs  of  Zion  Lutheran 
Church  at  New  Germantown,  in  that  countv.  In 
November,  175 1,  he  purchased  a  large  tract  of 
"land  in  Bedminster  township,  Somerset  county, 
-on  which  he  built  a  substantial  stone  mansion  into 
which  he  removed  with  his  family.  On  the  prop- 
•erty  he  erected  a  bark  mill  and  tannery,  which 
was  continued  in  operation   for  more  than   one 


hundred  years.  Johannes  Moelich  and  Maria 
Cathrina  had  ten  children,  of  whom  Andrew  was 
fourth  in  the  order  of  birth. 

Andrew  Moelich  was  born  in  Bensdorf,  Ger- 
many, December  12,  1729,  died  June    29,    1820 ; 

married  Catharine  ,  born   1741,  died 

October  27,  1804.  When  he  attained  his  ma- 
jority he  settled  in  Greenwich  township,  Sussex 
(now  Warren)  county,  New  Jersey,  on  lands  in- 
herited from  his  father,  and  on  which  he  built  the 
large  stone  house  in  which  he  lived  until  1S10. 
July  4,  1776,  he  was  commissioned  captain  of  a 
company  of  the  First  Sussex  regiment,  com- 
manded by  Colonel  (afterward  General)  William 
Maxwell,  and  served  during  the  Revolution.  He 
anglacized  his  surname  and  wrote  it  Malick,  and 
sometimes  Malik.  He  had  at  least  five  children. 
His  eldest  child,  Catharine,  baptized  April  4, 
1770,  died  May  8,  1831 ;  married,  August  21, 
1787,  Johannes  Fein  (John  Fine),  born  June  5, 
176S.  died  May  11,  1826,  son  of  Philip  Fein. 
Philip  Fein,  born  1744,  died  1810,  lived  in  1767 
in  Alexandria  township,  in  Hunterdon  county, 
New  Jersey,  where  he  had  a  saw  and  flour  mill, 
and  was  in  all  respects  a  man  of  consequence  and 
means.  His  lands  were  at  Finesville  (named  for 
him)  on  Musconetong  creek,  and  at  his  death  the 
flour  mill  was  carried  on  by  his  son  John  Fein, 
born  1768,  died  1826,  son  of  Philip,  was  warden 
of  St.  James'  Lutheran  church  near  Phillipsburg, 
four  years,  beginning  in  1S13.  Hannah  Fine, 
born  January  17,  1813,  died  April  2,  1864,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Catharine  (Mellick)  Fine,  mar- 
ried John  Dorr  (Derr),  born  September  4,  1802, 
died  April  26,  1864,  of  Springfield  township, 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  descendant  of  Jo- 
hann  Heinrich  Dorr,  who  emigrated  from  Ger- 
many in  1742,  landing  from  the  ship  "Loyal  Ju- 
dith'' from  Rotterdam,  and  took  the  test  oath  in 
Philadelphia,  September  3,  1742. 

The  Dorrs  were  among  the  more  than  thirty 
thousand  German  Protestants  who  were  driven 
out  of  the  Palatinates  in  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  and  found  refuge  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. Johann  Heinrich  Dorr  was  one  of  these, 
and  afterward  became  an  elder  in  the  old 
"Swamp  Church,"  (now  Trinity  Reformed)  in 
Upper  Milford  township,  Bucks  county.  His 
son  Jacob  served  through  the  Revolutionary  war 
in  Captain  Church's  company  of  General  Anthony 
Wayne's  regiment.  Fourth  Pennsylvania  batta- 
lion, and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Brandy- 
wine.  Michael,  eldest  son  of  Jacob,  was  a  soldier 
in  the  War  of  1812,  and  after  leaving  the  army 
returned  to  Bucks  county,  where  he  died  in  1862, 
having  reared  a  family    of    ten    children.     John 


3M 


THE  WYOMING   AXD   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Derr,  eldest  son  of  Michael  Derr,  a  millwright 
and  bridge  builder  and  lumber  dealer  on  the  Del- 
aware, married  Hannah  Fine,  born  January  17, 
1813,  died  April  2,  1864,  youngest  daughter  of 
John  Fein  and  Catharine  Melick  (supra),  of 
Finesville,  New  Jersey.  John  Derr  and  his  wife, 
Hannah  Fine,  had  five  children  who  grew  to  ma- 
turity :  Thompson  Derr ;  Catherine  Derr,  mar- 
ried John  P.  Richter,  and  died  in  1885  ;  Henry 
Haupt  Derr ;  John  F.  Derr,  of  Sunbury,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  and  Andrew  Fine  Derr. 

Thompson  Derr,  eldest  son  of  John  and  Han- 
nah (Fine)  Derr,  was  born  in  Durham  township, 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  16,  1834. 
When  fifteen  years  old,  he  removed  with  his  par- 
ents to  a  farm  near  Shamokin,  and  four  years 
later  to  a  farm  in  Upper  Augusta  township,  where 
his  father  engaged  in  merchant  milling  as  well  as 
farming.  Other  than  a  short  course  of  study  at 
Dr.  Yanderveer's  Academy  in  Easton,  Thompson 
Derr  had  no  schooling  of  advanced  character. 
In  1856  he  began  active  business  life  in  a  store 
and  mill  in  Dry  Valley,  Union  county.  During 
the  same  year  he  established  a  fire  insurance 
agency  in  Sunbury,  and  created  a  business  which 
then  was  in  its  infancy  outside  the  great  cities. 
He  was  an  ambitious  worker  and  met  with  de- 
served success.  Desiring  a  larger  field,  he  re- 
moved to  Wilkes-Barre  in  the  same  year,  and  from 
that  time  to  1862  was  in  business  alone ;  then  his 
brother,  Henry  H.  Derr,  became  his  partner,  the 
firm  style  being  Thompson  Derr  &  Brother.  They 
secured  the  confidence  of  the  strongest  fire  insur- 
ance companies  in  the  country,  and  a  vast  aggre- 
gate of  insurance  was  placed  by  them,  large  profit 
following.  About  1882  Thompson  Derr's  health 
began  to  fail,  and  in  that  year  his  younger  brother 
Andrew  Fine  Derr,  came  into  the  firm.  The  senior 
partner  retired  from  active  business  in  1882,  and 
died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  February  8,  1885. 

Henry  Haupt  Derr,  second  son  of  John  and 
Hannah  (Fine)  Derr,  born  in  Nockamixon  town- 
ship, Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  5,  1839, 
died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  October  12,  1888 ;  married, 
May  15,  1866,  Mary  Delilah  Fell,  born  October 
9,  1837,  daughter  of  Samuel  Fell  and  wife  Mary 
Dingman  Kyte.  In  his  youth  Mr.  Derr  had  no 
educational  advantages  other  than  those  of  the 
common  schools,  but  he  learned  much  by  personal 
observation  and  association  with  men  of  business, 
and  later  developed  qualities  that  placed  him 
among  the  most  successful  and  well  informed  bus- 
iness men  of  his  day.  As  a  farmer's  son  he 
taught  school  for  a  time,  and  devoted  his  leisure 
hours  to  study  in  his  own  behalf.  In  1862  he 
removed  to  Wilkes-Barre  and  joined  his  brother, 


Thompson  Derr,  who  six  years  before  had  started 
a  general  fire  insurance  business  in  that  city. 
Here  was  laid  the  scene  of  his  business  career, 
and  a  substantial  fortune  was  the  reward  of  his 
endeavors.  In  itself  the  insurance  business  car- 
ried on  by  the  firm  of  Thompson,  Derr  &  Brother 
was  one  of  the  largest  enterprises  in  its  line  in 
the  state,  and  was  correspondingly  profitable. 
He  was  a  director  and  stockholder  in  the  Vulcan 
Iron  Works,  and  of  the  leading  manufacturing 
concerns  of  the  city ;  a  trustee  of  the  Wyoming 
Seminary ;  president  and  the  largest  stockholder 
of  the  Suburban  Electric  railway :  a  director  and 
former  treasurer  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Hospital ; 
first  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Lace  Manu- 
facturing Company,  the  first  concern  of  the  kind 
in  America ;  a  director  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association ;  a  trustee  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  teacher  of  its 
Bible  class,  and  member  and  president  of  the  city 
council.  His  widow  and  heirs  gave  the  land  and 
half  of  the  building  fund  for  the  Derr  Memorial 
Church  (Methodist  Episcopal)  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
About  a  year  before  his  death  Mr.  Derr  purchased 
forty  acres  of  land  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
city,  the  old  Conyngham  farm,  and  developed  the 
unoccupied  tract  into  what  now  is  a  popular  part 
of  the  city.  The  transaction  was  a  splendid 
financial  success  for  Mr.  Derr,  and  resulted  in 
equal  benefit  to  the  city. 

But  it  was  not  Mr.  Derr's  wealth  which  made 
him  friends ;  it  was  his  strong  and  rugged  char- 
acter, his  ever  pleasant  disposition,  his  approach- 
ableness,  his  desire  to  mingle  with  and  to  be  one 
of  the  people  "who  move  things,"  and  his  desire 
to  put  his  community  in  the  front  rank  of  Penn- 
sylvania cities.  His  course  as  a  member  of  the 
city  council  and  his  official  connection  with  the 
execution  of  the  game  laws  of  the  state,  as  fish 
and  game  commissioner :  his  extensive  real  estate 
operations:  his  assumption  of  the  major  part  of 
the  financial  burden  and  practical  management 
of  the  movement  that  resulted  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  'successful  system  of  electric  street 
railway ;  and  his  active  association  with  other 
leading  Wilkes-Barre  interests — all  these  things 
attested  a  foresight,  energy  and  persistence  that 
made  him  a  conspicuous  guide  and  counsellor 
among  his  fellow  men.  He  gloried  in  church  and 
Sunday  school  work,  and  among  the  keenest  of 
the  sorrows  occasioned  by  his  sudden  summons 
to  "that  other  country"  were  those  of  his  class 
in  the  Sunday  school  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  whose  religious  training  he  patiently  and 
intelligently  directed  for  many  years.  He  had  a 
helping  hand  for  every  movement  looking  to  the 


THE  WYOMING  AXD   LACKAWANNA  YALLEYS. 


315 


benefit  of  his  fellow-citizens  and  the  improvement 
of  his  adopted  city,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest 
members,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  a  trustee 
of  the  board  of  trade.  (From  the  "Historical 
Record.")  His  children  were :  1.  Grace  Derr, 
born  August  22.  1867.  2.  Katy  Thompson 
Derr,  born  August  10,  1869,  died  August  14. 
1886.  3.  John  Derr.  born  September  26,  1871, 
died  October  7,  1876.  4.  Chester  Berger  Derr, 
born  April  20,  1873,  married  Charlotta  Consalus, 
of  Troy,  Xew  York.  5.  Ralph  Derr.  born 
September  19,  1875,  married  Edna  May  Consa- 
lus, sister  of  Charlotta ;  he  is  engaged  in  ship 
building  at  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor.  6.  Henry 
Haupt  Derr,  born  January  7,  1878.  7.  Olin 
Derr,  born  May  4,  1880.  Chester  B.  and  Henry 
H.  Derr  are  connected  with  the  firm  of  Thomp- 
son Derr  &  Company. 

Andrew  Fine  (Fein)  Derr  (Dorr),  fourth 
son  of  John  and  Hannah  (Fine)  Derr,  born  Up- 
per Augusta  township,  Northumberland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  May  29,  1853  :  married  June  23, 
1896,  Harriet  Lowrie,  born  June  15,  1871  ;  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  T.  Lowrie  and 
wife  Elizabeth  Dickson.  Dr.  Lowrie  was  a 
of     Judge     Walter     Hoge     Lowrie     (son 


son 


Armstrong 


of  Matthew  B.  Lowrie)  born 
county,  Pennsylvania,.  March  3.  1807,  died 
Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  November  14,  1876 : 
graduated  from  Western  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  1826 ;  read  law,  and  admitted  to 
practice  August  4,  1846;  appointed  to  judgeship 
district  court  Alleghany  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  served  until  elected  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  in  185 1 ;  remained  on  bench  twelve  years, 
officiating  during  the  last  six  years  as  chief  jus- 
tice ;  practiced  law  a  few  years  in  Pittsburg  and 
afterward  chosen  president  judge  of  a  judicial 
district  in  western  Pennsylvania ;  removed  to 
Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  and  lived  there  at  the 
time  of  his  death ;  was  contributor  to  "Princeton 
Repertory,"  and  other  periodicals ;  several  of  his 
papers  read  before  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  were  published,  including  those  on 
"Origin  of  the  Tides,"  and  "Cosmical  Motion." 
Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Thompson  Lowrie  was  born, 
Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  February  8.  1835  ;  edu- 
cated Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
also  Miami  University,  (Ohio)  where  he  was 
graduated,  1S52  ;  studied  theology  in  Presbyterian 
Seminar)-,  Allegheny  City.  Pennsylvania.  1852- 
$6  ;  in  Heidelburg,  Germany,  1857 ;  pastor  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Alexandria,  Pennsylvania,  1863  ; 
in  Philadelphia,  1865-69 :  Abington,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1869-74;  Ewing,  Xew  Jersey,  1879-85; 
occupied  professorship  of  Xew  Testament  Liter- 


ature and  Exegesis  in  Western  Theological  Semi- 
nary, Allegheny  City,  1874-78 :  in  1887  was  ap- 
pointed chaplain  of  Presbyterian  Hospital  in 
Philadelphia.  In  this  connection  it  is  interesting 
to  note  something  of  the  early  Lowrie  family 
history :  Rev.  Robert  Johnson,  said  to  be  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Cromwell  by  his  daughter  Bridget, 
first  wife  of  General  Hunter  and  second  wife  of 
General  Irvine,  was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Yenango  county.  John  Lowrie,  his 
principal  elder,  had  been  in  himself  a  part  of  the 
church.  Indeed,  the  family  was  remarkable  in 
its  influence  in  the  early  history  of  the  church. 
John  Lowrie  had  a  son  Walter  Lowrie,  secretary 
of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions ;  and  Wal- 
ter Lowrie  had  sons:  John  Cameron,  Walter 
Mason,  Jonathan  Roberts,  Reuben  P.,  and  Mat- 
thew B.  Lowrie.  The  latter  was  for  many  years 
a  valuable  elder  in  the  church,  and  was  the  father 
of  Judge  Walter  Hoge  Lowrie,  who  was  also  an 
elder,  and  Rev.  Dr.  John  Marshall  Lowrie,  a 
prominent  Presbyterian  minister. 

Elizabeth  Dickson  was  a  daughter  of  Rev. 
Hugh  Sheridan  Dickson,  who,  September  2, 
1845,  married  Sarah  Margaret  Stoever,  who  was 
a  descendant  of  Rev.  John  Casper  Stoever,  born 
Frankenburg,  Saxony,  December  21,  1702,  who 
in  1728,  after  a  pastorate  of  five  years  in  An- 
weiler,  Bavaria,  came  to  America  as  chaplain  of  a 
party  of  immigrants.  In  1733  Mr.  Stoever  was 
preaching  in  Lebanon,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1740 
became  the  first  regular  pastor  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  He  married 
Maria  Catherine  Markling,  and  had  by  her 
eleven  -children,  eight  of  whom  survived  him. 
He  died  May  13,  1779.  His  youngest  son  Fred- 
erick, born  1759,  married  Margaret  Dinshert,  and 
their  eldest  son,  Frederick,  born  1784,  died  1867, 
married  Sarah  Reigart,  and  their  daughter,  Sarah 
Margaret,  born  Philadelphia,  1824,  married  Rev. 
Hugh  Sheridan  Dickson.  Hugh  Sheridan  Dick- 
son, born  1813,  seventh  son  of  Alexander  Dickson 
who  was  born  1776,  in  1798  took  part  in  the  Wolf 
Tone  rebellion  under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  W  111— 
iam  Dickson,  his  cousin,  who  was  a  general  in 
the  rebel  ranks,  a  man  of  learning  and  probity, 
and  who  for  his  part  in  the  action  suffered  im- 
prisonment and  ultimate  banishment.  Alexander 
himself  for  a  time  was  in  hiding  on  the  downfall 
of  the  rebellion.  His  wife  was  Sarah  McKee,  by 
whom  he  had  ten  children.  In  1827  he  brought 
his  family  to  America  and  settled  in  Rensselaer 
county.  Xew  York,  where  he  died  April  2,  1871. 
Alexander  was  the  son  of  James  Dickson,  who 
was  the  son  of  John  Dickson,  born  about  1673, 
and     wife    Mary    Dodd ;    and    John    was    the- 


3i6 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


grandson  of  Rev.  David  Dickson,  born 
1583,  one  of  the  regents  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Glasgow;  moderator  of  the  general 
assembly,  1639,  and  elected  to  the  pro- 
fessorship of  divinity  at  Glasgow,  1650,  but 
ejected  for  declining  to  take  the  oath  of  suprem- 
acy. Rev.  David  was  the  son  of  John  Dickson, 
an  eminent  lawyer,  and  the  first  of  the  family  of 
Dickson  of  Hartree  in  Lanarkshire.  Nisbet 
says :  "They  of  the  surname  of  Dickson  are 
■descended  from  one  Richard  Kieth,  said  to  be  a 
son  of  the  family  of  Keith  Marischal,  took  their 
name  from  Richard  (called  in  the  south  country 
Dick),  and  to  show  themselves  descended  of 
Keith  Marischal  they  carry  the  chief  of  Keith." 

Andrew  F.  Derr,  business  manager  and  actual 
"head  of  the  firm  of  Thompson  Derr  &  Brother, 
acquired  his  early  education  in  the  Missionary 
Institute  at  Selinsgrove,  where  he  prepared  for 
■college.  In  the  fall  of  1871  he  entered  Lafayette 
College  at  Easton.  and  was  graduated  B.  A. 
1875  ;  his  M.  A.  degree  was  conferred  in  1878. 
He  read  law  in  Philadelphia  with  George  W. 
Biddle,  and  came  to  the  bar  in  that  city  in  1878. 
In  December  of  that  year  he  removed  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  where  his  older  brothers  were  engaged  in 
business,  and  began  his  professional  career.  He 
was  in  active  practice  four  years,  until  1882,  when 
on  account  of  the  ill  health  of  Thompson  Derr  he 
became  connected  with  the  firm  of  Thompson 
Derr  &  Brother,  and  relieved  the  senior  partner 
of  much  of  the  heavy  work  of  the  office.  From 
this  time  Mr.  Derr  virtually  discontinued  active 
practice,  and  still  his  understanding  of  the  law 
has  been  of  inestimable  value  to  him  in  connec- 
tion with  the  new  field  of  business  in  which  he 
has  since  engaged.  Mr.  Derr  is  president  of  the 
Miners'  Savings  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  director 
of  the  Anthracite  Savings  Bank ;  trustee  of  the 
Osterhout  Free  Library  and  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
City  Hospital :  a  member,  trustee,  and  elder  of 
the  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church ;  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  Historical  Society  of  Philadel- 
phia, of  the  Archeological  Institute  of  America, 
the  Lawyers'  Club,  the  University  Club,  and  the 
Grolier  Club  of  New  York ;  the  Prince  Society, 
of  Boston ;  the  American  Economic  Association ; 
•the  American  Bar  Association :  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Historical  Society ;  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society ;  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
man Society ;  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution ;  the 
Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  of  New  Jer- 
sey ;  and  the  Society  of  the  War  of  1812. 

The  children  of  Andrew  Fine  and  Harriet 
(Lowrie)  Derr  were :  Elizabeth  Lowrie,  born 
March  21,  1898.     Katharine,  born  September  12, 


1899.  Thompson  Fine,  born  November  30, 
1901.  Andrew  Fine  Derr,  Jr.,  born  July  10, 
1903.  H.  E.  H. 

KIRKENDALL  FAMILY.  There  were 
Kirkendalls  in  New  Jersey  among  the  earliest 
families  in  that  region  of  country  and  they  were 
of  Scotch  ancestry,  although  they  may  have  come 
to  America  from  English  seaport  towns.  They 
were  scattered  over  the  region  mentioned,  and 
some  of  theni  were  among  the  early  settlers  in 
Warren  county,  as  now  known,  while  others 
found  their  way  into  the  territory  of  Pennsyl- 
vania previous  to  the  Revolution.  The  Revolu- 
tionary records  of  New  Jersey  show  the  names 
of  several  of  the  Kirkendalls  who  fought  with  the 
colonists  during  the  war,  and  among  them  were 
Andrew  Kirkendall.  of  Hunterdon ;  Samuel  and 
Stephen,  of  Sussex ;  and  while  the  connection  is 
not  definitely  traced,  it  is  probable  that  some  of 
the  Kirkendalls  who  came  over  into  Pennsyl- 
vania in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  and 
settled  in  the  "Green  Woods"  district  of  old  Lu- 
zerne county,  in  the  township  of  Dallas,  were 
descendants  of  the  Kirkendalls  of  the  revolution- 
ary period  then  living  in  New  Jersey,  along  the 
Delaware,  where  they  generally  were  farmers 
and  mechanics. 

William  Wheeler  Kirkendall  was  born  in 
New  Jersey.  December  25,  1805.  Intimately 
connected  with  the  earlv  settlement  of  the 
Green  Woods  country,  at  the  village  called  Kun- 
kle,  was  the  founder  of  one  of  Dallas'  respected 
old  families,  among  whose  descendants  in  sub- 
sequent years  there  have  been  men  of  action ; 
men  who  have  accomplished  results,  without  the 
training  of  the  academies  or  the  polish  of  univer- 
sities. The  widowed  mother  of  Wheeler  Kirken- 
dall— as  he  was  familiarly  called — married  (sec- 
ond") Philip  Kunkle,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that 
William  Wheeler  Kirkendall's  father  died  in  New 
Jersey  before  the  date  of  the  settlement  in  Dallas, 
which  was  before  1830.  There  is  no  tradition  in 
the  family  that  he  ever  lived  in  the  town,  and  the 
struggling  pioneers  in  that  wilderness  region  of 
Luzerne  county  gave  little  attention  to  matters  of 
family  record  ;  theirs  was  a  struggle  for  the  neces- 
sities of  life,  and  the  most  moderate  comforts  for 
their  families ;  but  they  wrought  well  and  builded 
up  good  farms  for  their  children  and  descendants. 
William  Wheeler  Kirkendall  was  auditor  of 
Dallas  in  1836,  and  one  of  the  supervisors  of  the 
township  in  18-LO.  He  bought  thirty  acres  of  un- 
improved land  in  1829-30,  and  eighty-three  acres 
more  in  1841.  He  was  a  carpenter,  also  a  carder, 
fuller    and  cloth-dresser  bv  trade,    and    it    was 


J?A<&UM<jJk&l 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


317 


largely  through  his  aid  that  the  first  carding  and 
fulling  mill  was  set  up  by  Jacob  Rice  in  Trucks- 
ville.  Mr.  Kirkendall  died  in  Dallas,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  10,  1845 ;  married,  April  26, 
1826,  Maria  Dereamer,  born  May  28,  1807,  died 
January  23,  1882.     They  had  seven  children  : 

1.  Conrad,  born  January  26,  1827,  died  Sep- 
tember 15,  1854;  unmarried. 

2.  John  Shaver,  born  August  17,  1828,  died 
August  20,  1854;  unmarried. 

3.  George  Washington,  born  October  4, 
1833,  of  whom  later. 

4.  Ira  Mandeville,  born  November  3,  1835, 
of  whom  later. 

5.  Anna  Elizabeth,  born  October  12,  1837; 
married  Dwight  Wolcott  of  Wilkes-Barre,  for 
many  years  an  employee  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad  Company. 

6.  Charles  Wesley,  born  April  6,  1840,  died 
August  21,  1854. 

7.  William  Perm,  born  April  13,  1843,  0I 
whom  later. 

George  Washington  Kirkendall,  third  son  of 
William  Wheeler  and  Maria  (Dereamer)  Kirk- 
endall, was  born  in  Wyoming  township,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  October  4,  1833,  and  died 
July  14,  1891.  For  nearly  forty  years  Mr.  Kirk- 
endall was  a  prominent  figure  in  business  and 
political  circles  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  indeed  in 
Luzerne  county,  for  few  men  were  more  widely 
acquainted  than  he  with  the  various  business  in- 
terests for  which  that  county  is  noted. 

Like  other  of  the  sons  of  William  Wheeler 
Kirkendall,  he  had  little  opportunity  to  gain  an 
education  in  the  schools  during  his  youth,  for  it 
became  necessary  that  he  find  some  empky-ment 
as  soon  as  he  was  able  to  go  out  and  work.  His 
school  days  were  limited,  but  he  studied  and  read 
his  books  while  many  other  beys  slept,  and  thus 
he  became  well  informed  on  general  subjects  and 
well  prepared  to  meet  the  various  propositions  of 
business  life  as  presented  to  him.  He  began  his 
business  career  as  clerk  in  the  store  of  Jacob  Rice 
in  Dallas,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  be- 
came his  employer's  partner.  Later  on,  when 
Wesley  Kunkle,  who  was  Mr.  Kirkendall's  kins- 
man, was  made  register  and  recorder  of  Luzerne 
county,  Mr.  Kirkendall  was  appointed  his  deputy 
and  at  the  end  of  his  term  succeeded  him  in  office 
and  served  two  years,  1864-66.  Still  later  he  was 
associated  with  his  brothers,  Ira  and  William  P., 
in  the  lumber  business  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was 
interested  with  them,  too,  when  they  were  in  the 
wholesale  grocery  business  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
1880-1883.  During  these  years,  and  more,  Mr. 
Kirkendall  was  interested  with  the  late  Ephraim 


Troxell  in  a  general  real  estate-  business  in 
Wilkes-Barre  and  its  vicinity  and  at  one  time  he- 
was  considered  one  of  the  heaviest  holders  of  and 
operators  in  real  estate  in  all  Wilkes-Barre.  He 
was  interested  in  the  city,  its  improvement  and 
prosperity,  and  contributed  his  full  share  to  that 
object.  He  served  one  term  as  member  of  the 
council,  and  was  in  political  preference  a  firm, 
Democrat.  He  also  was  a  prominent  Mason, 
past  high  priest  of  Shekinah  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  and  past  eminent  commander  of  Dieu  le 
Veut  Commandery,  Knights  Templar.  He  was 
an  earnest  member  and  a  trustee  of  the  Methodist. 
Episcopal  Church, 

He  married,  July  3,  1856,  Almira  Shaver,, 
daughter  of  James  Shaver  and  wife  Louisa  Mon- 
tanye,  and  granddaughter  of  Philip  Shaver,  who> 
was  the  pioneer  of  his  family  in  the  Wyoming 
Valley.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirkendall  had  seven, 
children,  of  whom  only  two  are  living:  Marie 
Louise  Kirkendall,  widow  of  John  T.  Phillips, 
late  of  Dallas,  Pennsylvania,  and  George  Tal- 
mage  Kirkendall. 

George  Talmage  Kirkendall,  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August  26,  1871,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Wilkes-Barre  public  schools,  the 
high  school,  and  the  Harry  Hillman  Academy, 
where  he  prepared  for  college.  His  purpose  was 
to  enter  Cornell,  but  his  plans  were  changed  and 
he  took  up  the  study  of  law  with  Allan  H.  Dick- 
son and  Thomas  H.  Atherton,  Esquire.  He  was. 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1893,  and  for  the  next 
three  years  was  associated  in  practice  with  Mr. 
Atherton,  and  afterward  for  a  like  period  with 
Mr.  Hahn. 

Mr.  Kirkendall  was  appointed  deputy  treas- 
urer of  Luzerne  county,  January  1,  1900,  under 
Treasurer  Frederick  C.  Kirkendall,  and  re-ap- 
pointed under  Treasurer  John  J.  Moore,  1903, 
which  position  he  now  holds.  He  is  a  Democrat, 
and  an  active  figure  in  his  party's  councils  in  Lu- 
zerne county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Dallas 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  for  several 
years  was  treasurer  of  the  Epworth  League  of" 
Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  past  master  of  Lodge  61, ■ 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  a  member  of  Shek- 
inah Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Dieu  le  Veut 
Commandery,  Knights  Templar ;  and  Irem  Tem- 
ple, A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  the  leading  Masonic 
bodies  of  Luzerne  count}-. 

He  married,  July  21,  1897,  Helen  Dennis  But- 
ler, daughter  of  Zebulon  Butler.  Mr.  and'  Mrs. 
Kirkendall  had  three  children :  George  Butler, 
John  Phillips,  and  Marie,  who  died  December  12, 
1904. 

Ira    Mandeville    Kirkendall,    fourth    son    of 


-3i3 


THE   WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA   VALLEYS. 


William  Wheeler  and  Maria  (Dereamer)  Kirk- 
■  endall,  was  born  in  Dallas  township,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania.  November  3,  1835.  As 
soon  as  he  was  old  enough  he  was  put  to  work, 
and  upon  the  death  of  his  father  in  1845  he  began 
to  make  his  own  way  in  life.  When  he  was  nine 
years  old  he  carried  mail  on  horseback  three  days 
each  week,  and  was  so  employed  until  he  was 
twelve,  having  between  his  trips  a  little  time  to 
attend  country  school  and  acquire  the  rudiments 
of  an  education.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years 
he  went  to  Pittston  and  found  employment  as 
clerk  in  a  store.  He  was  there  until  1856,  when 
he  went  west  to  Nebraska,  where  he  worked  at 
farming  and  stage  driving.  In  1858  he  returned 
to  the  east,  worked  one  more  year  in  Pittston, 
and  then  located  at  Bear  Creek,  where  he  engaged 
in  lumbering  until  1865,  when  he  removed  to 
Wilkes-Barre  and  continued  in  the  same  line  of 
business  until  1871.  He  was  deputy  sheriff  of 
Luzerne  county  under  his  brother,  William  Penn 
Kirkendall,  1875-78.  He  was  a  member  and 
head  of  the  wholesale  grocery  firm  of  Kirken- 
dall &  Whitman,  1880-83,  and  senior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Kirkendall  Brothers,  wholesale  flour 


and  feed  dealers,  li 


-94- 


In  the  latter  vear  the 


partnership  was  dissolved,  and  it  at  once  reor- 
ganized under  the  style  of  Kirkendall  &  Son  (Ira 
M.  and  Frederick  C.  Kirkendall)  by  which  name 
it  has  since  been  known  in  mercantile  circles 
throughout  the  region  of  country  of  which 
Wilkes-Barre  is  the  business  center.  In  busi- 
ness Mr.  Kirkendall  has  met  with  success,  the 
reward  of  his  own  personal  efforts.  No  man  has 
been  more  closely  identified  than  he  with  the  poli- 
tical history  of  Wilkes-Barre,  its  improvement 
and  its  progress.  He  was  elected  burgess  of  the 
borough  of  Wilkes-Barre  under  the  old  system 
of  government.  1870,  and  was  elected  first  mayor 
of  the  city,  1871.  under  the  new  and  advanced 
scheme  of  municipal  government,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  three  years.  He  was  elected  coun- 
cilman of  the  fourth  ward — the  strongest  Repub- 
lican ward  in  the  city,  1883.  and  although  himself 
a  firm  Democrat,  he  was  re-elected  to  represent 
that  ward  for  sixteen  consecutive  years,  the  long- 
est term  any  councilman  ever  served  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  city.  As  councilman  he  gave  his  best 
services  to  the  public  welfare,  often  at  the  ex- 
pense of  private  interests,  but  he  accepted  the  ob- 
ligations of  the  office  with  his  election,  and  gave 
to  municipal  interests  the  same  careful  attention 
as  was  given  his  mercantile  business,  and  neither 
ever  suffered  neglect  at  his  hands.  He  is  justly 
proud  of  a  long  and  honorable  record  as  an 
official  of  the  citv,  a  service  which  from  its  be- 


ginning in  1883  was  never  financially  compen- 
sated, but  which  was  doubly  repaid  in  the  con- 
fidence and  respect  reposed  in  him  by  the  people 
of  the  city  without  respect  to  party,  and  the  con- 
sciousness on  his  own  part  of  having  done  his 
duty. 

When  Mr.  Kirkendall  entered  the  council  only 
a  few  streets  in  the  city  had  any  kind  of  pave- 
ment, but  when  he  left  that  body  there  were 
twenty-five  miles  of  paved  streets,  a  work  accom- 
plished very  largely  through  his  personal  efforts. 
He  was  regarded  as  "the  father"'  of  the  system  of 
paving  improvements  in  the  city,  and  the  citizens 
of  the  fourth  ward  kept  him  in  the  council  full 
sixteen  years  and  regretted  his  determination  to 
retire  at  the  end  of  that  time.  In  the  council  he 
served  longest  on  the  street  committee,  but  saw 
service  on  every  committee  of  that  body.  He 
was  prominent  in  the  work  which  led  to  the 
erection  of  the  new  city  hall,  and  was  always  an 
advocate  of  public  improvement  in  every  direc- 
tion. His  opinion  in  the  councils  of  the  board 
were  of  weight  with  his  associates,  for  they  un- 
derstood the  worth  of  his  judgment,  and  knew 
that  his  greatest  ambition  in  official  life  was  the 
interests  of  Wilkes-Barre  as  a  city.  Mr.  Kirken- 
dall is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society.  He  married  ( first ) ,  No- 
vember 3,  1868,  Hannah  C.  Driesbach.  born  May 
18,  1849,  died  January  26,  1880.  He  married 
(second),  January  4,  1882,  Sarah  A.  Bartlett.  a 
native  of  New  Jersey  and  descendant  of  Quaker 
ancestors.  Mr.  Kirkendall  had,  by  first  marriage  : 
Grace  Wisner,  born  August  19,  1869 ;  married 
Charles  A.  Bartlett,  real  estate  agent.  Atlantic 
City.  New  Jersey,  and  had  threee  children ;  Fred- 
erick Charles,  born  August  10,  1871,  of  whom 
later. 

William  Penn  Kirkendall.  youngest  child  of 
William  Wheeler  and  Maria  (Dereamer)  Kirken- 
dall, was  born  in  Dallas.  Luzerne  county.  Penn- 
sylvania, April  13,  1843.  He  was  educated  in 
the  Dallas  township  schools,  and  Wyoming  Semi- 
nar}-. Kingston.  From  the  schoolroom  he  went 
into  business  pursuits,  and  almost  since  child- 
hood he  has  been  compelled  to  make  his  own  way 
in  life.  He  has  always  been  fortunately  asso- 
ciated in  business  relations.  His  earliest  exper- 
ience was  as  partner  with  his  brother,  George, 
and  Ephraim  Troxell,  lumber  manufacturers  and 
dealers  in  Wilkes-Barre.  In  the  fall  of  1874  he 
was  elected  sheriff  of  Luzerne  county — the  suc- 
cessful Democratic  candidate  for  that  office — and 
served  from  1875  to  1878.  his  brother  and  former 
partner,  Ira,  being-  for  a  part  of  that  term  his 
deputv.  He  was  the  junior  member  of  the  firm 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


319 


of  Kirkendall  Brothers,  when  he  retired  from  this 
concern,  wholesale  flour  and  feed  dealers  in 
Wilkes-Barre  from  1883  to  1894.  The  Kingston 
Lumber  Company  was  organized  in  1888  by  John 
C.  Van  Loan,  Thomas  Lawless,  John  T.  Phillips 
and  William  Penn  Kirkendall,  and  from  that 
time  the  business  of  this  company  has  engaged 
much  of  his  attention ;  indeed,  of  the  original 
company,  he  is  now  the  only  member  connected 
with  it.  He  has  given  his  attention  since  1894 
to  the  business  of  the  lumber  company  and  his 
other  personal  concerns  in  Kingston  and  Dallas. 
He  maintains  his  residence  in  Dallas,  and  both 
there  and  in  Wilkes-Barre  has  taken  an  interest 
in  public  affairs.  While  living  in  Wilkes-Barre 
he  was  councilman  three  years,  and  later  in  Dal- 
las borough  six  years ;  was  school  director  sev- 
eral terms ;  president  of  the  Dallas  Agricultural 
Society  one  year,  and  president  of  the  Luzerne 
County  Agricultural  Society  five  years.  For 
twelve  years  he  held  the  office  of  prison  commis- 
sioner. 

He  married,  January  1,  1866,  Olive  A.  Pat- 
terson, born  February  3,  1843,  daughter  of  James 
and  Lucinda  (Honeywell)  Patterson,  of  Dallas. 
They  had  one  child,  Cary  E.  Kirkendall,  born 
April  15,  1870,  died  June,  1873.  Upon  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Rice,  sister  of  Mrs.  Kirkendall,  the 
former's  daughter,  Olive  C.  Rice,  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Kirkendall  household  and  family.  She 
married  Archibald  Jones  of  Dallas,  and  they 
have  one  child,  E.  Elizabeth  Jones. 

Frederick  Charles  Kirkendall,  son  of  Ira  M. 
and  Hannah  Kirkendall,  was  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania.  August  10,  1871,  and  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  that  city,  also  in 
Lafayette  College,  where  he  graduated,  1894, 
with  the  degree  of  B.  S.  In  the  same  year  he 
became  a  partner  with  his  father  in  the  business 
formerly  conducted  by  Kirkendall  Brothers,  the 
style  of  the  firm  then  changing  to  Kirkendall  & 
Son.  Frederick  Kirkendall  at  once  assumed  ac- 
tive management  of  the  business  and  conducted 
it  successfully  up  to  1904,  when  on  account  of 
his  various  other  business  enterprises,  among 
them  the  Wilkes-Barre  Leader,  he  was  obliged 
to  retire  from  the  active  management  of  the  lat- 
ter, although  still  connected  with,  and  exercising 
a  prime  influence  in  its  affairs.  He  has  been  ac- 
tively associated  with  some  of  Wilkes-Barre's 
strongest  and  most  progressive  financial  and  in- 
dustrial institutions.  He  is  president  of  the 
Leader  Publishing  Company,  and  a  director  of  the 
Second  National  Bank  and  the  Penn  Tobacco 
Company.     With  other  local  capitalists  he  is  in- 


terested in  several  extensive  telephone  enterprises 
in  other  states.  In  1903  he  acquired  an  interest 
in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Leader,  and  in  the  following 
year  assumed  with  Edward  Gunster  the  business 
management  of  this  paper.  Mr.  Kirkendall  is 
considered  a  leader  in  his  party,  and  although  a 
young  man  has  proved  himself  well  worth}-  of  the 
title.  He  is  a  Democrat,  of  the  same  tvpe  as  his, 
father,  frank,  outspoken,  and  honest  in  the  ex- 
pression of  his  political  opinions.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  city  and  county  committees  for 
mam-  years,  was  chairman  of  the  former  in  1897 
and  of  the  latter  in  1900.  In  1899  he  was  elected 
treasurer  of  Luzerne  county,  being  the  youngest 
incumbent  of  that  office  in  the  history  of  the 
county.  In  April  of  1905  he  was  elected  mayor 
of  \\  ilkes-Barre  by  an  overwhelming  majority, 
being  the  second  Democrat  elected  to  that  posi- 
tion since  his  father,  Ira  M.  Kirkendall,  carried 
the  city  thirty-three  years  before.  Mayor  Kirk- 
endall is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society. 

Frederick  C.  Kirkendall  married,  January  10, 
1897.  Eleanor  C.  Gearhart,  born  November  10, 
1873,  daughter  of  George  M.  Gearhart,  cashier 
of  the  Danville  National  Bank.  Their  children 
are:  Frederick  Charles,  Jr.,  bom  October  12, 
1897.  Eleanor,  born  April  2,  1899.  Cordelia,  born 
January  10,   1903.  H.  E.  H. 

RUTTER  FAMILY— Conrad  Rutter  was  a 
Prussian.  On  account  of  religious  persecutions 
he  left  Prussia  and  went  into  England  to  live 
temporarily,  where  he  married  his  wife,  Jane 
Douglas,  of  Scotch  descent,  and  emigrated  to 
America  in  the  year  1683,  in  the  company  of 
which  Francis  Daniel  Pastorius  was  the  guiding 
spirit.  They  reached  Philadelphia,  August  20, 
1683,  having  made  the  voyage  in  the  ship  "Amer- 
ica," John  Wasey,  captain.  He  took  up  land 
where  Germantown.  Philadelphia,  now  stands, 
and  laid  out  that  town  during  the  year  of  his  ar- 
rival. He  remained  there  until  1689,  then  re- 
moved up  the  Schuylkill  to  where  Pottstown  in 
Montgomery  county  now  stands,  took  up  lands 
there  and  improved  them.  In  1716  he  gave  this 
tract  to  his  son  Andrew,  and  with  his  other  three 
sons — Joseph,  Peter,  and  Conrad,  Jr., — went  to 
what  is  now  Leacock  township,  Lancaster  county, 
where  he  took  up  five  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
acres  of  land.  His  warrant  for  these  lands  bore 
the  signature  of  Penn's  sons,  and  was  dated  Jan- 
uary 3,  1733.  The  lands  in  Lancaster  county 
Conrad  Rutter  divided  in  three  parts,  giving  one 
of   these,    comprising  one   hundred   and   eighty- 


320 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


eight  acres,  to  his  son,  Joseph,  from  whom  the 
Rutter  families  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  are 
descended. 

Conrad  Rutter,  the  pioneer,  was  a  persevering 
and  farseeing  man.  His  descendants  in  eacli 
succeeding  generation  from  his  time  are  classed 
with  the  first  families  of  Pennsylvania.  When 
we  consider  how  he  was  driven  from  his  native 
land  because  of  his  religious  views,  coming  to 
America  in  1683,  helping  to  found  Germantown, 
and  afterward  building  for  his  children  in  what 
are  now  two  counties  in  this  great  common- 
wealth, we  can  have  none  other  than  feelings  of 
veneration  for  the  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  Rut- 
ter family  in  America.  When  well  advanced  in 
years  he  helped  to  found  and  build  (1729)  the 
first  Protestant  Episcopal  church  in  eastern  Lan- 
caster county.  His  son  Joseph,  progenitor  of 
the  particular  branch  of  the  Rutter  family  of 
which  these  annals  treat,  built  on  his  own  farm 
tract  at  his  own  expense  the  first  school  house 
in  Leacock  township.  It  is  handed  down  as 
tradition  in  the  Rutter  family  that  in  this  little 
school  house  one  of  Joseph's  daughters  educated 
her  future  husband,  who,  with  their  sons,  in 
later  years  were  prominent  persons  in  the  history 
of  Lancaster  county.  Conrad  Rutter  and  his 
wife  Jane  Douglas  were  the  parents  of  four 
sons :  Andrew,  Joseph,  Peter  and  Conrad,  Jr. 

Joseph  Rutter,  son  of  Conrad  and  Jane 
(Douglas)  Rutter,  was  born  in  Leacock  town- 
ship, Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  mar- 
ried there  Barbara  Glenn,  who  bore  him  three 
children. 

1.  Henry,  married  Elizabeth  Shultz,  and 
had  fourteen  children,  each  of  whom  received  a 
goodly  inheritance  under  his  will. 

2.  George,  born  in  Leacock  township,  Lan- 
caster county,  and  died  in  Salisbury  township. 
He  married  Margaret  Lightner,  daughter  of  Na- 
thaniel Lightner  and  his  wife  Margaret  La  Rue, 
who  was  born  in  France  in  1713.  Nathaniel 
Lightner  was  one  of  the  prominent  early  settlers 
in  Leacock  township.  Of  the  nineteen  children 
of  Nathaniel  Lightner  two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters married  two  sons  and  two  daughters  of 
Joseph  Rutter.  George  and  Margaret  (Light- 
ner) Rutter  had  among  other  children,  Adam 
Rutter,  see  forward. 

3.  Barbara,  who  became  the  wife  of  a  Mr. 
Lightner,  and  the  mother  of  the  late  Judge  John 
Lightner. 

Adam  Rutter,  son  of  George  and  Margaret 
(Lightner)  Rutter,  was  born  in  Leacock  township 
in  1763,  and  died  in  Salisbury  township,  No- 
vember 25,  1810.      He  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 


tion. He  married  Margaret  Skiles,  born  May 
r5>  I773>  died  July  iy,  1859.  Their  children 
were:  James,  born  June,  1797,  married  Hannah 
Leaman;  Jane,  born  May,  1799,  married  Will- 
iam Rhodes;  George,  born  May,  1801,  married 
Elizabeth  Rutter;  Anna,  born  July  16,  1804,  mar- 
lierl  Henry  McClellan;  Nathaniel,  born  Novem- 
ber 14,  1806,  mentioned  hereafter;  Adam,  Jr., 
born  November  26,  1808,  married,  1828,  Mar- 
garet Skiles;  Rachel,  born  March  15,  1810,  mar- 
ried Christian  Weld}". 

Nathaniel  .Rutter,  fifth  child  of  Adam,    St., 
and  Margaret   (Skiles)  Rutter,  was  born  in  the 
Pequa   valley,    fourteen   miles   below    Lancaster, 
November  14,  1806,  died  October  14,  1899,  aged 
ninety-three  years.       He  came  to  Wilkes-Barre 
in  1825,  and  sometime  between  1835  and  1840  as- 
sociated with  George  M.   Hollenback  in  a  gen- 
eral merchandise  business.      The  management  of 
the   business    was    in    Mr.    Rutter's   hands   until 
the  death  of  his  partner,  November  7,  1866,  and 
afterward  Mr.  Rutter  carried  on  a  general  hard- 
ware store  until  1888.       He  was  for  years  presi- 
■  dent  of  the  Miners'  Savings  Bank  and  of  the  Hol- 
lenback   Coal    Company,   and  a   director   of  the 
Vulcan  Iron  Works,  and  was  also  connected  with 
various  other  business  enterprises.       He  was  at 
one  time  a  member  of  the  city  council.     On  com- 
ing to  Wilkes-Barre   Mr.   Rutter  was   identified 
with  St.  Stephen's  Protesant  Episcopal  Church, 
but  after  his  marriage  he  became  a  member  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  for  many 
years  one  of  its  elders.      He  was  for  many  years 
a  familiar  figure  on  the  streets  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  man}'  persons  knew  and  admired  him  for  his 
fine  traits  of  character.       Unassuming  in  all  the 
relations   of  life,   the   spirit   of  religious  culture 
took  hold  of  his  nature  and  enabled   him  as  a 
Christian  to  fulfill  in  the  community  a  most  bene- 
ficent purpose.      His  example  tended  to  exalt  the 
dignity  of  man,  and  raised  him  in  the  scale  of 
virtue,   while  his   social   and   domestic   life  ever 
will  be  a  blessed  memory. 

Nathaniel  Rutter  married  January  13,  1831, 
Mary  Ann  Cist,  born  December  26,  1808,  died 
March  18,  1846,  daughter  of  Jacob  Cist  and  his 
wife  Sarah  Hollenback.  Their  children  were : 
1.  Ellen  Cist,  born  October  25,  183 1,  died  un- 
married May  21,  18S7.  2.  Emily  Hollenback. 
born  December  16,  1833,  married,  September  29. 
1859,  Edward  P.  Darling,  and  died  January  23, 
1882.  3.  Margaret,  born  Januarv  24.  1836, 
married  Eugene  Beauharnais  Beaumont,  and 
died  April  22,  1879.  4.  Augusta,  born  August 
23,  1837,  married  Clarence  Michler,  and  died 
July  22,  1878.     5.     George,  died  in  infancy.     6. 


v&Ztfb^- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


321 


James  May,  see  forward.  Nathaniel  Rutter  mar- 
ried (second),  February  19,  1850,  Ellen  Cist, 
sister  of  his  first  wife,  and  widow  of  the  Rev. 
Robert  Dunlap,  born  January  7,  1813,  died  Sep- 
tember 20,  1880,  whose  daughter  by  her  first 
marriage,  Sally  H.  Dunlap,  became  the  wife  of 
Isaac  M.  Thomas,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr.  Rutter 
had  by  his  second  marriage  Marian  Natalie,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  Hervey  Simmons,  died  April 
4,  1889. 

James  May  Rutter,  youngest  son  of  Nathaniel 
and  Mary  Ann  (Cist)  Rutter,  was  born  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  May  13,  1841.  He 
was  educated  at  an  academic  institution  in  Wy- 
oming, Luzerne  county,"  Pennsylvania.  Leaving 
school  he  was  apprenticed  to  Laning  &  Marshall 
to  learn  the  machinist's  trade,  and  finished  his 
term  of  service  May  13,  1862.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  enlisted  as  private,  August  4,  1862,  and 
was  made  fifth  sergeant  of  Company  C,  One 
Hundred  and  Forty-third  Regiment  Pennsylvania 
Volunteer  Infantry.  The  regiment  was  attached 
to  the  Second  Brigade,  Third  Division,  First 
Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  then  operating  in 
Virginia.  With  that  command  he  participated 
in  the  battles  of  Fitz  Hugh  Farm,  Pollock's  Mill, 
Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  and  the  Mine  Run 
campaign.  In  March,  1864,  the  First  Corps  was 
disbanded,  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third 
Pennsylvania  Regiment  was  transferred  to  the 
Fifth  Corps,  and  afterward  took  part  in 
the  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Laurel  Hill, 
Spottsylvania,  North  Anna,  Totapotomy, 
Bethesda  Church,  Cold  Harbor,  the  siege 
and  assault  of  Petersburg,  Weldon  Rail- 
road, Boydton  Road,  Hatcher's  Run  and 
other  minor  engagements.  In  1863  'Sergeant 
Rutter  was  presented  by  resolution  of  Congress 
with  a  medal  of  honor  for  gallantry  at  Gettys- 
burg on  July  1,  1863,  in  which  battle  he  carried 
his  wounded  captain  from  the  field  and  saved  him 
from    falling    into    the    hands    of    the    enemy.* 


*  The  Congressional  Medal  of  Honor  was  never 
bestowed  except  upon  incontrovertible  evidence  of  con- 
spicuous gallantry.  The  record  in  the  case  cited  shows 
the  following  facts :  Sergeant  Rutter's  regiment  was  in 
action  on  the  Chambersburg  pike,  in  front  of  McPher- 
son  Woods,  where  General  John  F.  Reynolds  was  killed. 
About  4  o'clock,  p.  m.,  General  Doubleday's  corps,  to 
which  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Pennsylvania 
Regiment  was  attached,  being  left  without  support,  was 
obliged  to  fall  back  to  another  line,  where  the  men  lay 
down,  the  enemy  occupying  the  railroad  cut  in  their 
immediate  front.  It  was  here  that  Captain  (afterward 
Colonel)  Reichard  was  wounded.  Lieutenant  John  C. 
Kropp,  of  Sergeant  Rutter's  company,  exclaimed  that 
it  was  a  pity  to  let  Captain  Reichard,  wounded  as  he 
21 


After  Gettysburg  he  returned  with  his  regiment 
,  to  Virginia,  near  Culpeper,  where  he  was  detailed 
with  twenty  men  to  guard  the  signal  station  at 
Poney  Mountain,  which  was  beyond  the  Union 
picket  lines.  He  was  transferred  to  the  United 
States  Signal  Corps,  on  March  20,  1864,  and 
when  in  front  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  shortly 
afterward,  was  promoted  to  sergeant,  and  was  on 
detached  service  at  corps  headquarters  under 
Generals  Burnside,  Park  and  Hartranft.  He  took 
part  in  all  the  battles  in  which  his  regiment  par- 
ticipated up  to  General  Lee's  surrender.  He  was' 
honorably  discharged  and  mustered  out  of  service 
at  Washington,  D.  C,  June  27,  1865.. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Sergeant  Rutter  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  ap- 
pointed May  27,  1874,  to  service  on  the  Geological 
Survey  west  of  the  100th  meridian,  under  Lieu- 
tenant Wheeler,  U.  S.  A.,  in  the  interest  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  D.  C, 
which  service  occupied  his  time  for  the  remainder 
of  that  year.  He  then  engaged  in  the  hardware 
business  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  retired  1888.  He 
is  a  charter  member  of  Conyngham  Post,  No.  97, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  its  past  junior 
vice-commander,  and  a  charter  member  of  En- 


was,  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  asked  that 
some  of  the  men  should  bring  him  off  the  field.    There 

was  no  answer,  until  Sergeant  Rutter  jumped  up  and 
ran  to  his  rescue,  about  twenty  feet  in  advance  of  the 
firing  line.  Helping -the  captain"  to"  his  feet,  he  brought 
him  to  the  rail  fence,  under  a  heavy  fire,  where  some 
of  his  comrades  pulled  down  the  rails  and  George 
Kinder  assisted  Rutter  in  taking  the  wounded  officer  to 
Gettysburg  and  placing  him  in  a  private  house.  Rutter 
made  every  effort  to  find  a  surgeon,  and  in  his  search 
narrowly  escaped  capture,  the  town  being  occupied  by 
the  Confederates,  who  fired  at  every  blue  uniform. 
Returning  to  the  hofise,  he  reported  his  non-success  to 

his  disabled  captain,  and  then  took  refuge  for  the  night  in 
the  cemetery.  In  the  morning  he  rejoined  his  regiment, 
and  on  answering  at  roll  call  was  told  by  Lieutenant 
Kropp  that  he  had  been  given  up  for  dead,  and  that 
none  of  his  comrades  expected  to  see  him  again.  The 
same  morning  (July  2d)  Sergeant  Rutter,  with  his  reg- 
iment, was  in  close  action,  and  on  the  next  day  aided 
in  repelling  the  magnificent  but  ill-fated  charge  of  Gen- 
eral Pickett's  division.  The  regiment  to  which  Ser- 
geant Rutter  belonged  distinguished  itself  greatly 
during  the  entire  three  days  battle,  and  came  away  with 
its  colors,  while  two  other  regiments  in  the  brigade  lost 
theirs  to  the  enemy.  The  monument  of  the  regiment, 
on  the  Chambersburg  pike,  in  front  of  where  the  brave 
General  Reynolds  fell,  and  near  where  General  Han- 
cock was  wounded,  marks  the  line  held  by  it  on  July 
2  and  3,  1863,  when  the  backbone  of  the  rebellion  was 
broken.  The  facts  upon  which  the  Congressional  Medal 
of  Honor  was  awarded  to  Sergeant  Rutter  were  estab- 
lished by  the  sworn  evidence  of  Captain  Reichard  him- 
self, and  by  Sergeant  R.  W.  Marcy  and  Private  Charles 
S.  Shotten. 


32- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


campment  No.  135,  Union  Veteran  Legion,  of 
which  he  was  colonel  at  one  time ;  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  Landmark  Lodge,  No.  442,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  Wilkes-Barre ;  was  president  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  school  board ;  the  first  assistant 
engineer  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  fire  department ; 
also  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club. 

James  May  Rutter  married,  October  16,  1866, 
Martha  C.  Burdett,  daughter  of  Jacob  Burdett, 
of  New  York,  who  died  September  3,  1883. 
He  married  (second)  April  24,  1886,  Alvar- 
etta  Wildoner.  Alvaretta  Wildoner  was  born  in 
Shickshinny,  January  30,  1856,  a  daughter  of 
George  and  Lydia  (Joslyn)  Wildoner..  George 
was  born  in  Luzerne  county,  and  was  son  of 
George  Wildoner,  who  was  of  Holland  Dutch 
parentage  and  probably  was  himself  a  native  born 
Hollander.  Lydia  Joslin  came  of  an  old  Connec- 
ticut family,  one  of  her  ancestors  being  Ephraim 
White,  who  fought  nobly  through  the  revolu- 
tion but  soon  afterward  allied  himself  to  Daniel 
Shays,  leader  of  what  is  known  in  history  as 
"Shays'  Rebellion,"  and  by  his  part  in  this  ill- 
advised  uprising  Ephraim  White  almost  for- 
feited his  revolutionary  pension,  which,  however, 
was  subsequently  granted  him.  Another  of  Mrs. 
Rutter's  ancestors  was  Nathaniel  Joslin,  of  an 
old  Connecticut  family.  Her  father  served  dur- 
ing the  Civil  war  as  a  private  in  Company  F,  One 
Hundred  and  Forty-third  Regiment,  Pennsylva- 
nia Volunteers,  the  same  regiment  in  which  Mr. 
Rutter  served.  He  was  honorably  discharged 
after  serving  the  full  term  of  three  years.  He 
lived  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Shickshinny. 
The  children  of  Mr.  Rutter  by  his  first  marriage : 
(1)  Ellen,  married,  January  20,  1892,  John  Ur- 
quhart  Paine,  who  died  June  18,  1892.  She 
married,  second,  November  8,  1899,  William  H. 
McFadden,  of  Germantown,  now  engaged  with 
the  street  engineering  department  of  Philadel- 
phia. She  had  by  her  first  marriage,  Emily  Ur- 
quhart  Paine,  by  her  second  marriage,  Eleanor 
E.  McFadden.  (2)  Frances  M.  (3)  Nathaniel 
Burdette,  county  surveyor  of  Luzerne  county, 
elected  for  the  second  term  of  four  years  1904, 
married,  April  25,  1899.  Stella  G  Hann.  (4) 
Augusta  L.,  married,  October  12,  1898,  Harry 
Meyer  Seitzinger,  manufacturer  of  screens, 
Wilkes-Barre.  They  had  Martha  Rutter,  and 
Josephine  G.  Children  of  Mr.  Rutter  by  sec- 
ond marriage:  (5)  Miriam  A.,  born  April  5, 
1887.  (6)  James  May,  jr.,  born  December  30, 
1888. 

Nathaniel  B.  Rutter,  eldest  son  of  James  May 
and  Martha  (Burdette)  Rutter,  born  August  17, 
1871,   was   educated   in   the   public   schools    and 


Harry  Hillman  Academy.  For  three  years  fol- 
lowing the  completion  of  his  studies  he  was  em- 
ployed by  Harry  S.  Reets,  the  well  known  min- 
ing and  civil  engineer,  as  assistant  noteman  and 
rodman,  and  later  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Lehigh  and  Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Company  as 
assistant  transitman,  under  the  chief  engineer, 
W.  J.  Richards,  who  later  became  general  man- 
ager of  the  company,  and  who  is  now  general 
manager  of  the  Reading  Railroad.  Mr.  Rutter 
was  connected1  with  the  engineering  department 
of  the  Lehigh  and  Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Company 
for  three  years,  during  which  time  this  company 
also  controlled  the  interests  of  the  Crystal  Spring 
and  Hanover  Water  companies,  of  which  the 
engineering  department  of  the  Lehigh  and 
Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Company  was  in  charge.  Re- 
signing from  the  employ  of  the  company  he  asso- 
ciated himself  with  A.  Weeks,  Jr.,  formerly  resi- 
dent engineer  of  the  construction  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  &  Eastern  Railroad  Company.  In  April, 
1896,  he  opened  a  general  engineering  office  in 
the  Laning  Building,  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  is 
at  present  located.  He  was  appointed  by  the 
county  commissioners  of  Luzerne  County  as  civil 
and  consulting  engineer  and  has  twice  been 
elected  to  the  office  of  county  surveyor,  his  pres- 
ent term  to  expire  in  1908.  In  1899  ne  was 
elected  by  the  Hollenback  Coal  Company  super- 
intendent and  mining  engineer,  and  is  at  present 
serving  in  that  capacity.  He  has  served  as  civil 
engineer  for  nearly  all  of  the  boroughs  in  Lu- 
zerne county ;  and  has  been  employed  at  various 
times  as  engineer  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company,  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey,  Le- 
high Valley  Railroad,  Delaware,  Lackawanna 
&  Western  Railroad ;  New  York,  Susquehanna 
&  Western  (Erie)  as  an  expert  witness  in  the 
courts,  and  has  been  connected  with  some  of 
the  largest  suits  tried  in  this  and  other  counties. 
During  the  past  ten  years  of  his  business  he  has 
been  employed  as  engineer  witness  more  times 
than  any  other  practicing  engineer  in  northeast- 
ern Pennsylvania.  He  first  being  in  the  employ 
of  an  individual  engineer,  then  in  the  employ  of 
the  engineering  department  of  one  of  the  largest 
corporations  in  the  state,  and  later  associating 
himself  with  a  college  graduate  civil  engineer  for 
two  years,  has  given  him  the  experience  few 
engineers  have  had. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club, 
a  charter  member  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  Coun- 
try Club,  a  director  of  the  Luzerne  County 
Sportsmen  Association ;  a  member  of  Landmark 
Lodge  No.  442.  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ; 
Shekinah    Chapter,    No.    182,   Royal   Arch    Ma- 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


323 


•sons ;  Dieu  Le  Yieut  Commandery,  Knights 
Templar ;  Irem  Temple,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine ;  and  has  recently  been  proposed  for  mem- 
bership in  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engi- 
neers. He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  has 
been  delegate  to  the  Republican  state  convention. 
Nathaniel  B.  Rutter  married,  April  25,  1899, 
Stella  Gertrude  Hann,  born  in  Hackettstown, 
New  Jersey,  daughter  of  Stephen  Hann  (now 
■deceased)  and  his  wife,  Harriet  Pell,  born  in 
Hanover  township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  representative  of  the  old  Pell  family. 
One  son  born,  died  in  infancy.  He  resides  in 
Dallas,  and  during  the  winter  lives  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

LEAVENWORTH  FAMjILY.  The  im- 
migration of  the  Leavenworth  family  to  America 
from  England  took  place  between  1660  and  i63o, 
and  probably  between  1664  and  1675.  In  the 
family  in  England  there  were  personages  of  con- 
sequence, for  a  coat-of-arms  was  bestowed  among 
them  and  was  preserved  by  their  descendants. 
The  founder  of  the  family  in  America  was 
Thomas  Leavenworth,  of  Woodbury,  in  the  Con- 
necticut colony.  He  was  born  in  England,  and 
died  in  Woodbury,  August  3,  1683,  his  wife 
Grace  surviving  him.  She  died,  as  supposed,  in 
1715.  The  Leavenworth  home  in  Woodbury  was 
in  the  place  called  Good  Hill,  and  there  the  family 
lived  many  years,  in  the  west  part  of  the  town, 
not  far  from  the  Roxbury  line.  His  brother 
John,  also  born  in  England,  doubtless  came  with 
him  to  America.  He  settled  first  in  Woodbury, 
and  removed  thence  to  Stratford,  Connecticut, 
where  he  died  in  1702,  without  issue,  and  prob- 
ably unmarried.  Thomas  Leavenworth  and  his 
wife  Grace  had  children:  Thomas,  born  1763, 
died,  Ripton,  Connecticut,  August  4,  1754;  John 
died  after  171 5  ;  daughter,  name  unknown. 

Thomas  Leavenworth,  son  of  the  immigrant 
Thomas  and  Grace,  was  born  probably  in  Wood- 
bury, but  possibly  in  England.  He  was  a  phy- 
sician, a  man  evidently  of  means  and  social  posi- 
tion, and  one  of  the  original  members  of  the 
church  in  Ripton,  in  the  records  being  mentioned 
as  'Deacon.''  He  was  of  Stratford  in  1695,  and 
was  received  into  the  church  there,  1697-98.  He 
left  a  large  property,  and  gave  his  children  the 
advantages  of  a  good  education,  and  all  of  them 
became  useful  and  prominent  men  and  women 
in  their  walks  of  life.  Dr.  Thomas  married  in 
Stratford,  about  1698,  Mary  Jenkins,  who 
died  in  Ripton,  June,  1768,  daughter  of  David 
Jenkins  and  his  wife  Grace.  Dr.  Thomas  died  in 
Ripton,    August    4,    1754.      He    had    children: 


James,  born  September  1,  1699,  died  after  Au- 
gust 1,  1759;  David,  born  October  12,  1701,  died 
April  10,  1755,  a  physician  of  Woodbury;  Eben- 
ezer,  born  April  7,  1706,  died  1734;  John,  born 
November  3,  1708,  died  1783.  Zebulon,  born 
about  1710,  died  May  2,  1778;  Mark,  born  about 
171 1,  died  August  20,  1797,  was  a  graduate  of 
Yale,  1737  ;  Thomas,  died  after  1795  ;  Mary,  born 
about  17 1 7,  died  about  1813 ;  Hannah,  born  about 
1719,  was  alive  in  1763;  Sarah,  born  November 
6,  1 72 1  ;  Edmund,  born  1725,  died  July  17,  1795. 

Thomas  Leavenworth,  son  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Leavenworth  and  wife  Mary  Jenkins,  was  born  in 
Stratford,  Connecticut.  He  received,  July  6, 
1748,  from  his  father  one  whole  right  in  com- 
monage in  Woodbury,  and  one-third  of  the  re- 
mainder of  said  rights  in  commonage,  with  £100 
(old  tenor).  In  1727  he  was  collector  of  rates 
in  Ripton.  He  was  a  tanner  and  settled  in  Wood- 
bury, but  failed  in  business  and  went  to  Wyo- 
ming in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  again  set  up  in 
tanning,  but  was  driven  out  by  the  Indians  in 
1778,  and  while  within  sight  of  his  home  he  saw 
it  in  flames.  When  driven  out  of  the  valley, 
Thomas  Leavenworth  with  his  family  picked  his 
way  as  best  he  could  through  the  woods  of  Penn- 
sylvania, New  Jersey  and  New  York,  living 
mainly  on  berries,  and  finally  reached  friends  in 
Connecticut  with  only  the  few  clothes  which  they 
wore.  Dorman,  the  youngest  child,  he  led  by  the 
hand.  Asa  and  others  of  the  older  children 
probably  never  went  to  Pennsylvania.  Thomas' 
failure  in  early  life  in  Woodbury,  and  the  second 
loss  of  all  his  property  in  the  Wyoming  valley, 
was  a  disheartening  misfortune,  but  dick  not  pre- 
vent him  from  so  raising  and  educating  his  chil- 
dren as  to  enable  them  to  attain  independent  posi- 
tions in  society.  He  returned  with  his  family  to 
Oxford,  Connecticut,  and  died  there  after  1795, 
at  the  home  of  his  son  Gideon,  in  Hampden.  This 
Thomas  married  (first)  "Betty"  Davis,  who  died 
April  24,  1758.  He  married  (second)  October 
10,  1758,  Rhoda  Olds,  died  Watertown,  May  1, 
1794.  Children  of  both  marriages:  Asa,  born 
1744,  died  November  19,  1828;  Triphena,  born 
July  3,  1746,  died  young;  Gideon,  born  February 
21,  1748,  died  June  7,  1833:  Samuel,  born  1751, 
died  April  12,  1807;  David,  born  February  1, 
1756,  died  young;  Betty,  born  October  28,  1760; 
Isaac,  baptized  March  7,  1762.  died  young;  Abel, 
baptized  February  10.  1765,  died  January  25, 
1813;  Thomas,  baptized  December  28,  1766,  died 
1849:  Dorman,  born  October  28,  1770,  died  May 
31,  1861. 

Gideon  Leavenworth,  third  child  of  Thomas 
and  Betsey  (Davis)  Leavenworth,  lived  in  Water- 


324 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


town,  later  in  Hampden,  and  while  young  re- 
moved to  the  Susquehanna  valley  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. He  afterward  returned  to  Hampden,  remov- 
ing thence  to  New  Marlborough,  Massachusetts, 
and  from  there  returned  to  Watertown,  where  he 
died  in  the  old  Trumbull  house,  June  7,  1833. 
Gideon  Leavenworth  was  remarkably  familiar 
with  the  genealogy  of  his  entire  family,  and  there 
was  hardly  one  of  its  members  from  the  time  of 
Dr.  Thomas,  of  Ripton,  with  whose  name,  resi- 
dence and  business  he  was  not  familiar.  The 
Leavenworth  Genealogy,  published  in  1873,  was 
a  revision  and  extension  of  his  own  earlier  work. 
He  was  a  millwright,  and  built  mills  in  various 
places  in  early  life.  He  lived  in  Oxford,  Con- 
necticut, in  1808,  and  in  1812  moved  to  Towanda, 
Pennsylvania,  from  Shepherd's  Brook,  in  Hamp- 
den, Connecticut.  He  married  Mary  Cole,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Cole,  of  Watertown,  and  had  chil- 
dren- John,  born  Watertown,  September  10, 
1775,  died  August  27,  1822;  Jared,  born  Water- 
town,  March  8,  1780,  died  May  30,  1829 ;  Mary, 
born  Watertown,  May  30,  1783,  died  March  7, 
1870. 

Jared  Leavenworth,  second  son  of  Gideon 
Leavenworth  and  wife  Mary  Cole,  born  March  8, 
1780,  died  Albany,  New  York,  May  30,  1829, 
was  at  the  time  of  his  death  a  resident  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  contractor  on  pub- 
lic works,  and  was  prominently  identified  with 
the  construction  of  the  Erie  canal  in  New  York 
state,  and  also  with  the  Delaware  and  Chesa- 
peake canal,  the  latter  a  Pennsylvania  project. 
He  married  first.  May  2,  1800,  Mary  Osborn, 
born  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  August  30,  1782, 
died  Savannah,  Georgia,  September  19,  1812. 
Strope,  born  Wysox,  Bradford  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  16,  1792,  died,  Towanda, 
Pennsylvania,  December  31,  1841,  daughter  of 
Sebastian  and  Lydia  Van  Valkenburg  Strope. 
Their  children  were :  ( 1 )  Susanna,  born  Hamp- 
den, Connecticut,  March  16,  1801,  died  New 
Haven,  Connecticut,  September  12,  1802.  (2) 
Susanna,  born  New  Haven,  October  18,  1804, 
went  with  her  father  to  Towanda,  Pennsylvania, 
and  after  his  second  marriage  returned  to  Con- 
necticut, where  she  married  Aeneas  Sperry.  She 
had  children  but  lost  one  or  more  in  the  United 
States  service  during  the  war  of  1861-5.  (3) 
Henrietta,  born  January  12,  1806,  went  with  her 
father  to  Towanda,  and  after  his  second  mar- 
riage returned  to  Connecticut,  where  she  mar- 
ried (first)  Mr.  Hotchkiss,  and  (second)  Philo 
Bradlev,  and  lived  near  New  Haven.  (4)  Ma- 
tilda   E.,    born    Genoa,    New    York,    March    31, 


1816,  died  January  23,  1844,  unmarried.  15) 
Elma  Ann,  born  July  31,  1818,  died  April  15,. 
1822,  at  Clyde,  Wayne  county,  New  York,  while 
her  father  was  living  there  employed  as  canal 
contractor.  (6)  Franklin  Jared,  born  Delaware 
City,  Delaware,  January  24,  1827,  now  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Franklin  Jared  Leavenworth,  youngest  child 
of  Jared  and  Jane  (Strope)  Leavenworth,  was 
born  January  24,  1827.  He  was  educated  at  the 
old  Towanda  Academy,  and  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  in  1843.*  He  read  law  with  Luther  Kidder,. 
Esq.,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  January  10, 
1848.  He  began  practice  in  Wilkes-Barre,  but 
at  the  end  of  about  three  years  opportunities 
offered  in  other  business  occupations  which 
promised  more  substantial  reward  and  led  him 
away  from  the  ranks  of  the  law.  He  became 
variously  interested  in  coal,  real  estate,  and  mer- 
cantile business,  and  devoted  his  attention  to 
those  and  allied  pursuits  so  long  as  he  engaged 
in  active  operations.  In  1853  he  removed  to. 
Scranton,  and  for  some  years  was  paymaster  of 
the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Rail- 
road Company,  and  superintendent  of  the  Lack- 
awanna and  Bloomsburg  Railroad.  In  1859  he 
went  to  New  York  City  and  was  in  the  office  of 
the  comptroller  and  city  chamberlain  until  1863,. 
when  he  engaged  in  banking.  He  soon  after- 
ward went  to  Philadelphia,  and  thence  in  1865  t0 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  is  still  engaged  in  busi- 
ness. For  about  thirty-five  years  he  has  been 
vestryman  and  treasurer  of  St.  Stephen's  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church,  and  long  a  director  and 
vice-president  of  the  People's  Bank  of  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

Franklin    J.    Leavenworth    married     (first),. 
June  1,   1848,  Harriet  C.  Steele,  born  Hanover,. 
Pennsylvania,    March    27,    1827,    died    without 
issue,  July  25,  1849,  onty  daughter  of  George  P. 
Steele   (former  sheriff  of  Luzerne  county,  state 
senator,    etc.)    and   wife   Mary   Christman.     He- 
married     (second)     November    6,    1852,    Annie- 
Woodward,     born     Washington     county,     Ken- 
tucky,    August     5,      1829,     daughter     of     the 
Rev.      Enos      Woodward      and      wife      Sarah 
Murphy.       (See      Woodward       Family.)       He- 
had  by  his  second  marriage  :   1 .  Woodward,  born 
Scranton,    Pennsylvania,    November    22,     1853 
2.     Jane,  born  Scranton,   Pennsylvania,  May  6 
1855,  married  James  W.  McCulloch,  an  importer 
residing  in   New   York  city ;  they  had   Paul   L 
McCulloch ;     Mrs.    McCulloch     died    February 
1887.      3.     Enos,   born    Scranton,    Pennsylvania 
April   24,    1859,   died  April    1903.    4.    Franklin 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


325 


born  Brooklyn,  New  York,  March  2,  1862,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Lape,  and  had :  Ruth,  deceased ; 
Anna,  deceased ;  Franklin,  and  Harriet ;  the 
father  of  these  children  was  formerly  engaged 
with  his  brother  Woodward  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Supply  Company.  5.  Annie,  born  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  April  19,  1865,  married  Henry  M. 
Harding,  of  YYilkes-Barre,  and  died  August, 
1890. 

Woodward  Leavenworth,  eldest  son  of  Frank- 
lin J.  and  Annie  (Woodward)  Leavenworth,  was 
born  in  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  November  22, 
1853.  He  was  educated  in  the  priyate  schools 
of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania ;  Brooklyn,  Xew 
York;  Philadephia,  and  Wilkes-Barre.  At  four- 
teen years  of  age  he  entered  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Scranton  to  learn  the  banking  business, 
remaining  two  years  and  holding  various  posi- 
tions, then  entered  the  Second  National  Bank  of 
Wilkes-Barre  as  assistant  cashier,  and  two  vears 
later  engaged  with  his  father  in  the  coal  and  real 
estate  business  for  one  year,  after  which  he  was 
employed  as  confidential  clerk  with  Conyngham 
&  Co.,  shippers  of  coal,  remaining  as  such  for 
two  years.  When  Charles  Parrish  formed  the 
Lehigh  &  Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Company  he  took 
charge  of  the  real  estate  department,  and  was 
private  secretary  to  Mr.  Parrish,  and  during  his 
■connection  with  this  company  was  also  treasurer 
and  secretary  of  the  Hazard  Manufacturing 
Company,  which  latter  positions  he  held  sixteen 
years.  This  company  was  then  located  at  Mauch 
Chunk,  but  later  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre.  In 
company  with  William  H.  and  John  N.  Conyng- 
ham. sons  of  William  L.  Conyngham,  he  formed 
the  Pennsylvania  Supply  Company,  Mr.  Leaven- 
worth being  the  senior  partner,  and  this  connec- 
tion continued  until  February  29,  1904.  During 
"this  time  he  assisted  in  forming  the  Red  Ash 
Coal  Company,  organized  in  July,  1881,  in  which 
Tie  was  a  director;  he  also  served  as  secretary, 
later  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  upon  the  death 
of  George  H.  Parrish,  December,  1898,  was 
elected  vice-president,  and  on  the  death  of  M. 
B.  Williams,  October,  1903,  was  elected  presi- 
dent, which  position  he  still  occupies.  He  has 
"been  a  director  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and 
Savings  Bank  since  1887,  and  was  formerly  a 
director  of  the  Anthracite  Savings  Bank.  In 
December,  1903,  he  was  elected  vice-president  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and  Savings  Bank.  In 
addition  to  his  other  business  he  also  looks  after 
a  number  of  estates  of  which  he  is  trustee.  Mr. 
Leavenworth  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland 
Club,  the  Wvoming  Vallev   Countrv   Club,   and 


a  life  member  of  the  Wvoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society. 

Mr.  Leavenworth  married,  March  13,  1878, 
Ida  Cornelia  Miller,  born  Lackawanna,  Pennsyl- 
vania, May  3,  1854,  daughter  of  Garrick  Mallery 
Miller  and  wife  Jane  \\  ilcox  Stark.  They  had : 
Alice,  born  June  14,  1880,  married  October  8, 
1902,  Frederick  P.  Boynton,  and  had  Elizabeth 
W.,  born  November  8,  1903.  2.  Helen  Louise, 
born  February  15,  1884,  a  senior  at  Vassar  Col- 
lege. 3.  Woodward,  born  February  1,  1890,  died 
tebruary  7,  1905.  H.  E.  H. 

ABBOTT  FAMILY.  George  Abbott  (1), 
born  in  161 5,  the  venerable  ancestor  of  a  numer- 
ous progeny,  emigrated  from  Yorkshire,  Eng- 
land, in  1637,  and  was  among  the  first  settlers  in 
Andover,  Massachusetts;  in  1643.  He  was  a 
proprietor,  and  during  the  colonial  wars  and  for 
many  years  after  his  death  his  house  was  used 
as  a  garrison.  He  was  a  Puritan,  and  was  in- 
dustrious, sober,  pious,  and  respected.  December 
12,  1646,  he  married  Hannah  Chandler,  daughter 
of  William  and  Annis  Chandler,  of  Roxbury,  who 
came  over  in  the  same  ship  with  their  future  son- 
in-law,  accompanied  by  their  four  children — • 
Thomas,  Hannah,  John,  and  William ;  Sarah, 
their  fifth  child,  was  born  in  Roxbury.  George 
and  Hannah  Abbott  endured  with  Christian  for- 
titude and  submission  their  trials,  privations  and 
dangers,  of  which  they  had  a  large  share,  and 
trained  their  children  in  the  way  they  should 
go,  from  which  they  did  not  depart.  George  Ab- 
bott died  December  24,  1681 ;  his  wife  died  June 
11,  171 1.  They  had  thirteen  children,  of  whom 
the  sixth  was 

William  Abbott  (2),  born  November  18,  1657, 
died  October  21,  1713.  He  also  was  a  Puritan 
in  faith  and  Christian  conduct.  He  resided  in 
Andover,  Massachusetts,  near  the  home  of  Pro- 
fessor Stewart.  He  married,  June  2,  1682, 
Elizabeth  Geary,  born  July  10,  1661,  who  was 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Geary,  of  Roxbury,  who 
married  Ann  Douglass,  1658 ;  granddaughter  of 
Denis  Geary,  (who  came  from  London  in  the 
"Abigail"  in  1635,  and  settled  in  Lynn,  Massa- 
chusetts), and  William  Douglass,  son  of  Robert 
Douglass,  first  of  Gloucester,  but  of  Boston  in 
1640.  They  had  twelve  children,  of  whom  the 
ninth  was 

Philip  Abbott  (3),  born  April  3,  1699,  died 
about  1748.  He  was  a  farmer,  moved  to  Hamp- 
ton, Connecticut,  from  Andover,  about  1722,  and 
later  removed  to  Windham,  where  most  of  his 
children  were  born.    His  estate  was  partially  set- 


326 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


tied  in  the  probate  court,  Windham,  April  17, 
1749.  He  married  Abigail  Bickford,  October  20, 
1723.  They  had  eight  children  of  whom  the 
eighth  was 

John  Abbott  (4),  born  December  27,  1741, 
died  July  18,  1778.  He  was  a  fanner  in  Wind- 
ham county,  Connecticut,  and  was  among  the 
first  to  settle  in  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778,  and 
escaped,  but  was  soon  after  killed  and  scalped  by 
the  Indians,  while,  in  company  with  Isaac  Will- 
iams, he  attempted  to  save  a  portion  of  his  har- 
vest1. His  house,  barn  and  furniture  were 
burned  and  his  cattle  lost.  His  widow,  in  a  state 
of  utter  destitution,  with  nine  small  children,  the 
eldest  a  son  nine  years  old,  begged  their  way  to 
relatives  in  Connecticut.  John  Abbott  built  the 
first  dwelling  house  in  the  borough  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  in  1769,  and  it  was  standing  as  late  as 
1812.  November  4,  1762,  he  married  Alice  Ful- 
ler, first  born  child  of  Stephen  Fuller.  Lieutenant 
Thomas  Fuller  came  in  1638,  was  of  Woburn, 
Massachusetts,  1640,  was  a  sergeant  1656,  lieu- 
tenant 1685.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
John  and  Margaret  Tidd,  June  13,  1643,  and  had 
Thomas  Fuller,  born  April  30,  1644,  married 
Martha  Durgy,  daughter  of  William  and  Martha 
(Cross)  Durgy,  and  had 

Stephen  Fuller,  married  Hannah  Moulton, 
June  1,  1723.  He  was  a  native  of  Windham 
county,  Connecticut,  and  emigrated  to  Wyoming, 
Pennsylvania,  about  1768 ;  he  was  in  the  Wyom- 
ing massacre,  July  3,  1778,  being  the  oldest  man 
in  the  battle.  His  daughter  Alice  (first  born) 
married  John  Abbott,  November  4,  1762.  They 
had  eleven  children  of  whom  the  fifth  was 

Stephen  Abbott  (5),  born  April  29,  1771,  died 
July  22,  1853.  He  was  a  farmer  of  Jacobs 
Plains,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania.  After 
the  war  he  returned  to  the  estate  on  which  his 
father  was  killed.  He  married,  July  14,  1799, 
Abigail  Searle,  daughter  of  William  and  Philena 
(Frink)  Searle,  and  granddaughter  of  Constant 
Searle   who  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming, 


I.  On  November  30,  1895,  a  granite  monument 
was  erected  on  the  exact  spot  where  John  Abbott  and 
Isaac  Williams  were  massacred.  It  is  on  the  line  of 
the  Duryea  traction  line,  on  the  old  plank  road,  where 
Carev  street,  Plains,  intersect.  The  ground  was  donated 
by  J.  Robertson  Williams,  a  descendant  of  Isaac 
Williams,  and  the  building  fund  was  procured  by  Sid- 
ney Miner,  a  descendant  of  John  Abbott,  from  other 
descendants  of  Abbott.  The  monument  bears  the  fol- 
lowing inscription :  "Near  this  spot  John  Abbott,  aged 
36  years,  a  survivor  of  the  battle  and  massacre  of 
Wyoming,  and  Isaac  Williams,  aged  17.  were  killed 
and  scalped  by  Indians,  in  July,  1778." 


Juy  3,  1778.  She  died  June  2,  1842.  Philena 
Frink,  born  January  21,  1755,  married  William 
Searle,  October  17,  1773;  she  was  daughter  of 
Andrew  and  Abigail  ( Billings )  Frink,  second  in 
descent  from  Samuel  and  Margaret  (Wheeler) 
Frink,  Increase  and  Hannah  (Hewitt)  Billings; 
third  in  descent  from  Samuel  and  Hannah 
(Miner)  Frink,  Isaac  and  Mary  (Shepard) 
Wheeler,  Ebenezer  and  Anna  (Comstock)  Bill- 
ings, Benjamin  and  Marie  (Fanning)  Hewitt; 
fourth  in  descent  from  John  and  Grace  (Stevens) 
Frink,  Lieut.-  Ephraim  and  Hannah  (Avery) 
Miner,  Isaac  and  Martha  ( Park )  Wheeler,  Rev. 
Jeremiah  and  Mary  (Wainwright)  Shepard, 
William  Billings,  Thomas  and  Hannah  (Palmer) 
Hewitt,  Edmund  Fanning ;  fifth  in  descent  from 
John  Frink,  Thomas  and  Grace  (Palmer)  Miner, 
Capt.  James  and  Joanna  (Greenslade)  Avery,. 
Thomas  Wheeler,  Thomas  and  Dorothy  (Thomp- 
son) Park,  Rev.  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Bora- 
dale)  Shepard,  Francis  Wainwright,  Walter  and 
Rebecca  (Short)  Palmer. 

Constant  Searle,  born  June  17,  1728,  came 
from  Stonington,  Connecticut,  to  Wyoming  with 
the  first  settlers,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth 
( Kinnecutt )  Searle ;  second  in  descent  from  Na- 
thaniel and  Sarah  (Rogers)  Searle;  third  in  de- 
scent from  Robert  and  Deborah  (Salter)  Searle, 
John  and  Elizabeth  (Pabodie)  Rogers;  fourth  in 
descent  from  John  and  Ann  (Churchman)  Rog- 
ers, William  and  Elizabeth  (Alden)  Pabodie; 
fifth  in  descent  from  Thomas  Rogers,  of  the 
Mayflower,  Hugh  Churchman,  John  Pabodie, 
John  and  Priscilla  (Mullins)  Alden,  of  the  May- 
flower ;  sixth  in  descent  from  William  Mullins, 
who  came  in  the  "Mayflower,"  married  Hannah 
Miner,  born  December  9,  173 1.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  Simeon  and  Hannah  (Wheeler) 
Miner ;  second  in  descent  from  Captain  Ephraim 
and  Mary  (Stevens)  Miner,  William  and  Han- 
nah (Gallup)  Wheeler:  third  in  descent  from 
Lieut.  Ephraim  and  Hannah  (Avery)  Miner, 
Richard  and  Mary  (Lincoln)  Stevens,  Isaac  and 
Martha  (Park)  Wheeler,  Benadam  and  Esther 
(Prentice)  Gallup;  fourth  in  descent  from 
Thomas  and  Grace  (Palmer)  Miner,  Capt.  James 
and  Joanna  (Greenslade)  Avery,  Thomas  and 
Mary  Wheeler,  Thomas  and  Dorothy  (Thomp- 
son) Park,  Captain  John  and  Hannah  (Lake) 
Gallup,  John  and  Esther  Prentice ;  fifth  in  de- 
scent from  Walter  Palmer,  Christopher  Avery,, 
and  Captain  John  and  Christobel  Gallup.  Stephen 
and  Abigail  (Searle)  Abbott  had  five  children,, 
of  whom  the  first  was 

John  Abbott  (6),  born  April  8,  1800,  died  No- 


w 


i/vy 


& 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


327 


vember  23,  1861.  He  was  a  farmer  in  Jacobs 
Plains,  Pennsylvania,  was  a  good  friend  and 
neighbor,  an  excellent  financier  and  a  most  indus- 
trious business  man.  He  married  Hannah  Court- 
right,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Courtright,  Esq., 
March  11,  1830.  She  died  May  4,  1892.  Their 
children  were:  1.  Robert,  born  August  25,  1831, 
died  young.  2.  Lucy  W.,  born  November  25, 
1833.  3.  Robert  Miner,  born  June  17,  1836.  4. 
Catharine  C,  born  December  16,  1838,  died 
April,  1894. 

The  Courtright  family :  The  old  Flemish  town 
of  Kortryk,  the  earliest  home  of  the  Kortright 
(Courtright)  family  of  which  there  is  any  knowl- 
edge, is  situated  in  the  southeast  part  of  West 
Flanders,  Belgium,  twenty-seven  miles  south- 
west of  Ghent.  During  the  early  part  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century,  when  civil  and  religious  perse- 
cutions and  wars  had  devastated  the  land,  this 
family  ( one  of  the  most  wealthy  in  landed  pos- 
sessions in  Harlem)  escaped  their  troubles  by 
moving  to  Leerdam,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Hol- 
land. 

Sebastian  Van  Kortryk  ( 1 ) ,  born  in  Kortryk, 
Belgium,  had  two  sons,  Jan  Bastian  and  Michael, 
who  was  born  at  Leerdam.  The  first,  Jan  Bas- 
tian, married  and  settled  at  Beest,  a  little  village 
further  up  the  Linge  within  sight  of  Wolfsweart 
Castle,  as  also  of  the  ruined  abbey  of  Marien- 
weart.  Michael,  the  second  son,,  (afterwards 
called  Chiel)  also  married  and  had  been  living 
near  Schonrewoerd,  a  pretty  village  two  miles 
north  of  Leerdam,  and  after  tarrying  at  the  lat- 
ter place  till  blessed  with  several  children,  he 
and  his  brother  Jan,  whose  three  sons  were  fast 
approaching  manhood,  yielded  to  the  flattering 
offers  held  out  by  the  colonists,  and  agreed  to 
leave  for  the  distant  land  of  New  Amsterdam., 
Proceeding  to  Amsterdam,  they  all  embarked  in 
the  good  ship  "Brindle  Cow,"  Jan  Bergin,  mas- 
ter, in  which  there  also  sailed  French  refugees 
from  Mannheim.  There  were  ninety  odd  passen- 
gers, including  men,  women  and  children,  the 
French  comprising  a  third ;  each  adult  was 
charged  thirty-nine  florins,  and  children,  except 
infants,  half  price.  It  cost  Jan  Bastian  Van 
Kortryk  for  himself  and  family  two  hundred  and 
four  florins. 

Jan  Bastian  Kortryk  (2),  born  in  Beest,  Hol- 
land, first  went  to  Stuyvesant's  Bowery,  but  April 
16,  1663,  came  to  Harlem,  Xew  York.  His  chil- 
dren, all  of  whom  were  born  at  Beest,  Holland, 
were  Cornelius,  born  1645  ;  Hendrick  Jansen  (3), 
1648;  Laurens,  1651  ;  Belitie,  1659. 

Hendrick  Jansen  Kortright  (3),  was  born  at 
Beest,  Holland,  in  1648.    He  came  with  his  father 


to  Harlem  in  1663.  He  bought  land  near  Stuyve- 
sant's Bowery,  February  12,  1669,  but  did  not 
long  hold  it.  He  went  to  Esopus,  at  which  place 
he  married,  December  14,  1672,  Catherine  Han- 
son, born  in  Xew  York,  daughter  of  Hans  Weber, 
"Master  at  Arms,''  who  died  1649,  and  whose 
widow  married  Mattleys  Capito,  removed  to  Eso- 
pus, and  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  1663.  Hen- 
drick Kortright  purchased  land  at  Rochester,  Li- 
ster county,  settled  there,  and  reared  a  large  fam- 
ilv  who  bore  the  name  of  Kortright  of  Courtright, 
whose  descendants  have  become  numerous.  He 
died  in  1740;  his  wife  died  in  1741,  aged  ninety- 
three  years.  They  had  a  son  Cornelius,  born 
1680,  married  Christianie  Rosecrans,  1701. 

Cornelius  Courtright  (4),  born  at  Rochester, 
1680,  married  December  26,  1701,  Christianie 
Rosecrans.  With  his  brothers,  he  subscribed 
for  the  minister  at  Rochester  in  1717,  and  was  a 
leading  man  there.  He  removed  to  Marbletown 
about  the  year  1744,  where  he  bought  land  upon 
which  he  settled.  They  were  the  parents  of  a 
son,  Benjamin  Courtright. 

Captain  Benjamin  Courtright  (5),  born  at 
Rochester  in  1726,  married  Catherine  Cudde- 
back,  a  descendant  of  Jacob  Codebec,  the  Hugue- 
not ancestor,  and  removed  to  Minisink,  Orange 
county,  near  Port  Jervis.  He  was  the  leader  of 
the  "Kortright  Expedition,"  mentioned  in 
Smith's  "Legends  of  Shawangank."  He  was  one 
of  the  captains  of  the  Third  Regiment,  Lister 
County  militia,  during  the  Revolution,  serving 
under  Colonel  Levi  Pawling  and  Colonel  John 
Cantine.     They  had 

Cornelius  Courtright  (6),  born  March  7, 
1764,  at  Minisink,  came  to  Wyoming,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  one  of  the  prom- 
inent men  of  his  day.  He  was  a  commissioner 
of  Luzerne  county  1813-14-15-31  and  1832;  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  1806  to  1840,  and  member  of  the 
•legislature  1820-21  and  1823.  He  was  an  exten- 
sive land  owner.  October  1,  1786,  Cornelius 
Courtright  married  Catherine  Kennedy,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Kennedy,  and  their  children  were : 
John,  married  Louisa  Searle,  and  their  children 
were :  George,  Cornelius,  Louisa  and  Hannah. 
Benjamin,  married  Clara  Williams,  and  their 
children  were :  Hamilton,  Frank,  John  Milton, 
James,  Thomas  and  Mary.  Henry  married 
Sarah  Bidleman,  and  their  children  were :  Eliza- 
beth, Catherine,  Rosanna.  Margaret,  Winfield 
Scott,  Mary,  Willliam,  Ellen,  Charles  and  Henry 
Harrison.  Milton  married  Hannah  Passmore, 
and  their  children  were  :  Elizabeth,  Norman,  John 
and  Alice.  Helen  became  the  wife  of  William 
Abbott   and  mother  of  children :  Lucinda,   Cor- 


328 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


nelius,  John  and  Stephen.  Hannah,  born  in 
Plains,  just  outside  the  present  city  limits  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  February  7,  1798, 
became  wife-of  John  Abbott  (No.  6,  Abbott  fam- 
ily above),  and  was  the  mother  of  three  children: 
Lucy  W.,  Catherine  and  Robert  Miner.  At  the 
time  of  her  birth  Wilkes-Barre  was  only  a  little 
hamlet  in  a  great  wilderness,  and  she  vividly  re- 
called many  a  horseback  ride  to  Wilkes-Barre 
either  alone  or  on  the  same  horse  with,  her  father. 
It  was  a  time  of  great  hardship,  and  a  source  of 
great  inconvenience  was  a  lack  of  ready  money 
with  which  to  transact  business.  Mrs.  Abbott 
remembered  well  hearing  the  survivors  of  the 
Wyoming  massacre  of  1778  tell  about  that  bloody 
event,  for  many  of  them  were  alive  during  her 
recollection.  The  terrors  inspired  by  the  pres- 
ence of  the  savages,  the  eager  hanging  of  the 
women  and  children  upon  the  gospel  minister  to 
shield  them,  the  merciless  attack  of  the  British 
and  Indians,  the  flight  across  the  mountains 
through  the  "Shades  of  Death"  to  the  Minisink 
settlements  on  the  Delaware,  or  to  Connecticut, 
the  sufferings  of  the  hare-footed,  almost  naked 
children,  the  birth  of  a  child  during  this  mad 
stampede,  and  the  tender  efforts  of  the  fugitives 
to  provide  for  the  mother  and  carry  her  on  blan- 
kets fastened  to  two  horses — these  and  many 
other  incidents  were  familiar  tales  to  her.  It 
was  hard  for  Mrs.  Abbott  to  realize  the  changes 
since  the  old  days — the  telegraph,  the  telephone, 
the  electric  cars  and  many  other  modern  im- 
provements. When  speaking  of  the  electric  cars 
she  said  they  reminded  her  of  lines  that  ran 
through  her  mind,  where  taken  from  she  did  not 
know, 

"The  arm  of  Omnipotent  power  they  assume 
And  ride  in  chariots  of  fire," 

certainly  not  an  unprophetic  description.  She  was 
a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist  church  for 
eighty  years,  joining  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  and 
throughout  her  lifetime  she  was  cheered  and  com- 
forted by  a  faith  which  never  wavered.  She 
passed  away  May  4,  1892,  having  attained  the  ex- 
treme old  age  of  ninety-four  years.  She  was  a 
woman  of  rugged  constitution  and  of  wonderful 
energy,  and  up  to  two  years  previous  to  her  de- 
mise her  sight  was  unimpaired.  In  her  declining 
years  she  was  surrounded  by  even-thing  to  make 
her  comfortable,  and  her  two  daughters  were  de- 
votion itself.  At  the  time  of  her  death  she  was 
the  oldest  person  in  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vani. 

Robert  Miner  Abbott,  born  June  17,  1836.  at 
Plains,   son  of  John  and  Hannah    (Courtright) 


Abbott,  married  Caroline  Courtright,  December 
29,  1864,  at  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  removed  to 
Davenport,  Iowa,  in  1867,  where  for  many  years 
he  was  engaged  in  the  grain  business.  She  was 
born  in  Kendall  county,  Illinois,  November  4, 
1842,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Cornelius  and 
Harriet  (Bailey)  Courtright;  granddaughter  of 
John  Courtright  (brother  of  Cornelius  and  son 
of  Benjamin)  who  married  Mary  Abbott  (sister 
of  Stephen  and  daughter  of  John  and  Alice 
(Fuller)  Abbott,  also  of  Benjamin  and  Lydia 
(Gore)  Bailey,  of  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania. 

The  Gore  family :  John  Gore,  with  his  wife 
Rhoda  and  daughter  Mary  and  probably  a  son, 
John,  came  to  New  England  in  1635,  landed  at 
Boston,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Roxbury, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  1657.  He  was 
made  a  member  of  the  Artillery  Company  in 
1638 :  nis  name  appears  on  the  first  page  of  Rox- 
bury land  records,  and  he  was  a  clerk  of  the  writs 
for  many  years.  In  the  church  "Mr.  Gore's  pew 
was  located  by  the  pulpit  stairs." 

Samuel  Gore,  youngest  child  of  John  and 
Rhoda  Gore,  married  August  28,  1672..  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  Weld,  (son  of  Capt.  Joseph 
Weld)  and  Margaret  (Bowen)  his  wife  of  Rox- 
bury. He  was  selectman  of  Roxbury  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  July  4,  1692 ;  was  lieutenant  in  the 
military  company  of  Roxbury  in  1689.  which  took 
part  in  the  Revolution  that  overthrew  the  govern- 
ment of  Sir  Edmund  Andros ;  was  one  of  the  or- 
iginal proprietors  of  Pomfret,  Windham  county, 
Connecticut,  in  October,  1687. 

Samuel  Gore,  fourth  child  of  Samuel  and 
Elizabeth  Gore,  was  born  October  20,  1681.  at 
Roxbury.  He  married  Hannah  Draper,  (daugh- 
ter of  Moses  and  Hannah  ( Chandler)  Draper, 
granddaughter  of  James  and  Miriam  (Stanfield) 
Draper,  and  John  and  Elizabeth  (Douglass) 
Chandler  and  removed  to  Norwich,  Connecticut. 

Obadiah  Gore,  sixth  child  of  Samuel  and  Han- 
nah Gore,  was  born  July  26,  1714.  at  Norwich, 
Connecticut.  He  moved  to  Wyoming,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 1771.  being  among  the  first  settlers.  He 
was  one  of  a  committee  appointed  to  draft  resolu- 
tions to  uphold  the  Continental  congress,  August 
8,  1775  ;  was  appointed  a  magistrate  bv  Gover- 
nor Jonathan  Trumbull,  of  Connecticut,  June. 
1778.  He  was  one  of  the  aged  men  who  were 
in  the  Wyoming  battle,  July  3,  1778,  being  left 
in  the  fort  to  protect  the  women  and  children. 
He  married  Hannah  Park,  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Hannah  (Witter)  Park.  November  4,  1742. 
She  was  second  in  descent  from  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Allyn)  Park.  Josiah  and  Sarah  (Cran- 
dall)  Witter:  third  in  descent  from  Thomas  and 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


329 


Dorothy  (Thompson)  Park,  Robert  Allyn,  Will- 
iam Witter,  Rev.  John  and  Elizabeth  (Gorton) 

'  Crandall ;  fourth  in  descent  from  Robert  Park, 
John  Thompson  and  Samuel  Gorton.  Lieutenant 
Daniel  Gore,  son  of  Obadiah  and  Hannah  Gore, 
was  born  March  13,  1746;  married  Mary  Parks, 
died  September  3,  1806,  and  was  buried  in  the 
family  plat  near  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  in  the 
Wyoming-  battle,  and  had  an  arm  shattered  in 
the  engagement,  but  made  his  escape  from  the  In- 
dians by  hiding  in  the  willows.  He  served  in 
Captain  Hewett's  company.    Daniel  Gore  and  his 

brother  Obadiah  were  the  first  to  discover  the 
use  of  anthracite  coal,  having  tried  it  in  their 
blacksmith  forge  with  satisfactory  results. 

Lydia  Gore,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Mary 
(Parks)  Gore,  was  born  May  7,  1768,  died  July 

26,  1854,   married   Benjamin   Bailey,    November 

27,  1794,  and  had  Harriet  Bailey,  born  Decem- 
ber 2,  1805,  married  Cornelius  Courtright,  July 
10.  1827,  and  had  Caroline  Courtright,  born  No- 
vember 4;  1842. 

Robert  Miner  and  Caroline  (Courtright)  Ab- 
bott, have  three  children  :  John  Howard  Abbott, 
of  Minneapolis,  Minnesota :  Carrie  Helena  Ab- 
bott, of  Davenport,  Iowa ;  Robert  Bruce  Abbott, 
of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  H.  E.  H. 

THE  BUNTING  FAMILY  traces  its  origin 
to  Anthony  Bunting,  of  Matlack,  Derbyshire, 
England.  His  wife  was  Ellen  Bunting.  Their 
son  Samuel,  born  in  Matlack,  Derbyshire,  Eng- 
laid,  came  to  America  in  1678,  and  settled  in  West 
New  Jersey,  at  Cross-we-sune',  now  Crosswicks 
Creek,  near  Burlington.  The  reconstructed 
homestead  and  land  are  still  in  the  possession  of 
liis  descendants.  He  was  an  accredited  minister 
in  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  a  memorial  on  the 
records  of  Philadelphia  yearly  meeting  shows  that 
Tie  was  a  minister  approved  by  them.  He  mar- 
ried 9  mo.  18,  1684,  Mary  Foulke,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Foulke,  one  of  William  Penn's  commis- 
sioners sent  from  England  to  negotiate  with  the 
Indians  for  their  land  in  West  New  Jersey. 

John    Bunting,    son    of    Samuel  and    Mary 

(Foulke)    Bunting,    born    at    Crosswicks,    New 

Jersey,  9  mo.  26,  1685,  married,  1723,  Alice  Lord 

Nicholson,    widow    of    George    Nicholson,    and 

daughter  of  Joshua  and  Sarah   (Woods)   Lord, 

the  former  a  son  of  James  Lord,  of  Baroye,  in 

"Lancashire,    England,   the   latter  a   daughter   of 

John    Woods,   of   Woodbury,    Gloucester.    Alice 

(Lord)    (Nicholson)   Bunting  was  a  minister  in 

the  Society  of  Friends. 

Samuel  Bunting,  son  of  John  and  Alice  Bunt- 
ing,  born   Crosswicks,   New   Jersey,    1724,   died 


8  mo.  21,  1767;  married,  4  mo.  30,  1762,  Esther 
Syng,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth  (Warner) 
Syng.  Philip  Syng,  born  9  mo.  29,  1703,  died 
5  mo.  8,  1789,  was  interred  in  Christ  Church 
ground,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  He  came 
from  Bristol,  England,  with  his  father,  Philip 
Syng,  when  but  eleven  years  of  age.  He  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  of  Pennsylvania  under 
Governor  John  Penn,  a  man  of  more  than  or- 
dinary scientific  attainments,  and  an  intimate 
friend  of  Franklin,  with  whom  he  was  associated 
in  the  founding  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
Library  Company  of  Philadelphia.  Uhilip  Syng 
was  treasurer  of  Philadelphia  from  1759  to  1769. 

Philip  Syng  Bunting,  son  of  Samuel  and 
Esther  ( Syng)  Bunting,  bo"rn  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania. 1763,  died  there  September  6,  1826.  He 
was  a  recommended  minister  in  the  Society  of 
Friends.  He  married,  1788,  Elizabeth  Tompkins, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Tompkins,  of  Philadelphia. 

Joshua  Bunting,  son  of  Philip  Syng  and 
Elizabeth  (Tompkins)  Bunting,  born  in  Phila- 
delphia. Pennsylvania,  December  15,  1797,  died 
there  March  30,  1850.  He  was  a  merchant  on 
South  Wharves,  Philadelphia.  He  married,  June 
6,  183 1,  Henrietta  Barron  Wade,  born  1802,  died 
July  15,  1883,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Mary 
(Crowell)  Wade,  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey.  The 
Wade  family  traces  its  origin  to  Robert  Wade,  of 
King  Crasse,  Halifax,  born  1646,  died  1700.  One 
of  his  descendants  in  the  fifth  generation  was 
Benjamin  Wade,  an  extensive  land  owner,  and 
one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey, 
where  he  came  in  1675.  Robert  Wade,  son  of 
Benjamin  and  Ann  (Looker)  Wade,  born  in  Eliz- 
abeth, New  Jersey,  died  there  August,  1766.  Rob- 
ert Wade,  son  of  Robert  Wade,  born  at  Elizabeth, 
New  Jersey,  died  a  prisoner  of  war  about  1756. 
Nehemiah  Wade,  son  of  Robert  Wade,  born  at 
Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  1736,  died  October  19, 
1776,  from  exposure  while  in  service.  He  was 
commissary  of  military  stores,  and  second  major 
of  the  First  Essex  Regiment,  New  Jersey  militia, 
in  the  Revolution.  Benjamin  Wade,  son  of  Ne- 
hemiah and  Abigail  (Mulford)  Wade,  born  in 
Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  July  22,  1722,  died  at 
Philadelphia,  in  1847.  Benjamin  and  Mary 
(Crowell)  Wade  were  the  parents  of  Henrietta 
Barron,  before  mentioned  as  the  wife  of  Joshua 
Bunting. 

Thomas  Crowell  Bunting,  M.  D.,  son  of  Jos- 
hua and  Henrietta  Barron  (Wade)  Bunting,  born 
in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  November  7,  1832, 
died  in  East  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania,  De- 
cember 24,  1895,  where  he  had  practiced  success- 


3$o 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


fully  as  a  homeopathic  physician  for  over  thirty 
years.  He  married,  June  i,  1869,  Elizabeth 
Crelland  Douglas,  daughter  of  Andrew  Almerin 
and  Mary  Ann  (Leisenring)  Douglas,  of  Mauch 
Chunk.  Their  children  are:  Douglas,  of  whom 
later;  Mary  Douglas,  married  George  B.  Home, 
of  Mauch  Chunk  ;  Laura  Whitney,  married  James 
S.  Heberling  of  Redington ;  Henrietta  Wade, 
married  J.  Irwin  Blakslee,  of  Mauch  Chunk ; 
and  Wade,  at  school  at  Pottstown. 

The  first  American  ancestor  of  the  Douglas 
family,  of  which  Elizabeth  C.  (Douglas)  Bunt- 
ing, wife  of  Dr.  Thomas  C.  Bunting,  was  a  mem- 
ber, was  Deacon  William  Douglas,  born  in  Scot- 
land, 1610,  whose  father  is  supposed  to  have  been 
Robert  Douglas.  William  Douglas  came  to 
America  with  his  wife  and  family  in  1640,  and 
settled  in  New  London,  Connecticut.  He  was  a 
man  of  sterling  worth,  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  community  in  which  he  lived,  and  was  granted 
several  farms  for  his  services  to  the  town.  He 
was  very  prominent  in  church  and  official  circles, 
and  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  at 
the  time  of  King  Phillip's  war.  He  was  also  ap- 
pointed deputy  to  the  general  court  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  1672,  and  once  or  twice  later.  He 
was  one  of  the  townsmen  for  several  different 
years.  In  1670,  he  was  appointed  a  deacon  in  the 
New  London  church,  and  was  active  in  church 
and  town  affairs  till  his  death,  which  occurred 
Julv  26,  1682,  aged  seventy-two  years.  He  mar- 
ried Ann  Mattle,  1636.  Deacon  William  Doug- 
las, son  of  William  and  Ann  (Mattle)  Douglas, 
born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  April  1,  1645, 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  was  granted 
lands  in  Voluntown,  March  29,  1706,  and  also 
inherited  one  of  the  farms  of  his  father,  this 
property  being  also  a  grant.  He  was  appointed  a 
deacon  in  1682,  which  office  he  held  for  about 
fifty  years.  He  married  (first),  December  18, 
1667,  Abiah  Hough,  and  (second),  July,  1715, 
Mrs.  Alary  Bushnell,  who  survived  him.  He 
died  March  9,  1725,  aged  eighty  years.  His  son 
Deacon  William  Douglas,  was  born  in  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut,  February  19,  1673.  He  was  a 
farmer,  and  was  allotted  land  at  Quinnebaug 
(now  Plainfield) ,  and  also  owned  lands  purchased 
from  his  father.  He  and  several  other  men  cov- 
enanted together  and  formed  a  church  in  Plain- 
field  in  1705,  and  William  Douglas  was  chosen 
the  first  deacon.  He  died  in  Plainfield,  August 
10,  1719,  aged  forty-six  years,  greatly  lamented. 
He  married  Sarah  Proctor,  and  had  twelve  chil- 
dren, the  two  eldest  born  in  New  London  and  the 
remainder  in  Plainfield.  One  son,  Asa  Douglas, 
born  in  Plainfield,  December  11,  1715,  died  No- 


vember 12,  1792.  In  1746,  he  removed  to  Old 
Canaan  and  remained  there  until  1766,  a  period 
of  twenty  years,  when  he  removed  to  Jericho 
Hollow,  Massachusetts,  (now  Stephentown,  New 
York),  where  he  farmed  and  built  a  large  farm 
house,  the  garret  of  which  in  the  Revolutionary 
war  was  used  as  a  jail,  no  other  jail  being  in  the 
county.  Asa  Douglas  participated  in  the  war,  and 
led  a  company  of  "'Silver  Grays"  at  the  battle  of 
Bennington,  August  16,  1777,  under  Colonel  John 
Stark.  He  married,  1737,  Rebecca  Wheeler,  born 
August  26,  1 718,  died  June  12,  1809.  Of  their 
thirteen  children  five  were  born  in  Plainfield,  and 
the  remainder  in  Old  Canaan ;  of  these  Captain 
William  Douglas,  born  in  Plainfield,  Connecticut, 
August  22,  1743,  died  December  29,  1811.  He 
removed  to  Jericho  Hollow,  Massachusetts,  (now 
Stephentown,  New  York),  in  1765,  the  year  pre- 
ceding his  father's  removal  there.  He  had  a 
store  and  forge  on  his  farm,  the  only  ones  within 
a  radius  of  many  miles.  He  was  a  captain  in  a 
Revolutionary  company,  and  participated  in  the 
battle  of  Bennington.  He  married  Hannah  Cole, 
of  Canaan,  who  died  December  24,  1795,  aged 
fifty-four  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  one  of  whom  was  William  Douglas, 
born  in  Stephentown,  New  York,  January  1,  1768, 
died  December  13,  1821.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
conducted  his  operations  in  Stephentown.  New 
York.  He  married  (first)  Miriam  Pease,  born' 
July  16,  1768,  died  September  8,  1796;  and  (sec- 
ond) Margaret  Hunter,  born  December  17,  1776, 
died  November  8,  1833.  By  second  marriage  he 
had  Andrew  Almerin  Douglas,  born  in  Stephen- 
town,  New  York,  November  10,  1818,  died  1890, 
resided  in  Mauch  Chunk  for  many  years,  and  was 
largely  interested  in  anthracite  coal  mining.  He- 
married  Mary  Ann  Leisenring,  of  Mauch  Chunk, 
Pennsylvania.  Their  children  are :  Harriet  Dex- 
ter, married  Robert  Ralph  Carter,  of  Mauch 
Chunk ;  Elizabeth  Crelland,  married  Dr.  Thomas 
Crowell  Bunting,  of  Mauch  Chunk ;  Emily  Juliet, 
married  William  H.  Heaton,  of  Ashland,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Douglas  Bunting,  son  of  Dr.  Thomas  Crowell 
and  Elizabeth  Crelland  (Douglas)  Bunting,  was 
born  in  East  Mauch  Chunk.  Pennsylvania.  March 
17,  1870.  He  spent  his  early  days  in  his  native 
town,  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Mauch  Chunk,  Bethlehem  Preparatory  School, 
Spring  Garden  Institute.  Philadelphia,  and  Cor- 
nell University,  graduating  from  the  latter  in 
1894  with  the  degree  of  mechanical  engineer.  In 
the  fall  of  1894  he  entered  the  employ  of  the- 
Mount  Jessup  Coal  Company,  at  Scranton,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  remained  a  short  time,  remov- 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


33  f 


ing  to  Wilkes-Barre,  November  i ,  same  year,  and 
entered  the  engineering  department  of  the  Le- 
high and  Wilks-Barre  Coal  Company.  December 
i,  1899,  ne  was  appointed  mechanical  engineer, 
and  October  1,  1903,  became  chief  engineer  for 
the  same  company,  which  position  he  is  filling  at 
the  present  time  (1906).  Mr.  Bunting  attends 
the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  He  holds  membership  in  the  Sons  of  the 
Revolution,  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical 
Engineers,  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  En- 
gineers, the  Westmoreland  Club,  and  the.  Wy- 
oming Valley  Country  Club.  Mr.  Bunting  mar- 
ried, Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  January  2,  1901, 
Helen  Romayne  Seybolt,  one  of  five  children  born 
to  Calvin  and  Helen  (White)  Seybolt,  of  Scran- 
ton. They  have  one  child,  Elizabeth  Douglas, 
born  May  15,  1905.  H.  E.  H. 

INGHAM  FAMILY.  The  Ingham  family 
of  the  line  here  treated  belonged  to  Yorkshire  in 
England,  and  descended  from  Sir  Oliver  Ing- 
ham, who  lived  in  the  time  of  Edward  III,  but 
went  into  Ireland,  1650.  Thomas  Ingham  was  a 
surgeon  in  the  royal  army.  He  was  born  at  Stag 
Hall,  on  the  Ingham  estate  in  Lisnmane,  county 
Cairn;  died  April,  1777;  married,  March  4,  1729, 
Mary  Farmer,1  died  March  25,  1759.  Their  son, 
Charles  Farmer  Ingham,  born  Stag  Hall,  June 
27,  1737,  died  Dublin,  October  17,  1813,  married, 
March  25,  1770,  Florence  Veitch,  died  August 
24,  1824.  Charles  received  an  appointment  under 
the  crown  in  the  reign  of  George  III  as  collector 
of  customs  in  Dublin,  upon  which  he  removed  to 
that  city  and  lived  at  Island  Bridge  until  his 
death.  He  was  buried  in  St.  Paul's  Church.  His 
sister  Immorinda  remained  at  Stag  Hall,  and 
after  her  death  a  part  of  the  estate  was  sold  to 
Lord  Lanesborough,  whose  property  adjoined 
Lisnmane  ;  Stag  Hall  subsequently  went  into  pos- 
session of  John  Ingham,  one  of  the  descendants 
of  Thomas  Ingham. 

Charles  Farmer  Ingham  had  two  so.ns : 
Thomas,  born  August  25,  1771,  married  Jane 
Reilley;  and  Humphrey  John,  born  Stag  Hall, 
April  10,  1782,  died  Allegheny  City,  Pennsyl- 
vania, October  15,  1866;  married  Mary  Bor- 
bidge ;  she  died  January  14,  1826.     The  children 


1.  The  Farmer  family  came  from  Northampton- 
shire, England,  and  settled  in  Youghal,  Ireland.  They 
were  a  collateral  branch  of  the  Earls  of  Pomfret 
Farmers.  Mary  was  one  of  a  family  of  eight  children 
of  Farmer  and  Mary  Hales,  his  wife.  The  surname 
Farmer  has  been  handed  down  in  almost  every  suc- 
ceeding generation  from  Mary's  marriage  with  Thomas 
Ingham. 


of  Humphrey  J.  Ingham  and  wife  Mary  Borbidge 
were:  Sarah  Borbidge,  born  August  22,  1804;.. 
Florence  Veitch,  born  August  19,  1806;  Mary, 
born  June  7,  180S,  married  a  Turtle ;  Charles 
Farmer,  born  Dublin,  Ireland,  August  12,  1S10, 
died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  January  18,. 
1890;  John  Borbidge,  born  January  15,  1813, 
died  January  3,  1893  ;  Rachel  Smith,  born  Oc- 
tober 20,  1814,  married  John  Barr ;  Elizabeth, 
born  June  16,  1817,  married  a  Mr.  Ackley  ;  James,, 
born  December  7,  1819,  died  August  12,  1820; 
Fanny  Borbidge,  born  June  4,  1822,  married. 
Thomas  Parker. 

Charles  Farmer  Ingham  was  born  of  English 
parents  in  the  city  of  Dublin,  Ireland,  1810,  and 
died  Wilkes-Barre,  January  18,  1B90.  He  came  to 
America  in  early  childhood  with  his  parents,  who 
located  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  When 
about  twelve  years  old  his  father  removed  to  the 
Wyoming  Valley  and  located  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river.  Young  Ingham  joined  his  uncle, 
Thomas  Borbidge,  as  clerk  in  the  latter's  store- 
in  Kingston.  He  remained  there  several  years,, 
and  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr. 
Thomas  W.  Miner.  In  1830  he  taught  school  in 
the  old  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  which  stood  on 
the  public  square.  Subsequently  he  attended  lec- 
tures in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Philadel- 
phia, although  during  all  this  time  his  attention 
had  largely  been  given  to  civil  engineering,  for 
which  he  was  especially  adapted  by  nature.  He 
never  engaged  in  medical  practice,  but  applied 
himself  to  engineering,  in  which  he  subsequently 
achieved  a  wide  reputation.  He  early  distin- 
guished himself  by  the  part  he  took  as  assistant 
engineer  in  locating  and  constructing  the  North 
Branch  canal,  running  south  from  Wilkes-Barre- 
to  Northumberland,  and  north  to  the  New  York 
state  line.  The  work  was  completed  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1834.  He  located,  surveyed  and  built  the 
back  track  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  and  Navigation 
Company  from  Penobscot  to  Wilkes-Barre.  This 
was  the  first  gravity  road  built  in  the  Wyoming 
valley.  His  services  were  sought  by  the  Jersey 
Central  in  the  construction  of  the  branch  run- 
ning from  Wilkes-Barre  to  Nanticoke,  and  he  was 
afterward  employed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company  as  engineer  of  its  Susquehanna 
Coal  Company  mines  at  Nanticoke.  The  rail- 
road bridge  across  the  Susquehanna  from  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  Plymouth,  now  the  Delaware  &  Hudson 
bridge,  was  engineered  by  him.  Shortly  before 
the  war  he  started  the  system  of  works  for  the- 
Wilkes-Barre  Water  Company,  and  carried  it  to 
successful  completion.  Dr.  Ingham  in  earlier 
years  was  superintendent  and  engineer  for  an  oif 


332 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


works  and  powder  mill  at  Spottswood,  New  Jer- 
sey, but  owing  to  explosions  and  other  misfor- 
tunes the  venture  was  unprofitable.  It  was  at 
Spottswood  that  he  married  in  1839,  Lucy  Ver- 
net,  of  Connecticut  birth  and  French  extraction. 
He  then  went  to  Texas  and  remained  three  years, 
experiencing  all  the  excitements  and  vicissitudes 
incident  to  early  days  on  the  Rio  Grande.  Re- 
turning about  1843  he  was  soon  called  upon  by 
the  United  States  government  to  proceed  to 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  remained 
seven  years  assisting  Colonel  Alexander  H.  Bow- 
man, United  States  Army,  in  the  erection  of  Fort 
Sumter.  When  this  work  was  finished  he  re- 
turned to  Wilkes-Barre  and  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Mordecai  brothers,  of  Baltimore,  as  en- 
gineer of  their  mines  at  Wilkes-Barre,  at  which 
time  the  coal  trade  was  coming  rapidly  into  prom- 
inence. 

Dr.  Ingham  was  for  many  years  a  member  of 
the  old  Wilkes-Barre  borough  council,  and  was 
-one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society,  and  its  president, 
1862-63  and  1882-83:  its  vice-president,  1861, 
and  1884-89;  librarian,  1860-61,  1864-67,  1869- 
73 :  curator  of  conchology,  1884-90 :  curator 
of  mineralogy  1886-90.  His  services  were  valu- 
able in  the  society  by  reason  of  his  in- 
timate knowledge  of  geology,  conchology,  and 
other  scientific  branches ;  he  was  an  expert  on  all 
matters  connected  with  the  coal  measures.  For 
several  years  he  made  annual  trips  to  Stellerton, 
Nova  Scotia,  where  he  was  engaged  as  consult- 
ing engineer  for  the  Arcadia  Coal  Company.  He 
was  the  trusted  expert  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
syndicate,  developing:  the  "Wheel  of  Fortune" 
mine  in  Colorado.  He  made  numerous  trips  to 
the  west,  being  once  taken  out  by  a  syndicate  of 
English  capitalists  who  built  the  Rio  Grande  rail- 
road to  report  as  an  expert  upon  some  of  the 
work,  and  once  to  examine  the  coal  deposits  in 
the  Gunnison  region.  During  the  Leadville  ex- 
citement he  was  engaged  in  extensive  investiga- 
tions in  the  interest  of  Wilkes-Barre  investors.  In 
1873-75  ne  l^d  out  the  summer  resort.  Seagirt, 
Monmouth  county.  New  Jersey.  When  the 
sewer  system  was  introduced  into  Wilkes-Barre 
the  work  of  engineering  naturally  was  entrusted 
to  Dr.  Ingham,  and  he  prosecuted  it  vigorously 
for  two  years,  after  which  it  was  turned  over  to 
his  son  and  other  young  men. 

Dr.  Ingham  was  an  engineer  when  Wilkes- 
Barre  was  only  a  borough,  and  both  he  and  his 
son,  William  V.  Ingham,  have  been  connected 
with  the  surveyor's  office  for  nearly  a  half  cen- 
tury, during  which  time  nearly  thirty  miles  ,  of 


streets  have  been  paved,  of  which  eighteen  miles 
was  under  the  supervision  of  William  V.  Ing- 
ham, also  some  sixty  miles  of  sewers  were  put  in, 
of  which  nearly  fifty  was  under  the  present  in- 
cumbent of  the  office,  William  V.  Ingham.  In 
fact,  all  of  the  improvements  from  a  borough  of 
less  than  ten  thousand  to  a  city  of  sixty  thousand 
have  taken  place  since  Dr.  Ingham  first  came 
into  this  office,  and  the  appropriations  for  this 
purpose  have  been  increased  from  five  to  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  Dr.  Ingham  was  a  man  who 
sought  the  quiet'walks  of  life,  and  whose  recrea- 
tion laid  in  three  directions — home,  books,  and 
his  study  of  nature.  He  was  a  man  of  excellent 
education,  and,  as  was  said  of  him  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Henry  L.  Jones  in  the  funeral  service,  his  life 
was  characterized  by  industry,  integrity,  and  pur- 
it}'.  He  was  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  61.  F.  and 
A.  M.,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  from  1855  until  his 
death. 

Dr.  Ingham  m?rried,  Spottswood.  New  Jer- 
sey, October  7,  1839,  Lucy  Yernet,1  who  died 
September  26,  1897.  They  had  children  :  Mary 
Ann,  born  September  25,  1842,  lives  in  Wilkes- 
Barre;  William  Vernet,  born  July  21,  1846,  of 
whom  later:  Lucy  Brown,  born  September  6, 
1848,  lives  in  Wilkes-Barre;  Charles  Farmer, 
born  August  30,  1851,  died  May  13,  1855. 

William  Yernet  Ingham,  eldest  son  and  sec- 


1.  Lucy  Vernet,  born  Norwich.  Connecticut.  April 
20,  1813,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  September 
26,  1897,  was  daughter  and  youngest  but  one  of  six  chil- 
dren of  John  Vernet  and  wife  Ann  Brown.  John  Vernet 
■was  born  in  Farschville-Lorraine,  France.  October  6. 
1764.  died  Port  an  Prince.  Hayti.  December  7.  i8^7 : 
married.  Norwich,  December  IS,  1802,  Ann  Brown,  died 
Wilkes-Barre,  October  II,  1859.  John  Vernet  came  to 
America  from  France  in  1798,  and  was  engaged  in  trad- 
ing between  Norwich  and  New  London  and  the  West 
Indies.  He  died  of  yellow  fever  in  Port  au  Prince. 
Ann  Brown,  born  October  23,  1780.  died  October  11, 
1S50.  who  married  John  Vernet.  was  a  daughter  of  Jesse 
Brown,  born  1747,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
January  7,  1816,  and  his  wife  Anna  Rudd.  This  Jesse 
Brown  during  the  Revolution  was  in  the  service  of 
Connecticut  as  "express"  and  confidential  manager  for 
the  council  of  safety,  and  his  services  are  recorded  in 
"Connecticut  Men  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,"  page 
628.  He  was  head  of  the  shipping  firm  of  Jesse  Brown 
&  Sons  in  the  West  Indies  trade,  and  the  firm's  vessels 
were  seized  during  the  embargo  of  1812.  John  Vernet 
and  his  family  subsequently  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre. 
Pennsylvania.  Anna  Rudd.  wife  of  Jesse  Brown,  was 
descended  from  Jonathan  Rudd,  who  came  from  Eng- 
land and  settled  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  1640:  was 
freeman  of  Saybrook,  1644.  His  son  Nathaniel,  of 
Franklin,  Connecticut,  married  (first")  Mary  Post,  and 
(second)  Abigail  Hartshorne.  Nathaniel  Rudd.  son 
of  Nathaniel  and  Abigail,  married  Mary  Backus,  and 
had  Anna  Rudd,  who  married  Jesse  Brown  and  whose 
daughter  Ann  married  John  Vernet. 


1/U,1).<# 


<\+JC 


'CA^VW. 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


333' 


ond  child  of  Dr.  Charles  Farmer  and  Lucy  (Ver- 
net)  Ingham,  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was 
educated  in  its  public  and  select  schools,  the  old 
Wilkes-Barre  Institute,  and  Wyoming  Seminary 
at  Kingston.  He  studied  civil  and  mining  engin- 
eering under  his  father,  and  when  his  course  of 
instruction  was  finished  he  needed  no  further 
schooling  in  that  profession,  being  well  equipped 
for  its  practical  and  thorough  work.  He  worked 
under  his  father  on  the  construction  of  the 
Switchback  Railroad,  the  Nanticoke  extension, 
and  the  iron  bridge  over  the  Susquehanna  river, 
and  was  also  with  him  when  he  (the  senior  Ing- 
ham) was  with  the  Susquehanna  Coal  Company, 
superintendent  and  engineer  for  George  McDon- 
ald, of  New  York,  erected  the  South  Street 
Bridge  of  Wilkes-Barre,  superintendent  and  en- 
gineer of  the  Memorial  Church  on  North  street, 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  also  served  as  assistant  en- 
gineer under  his  father  at  Seagirt,  New  Jersey. 
He  began  for  himself  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
years,  and  was  successful  from  the  outset.  In 
1877  the  city  council  of  Wilkes-Barre  elected  him 
city  engineer,  and  have  re-elected  him  at  the  end 
of  each  term  of  office  to  the  present  time  (1905). 
When  he  first  assumed  the  duties  of  office  City 
Engineer  Ingham  put  aside  all  private  and  per- 
sonal interests,  and  has  devoted  himself  exclu- 
sively to  those  of  the  city.  He  worked  eleven 
years  without  a  holiday,  beginning  at  7  130  in  the 
morning  and  working  until  late  at  night.  He 
practically  gave  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  this 
work.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland 
Club.    He  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 

William  Vernet  Ingham  married,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  October  28,  1873,  Kate 
Howell  Bowman,  born  October  7,  1846,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Titus)  Bowman,  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  Their  children :  Charles  Farmer, 
born  Wilkes-Barre,  October  13,  1874,  died  July 
4,  1892.  William  Vernet,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Au- 
gust 2,  1876,  an  assistant  to  his  father;  he  mar- 
ried, April  30,  1903,  Martha  Hutchins,  daughter 
of  John  A.  Hutchins  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  they 
have  a  son,  John  Vernet  Ingham,  born  April  13, 
1905.  Percy  Bowman,  born  June  5,  1883,  a  stu- 
dent at  Cornell,  class  of  1906,  and  member  of  the 
Kappa  Alpha  Society.  H.  E.  H. 

SHOEMAKER  FAMILY.  Hendrick  Joch- 
emse  Schoonmaker,  the  progenitor  of  this  family, 
was  born  in  Hamburg,  Germany,  and  came  to 
America  in  the  military  service  of  Holland  about 
1655  ;  he  died  about  1681.  He  married  1657  or 
1658,  Elsie,  daughter  of  Jan  Janse  Van  Breestide 
and  his  wife  Eugeltie  Jans,  and  widow  of  Adrian 


Pieterszen  Van  Alcmaer.  She  married  for  her; 
third  husband,  September  6,  1684,  Cornelius  Bar- 
entse  Sleight.  Hendrick  was  ordered  with  his. 
company,  1659,  to  Esopus  (Kingston),  New. 
York,  to  aid  the  settlers  against  the  Indians. 
After  his  company  was  disbanded  he  located, 
there,  becoming  prominent  as  a  military  man  as 
he  had  been  at  Albany.  In  1663  and  1667  he 
fought  bravely  and  well  against  both  the  Indians 
and  the  English.  He  left  seven  children,  of  whom 
Jochem  Hendrickse  Schoonmaker  was  the  eldest.. 

Jochem  Hendrickse  Schoonmaker,  born 
at  Albany,  New  York,  about  1658-59. 
died  about  1730,  as  his  will  was  dated 
December  9,  1727,  and  was  proved  No- 
vember 7,  1730.  He  married  (first)  August  16, 
1679,  Petronella  Sleight,  daughter  of  Cornelius 
Barentse  Sleight  and  his  wife  Tryntje  Tyssen. 
Bos,  all  of  Albany.  She  died  1687.  He  married 
(second),  April  28,  1689,  Ann  Hussey,  baptized 
June  27,  1670,  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Mar- 
garet Hussey.  Jochem  Hendrickse  was  an  orig- 
inal settler  of  Rochester,  New  York,  a  member 
of  its  first  board  of  trustees  from  1703  to  17 15,. 
supervisor  of  the  town  1709-12,  and  captain  of  a 
company  raised  for  the  defense  of  the  people  of 
Ulster  county  against  the  Indians.  He  had  eight 
sons  and  eight  daughters,  and  during  the  war  of 
the  Revolution  many  of  his  descendants  were 
among  the  patriots  of  that  memorable  conflict. 

Benjamin  Schoonmaker,  sixth  son  of  Jochem 
Hendrickse  Schoonmaker,  was  his  seventh  child 
by  his  second  wife,  Ann  Hussey.  He  was  born 
1702,  baptized  April  19,  1702,  died  1775.  He 
married,  May  10,  1722,  Catherine  Dupuy,  bap- 
tized November  30,  1701,  daughter  of  Moses  and 
Maria  (Wynkoop)  Dupuy,  and  granddaughter 
of  Nicholas  Dupui,  who  came  from  Artois, 
France,  1664,  and  settled  on  the  Delaware.  Ben- 
jamin, according  to  Evans  history  of  the  family 
(New  York  Biog.  Gen.  Record,  xix,  25)  re- 
moved to  Pennsylvania  in  1735,  and  settled  on 
lands  he  had  purchased  on  the  river  Delaware, 
near  Stroudsburg,  in  what  was  then  Bucks 
(afterwards  Northampton  and  now  Monroe) 
county,  where  he  lived  until  the  time  of  his 
death.  In  the  deeds  of  his  lands  as  grantee  he  is 
mentioned  as  Benjamin  Schoonmaker,  while  in 
his  will,  written  with  his  own  hand  about  forty 
years  afterward,  he  subscribed  his  name  as  Ben- 
jamin Shoemaker,  and  his  descendants  in  all  later 
generations  have  adopted  and  continued  to  so 
write  it.  Himself  an  early  settler  in  the  province- 
of  Pennsylvania,  Benjamin  was  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  the  Wyoming  region.  Having  left  the- 
Delaware  in  1763  he  took  up  his  abode  in  the  val-- 


-334 


THE   WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


ley  on  lands  set  apart  to  him  as  one  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Susquehanna  Land  Company,  in 
which  both  he  and  his  father-in-law,  Moses 
Dupuy,  were  interested  as  grantees  under  the  com- 
pany's original  purchase  from  the  Indians.  Ben- 
jamin\and  his  wife,  Catherine  Dupuy,  were  the 
parents  of  two  sons  and  six  daughters.  When  the 
territory  of  the  Wyoming  Valley  was  first  rav- 
aged by  the  Indians,  Benjamin,  the  pioneer,  re- 
turned to  the  Delaware,  and  died  there  in  1775, 
but  several  of  his  children  remained  in  the  re- 
gion and  shared  with  the  other  colonies  the  hard- 
ships of  the  Revolutionary  period. 

Lieutenant  Elijah  Shoemaker,  eldest  son  of 
Benjamin,  born  July  3,  1752,  baptized  August  31, 
1760,  joined  with  the  colonists  from  Connecticut, 
and  also  was  a  pioneer  in  the  valley.  Benjamin. 
Jr.,  younger  brother  of  Elijah,  was  one  of  the 
settlers  at  Wyoming  in  1769.  Before  starting 
out  upon  this  hazardous  journey  Elijah  married 
Jane,  daughter  of  John  McDowell,  of  Cherry  Val- 
ley, now  a  part  of  Monroe  county,  who  came 
from  Ireland,  1735.  The  young  couple  reached 
the  end  of  their  journey  in  safety  and  became  at 
•once  prominent  and  permanent  settlers  in  their 
new  home,  and  were  happy  and  successful  in  im- 
proving their  farm,  building  for  themselves  and 
their  infant  son.  Their  happiness,  however,  was 
abruptly  terminated,  for  July  3,  1778,  occurred 
the  ever  memorable  battle,  in  which  Elijah,  a  lieu- 
tenant in  one  of  the  Wyoming  companies,  with 
some  three  hundred  others  of  the  settlers,  were 
slain.  Elijah  was  murdered  in  cold  blood  by 
Windecker,  immediately  after  the  action.  Thus 
Jane  was  left  a  widow  with  an  only  child,  Elijah, 
then  only  six  weeks  old,  and  they  were  left  des- 
titute, for  their  home  had  been  destroyed  with 
much  of  its  contents,  and  all  other  valuable  prop- 
erty was  carried  away  by  the  Tory  and  Indian 
invaders,  who  were  in  the  service  of  the  British 
sovereign.  Their  visitation  of  vengeance  and 
wanton  destruction  spread  desolation  throughout 
the  valley  and  left  untold  suffering  in  its  wake, 
but  Jane  Shoemaker  evidently  inherited  largely 
of  her  father's  spirit  of  determination,  and 
brought  up  her  young  son  in  the  "way  he  should 
go"  and  he  departed  not  from  it,  for  in  turn  he 
afterward  cared  for  his  mother  throughout  her 
life,  acquired  a  large  and  valuable  property,  and 
founded  one  of  the  best  and  most  prominent  fam- 
ilies in  the  Wyoming  Valley. 

Elijah  Shoemaker,  only  child  of  Lieutenant 
Elijah  and  Jane  Shoemaker,  was  born  at  Forty 
Fort,  June  4,  1778,  married,  May  28,  1800, 
Elizabeth  S.  Denison,  born  March  7,  1777,  died 
October   15,   1831,  daughter  of  Colonel   Nathan 


Denison,  who  commanded  one  of  the  win--  E 
the  American  forces  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming 
under  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler.  (See  Denison 
family.)  Colonel  Elijah  Shoemaker  was  sheriff 
of  Luzerne  county,  1815-1818,  and  died  at  Kings- 
ton, July  13,  1829.  One  of  his  biographers  said 
of  him :  "He  performed  the  duties  of  his  position 
as  sheriff  with  great  satisfaction  to  the  people.  At 
that  time  the  settlers  were  poor,  and  many  of 
them  were  burdened  with  debt.  By  his  leniency 
in  the  performance  of  his  duty  and  by  his  own 
individual  aid,  many  were  enabled  to  save  their 
little  houses."  Another  writer  said  of  him :  "He 
was  a  strong  man  physically  and  intellectually, 
and  was  brave  and  fearless  in  time  of  danger. 
Owing  to  the  constant  peril  surrounding  the  set- 
tlers of  that  day  from  predatory  bands  of  In- 
dians, he  took  special  interest  in  military  mat- 
ters, and  was  honored  with  a  commission  as  col- 
onel of  the  state  militia — a  conspicuous  honor  at 
that  time — and  some  of  the  equipments  pertain- 
ing to  that  time  are  still  held  by  his  descendants. 
His  education  was  limited,  being  such  as  could 
be  acquired  at  the  country  school,  yet  he  had  suf- 
ficient learning  and  culture  to  make  him  a  good 
and  useful  citizen,  and  an  honest  man  of  the  olden 
time."  But  Elijah  Shoemaker  was  best  known 
by  the  superior  excellence  of  the  large  family  of 
children  born  to  him  and  his  wife  Elizabeth 
Denison,  and  of  whom  it  may  be  said  that  sev- 
eral attained  to  positions  of  prominence  in  the 
civil  and  political  history  of  the  state,  in  the  pro- 
fessions, and  in  the  varied  avocations  of  life.  The 
children  of  Elijah  and  Elizabeth  (Denison) 
Shoemaker  were:  1.  Charles  Denison,  born  July 
9,  1802,  of  whom  later.  2.  Elizabeth  S.,  born  June 
22,  1804;  twice  married;  died  August  7.  1882. 
3.  Jane,  born  April  8,  1806,  married  John  Pass- 
more,  died  October  5,  1868.  4.  Elijah,  born  March 
5,  1808,  died  January  13,  1863:  married  Jane 
Harrower.  5.  George,  born  March  27,  1810,  died 
Fortv  Fort,  October  6,  1849;  married  Rebecca 
W.  Jones.  6.  Robert  McDowell,  born  February  9, 
1812,  unmarried,  died  November  23,  1886.  7. 
Nathan,  born  April  10,  1814,  died  July  3,  1835, 
unmarried.  8.  Caroline,  born  February  29,  1816, 
married  Dr.'  Levi  Ives,  of  New  Haven,  Connec- 
ticut. 9.  Lazarus  Denison,  born  November  5, 
1819,  diecF^eptember  8/  1893;  married  Esther 
Waclhams.    (See  Wadhams  family.) 

Charles  Denison  Shoemaker,  eldest  son  of  Eli- 
jah Shoemaker  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  Denison, 
horn  July  9,  1802,  was  for  many  years  one  of  the 
notable  characters  of  Luzerne  county.  He  was 
educated  at  Yale  College,  graduated  A.  B.  1825, 


& 


CC^ IA^ 


/7<=Z^ 


~Z> 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


335 


.and  upon  his  return  home  he  entered  upon  the 
active  political  career  that  made  him  one  of  the 
most  prominent  figures  in  the  Wyoming  valley. 
He  served  as  prothonotary,  clerk  of  the  quarter 
sessions  court,  of  the  oyer  and  terminer,  and  of 
the  orphans'  court,  from  January  26,  1824,  to 
April  23,  1828.  From  that  date  to  August  21, 
1830,  he  was  register  and  recorder  of  Luzerne 
county,  and  from  that  time  associate  judge  of  the 
county,  under  appointment  and  commission  from 
Governor  Wolf.  He  served  several  years  on  the 
bench,  and  acquitted  himself  with  credit  in  his 
judicial  capacity,  as  in  all  other  positions  of  trust 
that  he  was  chosen  to  fill.  For  many  years  he 
was  a  director  of  the  Forty  Fort  Cemetery  As- 
sociation, and  also  was  treasurer  of  the  Pro- 
prietors' School  Fund  of  Kingston.  He  died  at 
Forty  Fort,  August  1,  1861,  and  the  Luzerne 
Union  said  of  him :  "Charles  D.  Shoemaker,  the 
man  whose  probity  was  the  incident  of  inherit- 
ance, and  whose  courteous  manners  and  kindness 
■of  heart  have  signalized  him  for  nearly  half  a 
century,  died  at  his  mansion.  Few  men  in  the 
community  were  more  favorably  and  generally 
known.  His  position  in  public  life  had  brought 
him  much  in  contact  with  the  people,  and  it  be 
doubted,  in  the  many  years  of  his  official  life,  if 
any  man  ever  received  from  him  an  unkind 
word  or  any  other  cause  of  offense.  The  latter 
years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits, not,  however,  to  the  extent  which  might  de- 
tar  him  the  exercise  of  social  enjoyment  and  the 
ministrations  of  an  extensive  hospitality.  His 
door  was  ever  open  and  his  table  spread.  Never 
a  roof  covered  a  family  more  liberal  or  kind  to 
a  guest." 

Charles  Denison  Shoemaker  married  (first), 
October  24,  1825,  Mary  E.  Denison,  daughter  of 
Ajil^nJDenison,  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  a 
descendant  of  Robert  Denison.  of  Milford.  She 
died  August  1,  183 1.  May  18,  1835,  he  married 
(second)  Stella  (Mercer)  Sprigg.  of  New  Or- 
leans, born  August  25,  1799,  died  November  3, 
1875.  His  children  were  :  1.  Austin  P.,  born  Au- 
gust, 1826,  educated  Lafayette  College,  gradu- 
ated medical  school  at  New  Haven,  1850;  prac- 
ticed at  Wilkes-Barre ;  visited  Europe  and  the 
West  Indies,  and  is  said  to  have  gone  ultimately 
to  Honolulu  to  practice.  2.  Martha  Ann,  born 
December  14,  1828,  died  July  1,  1844.  3.  Robert 
C,  born  April  14,  1836,  married  Helen  (Lea) 
Lonsdale.  (See  Miner  family,  and  .Hunt  fam- 
ily). 4.  Frederick  M.,  born  October  19,  1837, 
married  Caroline  Shoemaker.  She  died  March 
4,  1876.  5.  William  N.,  bom  June  20,  1840,  ad- 
jutant   Ninth    Pennsylvania    Infantry,    1861-65 ; 


married  February  6,  1879,  Ella  Hunt.  He  mar- 
ried (second)  Amelia  (Wright)  Atwater.  6. 
Frank  L.,  born  October  30,  1842,  graduated  West 
Point,  captain  Fourth  United  States  Cavalry; 
married,  October  10,  1870,  Fanny  Bell  Willis. 

Elijah  Shoemaker,  fourth  child  of  Elijah  and 
Elizabeth  (Denison)  Shoemaker,  born  March  25, 
1808,  married,  February  9,  1842,  Jane  Harrover. 
Elijah  lived  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
a  prosperous  farmer.  He  died  January  13,  1863. 
Their  children  were:  1.  Martha  A.,  born  Sep- 
tember 22,  1848,  died  December  12,  i860.  2. 
Elijah  McDowell,  born  December  26,  1857,  de- 
ceased. 3.  Susan  A.,  born  August  18,  i860,  mar- 
ried a  Mr.  Brodhead.  (See  Brodhead  Family.) 
George  Shoemaker,  fifth  child  of  Elijah  and 
Elizabeth  (Denison)  Shoemaker,  born  March  27, 
1810,  married,  January  14,  1835,  Rebecca  W. 
Jones,  died  March  10,  1875.  George  was  a 
farmer  and  merchant  in  Kingston,  and  died  there 
August  6,  1849.  Their  children  were:  1.  Na- 
than, born  December  5,  1835  ;  educated  Lafayette 
College;  married,  June  16,  i860,  Emma  Shoe- 
maker; died  July  6,  1862.  2.  Caroline  S.,  born 
June  1,  1837;  married  Eugene  La  Bar;  died  Oc- 
tober 19,  1889.  3.  Mary,  born  July  13,  1839. 
4.  George,  born  June  28,  1844 I  married,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1872,  Lillie  Hoyt.  .5  Charles  Jones,  born 
December  5,  1847. 

Hon.  Lazarus  Denison  Shoemaker,  youngest 
child  of  Elijah  and  Elizabeth  (Penjson)  Shoe- 
maker, was  born  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  No- 
vember 5,  1819.  His  elementary  education  was 
acquired  at  the  Moravian  school,  Nazareth  Hall, 
Bethlehem,  and  Kenyon  College,  Ohio.  From 
Kenyon  he  entered  Yale  College  in  1836,  and 
graduated  A.  B.  with  honors  in  1840.  He  read 
law  in  the  office  of  General  Edward  W.  Sturde- 
vant,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice August  1,  1842.  From  that  time  he  was  in 
constant  practice  except  when  called  away  for  the 
performance  of  official  duties  in  connection  with 
the  various  positions  to  which  he  was  appointed 
or  elected.  In  1866  he  was  the  Republican  nom- 
inee for  the  state  senate,  and  was  elected  by  a 
majority  of  more  than  two  hundred  votes  in  a 
district  which  was  regarded  as  safely  Democratic. 
As  senator  Mr.  Shoemaker  achieved  an  enviable 
prominence,  and  his  influence  and  endeavors  in 
support  of  the  act  for  the  "better  and  more  im- 
partial selection  of  jurors  in  each  of  the  counties 
of  the  commonwealth,"  and  also  of  the  act  gen- 
erally known  as  "the  registry  law,"  were  fully 
appreciated  by  his  entire  constituency,  and  by  the 
legal  profession  without  distinction  of  party.  As 
member  of  the  upper  house  he  acquitted  himself 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


with  credit,  and  upon  his  return  home  in  1870 
was  nominated  by  his  party  as  its  candidate  tor 
representative  in  congress.  The  political  cam- 
paign of  that  year  was  spirited,  and  closely  con- 
tested on  both  sides,  but  Mr.  Snoemaker  was 
elected  by  a  majority  of  more  than  twelve  hun- 
dred votes.  Two  years  later,  1872,  a  presiden- 
tial year,  he  was  re-elected  by  a  still  greater  ma- 
jority. In  the  house  he  was  an  untiring  worker ; 
was  chairman  of  committee  on  revolutionary 
claims,  and  claims  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  also 
was  a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee.  At 
the  close  of  the  Forty-third  congress,  Mr.  Shoe- 
maker returned  home  and  resumed  law  practice, 
but  subsequently  he  held  no  public  office  except 
that  of  prison  commissioner.  He  preferred  pri- 
vate life  and  professional  pursuits  rather  than 
the  distractions  of  politics,  for  he  never  was  a 
seeker  after  office,  and  to  scheme  and  fawn  for 
it  he  was  incapable.  His  practice  always  was 
large  and  successful,  and  afforded  abundant  op-' 
portunity  for  the  employment  of  his  professional 
skill.  He  easily  stood  with  the  leaders  of  the 
Luzerne  bar,  a  worthy  chieftain,  and  victor  or 
vanquished,  was  still  a  knight,  without  fear  and 
without  reproach. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Shoemaker  occupied  a 
conspicuous  place  in  the  financial  and  industrial 
development  and  history  of  the  Wyoming  valley, 
during  the  period  of  his  active  business  career, 
and  of  his  means  contributed  liberally  to  the 
establishment  of  many  institutions  and  enter- 
prises in  that  region.  Among  these  were  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Armory,  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  the  Home  for  Friendless  Chil- 
dren, the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital,  the  new 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  the  Home  for 
Friendless  Women.  He  was  one  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  Wyoming  centennial  celebration  of 
1878,  and  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Commeno- 
rative  Association  which  grew  out  of  it.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  he  was  a  director  of  the  Second 
National  Bank,  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Lace  Manufacturing  Company,  of  the  Spring 
Brook  Water  Company,  of  the  Forty  Fort  Ceme- 
tery Association,  of  the  Home  for  Friendless 
Children,  one  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a  director  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Gas  Company,  and  of  the  Vul- 
can Iron  Works.  He  had  been  president  of  the 
Second  National  Bank,  the  board  of  Prison  Com- 
missioners, the  Wyoming  Valley  Manufacturing 
Company,  the  Wyoming  Camp  Meeting  Associa- 
tion, and  the  Wyoming  Insurance  Company,  and 
had  been  a  director  of  the  Crystal  Spring  Water 
Company.     He  was  a  life  member  of  the  Wyo- 


ming Historical  and  Ceological  Society,  and  vice- 
president,  1890-93.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Luzerne  County  Bible  Society,  and  the  American 
Bar  Association,  having  been  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  latter  at  Saratoga,  New  York,  in 
1878.  He  also  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  Mr. 
Shoemaker  died  September  9,  1893,  having  sur- 
vived his  wife  Esther  a  little  more  than  four 
year's.     She  died  August  4,  1889. 

Lazarus  Denison  Shoemaker  married,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1848. 'Esther  Waller  Wadhams,  daughter 
of  Samuel  Wadhams  and  his  wife  Clorinda  Starr 
Catlin.  (See  Wadhams  Family  and  Catlin 
Family.)  Their  children  were:  1.  Clorinda 
Wadhams,  born  September  15,  1851,  died  Sep- 
1904;  married  November  20,  1872,  Irving  Ariel 
Stearns.  (See  Stearns  Family.)  2.  Samuel 
Wadham,  born  September  15,  1851,  died  Sep- 
tember 20,  1877,  unmarried.  3.  Stella  Mercer, 
born  December  10,  1853,  died  March  9,  1859. 
4.  Elizabeth  Spence,  born  February  11,  1856, 
married,  November  14,  1885,  George  L.  Dicker- 
man,  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  5.  Caroline 
Ives,  born  April  25,  1857,  married,  November  17, 
1880,  William  George  Phelps.  (See  Phelps 
Family.)  6.  Levi  Ives,  born  September  28, 
1859  ;  see  forward.  7.  Jane  A.,  born  October  30, 
1861.  8.  Esther  Wadhams,  born  November  9, 
1863  ;  married,  June  7,  1893,  Robert  Van  Arsdale 
Norris.  9.  Anna  Denison,  born  October  15, 
1866,  died  June  16,  1874. 

Dr.  Levi  Ives  Shoemaker,  sixth  child  of  Hon. 
Lazarus  Denison  Shoemaker,  born  September  28, 
1859,  married,  November  27,  1889,  Cornelia 
Walker  Scranton,  daughter  of  Joseph  H.  Scran- 
ton,  Esq.,  of  Scranton.  (See  Scranton  Family.) 
Dr.  Shoemaker  graduated  A.  B.,  Yale  College, 
1882;  M.  D.,  University  of  Pennsylvania,  1886. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Medical  Association  of 
Luzerne  County,  Pennsylvania  State  Associa- 
tion, American  Academy  of  Medicine,  American 
Medical  Association,  life  member  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and  member 
Pennsylvania  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  staff  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  City 
Hospital,  and  also  serves  in  many  other  institu- 
tions of  a  similar  character.  H.  E.  H. 

CHARLES  FRANCIS  MURRAY.  Jona- 
than Murray,  born  Scotland,  emigrated  to  Guil- 
ford, Connecticut,  1680,  and  died  there  August 
27,  1747.  He  married,  Guilford,  July  17,  1688, 
Anna  Bradley,  born  November  16,  1669,  died 
May  19,  1749,  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Esther 
Bradley,  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Guilford, 


&C. ,  oo*    ^y^P^s~~^>x^^^  CL~V <&-+>} 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


337 


freeman  1669.  Nathan  Bradley  was  appointed 
lieutenant  about  1690,  was  deputy  to  the  general 
court  from  Guilford,  1692,  1693,  1694.  He 
with  Jonathan  Murray  and  others  of  Homonos- 
cet,  in  1695,  petitioned  the  court  to  be  allowed  to 
pay  the  minister's  rates  at  Killing-worth  instead 
of  Guilford,  as  being  nearer.  The  petition  was 
granted.  Jonathan  and  Ann  Murray  had :  Jehiel, 
of  whom  later;  and  Jonathan,  born  1691,  died 
September  14,  17 16,  aged  twenty-five. 

Jehiel  Murray,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Ann 
(Bradley)  Murray,  born  Guilford,  Connecticut, 
March  28,  1708,  married  November  12,  1733, 
Mary  Way,  of  Lebanon,  born  1713. 

Rev.  Noah  Murray,  son  of  Jehiel  and  Mary 
(Way)  Murray,  born  April  n,  1748,  died  Tioga 
Point,  Pennsylvania,  May  16,  181 1.  He  married 
Mary  Stowe,  born  November  16,  1747,  died 
March  10,  1829.  Tradition  says  she  was  de- 
scended from  John  and  Elizabeth  (Bigg)  Stowe, 
1634. 

Mr.  Murray  served  in  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  enlisted  May  1,  1775,  in  Colonel  Ben- 
jamin Hinman's  Fourth  Regiment  Connecticut 
Militia,  and  served  until  honorably  discharged 
September  2,  1775.  This  regiment  was  ordered 
to  march  upon  the  surprise  of  Fort  Ticonderoga 
and  secure  that  post  and  Crown  Point  against 
recapture.  It  reached  Ticonderoga  in  June  and 
took  part  in  the  operations  of  the  Northern  De- 
partment. Mr.  Murray  reenlisted  as  sergeant  in 
Captain  Elizur  Warner's  company,  Seventh  Reg- 
iment Connecticut  Line,  Colonel  Heman  Swift, 
May  6,  1777,  and  served  until  again  honorably 
discharged,  wounded,  October  11,  1778.  He 
was  in  the  battles  of  Germantown  and  Mon- 
mouth, and  wintered  at  Valley  Forge  1777-78. 
He  came  from  Connecticut  to  Tioga  Point,  Brad- 
ford county,  Pennsylvania,  1790.  He  lived  on 
lot  22,  and  his  son  Abner  on  lot  23,  a  part  of  the 
old  fort  ground.  He  was  then  a  minister  of  the 
Baptist  church,  but,  becoming  a  Universalist,  la- 
bored most  earnestly  and  successfully  throughout 
that  section  to  establish  his  faith,  so  much  so  that 
his  memory  is  revered  there  until  this  day.     In 

1807  he  became  pastor  of  the  Lombard  Street 
Universalist  Church,  Philadelphia,  but  retired  in 

1808  and  returned  to  Bradford  county.  His 
monument,  standing  in  the  cemetery  at  Spring- 
field, Springfield  township,  Pennsylvania,  bears 
this  testimony  from  his  associates : 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Rev.  Noah  Mur- 
ray, the  first  preacher  of  Universalism  in  Brad- 
ford county,  who  died  May  n,  181 1,  in  the  sev- 
enty-fifth year  of  his  age." 

"Erected  as  a  token  of  grateful  remembrance 
22 


by  the  North  Branch  Association  of  Universal- 
ists,  September,  1867." 

When  the  county  of  Luzerne  was  divided  in 
1787  by  the  court  into  districts  for  the  more  con- 
venient administration  of  justice,  Mr.  Murray 
settled  at  Shawnee,  in  that  county.  He  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  supreme  executive  council  of. 
Pennsylvania,  November  22,  1788,  judge  of  the 
common  pleas  for  the  First  District,  and  justice 
of  the  peace,  August  6,  1780.  This  district  in- 
cluded Athens  township,  and  all  lying  south  as 
far  as  Wysox.  Judge  Murray  about  1791  moved 
to  Athens,  Pennsylvania,  and  with  his  son  Abner 
purchased  from  the  original  owner,  the  property 
just  west  of  Athens,  which  is  still  owned  by  the 
Murray  heirs.  Judge  Murray  and  his  son  Abner 
were  prominent  in  most  enterprises  of  the  new 
settlement,  as  shown  by  the  records.  Springfield 
township  was  first  named  Murraysfield  in  his 
honor,  but  after  his  death,  most  of  the  settlers 
having  been  born  at  Springfield,  Massachusetts, 
changed  the  name.  When  that  famous  school  of 
learning,  "The  Athens  Academy"  was  founded, 
March  2,  1797,  Judge  Murray  was  the  first  sub- 
scriber, and  the  first  chairman  of  the  board  of 
trustees.  Mr.  Murray  was  also  an  active  Free 
Mason,  taking  his  degrees  in  Union  Lodge,  New- 
town, 1794,  and  becoming  a  charter  member  of 
Rural  Amity  Lodge,  No.  70,  F.  and  A.  M.,  at 
Athens,  July  6,  1796.  Rev.  Noah  and  Mary 
(Stowe)  Murray  had  seven  children,  of  whom 
were :  Abner,  born  September  4,  1773,  of  whom 
later ;  Noah,  born  January  24,  1783,  died  Kos- 
ciusco  county,  Indiana,  September  4,  1859,  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  Athens,  1816-31,  when  he  went 
west;  Sylvia,  married,  1791,  Lemuel  Gaylord, 
moved  to  Ohio  and  Illinois  (Harvey  p.  839),  and 
had  Horace  and  Sylvia. 

Abner  Murray,  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Noah  and 
Mary  (Stowe)  Murray,  born  September  4,  1773, 
died  June  3,  1839;  married  first  Dorothea  Harris, 
died  May  22,  1816,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Lodemia  (Tozer)  Harris,  who  came  from  Col- 
chester, Connecticut,  and  bought  land  south  of 
Shepard's  creek,  near  the  Susquehanna,  under 
Connecticut  title,  where  he  lived  many  years. 
He  had  a  son,  Alpheus  Harris,  "a  sensible  and 
Godly  man,  said  to  have  been  the  first  man  who 
maintained  family  worship  in  the  township  of 
Athens,"  and  whose  son,  Nathaniel  C.  Harris, 
has  been  since  1865  president  of  First  National 
Bank  of  Athens.  Jonathan  Harris  was  from  Col- 
chester, Connecticut,  where  he  was  born  1750. 
He  came  to  Athens  1789,  and  died  there  August 
14,  1829,  aged  seventy-nine.  His  wife  was 
daughter  of  Samuel  Tozer,  and  sister  of  Colonel 


33§ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Julius  Tozer,  of  Colchester  and  Athens,  Penn- 
sylvania, a  veteran  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  col- 
onel of  the  state  militia,  and  a  captain  in  the  war 
of  1812.  Colonel  Tozer's  descendants  still  live 
in  Bradford  county.  Mr.  Murray  married  (sec- 
ond) Mary  (Ely)  White,  born  1782,  died  May 
19,  1862,  aged  eighty  years.  He  was  a  promi- 
nent and  enterprising  business  man  and  lived  in 
the  home  erected  by  his  father  in  1809,  which  is 
at  this  day  still  in  a  good  state  of  repair.  He 
was  an  incorporated  trustee  of  the  Athens  Acad- 
emy, February  27,  1813.  Nancy  Ely,  his  second 
wife,  was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Elisha  and  Susanna 
(Bloomer)  Ely,  grand-daughter  of  Major  Daniel 
and  Ruhana  (Turner)  Ely,  who  was  son  of 
Judge  William  and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Ely,  the 
son  of  Richard  and  Joan  (Phipps)  Ely,  of  Dev- 
onshire, England,  who  emigrated  to  New  Eng- 
land, 1660,  lived  in  Boston,  Lyme  and  Saybrook, 
Connecticut.  Dr.  Elisha  Ely  was  a  captain  in 
Colonel  Meig's  regiment  Connecticut  militia, 
January  1,'  1777.  Major  Daniel  Ely  was  com- 
missioned ensign  Connecticut  militia,  1728,  lieu- 
tenant 1733,  captain  1738,  major  1739,  deputy 
to  the  general  court  of  Connecticut  from  Lyme, 
1729  to  1751,  and  justice  of  the  peace  and  quorum 
1739  to  1750.  Capt.  William  Ely  was  deputy  to 
the  general  court  from  Lyme  from  1689  to  1715, 
commissioner  1692,  justice  1698  to  1715,  captain 
1697,  and  member  of  the  council  1703,  1704  and 
1714.  (See  Lineage  of  Richard  Ely,  by  George 
B.  Vanderpool,  1903.)  Abner  and  Nancy  (Ely) 
Murray  had : 

Edward  Abner  Murray,  son  of  Abner  and 
Nancy  (Ely)  Murrav,  born  January  9,  1822,  died 
August  10,  1854,  married  1846,  Marianne  Page, 
born  November  5,  1825,  died  May  19,  1882, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Page  and  his  wife  Anne 
West.  Mr.  Murray  was  educated  to  be  a  civil 
engineer,  but  the  death  of  his  father  compelled 
him  to  devote  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits  on 
the  farm  inherited  from  his  father.  He  was  a 
man  of  integrity,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  in 
the  community  where  he  lived.  His  wife,  Mari- 
anne Page,  born  in  Brinton,  England,  came  to 
America  with  her  parents  and  four  children  in 
1831,  in  the  sailing  ship  "Marion."  The  family 
first  went  to  Georgetown,  D.  C,  then  to  Balti- 
more, but  later  settled  at  Tioga  Point,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  bought  what  is  known  as  "Queen 
Esther's  Flats,"  above  Milan,  in  Ulster  township, 
Bradford  county.  Upon  this  land  there  was  an 
Indian  burying  ground  from  which  many  graves 
were  washed  out  at  times  by  the  frequent  floods 
in  the  Susquehanna.  Remaining  graves  have 
been  opened  since,  holding  interesting  relics  of 


that  now  scattered  race.  This  property  is  still 
owned  by  George  Page.  During  the  voyage  of 
the  Page  family  from  England,  Marianne  kept  a 
most  interesting  daily  journal  covering  the  entire 
voyage  of  ten  weeks  of  a  most  perilous  passage. 
This  diary  proves  the  courageous,  devout,  and 
cheerful  nature  of  Mrs.  Murray,  combined  with 
culture  and  wit.  A  copy  of  the  journal  is  owned 
by  each  grandchild.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murray  had 
seven  children :  1.  Edward  A.  Murray.  2.  Mari- 
anne Murray.  3.  Edward  Ely  Murray.  4.  Mil- 
lard Page  Murray,  married  Louise  T.  Welles, 
daughter  of  Charles  F.  and  Elizabeth  (Laporte) 
Welles,  of  Athens,  Pennsylvania,  and  had  Jessie 
Welles,  Elsie,  and  Louise  Elizabeth.  5.  Charles 
Francis  Murray,  of  whom  later.  6.  Anne  Par- 
metter  Murray.  7.  Henriette  Spaulding  Murray. 
Charles  Francis  Murray,  fifth  child  of  Ed- 
ward Abner  and  Marianne  (Page)  Murray,  was 
born  Athens,  Pennsylvania,  November  5,  1851  ; 
married  October  2,  1878,  Ellen  Antoinette  Man- 
deville,  daughter  of  Mahlon  Hathaway  and 
Maria  Adams  (Axford)  Mandeville,  of  Athens, 
Georgia.  Mr.  Murray  came  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,'  1869,  and  became  connected  with 
the  furniture  business  established  the  same  year, 
in  the  firm  of  Voorhis  .&  Murray,  where  he  re- 
mains today  the  senior  member  of  the  business. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club,  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Lodge  No.  109,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and 
the  Tioga  Point  Historical  Society.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Murray  have  four  children :  Eleanor  Welles 
Murray,  Charles  Edward  Murray,  Marion  Paee 
Murray  and  Jean  Guthrie  Murray.         H.  E.  H. 

GEORGE  HENRY  '  TROUTMAN.  Johan 
George  Trautman  came  to  America  from  Ger- 
many in  the  ship  "Princess  Augustus,"  in  1736. 
So  far  as  existing  records  show  he  was  a  native 
of  Zwei-Breiken,  which'  place  may  have  been  the 
seat  of  the  family  in  the  Fatherland.  In  Ger- 
many the  surname  was  Von  Trautman,  and 
from  the  tenth  century  the  family  figured  prom- 
inently in  German  history,  some  of  the  ancestors 
being  personages  of  influence  and  high  position. 
Count  Von  Trautman  served  in  the  cabinet  of  the 
sovereign,  his  position  being  that  of  premier.  In 
the  military  service  were  many  Trautmans.  and 
they  held  positions  suited  to  their  rank  and  were 
allied  to  and  defenders  of  the  House  of  Haps- 
burg. 

Johan  George  Trautman,  mentioned  as  the 
founder  of  the  family  in  America,  settled  in  Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  a  man  of 
consequence  and  a  gentleman.     His  wife's  name 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


339 


"was  Margaret,  but  of  her  history,  family  and  an- 
cestors little  is  now  known.  Her  name  appears 
in  the  list  of  baptisms  in  the  Lutheran  church  of 
-old  Lancaster,  for  both  she  and  her  husband  were 
devout  followers  of  that  faith.  After  the  death 
of  her  first  husband  she  married  a  Colonel  Drif- 
field, of  whom  also  little  is  known.  Both  Mar- 
garet and  her  first  husband  are  believed  to  be 
buried  in  the  old  churchyard  of  the  North  Church 
in  Philadelphia,  in  what  now  is  Frankford. 

The  eldest  son  of  Johan  George  and  Margaret 
Trautman  was  .  George  Christian  Trautman, 
whose  wife  was  Sarah  Hamilton.  Their  son, 
John  Hamilton  Troutman  married  Elizabeth 
Essler,  who  still  lives.  Her  parents  were  Ben- 
jamin Essler  and  Jane  (Lemon)  Essler,  both  born 
in  county  Antrim,  Ireland,  and  Protestants,  Ben- 
jamin in  his  lifetime  having  been  a  Presbyterian 
elder.  John  Hamilton  Troutman  was  born  in 
Reading,  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1815, 
■  and  in  business  life  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Kay  &  Troutman,  later  law  book  publishers  under 
the  style  of  Kay  &  Brother,  of  Philadelphia.  He 
was  a  man  of  education  and  high  moral  character, 
and  a  political  follower  of  Bell  and  Everett  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  late  Civil  war.  He  died  in 
1865.  He  was  the  first  of  the  line  to  write  his 
name  Troutman. 

George  Henry  Troutman  was  born  in  Phila-. 
delphia,  January  18,  1841,  and  finished  his  ele- 
mentary education  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  1861  he  en- 
listed for  three  months  service  in  the  Common- 
wealth Artillery,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term 
re-enlisted  in  the  Anderson  Troop  of  Philadel- 
phia, afterward  the  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  Cav- 
alry, and  served  throughout  the  war.  He  was 
captured  and  held  a  prisoner  in  the  Confederate 
prison  at  Huntsville,  Alabama,  more  than  six 
months,  but  after  his  escape  returned  to  his  com- 
mand and  continued  in  service  until  March,  1866. 
During  his  military  service  he  commanded  for  a 
time  a  battalion  of  Kentucky  troops,  and  before 
enlisting  was  a  member  of  the  military  family  of 
General  George  S.  Dodge.  Before  the  war  Mr. 
Troutman  read  law  with  Edward  Hopper,  of 
Philadelphia,  son  of  Isaac  T.  Hopper,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Philadelphia  bar,  Februarv  5, 
1862. 

Judge  Troutman's  professional  life  has  been 
chiefly  passed  in  Schuylkill  and  Luzerne  coun- 
ties in  Pennsylvania,  and  during  that  period  he 
"has  been  an  active  figure  in  Republican  politics, 
general  and  local.  In  October,  1902,  he  was  ap- 
pointed judge  of  the  orphans'  court  of  Luzerne 
-county,  serving  until  his  successor  was  appointed 


January  1,  1903.  He  is  now  engaged  in  the 
general  practice  of  law  in  Wilkes-Barre,  under 
the  firm  style  of  Troutman,  Lewellyn  &  Fleitz. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Wilkes-Barre  and  has  served  as  teacher  in 
that  Sunday  school ;  he  also  served  as  superin- 
tendent in  the  Sunday  school  at  Mahanoy  City, 
Schuylkill  county,  and  at  Hazleton,  Luzerne 
count}-.  He  is  a  member  and  past  commander  of 
Conyngham  Post,  No.  97,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  of  Severn  Post,  No. 
no,  of  Mahanoy  City,  and  of  Robinson  Post, 
No.  20,  of  Hazleton,  Pennsylvania. 

Judge  Troutman'  married,  Northampton, 
Massachusetts,  April  20,  1870,  Rosetta  Elizabeth 
Crossett,  daughter  of  Robert  Crossett  and  his 
wife  Welthea  Arms  Herrick.  Robert  Crossett 
was  a  Huguenot  gentleman,  whose  family  emi- 
grated to  Ireland  upon  the  "Edict  of  Nantes," 
and  from  that  country  to  America  about  1710. 
There  were  many  Crossetts  in  the  American  ser- 
vice during  the  Revolution,  and  one  of  them, 
Robert  Crossett,  was  killed  in  1776.  Another  of 
Mrs.  Troutman's  ancestors  was  Samuel  Field,  a 
Revolutionary  patriot,  who  was  at  the  battle  of 
Lexington.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  John 
de  la  Felds,  born  in  London,  and  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  ancestors  (of  the  family,  being  the 
grantee  from  Philip  and  Mary  of  a  patent  of  no-' 
bility.  He  gained  wide  celebrity  in  originating 
and  publishing  in  London  the  first  series  of  as- 
tronomical tables,  hence  he  was  a  man  of  science 
as  well  as  of  the  nobility.  Mrs.  Troutman  was 
educated  in  the  Northampton  high  school,  and 
Mt.  Holyoke  College  at  South  Hadley,  Massa- 
chusetts. The  children  of  George  Henry  and 
Rosetta  Troutman  are:  Elizabeth  Thompson 
Troutman,  born  Mahanoy  City,  Pennsylvania, 
February  27,  1871 ;  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Hazelton  and  Hazelton  Seminary ;  graduate  of 
West  End  Institute,  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 
She  married  Henry  E.  Rood,  of  Pleasantville, 
Westchester  county.  New  York,  assistant  editor 
of  Harper's  Magazine.  Three  children — Kings- 
land,  Elizabeth  and  Harry.  Harry  Christian 
Troutman,  born  Mahanoy  City,  Pennsylvania, 
Januarv  30,  1875  '•  educated  in  the  Hazleton  pub- 
lic schools,  Hazleton  Academv,  Lawrenceville 
(New  Jersey)  Academy,  and  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania.  He  lives  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
svlvania,  and  is  a  newspaper  editor,  and  author. 

H.  E.  H. 

CATLIN  FAMILY.  Thomas  Catlin  (or 
Catling) ,  the  head  of  this  family  in  America,  was 
in    Hartford,    Connecticut,    1645-46,    where    he 


34Q 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


owned  land.  He  was  a  viewer  of  chimneys,  and 
for  many  years  a  constable,  an  office  at  that  time 
recognized  as  most  honorable  and  trustworthy. 
In  16S7  he  testified  that  he  was  seventy-five  years 
old,  hence  bom  1612.  He  died  Hartford,  in  1690. 
He  married  in  England,  and  had  three  children : 
John ;  Mary,  baptized  November  29,  1646,  died 
young;   Mary    (second)    baptized   May  6,    1649. 

John  Catlin,  only  son  of  Thomas  Catlin,  mar- 
ried July  27,  1665,  Mary  Marshall,  died  October 
20,  1716,  sister  of  Thomas  Marshall,  of  Hartford. 
John  was  made  freeman  1665.  He  and  his  father 
had  land  from  Hartford,  January  15,  1684.  He 
had  eight  children  ;  of  these 

Samuel  Catlin,  eldest  child,  was  born  Novem- 
ber 4,  1672-3;  married  (first)  January  5,  1702-3, 
Elizabeth  Norton,  who  died  August  14,  1724, 
daughter  of  John  Norton,  of  Farmington,  Con- 
necticut. Samuel  settled  at  Litchfield,  Connec- 
ticut. He  married  (second)),  May  13,  1725, 
Sarah  Nichols,  daughter  of  Cyprian  Nichols.  He 
had  eight  children  by  his  first  wife,  of  whom 

John  Catlin,  eldest  son,  was  born  October  20, 
1703,  died  1765;  married  August  25,  1731,  Mar- 
garet Seymour.  They  had  nine  children :  John, 
born  July  30,  1732;  Eli,  born  January  22,  1733-4; 
Theodore,  born  October  16,  1735 ;  Alexander, 
born  January  6,  1738-9 ;  Margaret,  born  Novem- 
ber 4,  1 741  ;  Ann,  born  October  12,  1743  ;  Ashbel, 
born  September  10,  1745;  David,  born  April  21, 
1747;  Roswell,  born  July  30,  1752. 

Captain  Eli  Catlin,  second  son  of  John  and 
Margaret  Seymour  Catlin,  born  January  22, 
1733-4,  died  Hop  Bottom,  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania,  March  13,  1820;  married  Eliza- 
beth Ely  (or  Way),  who  died,  Litchfield,  Con- 
necticut, April  4,  1796.  He  settled  in  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  after  the  Revolution,  re- 
ceiving four  hundred  acres  of  land  there  sur- 
veyed August  20,  1792.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  army,  and  received  a  pension  as 
captain  in  Susquehanna  county,  1818,  having 
been  commissioned  January  1,  1777,  and  resigned 
May  25,  1778.  He  was  refused  a  continuance  of 
pension  under  the  law  of  1829,  which  prevented 
pensions  being  granted  to  any  soldier  who  had  any 
other  means  of  support.  This  unfair  law  was  re- 
pealed some  years  later.  As  Catlin  was  then  aged 
eighty-seven,  he  did  not  live  to  receive  a  renewal 
of  his  pension.  He  had  four  children:  Lois, 
born  March  25,  1758;  Polly;  Putnam,  born  No- 
vember 8,  1764;  and  Clara. 

Putnam  Catlin,  only  son  of  Captain  Eli  Catlin 
and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Way,  was  born  November 
8,  some  say  April  4,  1764,  died  1842.  He  married 
about    1789,    Polly    Sutton,   born    September   30, 


1770.  He  enlisted  as  fifer  in  the  Connecticut; 
line  in  his  father's  company,  Alarch  1,  1777,  at 
the  age  of  thirteen,  and  July  15,  1780,  was  pro- 
moted fifer  major,  serving  until  June  9,  1783. 
After  the  war  he  read  law  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  May  27,  1786;  moved  to  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  later  to  Brooklyn,  Susquehanna 
county,  where  he  was  a  land  agent.  His  children : 
Charles  Catlin,  born  March  15,  1790;  admitted 
to  the  Luzerne  bar  March  28,  1814;  removed  to 
Buffalo,  New  York.  Henry  Catlin,  merchant  in 
Wilkes-Barre  aild  later  Great  Bend,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  subsequent! v  removed  to  Lockport,  New 
York.  George  Catlin,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  26,  1796 ;  educated  for  the  bar ;  ad- 
mitted to  practice  January  4,  1819 ;  became  a. 
portrait  painter,  famous  world  traveler,  historian 
and  Indian  traveler ;  died  December  23,  1872. 
(See  his  History,  Smithsonian  Report,  1885,  vol. 
II,  pp  1-950).  Eliza  Catlin,  married  Anson 
Dart.  James  Catlin,  married  a  sister  of  Benja- 
min Sayre,  of  Montrose,  and  lived  several  years 
in  Pensacola,  Florida.  Alary  Catlin,  married  Asa 
Hartshones,  of  Montrose,  Pennsylvania.  Julius 
Catlin,  graduate  of  West  Point  United  States. 
Military  Academy,  in  the  government  service  in 
the  west ;  was  remarkable  for  his  ability  and  phy- 
sical strength ;  had  a  genius  for  art.  Lynde  Catlin, 
died  young.  Richard  Catlin,  removed  south. 
John  Catlin.     Francis  P.  Catlin. 

David  Catlin,  eighth  son  of  John  and  Mar- 
garet Seymour  Catlin,  married  Rhoda  Peck  and 
had  Erastus,  David,  Luther,  Percy,  and  several, 
daughters. 

Luther  Catlin,  third  son  of  David  and  Rhoda 
Peck  Catlin,  born  October  24,  1784,  Bridgewater, 
Pennsylvania,  died  February  5,  1885,  aged  one- 
hundred  and  one  years ;  married  Miss  Simpson, 
and  had  George,  Martin,  Julius,  and  Cynthia. 

Julius  Catlin,  third  son  of  Luther  Catlin,  born 
1809,  died  July,  1899,  married  Martha  Covell, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Edward  Covell  and  his  wife. 
Sarah  S.  Ross,  daughter  of  General  William 
Sterling  Ross,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  They  had  an 
only  son,  Sterling  Ross  Catlin. 

Hon.  Sterling  Ross  Catlin,  only  son  of  Julius 
and  Martha  (Covell)  Catlin,  was  bom  Wilkes- 
Barrejanuary  27,  1848, and  is  unmarried.  He  was 
educated  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  schools  and  the 
Polytechnic  College,  Philadelphia.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen  years  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the 
machinist's  trade,  and  worked  as  journeyman- 
fourteen  years.  In  1863  he  enlisted  as  private, 
and  was  appointed  corporal  of  Company  K, 
Thirtieth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  In- 
fantry.    In  1864  he  went  to  California,  and  was. 


isd£c^6^tc?  J%  /{>CV66c^ 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


341 


•employed  for  some  years  as  superintendent  of 
floating  machinery  at  the  Mare  Island  navy  yard. 
He  then  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  has  since 
.given  his  attention  to  farming  and  other  interests 
in  that  city.  For  ten  years  he  served  as  council- 
man in  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr.  Catlin  was  elected 
state  senator  in  1904  for  the  term  of  four  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
■Geological  Society,  of  Naval  Lodge,  No.  87,  Free 
■and  Accepted  Masons,  California,  and  of  Conyng- 
•ham  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  Wilkes-Barre. 

H.  E.  H. 

THE  FELL  FAMILY  of  Pennsylvania  and 
many  others  of  the  same  surname  in  various 
parts  of  America,  are  believed  to  have  descended 
from  one  of  the  most  ancient  families  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Furness  Fells,  the  general  name  for  High 
Furness,  in  England.  There  were  the  Fells  of 
Swarthmoor  Hall,  the  Fells  of  Longlands,  and 
the  Fells  of  Dalton  Gate,  each  family  having  its 
distinct  coat-of-arms ;  and  there  were  also  the 
Fells  of  Hawkeswell,  and  the  Fells  of  Redman 
Hall.  From  these  English  branches  of  the  gen- 
•eral  family  the  Fells  of  America  are  descended, 
but  not  all  of  them  are  descendants  of  the  Amer- 
ican ancestor,  Joseph  Fell,  who  was  son  of  John 
Fell,  of  Dane  Ghyll  Flan  Haw,  near  Furness 
Abbey,  and  probably  of  the  same  family  as  the 
older  Fells  of  Swarthmoor  Hall. 

Joseph  Fell,  the  founder  of  the  American 
branch  of  the  Fell  family  under  consideration 
came  to  America  in  1705,  bearing  written  testi- 
mony of  the  quality  of  his  person  and  standing 
among  the  Friends  of  Cumberland  in  England, 
'and  commending  him  to  the  consideration  of  the 
society  in  America.  He  made  his  home  in  Buck- 
ingham, Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  few  miles 
west  of  Buckingham  meeting  house,  and  between 
it  and  Doylestown,  where  he  became  a  prominent 
man  in  the  community  and  among  the  Friends 
and  in  their  meetings.  He  married  (first)  in 
England,  Bridget  Willson,  of  Granery,  Caldbeck 
parish,  Cumberland,  and  (second)  at  Bucking- 
ham meeting,  Elizabeth  Doyle,  of  Middletown 
township,  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania.  She 
was  a  minister  in  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  is 
said  to  have  been  "a  very  beautiful  woman,  with 
fine  complexion  and  rosy  cheeks."  Joseph  Fell 
had  by  wife  Bridget  Willson  four  children ;  and 
by  wife  Elizabeth  Doyle,  seven  children. 

Thomas  Fell,  eleventh  child  of  Joseph  Fell, 
born  Buckingham,  Pennsylvania,  June  9,  1725  ; 
married  February  24,  1750,  Jane  Kirk,  daughter 
of  Godfrey  Kirk,  and  had  six  children,  of  whom 


Jesse  Fell,  the  pioneer  of  the  Fell  family  in  the 
Wyoming  valley,  was  the  eldest. 

Judge  Jesse  Fell,  son  of  Thomas  and  Jane 
(Kirk)  Fell,  born  Buckingham,  Pennsylvania, 
April  16.  175 1,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia, August  11,  1830;  married  in  Bucks  county, 
August  20,  1775,  Hannah  Welding,  born  Jan- 
uary 13,  1754,  died  March  7,  1816,  daughter  of 
John  and  Hannah  Welding,  of  Buckingham, 
Pennsylvania. 

Judge  Jesse  Fell  was  for  many  years  an  im- 
portant and  interesting  character  in  the  life  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  indeed  of  Luzerne  county. 
After  marriage  he  lived  for  a  time  near  Doyles- 
town, Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  fall  of  1785  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  the  Wyoming  valley 
for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits. He  was  a  man  of  few  words,  but  those 
fitly  spoken,  sensible  and  appropriate ;  grave  and 
simple  in  manner,  but  when  sure  he  was  right, 
of  inflexible  firmness ;  a  man  of  clear  mind  and 
spotless  integrity,  and  won  the  confidence  of  the 
community  of  which  he  became  a  citizen  ;  a  man 
of  unusual  capacity  in  public  affairs,  as  well  as  in 
business  generally.  His  penmanship  was  re- 
markable for  neatness  and  accuracy ;  and  that  his 
mind  had  been  early  trained,  is  shown  by  numer- 
ous essays  written  for  various  purposes.  Of  de- 
voted industry,  he  relieved  the  usual  labors  of 
his  pen  and  official  duties  by  perfecting  with  his 
own  hands  the  neatest,  the  earliest,  and  the  most 
productive  garden  in  Wilkes-Barre.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1787,  Judge  Fell  purchased  property  at  the 
corner  of  Washington  and  Northampton  streets, 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  resided  there  as  long  as  he 
lived.  A  part  of  the  old  house  is  still  standing, 
and  on  its  Washington  street  side  are  still  seen  the 
words  ''The  Old  Fell  House,'-  in  a  way  indicat- 
ing the  comfort  and  hospitality  dispensed  by  its 
host  in  "ye  olden  tyme,"  for  Judge  Fell,  among 
his  several  avocations,  once  entertained  travelers 
in  his  home.  For  many  years  it  was  the  sojourn- 
ing place  of  the  lawyers  and  the  judges  on  the 
circuit,  and  the  rendezvous  of  all  the  local  cele- 
brities. Jesse  Fell  was  made  sheriff  of  Luzerne 
county  in  1789,  and  held  the  office  two  terms.  He 
laid  aside  the  peace  principles  of  his  forefathers, 
and  became  prominent  in  military  affairs,  being 
appointed  by  Governor  Mifflin  lieutenant  of  the 
county  in  1792,  and  brigade  inspector  in  1793, 
holding  the  latter  for  a  term  of  seven  years.  In 
1798  Mifflin  appointed  him  associate  judge  of 
Luzerne  county,  a  position  he  filled  with  becom- 
ing dignity  as  long  as  he  lived — a  period  of  more 
than  thirty-two  years. 


342 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


The  people  of  Wilkes-Barre  always  had  some 
office  for  the  judge  to  fill,  and  he  was  nearly  al- 
ways a  member  of  the  borough  council  or  chief 
burgess.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the  Lu- 
zerne County  Agricultural  Society,  in  1810;  was 
foremost  in  educational  matters,  and  active  in  the 
work  of  highway  improvement.  He  made  a  suc- 
cessful experiment  of  burning  anthracite  coal  in 
an  open  grate.  He  and  his  nephew,  Edward  Fell, 
made  an  iron  grate  and  set  it  in  the  fire-place  of 
his  house,  February  11,  1808.  He  invited  several 
of  his  neighbors  to  witness  the  test  but  only  two 
.came  for  fear  of  being  "hoaxed."  He  made 
this  entry  on  a  flyleaf  of  his  "Treatise  on 
Masonry : 

"Feb.  11,  of  Masonry  5808.  Made  the  ex- 
periment of  burning  the  common  stone  coal  of 
this  valley  in  a  grate,  in  a  common  fire-place  in 
my  house,  and  find  it  will  answer  the  purpose  of 
fuel,  making  a  cleaner  and  better  fire,  at  less 
expense,  than  burning  wood  in  the  common  way." 
(See  his  letter  on  the  subject  in  Proceedings  of 
the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
Volume  VI.) 

Jesse  and  Hannah  Fell  had  eight  children : 

1.  Frances  Fell,  born  June  7,  1777,  died  No- 
vember 29,  1841  ;  married  (first),  about  1798, 
John  Milroy,  a  civil  engineer,  who  came  into  the 
Wyoming  valley  and  made  his  home  in  Jesse 
Fell's  house;  she  married  (second)  a  Mr.  John- 
son, who  died  soon  afterward;  she  married 
(third),  June  24,  1812,  Lyman  Sholes,  born 
1779,  died  May  28,  1841,  son  of  Cyrus  Sholes  and 
wife  Bridget  Latham. 

2.  George  Fell,  born  August  28,  1779,  of 
whom  later. 

3.  Sarah  Fell,  born  July  25,  1781,  died  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1828;  married  in  1800,  Joseph  Slocum, 
born  April  9,  1776,  died  September  27,  1855 ; 
son  of  Jonathan  Slocum  and  Ruth  Tripp.  Joseph 
Slocum  was  active  in  military  affairs,  was  ap- 
pointed to  judgeship  of  the  common  pleas,  and 
was  honored  with  many  positions  of  trust.  Jon- 
athan Slocum  and  Ruth  Tripp  came  from  Rhode 
Island  to  near  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  in  1763, 
in  1774  they  moved  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he 
was  a  blacksmith  and  tanner.  The  family  were 
among  the  sufferers  from  the  depredations  of  the 
Indians  in  the  Wyoming  valley  during  the  Revo- 
lution. In  November,  1778,  the  Indians  invaded 
their  house  and  killed  his  father  and  grandfather, 
and  carried  his  sister  Frances  into  captivity.  The 
family  searched  for  her  sixty  years,  and  she  was 
found  by  Joseph  Slocum  and  her  brother  in  1838. 
She  was  then  living  comfortably  on  the  Missis- 
sinawa  river,  near  Peru.  Indiana,  the  widow  of  an 


Indian  chief,  and  was  unwilling  to  return  to  civil- 
ization. Her  Indian  name  was  Maconaguah — 
Young  Bear.  In  later  years  she  was  again  visited 
by  members  of  her  family.  ■  By  resolution  of 
congress,  she  and  her  family  were  exempted  from 
obligation  to  remove  with  the  other  Indians  to 
the  far  west.  (Slocum  Family  and  Bennett 
Family.) 

4.  Deborah  Fell,  born  October  19,  1783; 
married  Edwin  Tracey. 

5.  Thomas  Fell,  born  June  16,  1786;  died. 
December  8,  1791. 

6.  Samuel  W.  Fell,  born  March  26,  1788; 
died  in  Belvidere,  New  Jersey,  July  11,  1824; 
married  April  17,  181 1,  Lydia  Dusenbury,  born. 
New  Hampton,  New  Jersey,  November  5,  1790,. 
died  March  18,  1839,  daughter  Henry  Dusenbury 
and  wife  Lydia  Swaze.  Samuel  W.  Fell  was  a 
physician  and  received  his  diploma  in  medicine  in 
1808.  He  settled  in  Sussex  county,  New  Jer 
sey,  and  in  181 1  removed  to  New  Hampton,  same 
state,  when  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  18 12 
he  became  captain  of  a  volunteer  company  and 
served  until  the  war  closed.  He  then  located 
in  Belvidere,  where  he  died.  Henry  Dusenbury 
was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  was  one  of 
Washington's  aides  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth. 

7.  Abi  Kirk  Fell,  born  February  12,  1792, 
died  March  7,  1847;  married  January  17,  1811, 
John  Jacob  Dennis,  born  August  24,  1783,  died. 
December  17,  1847.  He  was  of  English  descent, 
and  a  farmer  in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania. 

8.  Nancy  Ann  Fell,  born  April  1,  1794,  died 
January  15,  1834;  married,  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, November  27,  1823,  Dr.  Isaac  Picker- 
ing, born  January  21,  1794,  died  December  13,. 
1862,  son  of  Isaac  Pickering  and  wife  Elizabeth 
Carey  of  Bucks  county.  A  few  years  after 
marriage  they  made  their  home  at  Catawissa,. 
Pennsylvania,  where  Nancy  Ann  died.  In  1837 
Dr.  Pickering  removed  with  his  children  to 
Michigan,  settling  first  at  Leoni,  and  afterward 
in  Milford,  Oakland  county. 

George  Fell,  second  child  of  Jesse  and  Han- 
nah Fell,  born  near  Doylestown,  August  28,  1779  ; 
married  in  New  Jersey,  Sarah  Cowdrick,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Cowdrick.  George  Fell  started 
for  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  about  1804.  and 
was  last  heard  of  on  the  way  to  that  city. 
The  date  of  his  death  and  place  of  burial  are  un 
known.  It  is  thought  he  died  of  yellow  fever. 
John  Cowdrick's  parents  died  on  the  ship  which 
was  carrying  the  family  to  America,  and  he  was 
taken  by  Captain  Hall,  the  master,  and  raised  by 
the  captain's  mother  on  a  farm  about  twelve 
miles  from  Philadelphia. 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


343 


George  and  Sarah  Fell  had  children :  i . 
Samuel  Fell;  see  forward.  2.  Jesse  A. 
Fell,  born  November  25,  1803  ;  died  Philadelphia, 
February  9,  1875;  married  (first)  1820,  Patience 

;   they    lived   in    Philadelphia  and   had 

three  children,  all  died  young;  married  (second) 
Philadelphia,  Julia  Ann  Davis,  and  had  two  chil- 
dren ;  married  (third)  Elizabeth  Binney,  born 
Sheffield,  England,  June  10,  1809;  died  Septem- 
ber 27,  1879;  they  had  six  children. 

Samuel  Fell,  son  of  George  and  Sarah  Fell, 
born  Wilkes-Barre,  November  17,  1801,  died, 
Beaver  Meadows,  Pennsylvania,  December  19, 
1839 !  married,  Wilkes-Barre,  at  the  house  of 
Rev.  George  Lane,  December  25,  1823,  Mary 
Dingman  Kyte  (or  Coit),  born  December  2,  1802, 
died  March  24,  1864 ;  daughter  of  John  Kyte  and 
wife  Leah  Vandermark,  from  the  northern  part 
of  Xew  Jersey.  Samuel  and  Mary  had  children : 
1.  Hannah  Welding  Fell,  born  Wilkes- 
Barre,  August  18,  1825  ;  married  there  January  7, 
1847,  Jeremiah  Burns  Dow,  born  Topsham,  Ver- 
mont, January  4,  1806 ;  died,  Wilkes-Barre,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1884,  son  of  Isaiah  Dow  and  wife  Bet- 
sey Burns.  Jeremiah  Dow  was  one  of  the  oldest, 
one  of  the  best  known,  and  one  of  the  most  re- 
spected men  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  was  a  famous 
schoolmaster,  and  taught  full  fifty  years.  Jere- 
miah and  Hannah  had  eight  children. 

2.  Sally  Ann  Fell,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  No- 
vember 26,  1827;  married  March  24,  1852,  Ben- 
jamin Gardner  Carpenter,  born  July  2,  1827  ;  died 
November  11,  1889.       (See  Carpenter  Family). 

3.  Charles  R.  Fell,  born  September  21,  1830; 
died  unmarried  July  3,  1878. 

4.  Theodore  Hall  Fell,  born  December  31, 
1833,  died  October  18,  1872 ;  married,  October  20, 
1859,  Jane  E.  Seibert.  born  August  n,  1835, 
daughter  Samuel  and  Agnes  W.  (Grove)  Seibert, 
of  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania.  Theodore  H. 
Fell  was  a  carpenter  and  builder  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

5.  Mary  Delila  Fell,  born  October  9,  1837 ; 
married  May  15,  1886,  Henry  Haupt  Derr,  born 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania.  July  5,  1839,  died, 
Wilkes-Barre,  October  12,  1888.  (See  Derr  Fam- 
ily). 

6.  Samuel  C.  Fell,  born  Beaver  Meadows, 
Pennsylvania,  July  1,  1839,  died,  unmarried, 
Wilkes-Barre,  July  25,  1870.  He  was  a  soldier 
in  the  Sixty-First  Pennsylvania  volunteer  infan- 
try during  the  war  of  1861-65,  and  served  three 
years.  H.  E.  H. 

ALEXANDER  GRAY  FELL,  M.  D.,  a 
prominent  physician  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  well  known  through- 


out this  section  of  the  state,  is  a  representative 
of  the  sixth  generation  in  descent  from  the 
founder  of  the  Fell  family  in  America,  who  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Pennsylvania. 

(I)  Joseph  Fell,  the  American  ancestor  of 
Alexander  Gray  Fell,  born  England,  8  mo.  1.9, 
1668,  and  was  a  yeoman.  He  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  was  a  carpenter  and 
joiner  by  trade.  He  emigrated  to  America  1704, 
and  settled  in  Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  twice  married,  his  second  wife  being  Eliza- 
beth Doyle,  who  came  from  Middletown,  Bucks 
county,  Pennsylvania,  but  was  of  Irish  descent. 
Her  mother  was  born  in  Rhode  Island,  and 
Doylestown  was  so  named  in  honor  of  her  father. 
Mr.  Fell,  his  wife,  and  her  entire  family  were 
Quakers. 

(II)  Thomas  Fell,  son  of  Joseph  Fell  (1), 
born  6  mo.  9,  1725.  All  the  Fells  of  northeastern 
Pennsylvania  are  descended  from  him,  as  three 
of  his  sons — Jesse,  Samuel  and  Amos — went  to 
that  portion  of  the  state  and  settled.  He  was  a 
Quaker.  He  married  Jane  Kirk,  daughter  of 
Geoffrey  Kirk. 

(III)  Amos  Fell,  youngest  son  of  Thomas 
(2)  and  Jane  (Kirk)  Fell,  born  in  Buckingham, 
11  mo.  1,  1762,  died  at  Pittston,  Pennsylvania, 
9  mo.,  1825.  He  removed  to  Pittston  in  the  fall 
of  1785,  locating  on  a  tract  of  land  back  of  that 
place.  He  was  a  surveyor  and  school  teacher, 
and  in  religious  faith  belonged  to  the  Quakers. 
He  burned  coal  for  domestic  purposes,  and  this 
was  taken  from  an  out-crop  on  the  Brown  farm. 
He  married,  11  mo.  10,  1784,  Elizabeth  Jackson, 
daughter  of  William  Jackson,  of  Shrewsbury, 
New  Jersey.  They  had  eight  children :  Aaron, 
Mercy,  William,  Jacob,  of  whom  later;  Jane, 
Thomas  Wright,  Jessie,  Joseph. 

( IV)  Jacob  Fell,  third  son  and  fourth  child 
of  Amos  (3)  and  Elizabeth  (Jackson)  Fell,  was 
born  3  mo.  15,  1791,  died  9  mo.  1,  1831 ;  married 
(first)  10  mo.  8,  1814,  Mary  Ackley,  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  Sarah  Ackley,  and  their  children 
were :  Elizabeth,  Daniel  Ackley,  Sarah,  Mercy, 
and  Mary.  Of  these  the  only  one  now  living  is 
Mercy,  widow  of  John  Behee,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Fell  married  (second),  5  mo. 
2,  1826,  Eliza  Johnson,  and  they  had  children: 
Mary  A.,'  William,  Jacob.  Of  these,  Mary  A., 
wife  of  Henry  Wilbur,  is  the  only  one  now  living, 
residing  in  Wilkes-Barre,   Pennsylvania. 

(V)  Daniel  Ackley  Fell,  second  child  and  eld- 
est son  of  Jacob  (4)  and  Mary  (Ackley)  Fell, 
born  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  May  29,  1817.  He 
was  a  prominent  building  and  general  contractor, 
and  erected  almost  all  of  the  important  buildings 


344 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


in  his  vicinity  and  time.  At  the  time  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  Lehigh  and  Susquehanna  railroad 
he  had  charge  of  the  building  of  the  bridges,  etc., 
and  continued  this  arduous  work  until  his  seven- 
ty-eighth year.  He  was  highly  esteemed  for  his 
business  integrity  and  sterling  qualities.  He  was 
actively  interested  in  public  affairs,  and  during 
the  early  coal  operations  was  engaged  in  mining. 
His  death  occurred  in  the  fall  of  1897.  He  mar- 
ried, January  16,  1855,  Elizabeth  Gray,  born 
Wiikes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  January  4,  1836, 
died  October  8,  1887,  daughter  of  Alexander  and 
Jane  (Russell)  Gray,  from  Huntley,  Aberdeen- 
shire, Scotland.  Alexander  Gray  operated  the 
first  mine  in  the  vicinity,  the  old  Balytrean 
penings,  near  the  East  End,  and  was  afterward 
extensively  engaged  in  mining  operations.  He 
was  also  interested  in  banking  operations.  He 
removed  to  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  in  1866, 
where  he  died  in  1873,  his  widow  surviving 
him  by  ten  years.  The  children  of  Daniel  Ack- 
ley  and  Elizabeth  (Gray)  Fell  were: 

1.  Mary,  born  April  30,  1856,  died  October 
26,  1885. 

2.  Daniel  Ackley,  born  November  23,  1858, 
attended  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town;' 
Wyming  Seminary,  Kingston ;  Lawrenceville 
School,  New  Jersey  ;  and  Princeton  College,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1883.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  Luzerne  county  bar,  1885.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  has  been  prominent  in  the  business 
and  political  circles  of  the  county  and  state.  He 
served  three  years  as  district  attorney  for  the' 
county  of  Luzerne.  In  religion  he  is  a  Presby- 
terian. He  married.  October  10,  1888,  Frances 
Bertles,  daughter  of  A.  Bertles,  and  they  have 
had  five  children :  Harold  Bertles,  born  July  18, 
1889 ;  Alexander  Gray,  died  in  infancy ;  Daniel 
Ackley,  junior,  born  March  21,  1898;  Alexander 
Gray,  third,  born  January,  1900 ;  and  John  Gill- 
ingham,  born  December,  1902,  died  January, 
1906. 

3.  Alexander  Gray,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

(VI)  Alexander  Grav  Fell,  second  son  and 
youngest  child  of  Daniel  Ackley  (5)  and  Eliza- 
beth (Gray)  Fell,  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  April  20,  1861.  He  enjoyed  the 
advantages  of  an  excellent  education,  attending 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  city,  Lawrence- 
ville Academy,  Harry  Hillman  Academy,  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  Princeton  College,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  the  class  of  1884  with  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Sciences.  He  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1887 
with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.     He  has 


been  an  earnest  worker  in  his  profession  with  the 
natural  result  of  well  merited  success  and  pro- 
ficiency. He  has  been  a  member  of  the  surgical 
staff  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital  since 
1890,  where  his  services  are  highly  appreciated. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  following  medical  asso- 
ciations :  Luzerne  County  Medical  Society,  of 
which  he  was  president  in  1901 ;  Medical  Society 
of  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  American  Medical 
Association.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  Order  of  Elks,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Wyomirfg  Valley  Historical  Society.  He 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  Republican  committee  of  Luzerne 
county  in  1902. 

He  married,  November  14,  1901,  Rena  Maude 
Howe,  daughter  of  Thomas  B.  and  Maria  (Cope- 
land)  Howe,  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  They 
have  one  child:  Elizabeth  Copeland,  born  Janu- 
ary 22,   1904.  H.  E.  H. 

CARPENTER  FAMILY.  William  Carpen- 
ter was  the  ancestor  of  the  Carpenters  of  Wyom- 
ing Valley.  He  came  to  America  in  the  ship 
"Bevis,"  with  his  son  William  and  his  wife  Abi- , 
gail,  in  1638,  but  the  elder  William  went  back'  - 
to  England  in  the  same  vessel  on  the  return  voy- 
age, and  the  son  was  the  founder  of  this  line  of 
the  family  in  America.  In  England  the  family 
claims  to  trace  directly  to  the  Tyrconnel  Carpen- 
ters, beginning  with  John,  in  1303,  the  head  of 
the  ancient  line  in  Herefordshire,  in  the  parish^ 
of  Dilwyne.  This  Hereford  family  of  Carpen- 
ters was  very  proud,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
affairs  of  the  crown ;  one  of  the  most  famous  of 
them  was  John,  town  clerk  of  London,  died  1442 ; 
but  the  English  line  from  John  of  1303  became 
extinct  in  1853,  although  the  American  line  is 
traced  directly  to  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth 
century. 

Playfair's  "British  Antiquities"  (London, 
1810)  says:  "The  noble  family  of  Carpenters 
from  which  the  Earl  of  Tyrconnel  is  descended, 
is  of  great  antiquity  in  the  county  of  Hereford 
and  other  parts  of  England.  In  1303  John  Car- 
penter appeared.  He  was  a  member  of  parlia- 
ment in  1323  for  the  borough  of  Leskard,  in 
Cornwall,  as  two  years  after  was  Stephen  Car- 
penter for  Crediton,  in  the  county  of  Devon,  in 
1325  (the  19th  year  of  the  reign  of  Edward  II). 
Henry  Carpenter  served  in  1418  for  the  town  of 
Derby,  in  the  35th  year  of  Henry  V." 

According  to  "Burke's  Peerage,"  the  Tyrcon- 
nel branch  descended  from  William  Carpenter, 
of  Homme,  in  the  parish  of  Dilwyne,  who  died  in 
1520,  and  who  had  a  son  James,  who  had  a  son 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


345 


John,  who  left  a  son  William,  who  died  in  1550, 
and  from  whom  the  William  of  Weymouth  and 
Rehoboth  in  the  New  England  colon}-  is  said  to 
have  descended. 

"Arms  Argent,  a  Greyhound  passant,  and 
Chief  Sable;  Crest,  a  Grayhound's  head,  erased 
per  fesse  Sable  and  Argent."  This  coat  of  arms 
was  granted  to  William  Carpenter,  of  Cobham,  as 
appears  by  the  records  of  the  Herald's  College, 
London,  1663,  subsequently  found  on  the  tomb- 
stone of  Daniel  Carpenter,  of  Rehoboth,  Massa- 
chusetts, who  was  born  in  1763. 

Captain  William  Carpenter,  son  of  William 
Carpenter,  who  returned  to  England,  was  born 
in  England,  1605,  died  February  7.  1659;  ms  wife 
Abigail  died  February  22,  1687.  He  was  ad- 
mitted freeman  of  Weymouth,  1640;  was  repre- 
sentative in  1641  and  1643 ;  was  admitted  free- 
man of  Rehoboth  in  1645,  and  elected  represen- 
tative there  the  same  year.  Governor  Bradford 
married  a  cousin  of  William  and  was  his  near 
friend,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  influence 
■of  Bradford  and  his  wife  Alice  induced  William 
to  settle  in  America.  He  was  a  man  of  conse- 
quence and  means,  and  served  as  proprietors' 
clerk  and  town  clerk  from  1643  t0  J649,  and  from 
1642  was  captain  by  appointment  of  the  general 
court.  The  first  three  of  William's  children  were 
born  in  England,  the  next  three  in  Weymouth, 
and  the  youngest  in  Rehoboth. 

From  William,  of  Weymouth,  and  Abigail  his 
wife,  the  line  of  descent  followed  to  John  1,  who 
lived  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island;  to  Samuel,  2,  to 
Benjamin,  3,  "a  tailor"  ;  to  Samuel,  4. 
K,  Samuel  Carpenter,  son  of  William  and  Abigail 
•Carpenter,  married  his  cousin,  Nancy  Gardner,' 
-fwho  lived  in  Goshen,  Orange  county,  New  York, 
and  removed  thence  to  the  Wyoming  valley  and 
settled  in  Plains  township,  Luzerne  county,  in  the 
•early  part  of  the  last  century.  Samuel  and  NancH 
were  the  pioneers  of  the  family  in  the  Wyoming  ' 
valley,  and  from  them  have  descended  substantial, 
"thrifty  and  progressive  business  men  ;  men  of  high 
character  and  unquestioned  integrity.  Among  the 
children  were:  Benjamin  Gardner,  born  Plains, 
Pennsylvania,  July  2,  1827,  of  whom  later  ;  Emory 
Gardner,  now  living  at  Princeton,  N.  J. ;  Kate, 
married  a  Mr.  Robertson;  Alice,  married  Albert 
H.  Phillips,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Benjamin  G.  Carpenter,  son  of  Samuel  and 
Nancy  Carpenter,  was  for  many  years  identified 
with  the  business  history  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He 
was  a  descendant  of  the  seventh  generation  of 
William  Carpenter,  the  immigrant  ancestor  of  the 
family  in  America.  He  was  born  in  Plains  town- 
ship, July  2,  1827,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  November 


ir,  1889.  When  about  four  years  old  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  the  town  of  Afton, 
Chenango  county,  New  York,  where  he  remained 
until  the  death  of  his  father,  about  1841.  He 
then  moved  to  Carbondale,  where  he  learned  the 
tinsmith's  trade,  for  the  young  man  after  the 
death  of  his  father  was  obliged  to  make  his  own 
way  in  life.  That  he  succceeded  in  his  business 
endeavors  can  be  readily  attested  by  hundreds  of' 
Wilkes-Barre's  most  representative  citizens,  for 
he  was  among  them  and  one  of  them  for  a  period 
of  almost  forty  years. 

Mr.  Carpenter  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1847, 
and  worked  as  journeyman  in  the  employ  of 
Theron  Burnet.  A  year  later,  when  he  attained 
his  majority,  he  was  taken  into  partnership  with 
Mr.  Burnet,  a  relation  which  was  continued  with 
fair  profit  for  both  for  nine  years,  when  Mr. 
Carpenter  purchased  his  partner's  interest,  and 
at  once  took  another  partner,  his  younger  brother, 
Emory  Carpenter,  with  whom  he  was  associated 
in  business  about  fifteen  years  under  the  firm 
style  of  B.  G.  Carpenter  &  Co.  During  this  per- 
iod the  character  of  the  business  was  materially 
changed ;  the  tinsmithing  branch  was  continued, 
but  the  stock  in  trade  was  largely  increased  in 
other  directions  until  the  firm  of  B.  G.  Carpenter 
&  Co.  became  recognized  as  one  of  the  largest 
concerns  in  the  city,  doing  a  general  hardware, 
contracting,  steam  heating,  plumbing,  and  metal 
business.  The  firm  erected  a  large  building  on 
West  Market  street,  just  off  the  square,  1872- 
1873,  and  soon  afterward  Emory  Carpenter  sold 
his  interest  in  the  business  to  his  brother.  Then 
A.  H.  Mulford  and  Frank  Dunsmore  entered  the 
firm,  the  firm  name  of  B.  G.  Carpenter  &  Co. 
being  retained.  Walter  S.  Carpenter,  son  of  Ben- 
jamin G  Carpenter,  succeeded  to  the  Mulford  in- 
terest, 1875,  but  there  was  no  further  change  in 
the  proprietorship  until  after  the  death  of  the 
senior  partner  in  1889,  when  Mr.  Carpenter's 
other  sons,  Benjamin  Harold  and  Edmund  N.  be- 
came members  of  the  firm ;  but  the  old  style  of  B. 
G.  Carpenter  &  Co.  has  been  preserved  to  the 
present  day. 

Aside  from  the  affairs  of  personal  business, 
Benjamin  G  Carpenter  always  was  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  welfare  of  Wilkes-Barre  as  a  city 
and  its  institutions.  He  became  a  trustee  of 
the  Wyoming  Seminary  at  Kingston,  March, 
1862,  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  his  death. 
He  was  made  one  of  the  managers  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Water  Company,  May,  1864,  and  its  presi- 
dent, 1881,  filling  this  office  until  his  death.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  directors  of  the  Scranton 
stove  works,  established  in   1870.       He  was  an 


346 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


earnest,  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  from  early  youth  to  the  day  of  his 
death. 

It  was  written  of  Mr.  Carpenter  by  one  of 
his  biographers  that  "he  possessed  much  energy 
in  business  affairs  and  the  fundamental  principles 
of  honesty  and  strict  integrity  had  been  so  in- 
grained in  his  nature  that  they  made  him  inval- 
uable in  every  relation  among  his  fellows.  He 
saw  the  probable  effect  of  proposed  movements 
very  clearly,  and  whenever  he  came  to  a  conclu- 
sion as  to  the  course  to  pursue,  he  was  able  from 
comprehensive  study  of  the  situation  to  surround 
his  position  with  arguments  that  carried  great 
weight.  It  was  always  thus,  so  that  his  advice 
came  generally  to  be  regarded  as  safe  and  emi- 
nently reliable.  *  *  *  His  Christianity  was  of  a 
practical  sort;  it  shone  out  through  deeds  rather 
than  words.  He  had  a  great  heart  of  benevo- 
lence, and  always  gave  as  his  means  allowed 
toward  the  numerous  charities  of  the  church  and 
outside  of  it.  Those  who  knew  him  intimately 
understood  his  kindness  of  heart,  the  close  affec- 
tion of  family  ties,  and  the  permanent  concern 
for  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  those  dear  to 
him." 

Benjamin  Gardner  Carpenter  married,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  March  24,  1852,  Sally  Ann  Fell,  born 
November  26,  1827,  daughter  of  Samuel  Fell 
and  his-  wife  Mary  Dingman  Kyte.  (See  Fell 
Family).       They  had  five  children: 

Walter  Samuel,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  April  5, 
1853 1  married,  April  5,  1876,  Belle  Morgan, 
born  August  28,  1855,  daughter  of  Robert  R. 
Morgan  and  his  wife  Mary  Barnet.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  Robert  Ruliph  Morgan,  born  July  30, 
1877  I  an  infant,  born  January  21,  1879,  died  Jan- 
uary 23,  1879;  Mary  Bella,  born  February  15, 
1881,  died  August  5,  1891 ;  Walter  Benjamin, 
born  August  28,  1882,  died  March  16,  1884; 
Madge,  born  February  2,  1885;  Benjamin  Gard- 
ner, born  January  28,  1886;  Walter,  born  January 
8,  1888.  Walter  S.  Carpenter  is  a  member  of 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

Charles  Drake,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  May  6, 
1855,  died  by  drowning  May  14,  1864. 

Jesse  Gardner,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  October  6, 
1857:  died  July  21,  1891.  He  was  educated  at 
Wyoming  Seminary.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  was  bookkeeper  for  B.  G.  Carpenter  &  Co. 

Benjamin  Harold,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  July 
16,  i860,  married  Georgiana  C.  Taylor,  daughter 
of  Rev.  George  Lansing  Taylor,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
and  his  wife  Eliza  Minerva  French.  Dr.  Taylor, 
son  of  John  Lansing  and  Wealthy  Ann  (Ailing) 
Taylor  was  graduated  A.  B.  Columbia  University, 


1861,  M.  A.,  1864,  became  a  minister  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  was  assistant  editor  of  the 
Christian  Advocate,  1861-1862,  when  he  entered 
upon  pastoral  work  in  New  York  and  elsewhere. 
He  received  the  degree  of  D.  D.,  from  Syracuse- 
University,  1876,  and  LL.  D.,  from  Columbia 
University.  Mrs.  Taylor  was  daughter  of  Prut. 
Mansfield  French,  of  Kenyon  College,  Ohio.  She 
graduated  M.  L.  A.  from  Wesley  an  Female  Col- 
lege, Ohio,  and  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  its 
faculty.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  L.  Carpenter  have 
children:  Larfsing,  born  September  12,  1897;. 
Donald  Fell,  born  September  24,  1899;  and 
Lucille,  born  August  10,  1902.  Mr.  Carpenter  is. 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  B.  G.  Carpenter  &  Co. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society. 

Edmund  Nelson,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  June  27, 
1865;  educated  at  Wyoming  Seminary;  clerk  for 
B.  G  Carpenter  &  Co.  until  his  father  died,  in 
1 887,. and  then  became  junior  partner  in  the  firm  ; 
was  first  lieutenant  and  quartermaster  Ninth  Reg- 
iment Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  stationed 
at  Camp  George  H.  Thomas,  Chickamauga,  Geor- 
gia, during  the  Spanish-American  war ;  aside 
from  mercantile  interests  he  is  engaged  in  mining 
and  prospecting  in  Central  America  and  Alaska ; 
is  member  of  Sons  of  Revolution ;  of  Foreign 
Wars ;  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society ;  the  Westmoreland  Club ;  and  the  Wyo- 


ming Valley  Country  Club. 


H.  E.  H. 


HANCOCK  FAMILY.  Jonathan  Hancock,, 
native  of  Snowhill,  Maryland,  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  about  1790-91,  when  about 
twenty-three  or  twenty-four  years  old.  Coming 
north  he  stopped  at  Harrisburg  and  married 
(first)  Catharine  Young,  a  descendant  through 
maternal  lines  of  the  Foster,  Redsecker  and  Mont- 
gomery families.  In  his  early  days  Mr.  Han- 
cock was  a  school  teacher ;  he  was  later  postmas- 
ter of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  engaged  in  various  bus- 
iness undertakings,  being  a  manager  of  the- 
bank  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  also,  for  the  times,, 
dealing  largely  in  real  estate.  He  died  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  in  1830.  He  married  (second)  Mary, 
daughter  of  William  Wright,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
By  his  first  wife  he  had :  Jonathan,  died  unmar- 
ried :  Catharine,  married  Hon.  David  Scott,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  judge  and  member  of  congress: 
James,  of  whom  later  ;  William,  judge  of  Luzerne- 
countv  courts,  married  Laura  Smith,  of  Y\  ilkes- 
Barre,  and  Elizabeth  Denison ;  Nancy,  married 
James  Denton  Haff,  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  New 
York ;  Mary,  died  unmarried.  By  his  second' 
wife,  Mr.  Hancock  had  :  George :  Charles ;  Fred- 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


347' 


erick  ;   John  ;   Martha  ,  married    James    Perkins 
Atherton,  of  Wyoming. 

James  Hancock,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Catha- 
rine (Young)  Hancock,  was  born  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  1793,  and  lived  there  until  1827,  at  which 
time  he  removed  to  the  farm  at  Plains,  previously 
the  property  of  his  father.  He  resided  there  a 
number  of  years,  and  all  his  children  were  born 
in  that  place.  After  his  second  marriage  he  re- 
moved to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  later  to  Wyoming, 
where  he  died  in  1880.  James  Hancock  married 
(first)  Mary  Perkins,  daughter  of  David  and 
Sarah  (Ferrier)  Perkins,  of  Wyoming.  She 
died,  and  he  married  (second)  Elizabeth  Hibler, 
who  died  without  issue.  Squire  David  Perkins, 
of  Wyoming,  father  of  Mrs.  Mary  (Perkins) 
Hancock,  was  a  son  of  John  Perkins,  from  Plain- 
field.  Windham  county,  Connecticut,  member  of 
the  first  school  committee  of  Westmoreland,  and 
a  Revolutionary  soldier,  killed  about  the  time  of 
the  Wyoming  massacre,  under  conditions  which 
are  noted  in  Miner's  History.  David  Perkins 
was  for  many  years  justice  of  the  peace  in  Kings- 
ton township,  and  was  reported  to  be  the  largest 
landowner  of  Wyoming  Valley.  His  house,  by 
some  believed  to  antedate  the  massacre,  and  com- 
monly called  the  oldest  house  in  Wyoming  Val- 
ley, is  still  standing  opposite  the  intersection  of 
Tenth  street  with  Wyoming  avenue,  Wyoming — 
Wyoming  borough  being  located  on  a  part  of 
Squire  Perkins'  estate.  His  wife,  Sarah  Fer- 
rier, was  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Ferrier,  who 
came  to  America  with  a  company  of  his  relatives, 
under  the  leadership  of  their  kinsman,  Colonel 
Clinton,  ancestor  of  George  Clinton,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  DeWitt  Clinton, 
governor  of  New  York,  and  of  James  Clinton, 
major-general  in  the  Continental  army.  Thomas 
Ferrier,  born  of  French  Huguenot  stock,  lived  on 
Long  Island,  and  later  in  Orange  county,  New 
York.  Through  Sarah  (Ferrier)  Perkins'  sister 
he  is  the  ancestor  of  descendants  of  Benjamin 
Carpenter.  Among  the  other  children  of  David 
and  Sarah  (Ferrier)  Perkins  were :  David,  cap- 
tain in  the  United  States  army  ;  James,  removed  to 
New  York ;  Zibia,  married  Elisha  Atherton,  of 
Wyoming;  a  daughter  who  married  a  Slocum; 
and  one  married  to  a  Carpenter.  Aaron  Per- 
kins, brother  of  Squire  Perkins,  was  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier. 

James  and  Mary  (Perkins)  Hancock  had: 
Jonathan,  born  1829,  died  1891,  married  Eliza- 
beth Reynolds,  of  Peoria,  Illinois,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  business.     He  was  a  member  of  the 
grain  shipping  firm  now  known  as  'Hancock  & 


Company,"  of  which  his  youngest  brother,  Colo- 
nel Elisha  A.  Hancock,  is  the  head. 

William,  born  183 1,  of  whom  later. 

David  Perkins.  U.  S.  A.,  born  1833,  died  May 
21,  1880;  married  Maria  Madison,  of  Florida. . 
He  graduated  from  West  Point  Academy,  1854, 
was  made  brevet  second  lieutenant,  Seventh  In- 
fantry, July  1,  1854;  second  lieutenant,  March  3, 
1855;  first  lieutenant,  April  20,  1858;  captain,. 
May  27,  1861  ;  brevet  major,  July  2,  1863,  and 
brevet  lieutenant-colonel,  March  13,  1865,  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  service  in  the  battle  of 
Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania;  major  Second  Infan- 
try, October  24,  1874. 

Sarah  Perkins,  born  1833,  died  1881,  married 
Dr.  Benjamin  Fullerton  Miles,  of  Peoria,  Illinois. 

James  Denton,  LL.  D.,  married  (first)  Ella 
Hitchcock,  and  (second)  Mary  Katherine  Hitch-- 
cock.  He  practiced  law  for  many  years  in  Pitts- 
burg, and  in  Franklin,  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
solicitor  for  the  Western,  New  York  and  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  in  Buffalo,  New  York.  As 
Democratic  candidate  for  the  United  States  con- 
gress he  was  opposed  to  Hon.  Galusha  A.  Grow,. 
the  Republican  nominee.  He  has  been  president 
general  of  the  National  Society  Sons  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution. 

Elisha  Atherton,  U.  S.  V.,  born  1840,  married 
(first)  Julia  Reichard ;  (second)  Lydia  Wood- 
ward, see  Woodward  Family ;  (third)  "  Rose 
Grier  Simonton.  He  was  major  of  LTnited  States 
Volunteers,  Pennsylvania,  1861-1865.  Living  in 
Philadelphia. 

William  Hancock,  second  son  of  James  and 
Mary  (Perkins)  Hancock,  born  Plains,  Pennsyl- 
vania, August  2,  183 1,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1906,  lived  during  his  early  manhood' 
and  until  middle  life  in  California.  Later,  while 
residing  at  Wyoming,  he  was  engaged  in  various 
business  enterprises,  being  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Wyoming  shovel  works  and  of  the  Wyoming 
terra  cotta  works.  He  was  engaged  in  the  lum- 
ber business,  and  was  also  proprietor  of  a  foundry 
and  plow  factory  and  of  general  supply  stores.. 
He  was  the  first  burgess  of  Wyoming  borough, 
and  later  a  member  of  the  borough  council ;  and, 
there  being  no  church  at  Wyoming  of  the  com- 
munion of  which  his  family  are  members,  he  at- 
tended the  Presbyterian  Church  at  that  place,  be- 
ing president  of  its  board  of  trustees  for  many  ■ 
years.  He  married,  September  25,  1873,  Isabella 
Brown  Barker,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Abel  Gunn 
Barker  and  his  second  wife,  Phoebe -Ann  Brown 
Barker.  Their  children  are:  Anna  Mary  ;  Will- 
iam James,  of  whom  later;  and  Louise  Barker.- 


348 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Rev.  Abel  Gunn  Barker,  father  of  Mrs.  Hancock, 
was  born  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  in  1811,  and 
died  at  Wyoming  in  1886.     He  was  an  inventor 
.of  several  useful  devices,  and  at  one  time  was  an 
owner  and  operator  of  coal  mines  in  the  Carbon- 
dale  region.     He  was  the  son  of  William  Barker, 
nephew    of    Benjamin    Pierce,    captain    in    the 
Revolutionary  army,  major-general  in  the  War  of 
1812,   governor   of   New    Hampshire,    father   of 
Franklin  Pierce,  president  of  the  United  States, 
and  by  one  eminent  genealogist  counted  as  a  des- 
cendant of  the  Percies  of  Northumberland),  and 
his  wife,  Anna  Gunn  Barker,  daughter  of  Abel 
•Gunn  (who,  as  a  boy  in  Connecticut,  entered  the 
Revolutionary  army)   and  his  wife,  Lucy  Wake 
Lee.     Abel  Gunn  was  for  many  years  a  communi- 
•cant   of   the    Protestant    Episcopal    Church     at 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  where  he  lived  during 
the  latter  part  of  his  life.     His  daughter,  Anna 
Gunn  Barker,  was  one  of  the  first  women  of  this 
church  in  Wyoming  Valley — although  her  hus- 
band was  a  Presbyterian — having    her    children 
baptized  by  Bishop  White  when  he  occasionally 
visited  the  few  people  of  his  communion  in  the 
Wyoming  Valley.     Among  her    children    were : 
Samuel  Gunn  Barker,  founder  of  the  firm  of  S.  G. 
Barker  &  Son,  scale  manufacturers,  of  Scranton 
(tne  makers  of  a  scale  invented  by  William  Bar- 
ker, the  first  of  the  family  in  Wyoming  Valley)  ; 
Rev.  Thomas  B.  Barker,  long  rector  of  St.  John's 
Church,  Lancaster;  and  George  R.   Barker,   for 
many  years  master  of  a  college  preparatory  school 
at    Germantown,    and   father   of  the   late   Right 
Rev.   William   Morris    Barker,    late    Bishop    of 
•Olympia.     By  his  first  wife,  Phoebe,  daughter  of 
Darius  Williams,  the  Rev.  Abel  Gunn  Barker  had 
two  children,  who  did  not  reach  maturity.     By 
"his  second  wife,  Phoebe  Ann,  daughter  of  Rich- 
ard Halstead  and  Isabella  McNelly  Brown,  he  had 
issue :     Morton   Brown  ;    Charles    W. ;    Isabella 
Brown,  married  William,  son  of  James,  son  of 
Jonathan  Hancock;   George   Henry;   and  Maria 
Louisa.       Richard  Halstead  Brown,  born  1793, 
died  1861,  was  a  son  of  David  Brown,  died  1816, 
who  with   his   brother,    James    Brown,    Junior, 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  army.   James  Brown, 
Senior,  father  of  David  and  James,  Junior,  came 
to  Pittston  in  1774,  from  Warwick,  Rhode  Island. 
His  log  house  just  above  Pittston  Ferry  served 
as  "Fort  Brown"  during  the  battle  of  Wyoming. 
William  James  Hancock,  son  of  William  and 
Isabella  Brown  (Barker)   Hancock,  was  born  at 
Wyoming,  October  23,  1877.     He  is  a  communi- 
cant of  St.   Stephen's  Church,  Wilkes-Barre ;  a 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Societv  of  the  Sons 


of  the  American  Revolution  ;  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society ;  and  the  Society 
for  the  Restoration  of  Historic  Alexandria,  Alex- 
andria, Virgina.  H.  E.  H. 

STERLING  FAMILY.  David  Starling, 
Starlin,  or  Sterling,  as  the  name  variously  oc- 
curs in  original  records,  is  said  to  have  been  born 
in  Hertfordshire,  England,  about  1622,  and  to 
have  emigrated  to  Charlestown,  Massachusetts, 
1651.  He  died  there  1691.  He  is  doubtless  the 
ancestor  of  the  Sterlings  of  Bridgeport,  Connec- 
ticut, and  of  the  Wyoming  section  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

William  Sterling,  who  appears  in  Hav- 
erhill, Massachusetts,  and  was  made  freeman 
in  Massachusetts,  May  11,  1681,  was  evidently  the 
son  of  David.  The  Haverhill  records  show  that 
July  24,  1684,  "William  Starlin"  was  granted  two 
town  lots  of  ten  acres  each,  one  "at  the  Fishing 
River  near  the  sawmill  path,"  and  one  adjoining 
which  was  granted  to  him  "to  set  up  a  Corn  Mill 
at  Fishing  River."  In  1697,  after  the  terrible 
Indian  massacres  at  Haverhill,  he  sold  this  land 
to  Thomas  Dunston,  of  that  place,  whose  wife, 
Hannah  Dunston,  was  captured  by  the  Indians  in 
March  of  that  year,  and  whose  tragic  history  is 
known  to  every  schoolboy  in  America.  About 
1703  William  Sterling  moved  with  his  family  to 
Lyme,  where  he  died  January  22,  1719.  William 
Sterling   married   four   times :    (first)    Elizabeth 

,    died   February   6,    1675;    (second) 

December  19,  1676,  Mary  Blaisdell,  born  March 

5,  1641-2,  died  May  29,  1681,  daughter  of  Ralph 
Blaisdell  and  widow  of  Joseph  S towers ;  (third) 
April  24,  1683,  Ann  (Nichols)  Neale,  of  Salem, 
widow  of  John  Neale  of  Salem;  (fourth)  at 
Lyme,  Connecticut,  1705,  Mary  Saver. 

He  had  by  his  first  wife,  all  born  in  Haverhill : 
Sarah,  born  May  4,  1669 ;  Abygail,  born  May  27, 
1670 ;  Nathaniel,  born  June  25,  1671  ;  Daniel,  born 
October  2,  1672,  died  May  27,  1673:  Daniel  (2), 
born  September  19,  1673,  the  "Captain  Daniel 
Starling"  of  Lyme,  who  married  Lyme  (1), 
June  6,  1699,  Mary  Fenwick  Ely,  widow  of  Rich- 
ard Ely,  (2)  May  16,  1745,  Mrs.  Mary  Beck- 
with ;  he  was  the  ancestor  of  General  William 
Sterling  Ross,  of  Wilkes-Barre  (see  Ross  Fam- 
ily) ;  James,  born  February  24,  1674,  died  March 

6,  1674-75. 

By  second  wife,  born  Haverhill :  Jonah, 
born  October  21,  1677,  died  of  smallpox  December 
21,  1690;  Jacob,  born  August  29,  1678;  Ruth, 
born  December  17,  1679;  twins,  born  May  21, 
1681,  died  May  29,  1681. 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


349 


By  third  wife  :  Ann,  born  March  14,  1683-84. 
It  is  not  known  if  he  had  any  children  by  his 
fourth  wife. 

Jacob  Sterling,  eighth  child  of  William 
Sterling,  born  Haverhill,  August  29,  1678,  died 
January  9,  1765,  married  about  1710,  Hannah 
(Odell)  Seeley,  born  October  20,  1679,  died  June 
14,  1756,  widow  of  Sergeant  Nathaniel  Seeley, 
of  Fairfield,  Connecticut,  who  died  1698,  and 
daughter  of  John  and  Joanna  (Walker)  Odell 
of  Fairfield,  son  of  William  Odell,  Concord, 
Massachusetts.  Jacob  bought  land  in  171 5  in 
Stratford,  Connecticut,  at  what  is  now  the  north- 
ern part  of  Bridgeport,  and  soon  purchased  for 
himself  other  pieces  of  land,  living  and  dying  at 
Bridgeport.     He  was  a  ship  carpenter. 

Samuel  Sterling,  of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut, 
and  Braintrim,  Pennsylvania,  was  doubtless  the 
grandson  of  Jacob,  his  son  Daniel  having  been 
born  in  Bridgeport,  1776.  Samuel,  born  about 
1750,  died  at  Black  Walnut,  Pennsylvania,  1830. 
He  removed  from  Bridgeport  with  his  family  to 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  about  179°,  lo- 
cating at  Exeter,  afterwards  in  Falls  township, 
(then  Wyalusing  township),  and  finally  at  Black 
Walnut,  Braintrim  township,  all  now  in  Wyom- 
ing county.  Here  he  bought  large  tracts  of  land 
on  which  he  lived  until  his  death.  Warrants  were 
issued  by  Pennsylvania  to  Samuel  Sterling,  Sam- 
uel Sterling,  Jr.,  James  Sterling  and  Lucy  Ster- 
ling for  four  hundred  acres  of  land  each  in  Lu- 
zerne county,  which  was  surveyed  for  them  Au- 
gust 20,  1792.  Samuel  Sterling  had  at  least  four 
children:  1.  Daniel  S'terling,  born  Bridge- 
port, Connecticut,  July  8,  1776,  (see  below).  2. 
Eleanor  Sterling,  born  about  1785,  married,  Oc- 
tober, 1803,  William  Keeler,  Northumberland ; 
she  died  Keeler's  Ferry,  Wyoming  county,  June 
21,  1808,  aged  twenty-three.  3.  Harriett  Ster- 
ling, born  about  1790,  married,  January  2,  1812, 
at  Braintrim,  Nicholas  Overfield,  associate  judge 
of  Wyoming  county,  1851-56,  and  member  Penn- 
sylvania legislature.  4.  John,  born  December 
8,  1793,  married,  1813,  Sarah  Overfield,  who  died 
Black  Walnut,  January,  1874.  He  had  :  Calvin, 
married,  May  4,  1844,  Hannah  W.  Bond ;  and 
John  G.,  born  January  28,  1823,  married,  No- 
vember 5,  1846,  Betsey  Osborn. 

.  Daniel  Sterling,  eldest  son  of  Samuel  Sterling, 
was  born  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  July  8,  1776, 
died  Rock  Island,  Illionis,  August  25,  1839.     He 

was  thrice  married :  First, .     Second, 

November  11,  1800,  by  L.  Meyers,  to  Sally  Sut- 
ton, of  Exeter,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Third,  about  1814,  to  Rachel  Brooks,  who  was 
born   in   New   York   State.     He   came   with   his 


father  to  Black  Walnut,  Braintrim  township,  Lu-- 
zerne  county,  and  soon  after  locating  there  be- 
came practically  manager  of  his  father's  affairs. 
He  opened  a  store  and  hotel  at  Black  Walnut, 
bought    land    on    Sterling    (now    Meshoppen) 
creek,   near   its   junction   with  the   Susquehanna 
river,  and  was  for  many  years  extensively  inter- 
ested in  lumbering,  grist-milling,  merchandising 
and  farming  until  1837,  when  he  removed  to  Illi- 
nois  to   fill  a   contract  at  Rock   Island    for   the 
United  States  government.     Daniel  Sterling  had. 
by  his  third  marriage,  all  born  at  Braintrim : 

1.  Daniel  Theodore  Sterling,  born  February 
20,  18 1 5,  of  whom  later. 

2.  Walter  G.   Sterling,  born  November  24,, 
1 82 1,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August 
14,  1889,  one  of  the  first  bankers  in  that  city.     He- 
built  the  Music  Hall  which  stood  on  the  corner 
of  River  and  Market  streets,  where  now  stands 
the  Sterling  Hotel. 

3.  John  Whelan  Sterling,  LL.  D.,  one  of  the- 
founders  and  for  over  thirty-four  years  dean  and 
professor  of  mathematics   of  the '  University  of" 
Wisconsin. 

4.  Harraden  G.  Sterling,  of  the  mercantile 
firm  of  James,  Kent,  Santee  &  Company,  of  Phil- 
adelphia. 

5.  Julius  C.  Sterling,  merchant,  Philadelphia. 

6.  Henry  N.  Sterling,  enlisted  in  Company 
B,  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  Octo- 
ber 11,  1861,  as  sergeant,  promoted  sergeant-ma- 
jor November  5,  1861.  Honorably  discharged 
on  surgeon's  certificate,  May  11,  1862,  and  died 
that  year. 

7.  Hamilton  G.  Sterling,  of  Sterlingville,. 
(Meshoppen)  Pennsylvania. 

8.  Irene  Rachel,  born  April  16,  1828 ;  mar- 
ried January  22,  185 1,  Charles  Freeland  Wallis, 
son  of  David  and  Rachel  (Ransom)  Wallis. 

9.  Julia. 

10.  Sallie  (Mrs.  Dr.  West). 

11.  Keziah   (Mrs.  McDonald). 

12.  Mary,  married  (first)  James  Holliday, 
Esquire,  member  of  the  Luzerne  county  bar,  ad-. 
mitted  April  4,  1842,  moved  later  to  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin,  and  died  there.  She  married  (sec- 
ond) James  P.  Whaling,  auditor  Chicago,  Mil- 
waukee &  St.  Paul  Railroad. 

Daniel  Theodore  Sterling,  eldest  child  of 
Daniel  and  Rachel  Brooks  Sterling,  was  born 
February  20,  1815  ;  he  married  1841,  Susan  Ash- 
ley Loomis,  born  December  2,  1820,  died  May  13, 
1895,  daughter  of  Jasper  Loomis.  He  died  April 
26,  1883. 

While  still  young  in  years  he  became  interested!' 
and  active  in  the  business  affairs  of  his  father, 


-35o 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


.  and  thus  became  fitted  not  only  to  sustain  the  bur- 
den that  was  early  thrown  upon  him  by  the  death 
of  the  parent,  but  in  the  honest  and  valuable  ex- 
perience that  fitted  him  to  achieve  success  in  after- 
life. Theodore  Sterling  (for  he  was  scarcely 
known  by  any  other  name)  was  at  once  merchant, 
miller  and  lumberman  at  Meshoppen,  and  his 
career  was  most  honorable  and  successful.  He 
was  known  as  the  most  prominent  leader  in  affairs 
in  the  section  in  which  he  lived,  and  took  an  active 
and  intelligent  interest  in  all  pertaining  to  the 
welfare  of  the  community.  An  earnest  friend  of 
religion  and  education,  he  was  active  in  the  up- 
building of  churches  and  schools  and  liberal  in 
their  maintenance.  In  his  various  lines  of  business 
he  employed  a  large  number  of  men,  and  his  var- 
ious enterprises  lav  at  the  foundation  of  the  com- 
mercial prosperity  of  the  settlement  and  vicinity. 
The  following  tribute  to  Mr.  Sterling  appeared 
in' an  "In  Memoriam"  for  private  circulation,  and 

.  affords  a  key  to  his  beauty  of  character : 

"The  life  of  Theodore  Sterling  was  so  closely 
interwoven  with  the  history  of  Wyoming  county  ; 
he  was  so  long  and  intimately  associated  with  its 
men  and  measures  ;  was  so  widely  known  and  re- 
spected ;  his  character  and  influence  for  good 
made  so  marked  an  impression  upon  those  around 
him — that  it  is  eminently  fitting  that  more  than  a 
merely  passing  notice  should  be  taken  of  his 
death.  His  life  was  so  sternly  unostentatious,  his 
charity  so  silent,  his  good  works  so  unobtrusive, 
and  he  was  so  strongly  averse  to  anything  like 
public  adulation,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  write 
of  him  and  do  justice  to  the  man  and  his  memory, 

■  to  speak  as  one  should  to  the  living,  and  do  no 
violence  to  the  tastes  and  habits  of  the  dead.  He 
was  a  man  singularly  modest  in  everything  con- 
nected with  self ;  true  to  all  the  finer  impulses  of  a 
manly  nature  ;  liberal  to  a  fault,  and  firm  in  friend- 
ship. His  business  and  his  home  were  his  ambi- 
tion ;  the  love  of  his  wife  and  children  paramount 
to  all  others.  He  scarcely  had  any  clearly  defined 
aspirations  beyond  the  Union  and  the  home 
hearthstone.  To  the  former  he  gave  a  son,  dearer 
to  him  than  all  save  honor  and  unspotted  name, 
and  to  the  latter  the  devotion  and  labor  of  a  long 
and  earnest  endeavor.  Home  was  to  him  more 
than  the  name  usually  conveys.  It  was  the 
'  'gates  beautiful" — a  place  of  happiness  and  love. 
Never  wife  had  more  kind  and  thoughtful  hus- 
band ;  never  children  more  kind  and  indulgent 
father.  They  were  in  his  thoughts  at  all  times, 
under  all  circumstances,  and  their  joys  and  sor- 
rows were  his.     They  were  as  much  a  part  of  his 

■  daily  life  as  his  breath,  and  well  may  their  tears 
fall   on  account  of  his  taking  away,  for,  come 


what  may,  they  will  never  again  find  as  true  and 
unselfish  a  friend,  or  as  strong  an  arm  to  lean 
upon. 

"So  thoroughly  was  Mr.  Sterling  engrossed 
with  home  and  business  that  he  had  no  inclination 
to  test  the  questionable  honors  of  political  life. 
That  he  might  have  succeeded  and  obtained  a 
high  place  is  not  to  be  doubted.  One  whose 
judgment  was  so  sound  and  experience  so 
ripened,  who  was  so  frequently  called  upon  for 
advice  and  counsel  in  private  life,  could  not  but 
have  made  his  mark  in  the  broader  field  of  legis- 
lation. In  business  affairs  his  integrity  stood  be- 
yond a  shadow.  Of  him  it  may  be  written  with- 
out the  least  straining  of  the  proverb,  that  his 
word  was  as  good  as  his  bond.  The  keeping  of 
commercial  engagements  was  with  him  the  high- 
est honor  of  a  business  man.  Lenient  to  others 
when  the  exigency  of  circumstances  forbade  pay- 
ment, he  never  permitted  such  indulgence  to  him- 
self, and  the  business  probity  of  the  man  was  en- 
tirely in  keeping  with  his  character. 

"Life  may  be  said  to  have  glided  smoothly 
with  Mr.  Sterling.  Never  reaching  out  beyond  the 
ordinary  certainties,  he  escaped  the  financial  rocks 
that  wreck  and  the  rapids  that  ruin.  He  was 
content  with  the  solid  in  trade,  and  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  dazzling  chances  of  great  and  speedy 
wealth ;  but  he  was  successful.  The  evidences 
of  plenty  were  not  wanting  about  his  business  or 
home.  The  one  met  every  requirement  of  de- 
mand ;  the  other  those  of  refined  taste  and  love. 
In  a  far  greater  degree  than  can  be  written  of 
most  men,  his  life  was  stainless — and  this  is  the 
most  precious  legacy  he  could  leave  behind.  No 
man  did  more  for  the  community  in  which  he 
lived,  and  as  the  years  pass  on  his  loss  will  be 
greatly  felt  in  every  branch  of  trade  and  artery 
of  employment.  But  greatest,  deepest  and  most 
lasting  will  be  the  blow  to  the  one  now  wearing  the 
weeds  of  widowhood,  and  the  children  whose  lips 
will  ever  speak  his  name  reverently  and  with  ten- 
derest  love." 

Daniel  T.  and  Susan  Sterling  had:  i.  Ad- 
dison Alexander,  of  whom  later.  2.  George 
Hollenback,  died  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  Jan- 
uary 25,  1865.  In  1861  he  enlisted  for  three 
years'  service  from  October  n,  1861,  as  sergeant 
Companv  B,  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Regi- 
ment Infantry ;  was  promoted  to  sergeant-major 
of  his  regiment  November  14,  1862,  and  from 
sergeant-major  to  adjutant.  May  19,  1863  ;  trans- 
ferred to  Company  K,  same  regiment,  as  first 
lieutenant,  October  10,  1864.  This  regiment  was 
commanded  by  Colonels  John  C.  Dodge,  Henry 
Martyn  Hoyt  and  John  Butler  Conyngham.     At 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


35i 


the  time  of  his  death  Lieutenant  Sterling  was 
.serving  on  the  staff  of  Major-General  Terr}-,  of 
Fort  Fisher  fame.  Lieutenant  George  H.  Ster- 
ling was  captured  July,  1864,  one  of  General 
William  B.  Franklin's  aides.  3.  Sarah  Man- 
dane,  married  Charles  F.  Cross,  of  Philadelphia. 
.4.  Arthur  Hamilton,  merchant,  Meshoppen, 
Pennsylvania.  5.  Jean  H.,  married  Dr.  Joseph 
H.  Pe'ttit,  of  Philadelphia.  6.  Theodore,  died 
in  infancy. 

Addison  Alexander  Sterling,  eldest  child  of 
Daniel   Theodore   and   Susan   Ashley    (Loomis) 
.Sterling,    was   born    in     Meshoppen,    Wyoming 
county,    Pennsylvania.     He    lived   in   his    native 
village  until  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  when, 
Laving  made  a  good  educational  beginning  in  the 
common  schools  he  entered  the  State  University 
■of  Wisconsin,  of  which  his  uncle  was  founder 
.and  professor.     After  completing  the  course  of 
study  he  returned  home  and  became  associated 
with  his  father  in  the  mercantile  business.     In 
1872  he  located  in  Wilkes-Barre.     He  accepted 
a  clerical  position  in    the    People's    Bank,    then 
standing  on  the  site  of  the  Music  Hall  Block,  be- 
came teller,  and  in  1882  became  cashier,  a  posi- 
tion which  he  has  occupied  to  the  present  time. 
He  is  also  a  director  in  the  institution.     He  is 
prominently  identified  with  a  number  of  the  most 
important  commercial  and  financial  corporations 
of  the  city,among  them  being  the  following :  Vice- 
president  West  End  Coal  Company  and  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre   Gas  Company ;  director  Hazelton 
■'&  Wilkes-Barre    Traction  Company,  and  Hazel- 
ton  Electric  Light  Company ;  Wyoming  Light  & 
Power    Company ;    West    Side    Gas    Company ; 
Standard    Electric    Light    Company ;    president 
.Meshoppen   Borough   Water  Company ;   District 
Messenger  Telegraph  Company,  of  which  he  is 
•secretary    and    treasurer;     Reader   Lithograph- 
ing,   Printing,    Binding   and  Blank   Book    Man- 
facturing    Company;    and    Collins-Hale    Manu- 
facturing   Company,    in      both    of  which    he     is 
also  a  stockholder.     He  has  been  a  director  in  the 
Nesbitt  Theatre  Company  since  the  erection  of 
the  edifice.     In  the  business  with  which  he  be- 
came identified  on  first  coming  to  this  city  (that 
of  banking),  he  has  been  in  longer  continuous 
service  than  any  others,  with  two  or  three  excep- 
tions.    He  is  an  original  member  of  the  West- 
moreland Club,  and  served  for  several  years  upon 
its  board   of  governors ;  also  a  member  of  the 
Country  Club,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks ;  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical   Society,    and    the   Pennsylvania    Society 
Sons  of  the  Revolution.     He  is  a  communicant  of 
'St.  Stephen's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 


In  1870  Mr.  Sterling  married  Miss  Mary 
Hobson  Beardsley,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Han- 
nah Beardsley.  Her  father  was  a  leading  car- 
riage manufacturer  in  New  York  City, and  is  now 
deceased,  as  is  his  wife.  Mrs.  Sterling  descends 
from  William  Beardsley,  of  Stratford-on-Avon, 
England,  and  Stratford,  Connecticut,  1635,  a 
deputy  to  the  general  court  of  Connecticut  seven 
years ;  also  from  Governor  Thomas  Welles,  gov- 
ernor of  Connecticut,  1655  and  1658,  one  of  the 
charter  members  of  that  colony;  also  from  Lieu- 
tenant John  Holister,  deputy  to  the  general  court 
of  Connecticut,  1645-56;  also  from  Richard 
Treat,  deputy  1637-44,  assistant  1657-65,  mem- 
ber of  the  governor's  council  1663-65,  and  many 
other  of  the  founders  of  New  England. 

H.  E.  H. 

WELLES  FAMILY.     There   were   person- 
ages   of    distinguished    prominence    in    various 
branches  of  the  Welles  family  in  European  coun- 
tries, and  students  of  ancestral  history  have  traced 
them  back  well  into  the  middle  ages  ( 794)  where 
they  were  of  "high  rank  in  Normandy  and  Eng- 
land, with  royal  intermarriages  for  several  cen- 
turies"— with    coats-of-arms   and   other   insignia 
of  valorous  deeds  in  war,  conquests  of  court,  and 
fealty  to  the  sovereign.     But  with  all  these  things 
the  present  work  has  little  to  do,  other  than  to 
note  that  out  of  this  distinguished  and  titled  fam- 
ily in  England  nearly  two  and  three-fourth  cen- 
turies ago  there  came  one  who  bore  the  name  of 
Thomas  Welles,  who  immigrated  to  America  and 
cast  his  fortunes  with  the  Puritans  of  New  Eng- 
land.    Behind  him  in  the  mother  country  were 
left  the  family  titles  and  other  evidences  of  noble 
lineage  except  his   noble  character.     The  broad 
Atlantic  separated  this  Thomas  from  all  that  had 
been  in  the  past,  and  he  was  to  build  anew,  to 
found  a  new  family,  without  titles,  without  coats- 
of-arms  emblematic  of  deeds  of  war,  but  with  an 
honorable  lineage,  an  honest  purpose,  an  humble 
heart,  to  walk  according  to  divine  law  and  the 
law  of  the  colony  in  which  he  took  up  his  abode. 
In  due  season    this    Thomas    Welles    became  a 
leader  among  the  people  and  governed  over  them, 
helped  them  to  frame  their  government  and  ad- 
minister the  law ;  and  when  his  course  was  run; 
and  the  sum  of  his  virtues  had  been  cast,  it  was 
found  that  this  Thomas  of  noble  lineage  in  old 
England  had  been  a  man  of  achievement  in  New 
England ;  and  as  with  Governor  Thomas  Welles 
of  Connecticut,  so  with  his  descendants.     In  each 
generation  of  those   who  came  after  him  there 
have  been  men  of  achievement  in  all  the  walks  of 
life,  and  they  have  suffered  nothing  because  of 


35^ 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


the  action  of  their  American  ancestor  in  exchang- 
ing the  conditions  of  life  in  England  for  those  in 
the  western  continent. 

Thomas  Welles,  of  Connecticut,  was  a  lineal 
descendant  of  the  Essex  branch  of  the  Welles 
family  in  England,  and  was  born  in  Essex  county, 
in  1598.  In  1635  John  Winthrop,  son  of  Gover- 
nor Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  arrived  at  Bos- 
ton with  a  commission  from  Lord  Save  and 
Seal,  Lord  Brooke,  and  other  noblemen  interested 
in  the  Connecticut  patent,  to  erect  a  fort  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Connecticut  river,  and  dispute  the 
Dutch  claim  to  right  of  possession  in  that  region, 
and  to  protect  the  patented  lands  against  in- 
trusion ;  and  in  carrying  out  the  purposes  of  his 
commission  Lord  Saye  and  Seal  in  1636  visited 
the  Connecticut  valley,  became  discouraged  with 
the  project,  and  left  his  secretary,  Thomas 
Welles,  to  carry  on  the  work.  At  this  time  and 
in  this  connection  Thomas  Welles  first  became  a 
part  of  the  life  and  history  of  the  colony  of  Con- 
necticut. 

In  both  paternal  and  maternal  lines  the  Welles 
family  traces  an  interesting  descent  from  that  old 
Puritan  hero,  Lieutenant  John  Hollister,  of 
Wethersfield.  Lieutenant  John  married  Joanna 
Treat,  and  had  John,  who  married  Sarah  Good- 
rich and  had  Sarah,  who  married  Benjamin  Tal- 
cott,  and  had  Colonel  Elizur  Talcott,  who  mar- 
ried Ruth  Wright  and  had  Prudence  Talcott,  who 
married  George  Welles,  who  led  the  way  of  the 
Welles  family  in  Pennsylvania  in  1798.  Again, 
Lieutenant  John  Hollister  and  Joanna  Treat  had 
a  daughter  Elizabeth,  who  married  Samuel 
Welles  and  had  Samuel  Welles,  who  married 
Ruth  Rice,  and  had  Thomas  Welles,  who  married 
Martha  Pitkin,  and  had  John  Welles,  who  mar- 
ried Jerusha  Edwards,  and  had  George  Welles, 
who  married  Prudence  Talcott.  Benjamin  Tal- 
cott, 1674-1727,  father  of  Colonel  Elizur  Talcott, 
1 709- 1 767,  was  son  of  Samuel  Talcott,  1635- 
1691,  who  married  Hannah  Holyoke,  and  Sam- 
uel Talcott  was  son  of  John  Talcott.  The  Tal- 
cotts  and  the  Holyokes  and  the  Pynchons  were  re- 
lated by  intermarriages,  and  they  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers  in  the  Connecticut  valley. 

With  his  company  Thomas  Welles  went  up 
the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  as  far  as  Hartford, 
where  he  settled  in  the  infant  colony  at  that  place, 
which  originally  was  called  Dutch  Point.  He  at 
once  took  an  active  part  in  public  affairs ;  was 
chosen  magistrate  in  1637,  and  served  as  such 
until  his  death,  1660;  was  elected  treasurer  of  the 
colony,  1639 ;  secretary,  1643  >  commissioner  to 
represent  Connecticut  in  the  confederation  of 
New  England   colonies,    1649  >  acting  governor, 


1654,  vice  Governor  Hopkins,  deceased;  deputy 
governor  by  election,  1654;  governor,  1655 ; 
deputy  governor,  1656 ;  governor,  1658 :  deputy 
governor,  1659,  a'M  died  in  office  January  14. 
1660,  at  his  home  in  Wethersfield.  He  was  a 
man  of  means  as  well  as  influence,  and  was  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  wealthiest  persons  in  the 
Connecticut  colony.  Thomas  Welles  married,  in 
England,  1618,  a  Miss  Hunt,  died  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, about  1640  ;  he  married  (second)  Eliza- 
beth Foote,  daughter  of  John  Deming,  of  Eng- 
land, and  widow  of  Nathaniel  Foote.  He  had 
eight  children  by  his  first  marriage. 

Samuel  Welles,  fourth  son  and  fifth  child  of 
Governor  Thomas  Welles,  born  Essex  county, 
England,  1630 ;  drowned  in  Connecticut  river, 
July  15,  1675:  married,  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
Elizabeth  Hollister,  died  1683,  daughter  of  John 
Hollister,  of  Wethersfield.  Connecticut ;  married 
(second)  Hannah  Lambertson,  daughter  of 
George  Lambertson.  of  New  Haven.  Samuel 
Welles  came  with  his  parents  to  Saybrook  in 
1636,  and  in  that  year  removed  to  Hartford,  and 
in  1649  to  Wethersfield,  where  he  afterward  lived 
and  died.  He  took  the  freeman's  oath  in  Hart- 
ford, May  21,  1657,  and  was  deputy  magistrate 
at  Hartford,  1657-61.  Mr.  Welles  had  six  child- 
ren, issue  of  his  first  marriage. 

Captain  Samuel  Welles,  eldest  child  of  Sam- 
uel and  Elizabeth  (Hollister)  Welles,  born  Weth- 
ersfield, April  3,  1660,  died  August  28,  1731 ; 
married,  Glastonbury,  Connecticut,  June  20,  1683, 
Ruth  Rice,  born  Glastonbury,  1660,  died  there- 
March  30,  1742.  Captain  Samuel  was  selectman, 
deputy  to  the  general  court,  sergeant  of  militia,. 
and  later  captain.  Captain  Samuel  and  Ruth 
(Rice)  Welles  had  six  children. 

Thomas  Welles,  fourth  child,  third  son.  of 
Captain  Samuel  and  Ruth  (Rice)  Welles,  born 
Glastonbury,  February  14,  1693,  died  there  May 
14.  1767:  married,  December,  1715,  Martha  Pit- 
kin, born  East  Hartford,  Connecticut,  February 
2,  1692,  died  August  15,  1788,  daughter  of  Will- 
iam Pitkin,  of  East  Hartford.  Thomas  and 
Martha  Welles  had  nine  children. 

John  Welles,  son  of  Thomas  Welles  and  his- 
wife,  Martha  Pitkin,  born  Glastonbury,  August 
ir,  1729,  died  there  April  16,  1764;  married, 
March  7,  1753,  Jerusha  Edwards,  baptized  Octo- 
ber 1,  1732,  died  August  15,  1778.  Jerusha  Ed- 
wards was  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Jerusha  (Pit- 
kin) Edwards.  Samuel  Edwards  was  son  of 
Richard  and  Mary  (Talcott)  Edward's,  of  Hart- 
ford. Richard  Edwards  was  son  of  William  and 
A°rnes  (Spencer)  Edwards,  of  Hartford.  Mary 
Talcott,  born    1661,  died  April    rg,     T7Z3,    was- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


353 


daughter  of  Lieutenant  John  Talcott  and  his  wife, 
Helena  Wa'keman. 

George  Welles,  son  of  John  Welles  and  his 
wife,  Jerusha  Edwards,  born  Glastonbury,  Feb- 
ruary 13,  1756,  died  Athens,  Pennsylvania,  June 
20,  1813 ;  married,  February,  1780,  Prudence 
Talcott,  born  December  2,  1757,  died  Owego, 
New  York,  November  20,  1839,  daughter  of  Col. 
Elizur  Talcott.  George  Welles  was  the  pioneer 
of  the  Welles  family  in  northern  Pennsylvania. 
He  settled  at  Tioga  Point  (Athens)  in  1798.  He 
graduated  at  Yale,  A.  B.,  in  1779,  and  it  is  said 
of  him  that  "his  talents  were  ten."  It  is  said, 
too,  that  at  the  time  of  the  British  invasion  of 
New  Haven  during  the  Revolution,  George 
Welles  commanded  a  company  of  students  who 
were  organized  as  emergency  men  to  repel  the  in- 
vaders. In  1800  he  was  appointed  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  soon  after  his  settlement  at  Tioga 
Point  he  became  land  agent  for  Charles  Carroll  of 
Carrollton.  He  was  in  all  respects  a  man  of  in- 
fluence, and  of  strong  and  upright  character. 
Children  of  George  and  Prudence  (Talcott) 
Welles : 

1.  General  Henry,  born  Glastonbury,  Conn., 
November  7,  1780,  died  Athens,  Penn.,  December 

22,  1833;  married,  (first)  February  20,  1809, 
Phebe  Patrick;  married  (second)  Sarah 
Spalding.  General  Henry  Welles  was  in  his 
time  one  of  the  most  popular  and  influential  men 
in  Lycoming,  afterward  Bradford  county.  He 
was  a  favorite  of  Carroll  and  Caton,  large  land 
proprietors,  and  through  them  became  possessed 
about  1810  of  the  Welles  farm  at  Tioga  Point; 
and  he  had  much  to  do  with  the  settlement  of 
land  titles  which  were  much  confused  through 
Connecticut-Pennsylvania  controversy  over  the 
right  of  ownership,  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction. 
He  first  represented  Lycoming  county  in  the 
Pennsylvania  assembly,  and  after  Bradford  county 
was  set  off  he  was  its  representative  two  years ; 
and  he  was  in  the  senate  four  years ;  was  largely 
instrumental  in  securing  the  passage  of  the  "Aca- 
demy bill."  He  married,  1812,  Sarah  Spalding, 
daughter  of  Col.  John  Spalding,  of  Sheshequin, 
Penn.,  and  granddaughter  of  Gen.  Simon  Spald- 
ing- of  Revolutionary  fame.  General  Welles  was 
aide,  with  the  rank  of  general,  on  Gov.  Snyder's 
staff;  hence  his  title.  He  had  three  sons  and 
three  daughters,  and  among  the  former  were  men 
of  action  and  moral  worth,  worthy  of  their  hon- 
orable ancestors. 

2.  Susan,  born  January  10,  1783,  died 
Owego,  N.  Y.,  February  7,  1865 ;  married,  Sept. 

23,  1805,  J°nn  Hollenback. 

23 


3.  Charles  Fisher,  born  Glastonbury,  No- 
vember 5,  1789,  died  September  23,  1866.  - 

4.  Clarissa,  born  Glastonbury,  December  21, 
1792,  died  December  14,  1793. 

5.  James  Mercer,  born  Glastonbury,  June  17,. 
1795,  died  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  October 
24,  1817. 

6.  Mary,  born  Athens,  Pennsylvania,  May  6T 
1803,  died  Paris,  December  4,  1879;  married 
William  Pumpelly. 

Charles  Fisher  Welles,  son  of  George  and 
Prudence  (Talcott)  Welles,  born  Glastonbury, 
Connecticut,  November  5,  1789,  died  Wyalusing, 
Pennsylvania,  September  23,  1866;  married,  Au- 
gust 15,  1816,  Ellen  Jones  Hollenback,  born 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  January  21,  1788, 
died  Wyalusing,  Pennsylvania,  March  14,  1876, 
daughter  of  Matthias  Hollenback  and  wife  Sarah 
Burritt.     See  McClintock  Family). 

Mr.  Welles  was  for  many  years  a  prominent 
figure  in  Bradford  county  civil  and  business  his- 
tory. He  was  nine  years  old  when  his  father  re- 
moved from  Glastonbury,  Connecticut,  and  set- 
tled at  the  junction  of  the  Chemung  and  Susque- 
hanna rivers,  but  the  scenes  of  his  active  life 
were  laid  chiefly  in  other  parts  of  the  county.  He 
was  educated  at  Bacon  Academy,  Colchester, 
Connecticut.  In  1812,  upon  the  organization  of 
Bradford  county,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Snyder  prothonotary,  clerk  of  courts,  and  register 
and  recorder,  and  removed  to  Towanda,  the 
county-seat.  He  held  these  offices  six  years,  and 
in  connection  with  official  duties  was  naturally 
drawn  somewhat  into  the  field  of  politics,  and  also 
into  the  field  of  journalism,  having  an  interest  in 
the  Bradford  Gazette,  a  strong  anti-federalist  pa- 
per. However,  when  Findley  became  governor 
in  1818,  Mr.  Welles'  successor  in  office  was  ap- 
pointed, and  four  years  later  he  removed  to  Wyal- 
using and  devoted  himself  to  farming  and  the 
care  of  his  various  property  interests,  and  he 
died  there  in  1866,  aged  almost  seventy-seven 
years.  Children  of  Charles  Fisher  and  Ellen 
Jones  (Hollenback)  Welles : 

1.  Sarah  Hollenback,  born  Wilkes-Barre, 
June  8,  1817,  died  Towanda,  Penn.,  May  18, 
1822. 

2.  Matthias  Hollenback,  born  Towanda, 
March  1,  1819,  died  Elmira,  N.  Y.,  June  23,  1899  ; 
married,  February  21,  1849,  Mary  A.  Ackley, 
died  September  17,  1901. 

3.  Jane  Mary,  born  Towanda,  December  8, 
1820,  died  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  May  3,  1869  ; 
married.  May  3,  1852,  George  M.  Bixby. 

4.  George     Hollenback,     born     Wyalusing, 


354 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


September   29,    1822;   married,   April    15,    1857, 
Laura  A.  Sloat. 

5.  Henry  Hunter,  (see  forward),  born 
Wyalusing,  September  •  15,  1824,  died  Forty 
Fort,  Pennsylvania,  September  24,  1902  ;  married, 
October  12,  1849,  Ellen  Susanna  Ladd,  daughter 
of  Gen.  Samuel  G.  Ladd,  of  Farmington,  Maine. 

6.  Raymond  Marion,  born  Wyalusing,  No- 
vember 3,  1825 ;  married,  September  18,  1850, 
Amelia  J.  Page. 

7.  John  Roset  Welles  Hollenback,  (see  for- 
ward), born  Wyalusing,  March  15,  1827. 

8.  William^  born  Wyalusing,  May  8,  1829, 
died  Columbia  Cross  Roads,  Pennsylvania,  April 
14,  i860;  married,  October  28,  1857,  Frances  B. 
Smith. 

9.  Edward,  born  Wyalusing,  January  30, 
1832;  married  August  26,  1891,  Stella  Louise 
Hollenback,  born  Millbrook,  Illinois,  December 
4,  1862,  daughter  of  George  M.  and  Julia  W. 
Hollenback. 

Henry  Hunter  Welles,  third  son  and  fifth 
child  of  Charles  Fisher  and  Ellen  Jones  (Hollen- 
back) Welles,  born  Wyalusing,  Pennsylvania, 
September  15,  1824,  died  Forty  Fort,  Pennsyl- 
vania, September  24,  1902;  married,  October  12, 
1849,  Ellen  Susanna  Ladd,  daughter  Gen.  Samuel 
G.  Ladd,  of  Farmington,  Maine.  Rev.  Dr. 
Welles  spent  his  young  life  on  his  father's  farm, 
and  there  began  to  lay  the  foundation  for  his 
collegiate  education  and  his  subsequent  career  in 
the  ministry.  He  entered  Princeton  College  in 
the  sophomore  class,  and  graduated  in  1844.  He 
then  entered  the  Theological  Seminary,  taking  a 
two  years'  course,  and  was  ordained  minister  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Susquehanna,  August  29,  1850. 
The-  same  year  he  became  stated  supply  of  the  old 
church  at  Kingston,  over  which  he  was  installed 
pastor  June  12,  1851.  This,  his  only  pastoral 
charge,  he  laid  down  twenty  years  later,  at  what 
he  understood  to  be  the  call  of  duty ;  and  from 
that  time  he  was  ever  active  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry  in  various  local  fields,  wherever  dutv 
seemed  to  call  him.  In  1877  he  organized  a  Sun- 
day school  at  Forty  Fort,  and  out  of  it  grew  un- 
der his  faithful  guidance  a  prosperous  church, 
dating  its  history  from  the  year  1895.  To  this 
church  and  its  congregation  he  gave  his  untiring 
effort  until  it  was  firmly  established  on  a  perma- 
nent basis.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Lackawanna — the  union  of  the  old  and 
new  schools  of  Presbyterian  doctrine — he  became 
its  first  stated  clerk,  and  in  all  its  subsequent  his- 
tory to  the  close  of  his  life  he  was  a  valuable  fac- 
tor in  promoting  its  usefulness.  He  was  presi- 
dent   of    the    Alumni    Association    of    Princeton 


Theological  Seminary  for  the  year  1880.  The 
honorary  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  on  Air. 
Welles  in  1894  by  Lafayette  College.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geologi- 
cal Society.  The  life  and  character  of  Henry 
Hunter  Welles  was  well  known  in  the  community 
where  he  lived,  loved  and  labored  for  more  than 
half  a  century.  Only  three  members  of  the  large 
Presbytery  of  which  he  was  so  long  an  honored 
member  exceeded  him  in  length  of  service.  Of 
ardent  piety  and  unquestioning  faith,  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  swerve  in  the  slightest  degree 
from  what  he  knew  to  be  the  duty  line.  Wholly 
unselfish,  sincere,  and  living  always  in  the  way  of 
an  enlightened  conscience,  he  illustrated  through 
a  life  of  seventy-eight  years  one  of  the  highest 
types  of  the  man,  the  gentleman,  and  the  christ- 
ian. Henry  Hunter  and  Ellen  Susanna  (Ladd) 
Welles  had  three  children:  1.  Henry  Hunter 
(2),  born  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  January  21, 
1861.  2.  Theodore  Ladd,  born  Kingston, Penn- 
sylvania, November  2,  1862;  married  Katherine 
A.  Weaver.  (See  sketch).  3.  Charlotte  Rose, 
born  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  April  28,  1864.    , 

Henry  Hunter  Welles  (2),  eldest  son  and  child 
of  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Hunter  and  Ellen  Susanna 
(Ladd)  Welles,  was  born  in  Kingston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, January  21,  1861  ;  married,  October  4, 
1892,  Caroline  Simpson  McMurtry,  daughter  of 
William  McMurty,  of  Newton,  Sussex  county, 
New  Jersey,  and  his  wife,  Katharine  Ryerson. 
Mr.  Welles  was  educated  at  Phillips  (Andover). 
Academy,  the  Hill  school,  Pottstown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Princeton  College,  graduating  A.  B. 
1882 ;  A.  M.  1884.  He  took  a  one  year  course  of 
study  in  Columbia  (New  York)  Law  School, 
afterward  read  law  with  E.  P.  &  J.  V.  Darling, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
Iuzerne  county ,  October  10,  1885.  He  gave 
about  one  year  to  the  general  practice  of  law,  and 
then  turned  his  attention  to  the  management  of 
the  various  Hollenback  properties  and  interests  in 
and  about  Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  a  director  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, a  member  of  the  advisory  board  of  tke 
Wilkes-Barre  Free  Kindergarten,  trustee  of  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  a  man- 
ger of  the  Wilkes-Barre  United  Charities,  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society,  and  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  and 
an  elder  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  and 
superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school.  Mr. 
Welles  was  prominentlv  identified  with  the  work 
of  improving-  a  considerable  tract  of  land  at  what 
is  now  Westmoreland,  in  Kingston  township,  op- 
posite Wilkes-Barre,  and  with  his  co-worker,  Al- 


»«T  2  AT  HEP-  «* 


f^Mjt^> 


CL^^^W  ^*^^wC<^c 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


355 


bert  D.  Thomas,  M.  D.,  founded  and  built  up  the 
pretty  little  village  of  Westmoreland.  In  its  ac- 
complishment the  land  surface  was  required  to 
be  raised,  substantial  stone  bridges  were  con- 
structed, grades  changed,  all  at  a  total  cost  of 
about  $45,000.  The  funds  were  raised  through 
the  medium  of  an  association  of  which  Mr.  Welles 
was  secretary  and  active  head.  He  represented 
his  Princeton  College  class,  '82,  and  was  orator 
on  the  occasion  of  a  memorial  service  held  in 
Marquand  Chapel,  of  Princeton  University,  June 
10,  1902,  at  the  unveiling  of  a  tablet  in  that  build- 
ing, the  gift  of  the  classes  of  1882  and  1893,  in 
memory  of  George  Yardley  Taylor,  '82,  and  of 
Cortlandt  Van  Rensselaer  Hodge,  '93,  medical 
missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  who 
suffered  death  at  the  hands  of  a  mob  of  "Boxers"' 
while  at  their  post  of  duty  at  Paotingfee,  China. 
June  30,  1900.  Children  of  Henry  Hunter  and 
Caroline  Simpson  (McMurtry)  Welles:  1.  Kath- 
erine  Ryerson,  born  August  26,  1893.  2.  Char- 
lotte Rose,  born  August  13,  1896.  3.  Henry 
Hunter  (3).  born  December  18,  1898. 

H.  E.  H. 

THEODORE  LADD  WELLES,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  is  a  representative  of  one  of 
the  prominent  families  of  the  Wyoming  Valley. 
He  is  a  son  of  the  late  Rev.  Henry  Hunter 
Welles,  and  was  born  November  2,  1862,  in  Forty 
Fort.  Pennsylvania.  He  received  his  primary 
education  in  the  common  schools-  of  that  section, 
afterward  attending  the  Hill  school  at  Pottstown, 
and  Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  when  he  passed  to 
Princeton  Universitv  and  Lafayette  College, 
Graduating  from  the  latter  in  1884  as  a  mining 
engineer.  He  at  once  entered  the  office  of  Major 
Irving  A.  Stearns,  and  remained  in  the  same  until 
October  1.  1885.  He  then  accepted  a  position 
with  the  Lackawanna  Coal  and  Iron  Company  of 
Scranton,  remaining  until  July,  1896,  when  he 
became  engineer  for  the  Clearfield  Bituminous 
Coal  Company,  of  Clearfield  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  1890  went  to  Wilkes-Barre  as  min- 
ing engineer  for  the  Hollenback  Coal  Company, 
with  whom  he  remained  for  nine  years,  during 
four  of  which  he  was  also  superintendent  of  the 
Kidder  Coal  Company.  In  1899  he  became  sup- 
erintendent for  the  New  Mexico  Fuel  Company, 
at  Capitan,  New  Mexico,  retaining  that  position 
for  one  year.  In  1900  he  went  to  Clearfield  as 
manager  of  the  O'Shanter  Coal  Company,  and 
in  1901  became  superintendent  of  the  United 
Barium  Company,  of  Niagara  Falls,  New  York. 
July  1,  1904,  he  again  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  in  connection   with  H.   S.   Smith   formed  a 


partnership  for  the  general  practice  of  engineer- 
ing, with  offices  in  the  Coal  Exchange  Building, 
the  firm  being  known  as  Smith  &  Welles,  civil 
and  mining  engineers.  They  are  among  the 
foremost  in  their  line  and  employ  several  men  in 
connection  with  this  office.  Mr.  Welles  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological 
Society,  and  affiliates  with  Landmark  Lodge,  No. 
442,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  also  of  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

Mr.  Welles  married,  October  29,  1890,  Katha- 
rine A.  Weaver,  and  their  children  are :  Theodore 
Ladd,  Jr.,  born  April  15,  1892;  Ellen  R.,  born 
December  19,  1894;  John  W.,  born  August  30, 
1896;  and  Carol  E.,  born  December  29,  1898. 
Mrs.  Welles  is  a  daughter  of  John  F.  Weaver, 
who  was  born  in  Centre  county,  Pennsylvania, 
November  17,  1820,  and  died  in  Clearfield',  Penn- 
sylvania, February  2,  190 1.  He  married  Rebecca 
Reed,  who  was  born  in  Clearfield,  October  4, 
1 83 1,  died  in  her  native  city,  November  22,  1899. 
Their  children  were:  George,  born  April  18,  1855, 
married  Ida  Bloom,  of  Clearfield,  and  died  in 
Clearfield,  September,  1901.  Mary  R.,  born 
June  13,  1853,  married  Judge  Cyrus  Gordon,  of 
Clearfield,  Pennsylvania.  Alexander'  B.,  born 
March  12,  1857,  married  Nannie  Harris,  of  Belle- 
fonte,  Pennsylvania,  and  after  her  death  Mrs. 
Nannie  I.  Woods,  of  Clearfield,  Pennsylvania. 
Paul  F.,  born  April  5,  1859,  married  Jennie  Mc- 
Cullough.  Ruth  R.,  born  May  10,  1861,  married 
George  S.  Ettla,  of  Clearfield,  Pennsylvania. 
Katherine  A.,  born  April  23,  1864,  in  Clearfield, 
Pennsylvania,  educated  in  the  common  schools 
and  at  the  Foster  school,  Clifton  Springs,  New 
York,  and  became  the  wife  of  Theodore  Ladd 
Welles,  as  mentioned  above.  Susan,  born  July, 
1867,  died  in  infancy.  J.  Frederick,  born  De- 
cember 11,  1870,  married  Jane  Wallace,  of  Clear- 
field, Pennsylvania.  Rachel  E.,  born  July  28, 
1873,  married  J.  G  Petrikin,  of  Lock  Haven, 
Pennsvlvania.  William  B..  born  Februarv  6, 
1876.  H.  E.  H. 

COLONEL  MATTHIAS  HOLLENBACK, 
soldier,  merchant  and  judge,  was  born  in  Jones- 
town, then  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1829,  aged  seventy-seven  years.  He 
was  baptized  "John  Matthias  Hollenback"  at 
Lebanon,  Pennsylvania,  April  22,  1753,  by  Rev. 
John  Casper  Stoever.  He  was  second  son  of  John 
and  Eleanor  (Jones)  Hollenback,  the  former  of 
German  ancestry  and  the  latter  of  Welsh,  and 
grandson  of  George  Hollenback,  a  German  set- 
tler, who  came  to  America  about  1717  and  "who 
owned  lands  and  paid  quit-rents  prior  to   1734" 


356 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


in  the  township  of  Hanover,  Philadelphia  (now 
Montgomery)  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  an 
elder  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  at 
Trappe,  Virginia,  1733.  John  Hollenback,  son 
of  George,  was  born  about  1720.  In  1750  he  took 
up  land  in  Lebanon  township,  Lancaster  (now 
Lebanon)  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1772  re- 
moved to  Martinsburg,  Berkeley  county,  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  died.  He  had  three  sons — 
George,  Matthias  and  John,  with  several  daugh- 
ters. 

Colonel  Matthias  Hollenback,  second  son, 
came  to  Wyoming  in  February,  1770,  in  a  com- 
pany of  forty  young  men  of  Capt.  Lazarus  Stew- 
art's "Paxtang  Boys"  from  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania, their  intention  being  to  settle  and  become 
citizens  under  Connecticut  laws,  and  to  aid  the 
Yankees  in  keeping  possession  of  that  section  of 
the  state.  They  assisted  in  taking  possession  of 
Fort  Durkee,  Wilkes-Barre,  February  11,  1770, 
and  returned  to  Lancaster  county  in  August, 
1770.  He  located  permanently  at  Mill  Creek, 
near  Wilkes-Barre,  late  in  1773.  On  their 
way  the  company  encamped  where  Mauch 
Chunk  is  now  situated,  and  after  the  coal 
interest  had  called  into  existence  a  thriving  town 
there,  Mr.  Hollenback  often  remarked  that  he 
ought  to  put  in  a  claim  to  that  place,  for  he  was 
first  in  possession.  He  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre 
early  in  1774,  purchased  a  lot  on  what  is  now  the 
west  side  of  the  public  square,  and  built  a  large 
frame  house  for  a  store  and  dwelling.  He  pur- 
chased his  goods  in  Philadelphia,  which  were 
taken  to  Middletown  in  wagons  and  then  trans- 
ported by  water  to  this  and  other  places,  where 
he  had  established  stores.  The  first  method  of 
transportation  was  by  Indian  canoes,  and  he  lit- 
erally pushed  his  canoe  up  the  Susquehanna  the 
whole  distance,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  many 
times,  before  he  was  able  to  procure  a  more  ca- 
pacious vessel  and  to  employ  men  to  manage  it. 
Then  he  purchased  a  Durham  boat,  which  he  kept 
steadily  employed.  Mr.  Hollenback  prospered  in 
a  remarkable  manner  in  his  business  enterprises, 
soon  acquired  distinction,  and  was  called  upon  to 
fill  positions  of  public  trust  and  responsibility. 
He  was  commissioned  an  ensign  in  the  Sixth 
Company,  Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  Connecticut 
troops,  October  17,  1775,  located  at  Wyoming, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  appointed  by  congress  to 
serve  as  ensign  in  Captain  Samuel  Ransom's  In- 
dependent Company,  Continental  Army,  one  of 
two  companies  raised  by  congress  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  people  of  the  Wyoming  Valley,  Au- 
gust 26,  1776.     These  Wyoming  companies  were 


subsequently  ordered  to  join  Washington's  army,. 
Lieutenant  Hollenback  was  with  his  company  in 
the  army  in  New  Jersey,  1776-77,  and  participated 
in  several  battles,  among  them  Millstone,  Tren- 
ton, Princeton  and  Brandywine.  At  the  battle 
of  Millstone  he  led  and  cheered  his  men,  wading 
the  river  waist  deep  to  attack  the  British  regulars, 
insuring  victory.  His  courage  and  tact  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  he  was  several  times  employed 
by  Washington  to  visit  the  frontier  settlements 
and  outposts  and  report  upon  their  condition. 

When  danger  to  Wyoming  became  imminent 
and  congress  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  pressing  calls 
for  protection,  throwing  up  his  commission  he 
returned,  not  to  avoid,  but  to  meet  danger.  The 
skill  acquired  by  eighteen  months'  military  serv- 
ice was  imparted  to  the  militia,  and  his  undaunted, 
and  elastic  spirit  infused  into  all  around  him.  Dur- 
ing the  spring  of  1778  fears  were  entertained  for 
the  safety  of  the  frontier  settlement  of  Wyoming, . 
and  as  summer  approached  a  sense  of  insecurity 
and  alarm  pervaded  the  community.  Frequent 
scouting  parties  were  sent  out  to  ascertain  the- 
position  of  the  enemy.  Hollenback,  with  a  com- 
panion, was  selected  for  the  perilous  duty  July  1, 
1778.  He  proceeded  sixteen  miles  up  the  river, 
and  Tories  on  their  march  to  attack  the  settle- 
where  he  came  upon  the  fresh  trail  of  the  Indians, 
ment,  and  discovered  also  the  bodies  of  several 
settlers  who  had  been  killed  and  scalped.  The 
inhabitants  had  already  begun  to  assemble  at 
Forty  Fort,  and  were  actively  preparing  for  the 
defense  of  the  Valley.  Under  the  command  of" 
Colonels  Zebulon  Butler  and  Nathan  Denison,  the 
little  band  marched  forth  to  the  memorable  battle 
of  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778.  Mr.  Hollenback  took 
a  prominent  part  in  this  tragic  action  in  the  ranks 
of  his  old  company,  acquitting  himself  with  gal- 
lantry and  honor.  He  escaped  the  terrible 
slaughter  which  followed  the  defeat  of  the  set- 
tlers, and  was  among  those  who  fled  to  the  river. 
His  friend.  Captain  Durkee.  being  wounded  in 
the  thigh,  Hollenback  carried  him  some  distance 
on  his  shoulder,  but  pressed  closely  by  the  Indians 
Durkee  insisted  on  being  left  rather  than  that 
both  should  be  killed.  Hollenback  had  not  gone 
far  before  poor  Durkee  was  slain.  Expert  in  all 
manly  exercises,  he  swam  to  Monocacy  island, 
and  then  to  the  eastern  shore.  Foreseeing  the 
necessity  of  instant  aid  from  abroad,  mounting- 
his  horse,  he  rode  early  before  day  and  gave  in- 
formation to  Captain  Spaulding's  company, 
which  so  tardily  had  been  permitted  to  advance,, 
and  with  praiseworthy  thoughtfulness  rapidly  re- 
turned, laden  with  bread  for  the  relief  of  the  flv-- 


Ga-loxy  Tvh.  C° 


'/-tr&^K^C^ 


~^> 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


357 


iug  widows  and  their  suffering  children.  He  met 
the  company  at  Bear  creek,  but  Captain  Spauld- 
ing  declined  the  hazard.  Mr.  Hollenback,  how- 
ever, so  far  prevailed  as  to  induce  fifteen  or  twen- 
ty of  the  seventy  men  to  accompany  him.  On 
reaching  the  slope  of  the  mountain  near  Prospect 
Rock  he  discovered  his  own  house  on  fire  and 
savages  in  possession  of  the  fort.  Ever  prompt 
at  the  call  of  duty,  Mr.  Hollenback  assisted  in 
collecting  the  remains  of  the  slain  some  days  after 
the  massacre,  and  gave  them  the  most  decent 
burial  circumstances  at  that  time  permitted.  On 
the  passage  by  the  Connecticut  assembly  of  a  re- 
solve allowing  Wyoming  to  make  their  own  pow- 
der, Mr.  Hollenback  was  looked  to,  to  provide 
the  requisite  machinery.  His  arrival  with  the 
"Pounders"  was  an  important  event,  for  previ- 
ously powder  for  the  settlement  was  chiefly 
brought  from  Connecticut  on  horseback. 

After  the  enemy  retired  Mr.  Hollenback  was 
among  the  first  to  return.  He  retired  from  the 
service  July  27,  1778,  and  resumed  his  former 
business.  He  built  on  South  Main  street  in  1780- 
178 1  a  long  two-story  frame  building  (still  stand- 
ing) and  here  lived  and  did  business  for  years. 
His  credit  at  Philadelphia  being  good,  he  ob- 
tained a  few  goods  and  soon  laid  the  sure  founda- 
tion of  his  fortune.  He  established  his  principal 
store  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  branch  stores  at  Tioga 
Point,  now  Athens,  at  Newtown,  now  Elmira. 
and  at  other  places,  and  no  man  was  better  known 
through  lower  New  York  and  all  over  northern 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  the  business  manager  and 
purveyor  for  Colonel  Timothy  Pickering,  in  1791, 
while  he  was  holding  a  treaty  with  the  Indians  at 
Newtown  creek.  He  was  made  a  justice  of  the 
peace  and  a  judge  of  common  pleas  May  11, 
1787,  after  the  establishment  of  the  jurisdiction 
■of  Pennsylvania  in  Wyoming ;  when  the  new  con- 
stitution was  adopted  by  Pennsylvania  in  1790, 
he  was  appointed  an  associate  judge  of  Luzerne 
county,  holding  the  office  over  thirty-eight  years 
until  his  death.  He  was  also  the  first  treasurer  of 
Luzerne  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  old  Wilkes-Barre  Academy 
from  1807  to  1829.  He  was  commissioned  lieu- 
tenant-colonel First  Battalion  Luzerne  County 
Militia  in  1787,  re-elected  in  1792,  and  in  1793. 
The  first  of  his  commissions  was  given  by  the 
executive  council  of  Pennsylvania,  and  bears  the 
autograph  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  From  May, 
1819,  to  May,  1820,  he  was  burgess  of  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

Colonel  Hollenback  always  took  great  interest 
.in  relisrious  affairs  and  the  welfare  of  the  church. 


He  contributed  liberally  toward  the  erection  of 
the  first  church  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  his  hand 
and  home  were  always  open  to  ministers  of  the 
gospel.  He  exerted  much  influence  upon  the 
progress  and  elevation  of  the  country,  was  a 
noted  friend  of  public  improvements,  provided 
employment  for  many  poor  laborers,  furnished 
supplies  to  multitudes  of  new  settlers,  and  was  a 
living,  almost  ever-present  example  of  industry 
and  economy.  Not  Wyoming  alone,  but  the 
whole  country  between  Wilkes-Barre  and  Elmira, 
owes  much  of  its  early  development  and  present 
prosperity  to  the  business  arrangements  and  the 
indomitable  perseverance  of  Matthias  Hollen- 
back. Colonel  Hollenback  married,  April  20, 
1788,  Sarah  Hibbard,  and  had:  Eleanor  Jones, 
married  Charles  F.  Welles ;  Mary  Ann,  married 
(first)  John  Deshong;  (second)  John  Laning ; 
Sarah,  married  (first)  Jacob  Cist,  and  (second) 
Hon.  Chester  Butler ;  and  George  Matthias  Hol- 
lenback. (Abridged  from  "The  Harvey  Book," 
by  Oscar  J.  Harvey,  Esq.)  H.  E.  H. 

GEORGE  MATSON  HOLLENBACK,  only 
son  of  JudgeMatthias  Hollenback,  so  intimately 
associated  with  the  principal  border  incidents  of 
northern  Pennsylvania,  was  born  on  Main  street, 
Wilkes-Barre,  August  11,  1791.  This  edifice, 
wherein  the  first  of  the  family  laid  the  foundation 
of  his  own  and  successor's  fortunes,  is  still  stand- 
ing and  is  one  of  the  monuments  of  a  past  age. 
Here  were  passed  the  boyhood  days  of  George 
M.  Hollenback,  and  here  he  received  the  rudi- 
ments of  that  practical  education  in  the  business 
affairs  of  life  attended  with  such  signal  success 
in  after  years,  and  which  supplies  to  the  youth 
of  our  land  a  model  well  worthy  of  imitation. 

George  M.  Hollenback  commenced  his  career 
as  a  business  man  in  company  with  his  father,  on 
Main,  below  Northampton  street,  where  for  a 
number  of  years  they  pursued  their  occupation  as 
merchants,  a  term  then  of  far  more  signification 
than  at  the  present  day.  In  this  instance,  the 
firm,  of  necessity,  kept  an  assortment  universal  in 
character.  Their  stock  embraced  hardware,  dry 
goods,  groceries,  books  and  stationery,  tin  and 
iron,  leather,  medicines,  and  in  fact  all  articles 
of  trade,  at  the  present  time  divided  up  amongst 
separate  dealers.  To  this  indoor  traffic  were 
added  grist  and  saw  milling,  brick-making,  farm- 
ing, lumbering ;  taking  in  the  various  products 
of  the  farmers,  maple  sugar  from  the  early  set- 
tlers, skins  and'  furs  from  the  hunters  and  trap- 
pers, plaster  and  salt  from  the  river ;  and.  added 
to  all  these,  the  care  and  supervision  of  number- 


358 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


less  tracts  of  wild  lands  located  here  and  there 
over  the  surface  of  the  country  from  the  waters 
of  the  Lehigh  to  the  York  state  line.  Such  was 
the  scale  of  enterprise  on  which  this  young  man 
commenced  life. 

In  1818  Mr.  Hollenback  commenced  the  ardu- 
ous task  of  erecting  the  brick  structure  on  the 
corner  of  Market  and'  River  streets  at  the  bridge. 
What  may  seem  of  slight  account  in  these  times 
was  a  matter  of  much  greater  moment  at  that 
early  period.  He  was  under  the  necessity  of 
erecting  kilns  and  burning  his  own  brick,  whilst 
the  lime  required  was  hauled  in .  wagons  from 
Berwick;  and  glass,  hardware,  etc.,  were  brought 
over  the  turnpike  from  Philadelphia  by  the  same 
means  of  transportation.  The  building  was  com- 
pleted and  he  moved  into  it  in  February,  1820. 
Here  he  became  permanently  established  and 
opened  his  store,  long  known  to  the  citizens  of 
Luzerne  as  the  leading  mercantile  house  of  the 
valley.  Ziba  Bennett,  well  and  favorably  known 
throughout  the  valley,  came  into  the  new  estab- 
lishment as  head  clerk,  became  partner  in  the 
store  in  1822,  and  retired  therefrom  in  1826. 
((See  Bennett  Family.)  Mr.  Bennett  .was  suc- 
ceeded by  Nathaniel  Rutter,  then  a  young  man 
lately  from  the  county  of  Lancaster,  in  1833,  who 
continued  as  partner  in  the  business  until  1848. 
(See  Rutter  Family.)  His  place  was  afterwards 
supplied  by  Charles  F.  Reets,  with  whom  Mr. 
Hollenback  closed  his  career  as  a  merchant  a  few 
years  later,  after  an  experience  of  more  than 
forty  years.  As  a  merchant  and  business  man 
generally,  Mr.  Hollenback  may  justly  be  re- 
garded as  occupying  a  very  high  rank.  No  man 
could  be  more  prompt  and  attentive — nothing  was 
forgotten,  nothing  was  omitted.  Every  engage- 
ment was  met  precisely  at  the  appointed  hour. 
His  discipline  was  strict.  In  manner  he  was  em- 
inently agreeable  and  courteous.  He  was  alike 
communicative  and  respectful  to  and  with  the 
high  and  the  humble.  In  his  dealings  he  was 
scrupulously  exact.  He  settled  by  the  record, 
demanding  or  receiving  neither  too  much  nor  too 
little.  His  honesty  of  purpose  was  never  a  mat- 
ter of  question.  His  word  had  the  sanctity  of  his 
bond.  He  could  lay  his  hand  in  a  moment  on 
the  needed  paper  or  document,  and  in  the  im- 
mense and  complicated  mass  of  his  business 
affairs,  he  had  a  knowledge  of  the  details  of  each 
particular  item.  A  man  of  such  character  for  in- 
tegrity, ability  and  business  habits,  necessarily 
could  not  avoid  the  calls  made  upon  him  by  the 
public.  Though  destitute  of  all  political  aspira- 
tions, he  1  was  at  various  times  compelled  to  serve 
his   fellow-citizens  in   official  positions.     At  the 


time  when  a  system  of  internal  improvements,, 
evoked  by  the  public  enterprise  of  New  York, 
was  being  inaugurated  in  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Hol- 
lenback was  sent  two  sessions  to  the  assembly  as 
an  advocate  of  the  North  Branch  canal.  He  was 
largely  instrumental  in  procuring  the  necessary 
legislation  favoring  that  then  popular  policy.  He 
also  served  the  public  in  the  office  of  county  treas- 
urer, was  one  of  the  canal  commissioners  of  the 
state,  and  for  thirty-five  years  superintended  the 
interest  of  the  Wyoming  Bank  as  its  president. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  the  great  public  enter- 
prises of  the  age,  aiding  not  only  in  counsel  but 
by  most  liberal  contribution  of  means.  He  sac- 
rificed much  towards  the  erection  of  the  Tide 
Water  canal.  He  furnished  a  great  part  of  the 
capital  for  building  the  Junction  canal  in  New 
York  state,  and  the  same  liberality  evinced  in 
those  helps  to  more  public  objects,  appeared  in 
the  charities  dispensed  in  his  native  town.  At 
his  suggestion  the  heirs  of  his  father  donated  the 
lot  on  Franklin  street  as  a  site  for  the  Presbyte- 
rian church,  now  the  Osterhout  Free  Library 
building.  He  gave  the  lot  on  River  street  to  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Female  Institute,  since  removed  to> 
Franklin  street.  Afterwards  he  contributed  the 
fifteen  acres  to  the  Hollenback  cemetery  which 
bears  his  name,  and  of  which  he  was  president 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  members  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and 
Geological  Society,  1858,  and  vice-president 
1860-61.  He  was  a  member  of  Lodge  61,  F. 
and  A.  M.,  Wilkes-Barre,  from  1825  to  1866; 
treasurer  of  the  Luzerne  County  Bible  Society 
from   1819  to  1886,  etc.,  etc. 

Mr.  Hollenback  married,  1816,  Emily  Linds- 
ley,  of  New  York,  with  whom  he  lived  most  hap- 
pily until  the  day  of  her  death  in  1851.  This 
most  exemplary  and  pious  woman  left  a  blessed 
memory  surviving  her,  and  her  modest  and  quiet 
grace  of  manner,  her  generous  sympathies  and 
eminent  piety,  left  a  record  uneffaced  in  the- 
community.  Mr.  Hollenback  died,  Wilkes-Barre, 
November  7,  1866.  He  left  a  widow,  whom  he- 
married  in  1852,  and  an  adopted  son.  In  his 
personal  bearing  he  was  always  a  gentleman. 
For  him  the  low  vices  and  vulgar  indulgences  of 
men  had  no  charm.  His  salutation,  his  language, 
his  bow,  his  cheerful  smile,  his  respectful  atten- 
tion, were  all  types  of  the  well-bred  man.  He  was 
wholly  free  from  the  exhibition  of  ostentation, 
egotism  and  pride  of  display.  We  had  no  man 
amongst  us  more  plain  or  unpretending.  May 
we  cherish  his  memory  as  a  man  whose  relations 
with  his  fellows  were  characterized  by  justice  and 
probity — whose    friendly    intercourse    with    the- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


359 


community  was  ever  respectful  and  decorous — 
whose  domestic  life  passed  in  strict  attention  to 
his  business  affairs,  and  the  frugal  enjoyment  of 
abundance,  and  whose  public  career  has  never 
been  blotted  by  the  pen  of  censure.  A  man  rich 
without  contumely — elevated  in  the  estimation  of 
his  countrymen,  without  indulging  in  the  weak- 
ness of  pride.  (From  a  sketch  by  Caleb  E. 
Wright,  Esq.,  Record  of  the  Times,  November 
14,  1868).  H.  E.  H. 

JOHN  W.  HOLLENBACK,  fifth  son  of 
Charles  Fisher  and  Ellen  (Hollenback)  Welles 
(See  Welles  family),  was  born  in  Wyalusing, 
Pennsylvania,  March  15,  1827,  and  is  a  grandson 
of  George  and  Prudence  (Talcott)  Welles,  and 
of  Colonel  Matthias  Hollenback,  a  survivor  of  the 
battle  of  Wyoming,  and  a  great-grandson  of  Col- 
onel Elizur  Talcott,  of  Glastonbury,  Connecticut, 
and  a  lineal  descendant  in  the  seventh  generation 
of  Thomas  Welles,  who  was  the  fourth  colonial 
governor  of  Connecticut,  1655-58,  and  of  William 
Pynchon,  patentee  of  the  charter  of  the  Colony 
of  Massachusetts,  through  his  daughter  Mary, 
who  married  Elizur  Holyoke. 

John  Roset  Welles  was  educated  at  the 
Athens  Academy  and  with  his  brother  Edward 
Welles  had  charge  of  the  Welles  estate  in  Wyal- 
using, Pennsylvania,  1848-1863.  He  changed  his 
name  by  suffixing  his  mother's  maiden  name,  and 
dropping  his  second  Christian  name,  Roset,  the 
change  being  authorized  by  the  legislature  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1862.  In  1863,  at  the  request  of 
his  maternal  uncle,  George  M.  Hollenback,  he  re- 
moved his  family  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  became  prominent  in  local  affairs  and 
held  many  important  offices.  He  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council,  serving  two  terms  of  three 
years  each,  and  president  of  the  People's  Bank 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  director 
since  its  organization  in  1872.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Bridge  Company,  of  the 
Hollenback  Cemetery  Association,  of  the  Harry 
Hillman  Academy,  and  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Lace 
Manufacturing  Company ;  vice  president  and  di- 
rector of  the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital  since  its 
organization,  and  now  its  president ;  a  director  of 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  from  the  day  of  its  organization, 
also  a  director  of  the  Spring  Brook  Water  Com- 
pany, the  Title  Guarantee  and  Surety  Company 
of  Scranton,  the  Scranton  Trust  Company,  and 
the  Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Company  of 
New  York.  He  is  a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  was  vice-presi- 
dent 1875  to  1878,  and  president,  1879  to  1880, 
and    is    vice   president    of   the    Wyoming   Com- 


memorative Association.  He  was  elected  trustee 
of  Lafayette  College  1865,  president  of  the  board 
in  1892,  and  is  the  only  one  now  living  of  the 
trustees  of  1865.  His  benefactions  to  the  col- 
lege have  been  large  and  frequent. 

John  W.  Hollenback  married  (first)  October 
25,  1854,  Anna  E.,  daughter  of  Eli  Beard,  of 
Brooklyn,  New  York.  He  had  three  children  by 
this  marriage :  Walter,  died  at  the  age  of  six ; 
Samuel,  died  in  infancy ;  Emily  B.,  married  Dr. 
Lewis  H.  Taylor,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 
(See  Taylor  Family).  Mr.  Hollenback  married 
(second)  December  13,  1866,  Josephine,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Woodward,  of  New  York  City.  He 
had  three  children  by  this  marriage:  Eleanor  J., 
married  Murry  Gibson,  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  Josephine  W.,  married  Louis  V.  Twyef- 
fort,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York ;  and  Anna  W.  The 
mother  died  while  these  children  were  of  tender 
age.  Mr.  Hollenback  married  (third)  Amelia 
Beard,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife,  and  they  had  three 
children :  Julia,  died  in  infancy ;  Amelia  and 
Juliette.  H.  E.  H. 

HARRADON  STERLING  SMITH,  a  rep- 
resentative citizen  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  was  born  December  29,  1866,  is  a  son 
of  Douglass  and  Mary  Ellen  (Faser)  Smith. 

Douglass  Smith  (father)  was  born  June  9, 
1840,  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  He  ob- 
tained his  early  education  in  the  common  schools, 
and  later  pursued  advanced  studies  at  the  high 
school,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  i860. 
He  at  once  took  up  his  residence  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  accepted  a  position  as  bookkeeper 
for  Hollenback  &  Reets,  remaining  for  several 
years.  He  then  engaged  in  business  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Ziba  M.  Faser,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Faser  &  Smith,  opening  a  store  which 
they  equipped  with  a  full  line  of  dry  goods  and 
fine  carpets,  and  continued  the  same  until  1880. 
He  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Wilkes-Barre 
in  1877,  which  responsible  position  he  filled  to 
the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned  for  four 
years.  He  was  a  man  of  honor  and  integrity, 
esteemed  and  respected  by  all  who  came  in  con- 
tact with  him,  and  the  various  interests  of  the 
city  of  his  adoption  received  from  him  a  strong 
support.  He  was  a  member  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church,  being  received  on  confession  of 
faith,  and  when  quite  a  young  man  was  elected  a 
ruling  elder  in  that  church.  Several  times  he 
represented  the  church  in  Presbytery  and  was 
once  a  commissioner  to  the  general  assembly.  For. 
more  than  forty  years  he  served  in  the  capacity 
of  superintendent   of   the     Westminster    Sunday 


300 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


school,  a  mission  connected  therewith.  He  mar- 
ried, May  1 6,  1865,  Mary  Ellen  Faser,  daughter 
of  John  and  Nancy  (Atherholt)  Faser,  and  their 
children  are :  Harradon  Sterling,  born  December 
29,  1866,  mentioned  hereafter;  Laura  May,  born 
May  6,  1873,  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
married,  June  13,  1901,  Jesse  Sharpless  Cheyney, 
born  March  .3,  1873,  in  Philadelphia.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cheyney  reside  in  Galatzin,  Penn.,  and  had 
Ellen  Moore  and  Nancy  Faser  Cheyney  (twins), 
born  August  31,  1903,  the  former  now  living  and 
the  latter  deceased,  passing  away  August  18,  1904. 
Ralph  Alexander,  born  January  15,  1877,  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools,  a  civil  and  mining 
engineer,  and  now  (1906),  for  three  years  chief 
engineer  of  Kingston  Coal  Company.  Douglass 
Smith,  father  of  these  children,  died  at  his  beau- 
tiful home  on  Franklin  street,  Wilkes-Barre,  De- 
cember 12,  1903.    His  widow  survives  him. 

At  the  session  of  Lackawanna  Presbytery,  Rev. 
R.  B.  Webster,  of  Westminster  Church,  in  the 
Sunday  school  of  which  the  late  Douglass  Smith 
was  so  indefatigable  a  worker,  read  a  tribute. to 
his  memory,  a  portion  of  which  was  as  follows : 
He  was  faithful  in  attendance  on  the  ordinances 
of  the  sanctuary  and  up  to  the  close  of  his  life 
went  regularly  to  church  morning  and  evening, 
even  when  nearly  all  the  afternoon  had  been  taken 
up  with  Sunday  school  duties.  He  was  a  charter 
member  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, and  was  interested  and  active  in  the  various 
agencies  for  the  welfare  of  the  community.  But 
it  was  in  the  Sunday  school  of  Westminster 
Church  that  his  life  work  for  Christ  was  done. 
February  12,  i860,  two  days  after  he  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  he  entered  that  school,  then  a  mis- 
sion of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  He  was 
soon  made  superintendent  and  continued  in  that 
office  until  December  12,  1903,  nearly  fortv-four 
years.  He  saw  it  grow  from  a  small  mission  to 
a  school  of  about  eight  hundred  and  a  church 
of  about  three  hundred  members,  with  a  mission 
named  in  his  honor,  Douglass  Mission,  which  has 
a  membership  of  nearly  two  hundred.  His  heart 
was  in  his  work  for  the  school.  He  was  seldom 
absent  from  its  sessions,  and  then  only  when  cir- 
cumstances beyond  his  control  compelled  it.  In 
every  social  gathering  or  entertainment  or  so- 
ciety that  was  gotten  up  in  the  interests  of  the 
church  or  the  school  he  was  one  of  the  most  in- 
terested and  active  workers.  He  cheerfully  gave 
his  time,  counsel  and  labor  and  never  thought 
self  denial  or  work  for  the  school  a  sacrifice.  He 
loved  the  children  and  never  was  happier  than 
when  they  were  happy.  He  planned  and  worked 
for  picnics,  Christmas  and  other  entertainments 


with  unabated  enthusiasm.  He  was  never  impa- 
tient with  his  school,  never  spoke  a  cross  or  un- 
kind word.  When  he  did  have  occasion  to  criti- 
cise he  did  it  in  such  a  way  that  some  one  said 
he  would  sooner  hear  Mr.  Smith  scold  than  other 
men  talk. 

"Though  the  school  of  Westminster  was  his 
school,  no  one  entered  into  the  organization  of 
tne  mission  school  at  Lee  Park  more  .heartily 
than  he.  did.  When  the  chapel  for  that  school 
was  being  built  he  was  there  nearly  every  day 
to  see  how  the  work  was  getting  along.  In  an 
address  made  there  I  once  heard  him  say  that  he 
loved  every  nail  and  board  in  the  building.  Sun- 
day, November  29,  1903,  not  quite  two  weeks 
before  his  death,  Westminster  Church  was  closed 
for  repairs  and  Mr.  Smith  went  to  the  Douglass 
Chapel,  taught  a  class  and  gave  an  interesting  and 
helpful  address  on  "Stop!  Look!  Listen!''  Mr. 
Smith  loved  his  school  and  the  school  loved  him 
and  we  did  not  wait  until  he  was  dead  to  say  so, 
but  at  different  times  and  in  different  ways  we 
showed  our  appreciation  and  love,  and  the  words 
spoken  of  him  after  his  death  are  like  those  spoken 
to  him  during  his  life.  He  superintended  the 
school  Sunday,  December  6,  1903,  and  was  at  the 
teachers'  meeting  the  next  evening.when  he  of- 
fered prayer.  This  was  the  last  service  he  attended 
and  his  last  public  appeal  for  the  school  he  loved 
so  well.  Saturday  morning,  December  12,  1903, 
the  community  was  shocked  when  it  saw  in  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Record  that  Mr.  Smith  had  died 
suddenly  about  midnight.  The  next  day  appro- 
priate memorial  services  were  held  at  the  regular 
Sunday  school  hour  in  Westminster  chapel  and 
the  Douglass  chapel.  Our  school  has  lost  its 
faithful,  loving  and  beloved  superintendent,  but 
the  work  goes  on  and,  next  to  the  Divine  Master, 
nothing  gave  us  more  joy  than  to  say  :  "This 
would  please  Mr.  Smith."  Mr.  Smith  was  a 
man  of  varied  experience,  excellent  judgment, 
untiring  patience,  rare  tact,  hopeful  disposition 
and  warm  loving  breast.  In  his  death  the  com- 
munity  lost  a  good  citizen,  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  a  loyal  elder,  Westminster  Sunday  school 
its  beloved  superintendent  and  his  family  a  de- 
voted husband  and  father.  Of  him  it  may  be 
truthfully  said :  "He  was  faithful  unto  death." 
"Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant." 

John  Faser.  father  of  Mrs.  Douglass  Smith, 
was  born  in  Einsburg-.  near  Wurtenburg.  Ger- 
many, January  26,  1803,  died  April  12,  1882,  aged 
seventy-nine.  He  was  an  educator  in  his  native 
town,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  paper 
manufacturer.  When  about  twenty-five  vears  of 
age  he  was  included  in  the  draft  for  the  Ger- 


.-.*! 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


361 


man  army  from  his  district,  but  being  fortunate 
enough  to  draw  one  of  the  lucky  numbers  he  did 
not  have  to  serve.  He  then  traveled  over  Eu- 
rope for  a  year,  and  in  1829  he  sailed  for  Amer- 
ica, intending  to  make  a  home  and  name  for  him- 
self in  the  new  world,  and  located  at  what  was 
then  known  as  Mill  Hollow.  He  first  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  paper,  conducting  his 
operations  in  the  old  mill,  carried  the  paper  on 
wagons  to  Philadelphia,  each  trip  taking  several 
days,  and  this  line  of  work  he  followed  for  sev- 
eral years,  but  later  turned  h^s  attention  to  the 
lumber  business,  which  yielded  him  a  goodly  re- 
turn for  his  labor.  In  1872,  after  a  residence  of 
fifty  years  in  the  United  States,  he  returned  to 
his  native  land  and  among  his  numerous  relatives 
there  was  but  one  cousin  to  greet  him,  the  re- 
mainder having  passed  away  during  his  absence. 
John  Faser  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  trustee  of  the  Female  Institute,  and 

.  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  from  its  or- 
ganization up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  mar- 
ried Nancy  Atherholt,  born  in  Kingston  township, 
Pennsylvania,  June  14,  1813,  died  September  18, 
1879,  daughter  of  Christian  and  Catharine  (Full- 
mer) Atherholt,  formerly  of  Bucks  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, who  were  the  parents  of  seven  children. 
The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Faser  were  as 
follows :  Ziba  M.,  born  August  18,  1837,  died 
April  24,  1881,  married  September  25,  1873,  Lucy 
H.- Sturdevant,  who  bore  him  two  children: 
Charles,  born  June  5,  1877 ;  and  John  R.,  born 
June  24.  1880.  Mary  Ellen,  born  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  July  16,  1840,  widow  of  Douglass  Smith, 
who  resides  in  a  comfortable  home  on  Franklin 
street,  Wilkes-Barre.  Laura,  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,    December   9,    1841,    attended    a    private 

■school  and  female  institute  of  that  city,  and  now 

resides    with  her  sister,   Mrs.   Douglass    Smith. 

Both  are  members  of  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

Harradon  S.   Smith,  eldest  son  of  Douglass 

and    Mary    Ellen    (Faser)    Smith,  received    his 

•educational  advantages  in  the  public  schools  and 
Wilkes-Barre  Academy,  after  which  he  took  up 

"the  study  of  mining.  He  gained  his  first  prac- 
tical knowledge  in  the  employ  of  the  Lehigh 
Valley    Coal    Company,    at    Wilkes-Barre,    with 

-which  corporation  he  remained  until  February, 
1 89 1,  when  he  became  chief  engineer  of  the  R. 

-&  P.  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  located  at  Punx- 
sutawney, Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  five 
years.  He  then  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  and 
•continued  at  his  work  as  civil  and  mining  engi- 
meer,  and  July  1,  1904,  formed  a  partnership 
-with  Theodore  L.  Welles,  a  sketch  of  whom  ap- 


pears elsewhere  in  this  work,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Smith  &  Welles.  He  was  formerly  a  member 
of  Lodge  No.  301,  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  of  Punxsutawney,  of  which  he 
was  exalted  ruler  during  the  spring  of  1895-96. 
In  the  latter  year  he  withdrew  from  that  place 
and  is  now  a  member  of  the  same  order,  Lodge 
No.  109,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  August  8,  1889,  Lizzie 
Hollister,  daughter  of  Dr.  F.  Lee  and  Lillie 
(Baker)  Hollister,  and  two  children  have  been 
the  issue :  Harradon  Hollister,  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  July  26,  1890,  and  is  at 
present  (1906)  a  student  in  the  Harry  Hillman 
Academy.  Douglas  Lee,  born  in  Punxsutawney, 
December  3,  1894,  now  attending  public  school. 

Dr.  F.  Lee  Hollister,  father  of  Mrs.  Harra- 
don S.  Smith,  was  born  in  what  is  now  Forest 
Lake  township,  Susquehanna  county,  August  16, 
1846,  son  of  F.  P.  and  Alice  B.  (Young)  Hol- 
lister, and  grandson  of  Cuza  and  Susan  (Robin- 
son) Hollister,  natives  of  Connecticut,  of  Puri- 
tan stock,  who  were  pioneers  of  Delaware  county, 
New  York,  settling  in  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1836,  where  they  died.  Dr.  Hol- 
lister was  educated  at  Montrose  Academy  and  the 
Lnion  School  at  Hamilton,  New  York,  and  in 
1879  was  graduated  from  the  Pennsylvania  Col- 
lege of  Dental  Surgery  at  Philadelphia.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  at  Tunkhannock,  Towanda, 
and  Wilkes-Barre.  He  married,  September  10, 
1869,  Lillie,  daughter  of  Hon.  Isaac  P.  and 
Anise  (Handrick)  Baker,  of  Susquehanna 
county,  and  they  have  two  children :  Lizzie  (Mrs. 
Harradon  S.  Smith),  and  Fred  B.  Hollister,  of 
Providence,  near  Scranton,  Pennsylvania. 

H.  E.  H. 

WILLIAM  GRIFFITH.  Robert  and  Will- 
iam Griffith  with  three  sisters  came  to  America 
before  1800  and  settled  in  Philadelphia.  Their 
parents  were  William  and  Grace  Griffith,  at  that 
time  residing  in  Nurey,  Ireland,  having  moved 
there  from  Belfast,  to  which  city  tradition  says 
their  ancestors  fled  from  Paris  to  escape  the 
Huguenot  persecutions.  Robert  and  William 
Griffith  were  house  carpenters  by  occupation. 

William  Griffith,  the  founder  of  the  family, 
married  (second)  Mary  Chapman  of  New  Egypt, 
New  Jersey,  November  20,  1805.  They  purchased 
a  home  in  Philadelphia  county,  at  the  falls  of  the 
Schuykill,  where  they  resided  until  some  time  . 
after  1828,  when  they  moved  to  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania.  William  Griffith  was  an  enthus- 
iastic Baptist,  and  was  the  principal  organizer 
and  builder  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Har- 


362 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


risburg,  where  he  and  his  family  worshipped. 
William  and  Mary  (Chapman)  Griffith  had 
twelve  children.  The  eldest,  Jane  Griffith,  mar- 
ried Griffith  Roberts,  of  Philadelphia,  and  her 
descendants  reside  there  at  the  present  time.  Of 
the  remaining  children  all  except  the  youngest 
either  died  in  vouth  or  left  no  surviving  children. 

William  Robert  Griffith,  fifth  child  of  Will- 
iam and  Mary  (Chapman)  Griffith,  born  April  2, 
1815,  died  in  New  York  City,  June  14,  1876.  He 
became  prominent  throughout  the  Wyoming  Val- 
ley and  New  York  City  and  elsewhere  as  one  of 
the  foremost  pioneers  of  the  anthracite  coal  in- 
dustry. He  was  one  of  the  first  to  grasp  the 
vast  future  of  anthracite.  He  was  organizer  and 
for  a  number  of  years  president  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Coal  Company,  and,  coming  to  the  Wyom- 
ing Valley  about  1848,  made  extensive  purchases 
of  excellent  coal  lands  about  Pittston  and  vicinity 
in  the  interests  of  his  company,  which  soon  after 
constructed  a  gravity  railroad  from  Pittston  to 
Hawley,  and  became  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
successful  producers  of  anthracite  in  the  Wyom- 
ing Valley. 

Andrew  Jackson  Griffith,  youngest  child  of 
William  and  Mary  (Chapman)  Griffith,  was  born 
in  Philadelphia  county,  October  25,  1828,  and 
died  in  West  Pittston,  June  18,  1889.  He  at- 
tended school  at  Lititz,  Pennsylvania.  About  1849 
he  came  to  Wyoming  from  Harrisburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania (where  he  spent  his  youthful  days),  to  as- 
sist his  elder  brother,  William  R.  Griffith,  in  the 
development  of  his  extensive  mining  enterprises, 
and  was  engaged  upon  the  engineer  corps  in  sur- 
veying and  constructing  the  gravity  railroad  to 
Hawley.  He  married  Jemima  Ellen  Sax  at  Pitts- 
ton, March  14,  1854,  and  shortly  afterward  pur- 
chased a  lot  and  built  a  residence  in  West  Pitts- 
ton, corner  of  Susquehanna  avenue  and  Spring 
street,  where  his  widow  now  resides.  After  the 
railroad  was  constructed  Andrew  J.  Griffith  en- 
gaged in  farming,  having  purchased  Scovel's  Is- 
land, in  the  Susquehanna  river,  above  Pittston, 
for  the  purpose.  After  several  years  he  sold  his 
farm  and  invested  money  in  West  Pittston  real 
estate  near  his  home,  and  retired  from  active 
business.  In  politics  he  was  an  ardent  Repub- 
lican. He  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  West 
Pittston  borough,  where  he  held  the  offices  of  bur- 
gess, councilman,  and  other  offices  at  various 
times.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  sportsman,  and 
took  great  delight  in  hunting,  fishing  and  trap- 
ping. After  retiring  from  business  he  took  great 
enjoyment  in  his  collection  of  coins  and  Indian 
relics.  The  latter,  which  was  entirely  local,  grad- 
ually assumed  considerable  size  and  value,  and 


was  after  his  death  presented  to  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

Jemima  Ellen  (Sax)  Griffith,  wife  of  Andrew 
Jacksdn  Griffith,  was  born  in  Kingston,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  December  20,  1829.  Her 
parents  were  John  and  Rebecca  Wright  (Parrish) 
Sax,  married  in  Kingston,  September  15,  1824, 
the  former  being  the  son  of  Conrad  and  Mary 
Sax  (or  Sox)  who  kept  the  tavern  on  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  Eastern  Tunpike,  near  Sox  Pond,  sev- 
eral miles  eastward  of  Wilkes-Barre.  Conrad 
Sax  was  born  in  Phillipsburg,  New  Jersey,  and 
married  Mary  Beers,  June  27,  1787,  his  ancestors 
immigrating  from  Germany.  Rebecca  Wright 
Parrish  was  the  daughter  of  Abram  and  Jemima 
Wright  Parrish,  married  March  15,  1801,  and 
came  to  this  valley  from  Connecticut.  (See  Par- 
rish family.)  Mrs.  A.  J.  Griffith  is  an  honorary 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 
ical Society. 

Andrew  Jackson  and  Jemima  (Sax)  Griffith 
had  five  children:  1.  William  Griffith,  born  Janu- 
ary 12,  1855.  2.  Jacob  K.  Griffith,  born  August  9, 
1857;  he  was  educated  at  public  and  private- 
schools  in  West  Pittston,  and  graduated  at  La- 
fayette College,  Eastern,  as  analytical  chemist,  in_ 
1878.  Shortly  after  became  chemist  for  the  Nlid.- 
ville  Steel  Works,  Philadelphia,  was  later  pro- 
moted to  superintendent  of  the  melting  depart- 
ment and  in  1889  assisted  in  the  organization  of 
the  Latrobe  Steel  Works,  of  which  he  was  made 
superintendent.  He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  International  Text  Book  Company, 
which  conducts  the  widely  known  Correspondence 
Schools  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  In  October, 
1883,  he  married  Winifred  Kerr,  of  Philadelphia, 
and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children  :  Mary 
Frances,  Andrew  Jackson  and  Winifred  Van 
Rouckendorff.  Reside  in  Latrobe.  3.  Gertrude 
N.  Griffith,  married  Charles  D.  Sanderson,  of 
Scranton,  where  they  now  reside ;  thev  have 
Charles  Dudley,  Jr.,  Lucy  Griffith,  and  Clarence 
Marsellus.  Two  other  children  of  Andrew  and 
Jemima  (Sax)  Griffith  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Griffith  reared  a  niece  and  foster  daughter, 
Lois  Merrill,  who  married  Charles  H.  Cutler,  of 
Pittston,  and  thev  now  reside  in  West  Pittston, 
and  have  Helen  Potter,  Jemima  Griffith,  Gert- 
rude, Louis,  Sarah. 

William  Griffith,  eldest  child  of  Andrew  J. 
and  Jemima  (Sax)  Griffith,  was  educated  in  the- 
public  and  private  schools  of  West  Pittston,  and' 
of  Lehigh  University,  where  he  graduated  in 
1876,  with  the  degree  of  civil  engineer.  He 
taught  public  school  for  one  term  at  New  Albany,. 
Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  holidays  and' 


*2,^^ 


'-^c 


1II11 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


363- 


Saturdays  he  surveyed  nearby  farms.  In  July, 
1878,  he  went  west  and  secured  a  position  as 
transitman  and  assistant  engineer  for  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  in  whose  interest  he 
■was;  engaged  surveying  and  constructing  rail- 
roads in  Nebraska,  Idaho.  Montana,  Utah  and 
Colorado.  He  returned  east  at  the  Christmas  sea- 
son in  1880,  and  became  division  engineer  for 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  resident  at  Bethle- 
hem, Pennsylvania.  Two  years  later  he  became 
assistant  on  the  geological  survey  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania anthracite  coal  regions,  resident  at  Potts- 
ville,  Hazelton  and  Bernice,  Pennsylvania,  en- 
gaged in  mapping  the  Schnykhill,  Lehigh  and 
Bernice  coal  measures.  During  1884,  1885  and 
1886  he  was  engaged  in  private  engineering  prac- 
tice at  Pittston.  In  1885  he  built  the  house  at 
the  corner  of  Susquehanna  avenue  and  Parke 
street,  West  Pittston,  which  is  still  his  residence. 


During  1887  and  1888,  as  assistant  geologist,  he 
had  in  charge  the  completion  of  the  geological 
survey  of  the  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  coal 
fields  for  the  state.  Subsequently  opened  an  office 
in  Scranton  as  consulting  mining  engineer  and 
geologist,  in  which  profession  he  is  still  engaged, 
having  prepared  numerous  geological  reports 
(many  of  which  have  been  published),  upon 
mining  properties  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States, 
and  in  Canada,  Mexico  and  South  America,  not- 
able among  which  was  an  extended  article  on  the 
"Anthracite  Coal,  with  Estimate  of  Reserve 
Supply,"  which  was  published  in  the  Bond  Rec- 
ord, New  York,  and  attracted  widespread  atten- 
tion in  financial  and  business  circles.  He  is  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  first  authorities  on  questions 
relating  to  the  economical  geology  of  coal.  A 
Republican  in  politics,  though  never  ambitious 
for  public  office,  he  was  appointed  in  1892  by 
Governor  Pattison  to  be  a  member  of  the  com- 
mission to  investigate  and  report  on  the  prob- 
lem of  and  untilization  of  waste  in  mining  of  an- 
thracite coal.  Early  in  life  he  united  with  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  is  now  an  elder  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  West  Pittston,  hav- 
ing been  for  ten  years  trustee,  also  deacon,  and  a 
member  of  the  building  committee  for  the  new 
church.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society ;  the  Franklin  In- 
stitute of  Philadelphia,  the  National  Geographic 
Society,  and  the  Scranton  Engineers'  Club. 

Mr.  Griffith  married,  June  4,  1885,  Harriet  E. 
Sinclair,  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  She  was  edu- 
cated at  the  Young  Ladies'  Seminarv  at  Law- 
renceville,  New  Jersey,  daughter  of  William 
Davis  and  Abigail  P.  Sinclair,  of  Trenton.    Her 


father  was  senior  member  of  the  well  known 
clothing  house  of  Sinclair,  Vannest  &  Co.,  of 
Trenton.  His  ancestors  were  active  patriots  and- 
participants  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

H.  E.  H. 

WILLIAM  R.  SANE,  director  and  stock- 
holder of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Pittston 
from  its  organization  until  his  death,  and  stock- 
holder in  the  People's  Bank  of  Pittston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  an  important  and  influential  citizen  of 
that  town.  He  was  a  representative,  in  the 
fourth  generation  of  the  Sax  family  in  America, 
which  in  early  tax  lists  is  always  written  Sax,  or- 
Sox. 

Jacob  Sax,  the  founder  of  the  Sax  fam- 
ily in  America,  was  born  in  Germany,  April  9, 
1720,  and  came  here  at  an  early  date  with  his  two 
brothers,  George  and  William,  and  settled  at 
Phillipsburg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  spent  the  - 
remainder  of  his  days,  and  reared  a  family,  one  - 
of  whom  was 

(II)  Conrad  Sax,  born  February  18,   1753,. 
in  Phillipsburg,  Pennsylvania,  two  miles  from  the 
"Shades  of  Death,"  where  the  white  men  fled  to 
escape  from  the  Indians.     He  married,  June  27, . 
1787,  Mary  Beers,  born  March    3,    1760,    died. 
March  21,    1842.     They  had  fourteen  children: 
George,   Charles,  Conrad,  John,    (see  forward),.. 
William,    Mary,    Jacob,    Elizabeth,    Ellen,    Mar- 
garet, Ann,  Sarah,  Temperance,  Julia. 

( III)  John  Sax, fourth  son  and  child  of  Con- 
rad (2)  and  Mary  (Beers)  Sax,  was  born  in  Cov- 
ington   township,    near    Wilkes-Barre,    Luzerne- 
county,    Pennsylvania,   April    1,    1793.     He    fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  farming  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  then  retired  from  that  in  order  to  openn 
a   hotel   in   Kingston,    Pennsylvania,   where    the 
white  settlers  fled  from  the  attacks  of  the  Indians. 
This  hotel  Mr.  Sax  owned  and  managed  for  many 
years  and  amassed  a  comfortable   fortune.     He 
Was  in  every  sense  of  the  word  a  self-made  man, 
never  having  had  the  advantages  of  the  schools 
of  that  time.     He  died  September  4,  1871.     He 
married   Rebecca   Wright   Parrish,   daughter   of 
Abraham  and  Jemima  (Wright)   Parrish.  a  des- 
cendant of  John  Parrish,  of  Groton,  Massachu- 
setts, and  Stonington,   Connecticut.     (See   Par- 
rish Family).     Abraham  and  Jemima  (Wright) 
Parrish   had:     1.     Rebecca,  married  John   Sax. 
2.     Orilla.     3.     Eleazer.     4.     Anna.     5.     Arch— 
ippus.     6.       Lucy  Ann.     7.     Mary  Wright.     S.- 
Elizabeth.    9.     Joseph.     10.     Jemima. 

John  (3)  and  Rebecca  Wright  (Parrish)  Sax 
had  seven  children :     1.     Abbie  Ann.     2.     Will- 


364 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


iain  R.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  3.  Jemima, 
married  Andrew  Jackson  Griffith.  (See  Griffith 
Family).  4.  Mary  Jane.  5.  John  K.  6. 
James  G.  7.  Kate  B.  Mrs.  Jemima  Sax  Gri- 
ffith and  Mrs.  Kate  B.  Saxe,  the  only  ones  living 
(1906). 

(IV)  William  R.  Saxe,  second  child  and  eldest 
.son  bf  John  (3)  and  Rebecca  Wright  (Parrish) 
Sax,  born  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  November  9, 
1827,  lived  in  that  town  until  he  was  four  years 
of  age,  when  his  parents  removed  to  Pittston, 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania.  Here  he  was 
reared  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 

.and  Wyoming  Seminary.  He  was  studious  and 
quick  to  grasp  a  subject,  and  laid  a  substantial 
foundation  of  knowledge  which  was  of  good 
service  to  him  later  in  life.  He  was  apprenticed 
to  the  blacksmith's  trade,  which  he  followed  for 

:some  time  in  Canaan,  Wayne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, giving  it  up  in  order  to  enter  into  partner- 
ship with  a  Mr.  Clark  in  the  mercantile  business 
under  the  firm  name   of  Clark    &  Saxe.     This 

"partnership  continued  for  about  three  years,  when 
Mr.  Saxe  bought  out  the  interest  of  his  partner 
and  took  in   Charles  H.   Foster,  and  they   con- 

■  ducted  the  business  until  1875,  when,  having  ac- 
quired a  competence,  he  retired  from  active  parti- 
cipation in  the  business  interests  of  the  commun- 
ity. He  enjoyed  this  life  of  retirement  for,  a  num- 
ber of  years  and  until  his  death,  June  12,  1904,  at 
his  residence  in  West  Pittston.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  the  West  Pittston  cemetery.  Mr. 
Saxe  was  a  man  of  force  of  character  and  ready 
to  take  the  initiative  in  public  affairs  whenever 
there  was  need  for  it.  He  had  many  friends,  and 
was  esteemed  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 
He  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of 

"the  borough  council  and  the  school  board  for  a 
number  of  terms.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
quarterly  conference,  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  West  Pittston,  and  had  been  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Church  for  fifty  years,  and  very 
active  in  forwarding  the  interests  of  that  institu- 

"tion.  He  had  always  filled  the  positions  of  trus- 
tee, steward,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school 
and  Sunday  school  teacher,  sometimes  filling 
more  than  one  of  these  positions  at  the  same  time. 
He  had  formed  a  church  class  before  the  church 
was  organized. 

William  R.  Saxe  married,  June  26,  1855,  Ann 
Eliza  Chumard,  born  in  Canaan,  Wayne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  April  26,  1833,  daughter 
of  Horace  and  Elizabeth  (Transue)  Chumard, 
and  their  children  were:     1.     Harriet    E.,    born 

?born  September  22,  1856,  died  March  6,   1881. 


2.  Abbie  Eloise,  born  October  3,  1858;  married, 
April  25,  1886,  B.  F.  Dewey,  who  is  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Farmers'  Dairy  Despatch,  and  resides 
in  Flemington,  New  Jersey,  and  had  one  son: 
Loren  Saxe  Dewey.  Mrs..  Dewey  died  in  West 
Pittston,  May  7,  1892.  3.  Carrie  May,  born 
March  4,  1865,  died  April  17,  1885.  4.  Will- 
iam E.,  born  May  27,  1870.  He  was  educated  at 
the  public  schools  and  Wyoming  Seminary,  and 
has  been  for  some  time  treasurer  and  secretary  of 
the  Wyoming  Slate  Company,  at  Slatington, 
Pennsylvania.-  He  married  Genevieve  Rommel, 
daughter  of  Frank  and  Cynthia  (Perrin)  Rom- 
mel, (see  Perrin  Family),  and  they  have  one 
child  :  William  Roderick  Saxe,  born  May  3,  1904, 
in  West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania.  The  following 
was  copied  from  a  beautifully  engrossed  mem- 
orial that  was  presented  to  the  widow  and  son 
after  the  death  of  William  R.  Saxe,  by  a  com- 
mittee from  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania : 

William  R.  Saxe  was  a  man  who  filled  even- 
station  in  life  with  credit  to  himself.  He  has 
from  its  organization  filled  the  position  of  stew- 
ard, always  using  more  than  ordinary  talent  in 
promoting  the  best  interests  in  the  church  of  his 
choice.  Having  been  faithful  to  the  end,  we  be- 
lieve our  loss  is  his  gain,  and  as  members  of  this 
official  body  we  extend  to  his  widow  and  son  our 
Christian  sympathy  and  prayers. 

As  a  memorial  of  our  esteem  it  is  hereby 
Resolved,  That  this  testimonial  be  suitably  en- 
grossed and  presented  to  his  family,  and  copied 
in  full  upon  the  records  of  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference : 

Signed :  Joseph  Langford,  Oscar  L.  Sever- 
son,  and  T.  Wilbur  Ky'te,  committee. 

The  Chumard  family,  of  which  Mrs.  William 
R.  Saxe  is  a  descendant,  traces  back  through 
many  generations  of  French  ancestry.  Samuel 
Chumard,  the  first  representative  of  the  family 
in  America,  was  one  of  three  brothers  who  came 
to  this  country  and  settled  near  Canaan,  Wayne 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Mary  Polly 
Shaffer,  and  had  five  children:  1.  Emily,  died 
at  the  age  of  twenty  years.  2.  Eliza,  married 
(first)  Mr.  Lee,  and  had  Mary,  Elizabeth,  and 
Sophroneus ;  married  (second)  Jesse  Clark,  and 
had  Emer  De  Ette  and  Adele  R.,  who  married 
Joseph  Moore ;  she  resides  in  Corning,  New 
York.  3.  Stacy,  married  Eliza '  Hoadley,  and 
had  William,  Rachel,  Mary,  Eunice,  Lucinda  and 
Samuel.  4.  William,  married  Mary  Bowman, 
and  had  George  William  ;  resides  in  Caton,  New 
York,     5.     Horace,  sketch  follows. 


>-'^  ■;■•>. -"3 


tH/mct^, 


JJjulc    G.fflvomaAvh 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


365 


(II)  Horace  Chumard,  third  son  and  fifth 
child  of  Samuel  (1)  and  Mary  Polly  (Shaffer) 
Chumard,  born  in  Canaan,  Pennsylvania,  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  there.  At  first  he 
followed  agricultural  pursuits,  at  the  same  time 
working  at  his  trade  of  shoemaking,  but  having 
a  natural  ability  for  mechanics,  he  devoted  a 
large  portion  of  his  time  to  that  pursuit,  although 
he  never  made  it  the  business  of  his  life.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Transue,  and  they  had  four 
children.  He  died  1841.  After  his  death  his 
widow  married  (second)  Joseph  Swingle,  and 
had  one  son,  John  F.  Swingle,  who  served  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  years,  and  serving  with  bravery;  at  the 
close  of  the  war  he  went  to  Kansas  and  became  a 
farmer  there,  married  and  reared  a  family. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Horace  Chum- 
ard are:  1.  Simpson,  deceased,  born  April  29, 
183 1  ;  was  a  farmer  at  Canaan,  married  Sarah 
Jane  Swingle,  also  deceased,  and  they  had :  Ada, 
Angeline,  Lena,  Edmund  F.,  Alice,  Jane,  and 
Delia.  2.  Ann  Eliza,  who  married  William  R. 
Saxe,  as  above  stated.  She  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  her  native  town  and  at  the 
Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
taught  school  in  Wayne  county  for  about  six 
years.  She  was  highly  respected  and  esteemed 
by  her  pupils  as  well  as  by  the  board  of  school  di- 
rectors. Mrs.  Saxe  also  taught  for  about  three 
winters  in  Pittston,  Pennsylvania.  3.  Edmund 
M.,  an  inventor  and  business  man,  now  deceased, 
married  Sarah  Gregory,  and  resided  in  Brooklyn, 
Pennsylvania.  His  widow,  whose  postoffice 
address  is  Milburn,  New  Jersey,  makes  her  home 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  with  her  sister, 
Mrs.  William  R.  Saxe,  of  West  Pittston,  Penn- 
sylvania. 4.  Martha  D.,  married  David  W. 
Dale,  and  resides  in  Daleville,  Pennsylvania.  Her 
children  are :  Delena,  Anna,  Jesse,  William,  and 
Mary.  H.  E.  H. 

JACOB  I.  SHOEMAKER,  a  retired  farm- 
er and  manufacturer,  of  Wyoming  borough,  and 
justice  of  peace,  is  a  representative  in  the  pres- 
ent generation  of  a  family  which  settled  in  Amer- 
ica a  number  of  generations  ago.  They  orig- 
inally came  from  Germany. 

(I)  Isaac  Shoemaker,  great-grandfather  of 
Jacob  I.  Shoemaker,  came  from  the  vicinity  of 
Raubville,  Northampton  county,  to  New  Troy, 
in  the  Wyoming  valley,  in  1807  or  1808,  and  pur- 
chased the  farm  of  Benjamin  and  Gilbert  Car- 
penter. He  died  September,  1829,  leaving  a  large 
and  valuable  property  to  his  children,  containing 
about  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  a  grist  mill, 


saw  mill  and  fulling  mill.  He  reared  a  large 
family,  three  sons — Jacob  I.,  Samuel  and  Isaac — ■. 
and  four  daughters — Katie,  Rosanna,  Annie  andi 
Sallie. 

(II)  Jacob  I.  Shoemaker,  son  of  Isaac  Shoe- 
maker (1),  was  born  January  7,  1785.  He- 
learned,  in  Freysbush,  New  York,  the  trade  of 
saddler,  and  afterward  came  to  Wyoming,  where 
he  purchased  a  farm,  operating  this  and  conduct- 
ing "Shoemaker's  Hotel,"  later  known  as  the- 
Pollock  House.  Mr.  Shoemaker  married,  No-. 
vember  14,  1809,  at  Freysbush,  for  his  first  wife, 
Elizabeth  Wolgemuth,  who  was  born  June  4, 
1787,  and  their  children  were  as  follows:  Isaac 
C,  born  August  2y,  1810;  Maria  Catherine, 
October  19,  1812;  Annie,  May  15,  1815, 
died  July  16,  1816;  Rosanna,  September  - 
25,  1817;  William  S.,  February  19,  1820; 
Margaret,  May  30,  1822;  and  Sallie,  March  31, 
1825.  The  three  first  named  were  born  in  Freys- 
bush, New  York,  and  the  four  latter  in  the  Wyo- 
ming valley,  Pennsylvania.  The  mother  of  this . 
family  died  in  1839,  and  was  the  first  person  in- 
terred in  Wyoming  cemetery.  He  married,  for 
his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Chapin  Shoemaker, 
widow  of  Isaac  Shoemaker  (2).  One  daughter 
named  Hellen  was  born  of  this  marriage.  Jacob 
I.  died  in  1851,  and  was  laid  by  the  side  of  his, 
first  wife. 

(III)  Isaac   C.   Shoemaker,   eldest  child  of 
Jacob  I.  (2)  and  Elizabeth   (Wolgemuth)  Shoe-, 
maker,  was  born  in  Freysbush,  New  York,  Au- 
gust 27,  1810,  from  whence  he  accompanied  his 
parents  to  the  Wyoming  valley.     He    was    the - 
owner  and  proprietor  of    the    Shoemaker    grist 
mills  and  the  Wy°mmg  woolen     mill,  and  later  - 
admitted  his  sons  into  the  business,  which  was 
then   conducted  under  the  style  of  I.   C.   Shoe-- 
maker  &  Sons.     He  was  one  of  the  prosperous  . 
and   influential   citizens   of   the   community,   and 
was  highly  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.     He 
was  one  of  the  trustees  of  Wyoming  Seminary 
and  a  trustee  and  official  member  in  the  Wyoming 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     He  married,  May 
25>   ^37  >  Catherine  A.  Shoemaker,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,   who  died  in    1880,  and  they  had 
the  following  children :    Helen,  Jacob  I.,  the  sub-  - 
ject  of  this  sketch;  Samuel  R.,  Mary  A.,  mar- 
ried Henry  Van  Scoy,  of  Kingston,  and  is    de- 
ceased ;     Frances    A.    P.,    married    H.    Watson  . 
Brownscombe,   of   Wilkes-Barre,   also   deceased; 
Kate  Irene,  Isaac  Charles,  died  in  childhood.  Mr. 
Shoemaker  died  January  18,  1875. 

(IV)  Jacob  I.  Shoemaker,  second  child  and 
eldest  son  of  Isaac  C.  (3)  and  Catherine  A. 
(Shoemaker)  Shoemaker,  was  born  in  Wyoming, 


366 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Pennsylvania,  April  7,  1S39.  He  was  educated 
in  the  common  schools  and  Wyoming  Seminary, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  was  taken  in  as 

■partner  with  his  father  in  the  manufacture  of 
flour,  feed,  meal,  yarns  and  flannels ;  two  years 
later  his  brother  Samuel  R.  was  also  admitted  to 
the  firm,  which  was  known  as  I.  C.  Shoemaker 
&  Sons,  until  the  death  of  the  father,  January 
18,  1875  ;  it  then  became  I.  C.  Shoemaker's  Sons 
and  continued  so  until  1881,  when  S.  R.  Shoe- 
maker, retired,  the  business  being  then  conducted 
by  Jacob  I.  alone  until  1882,  when  he  engaged 
in  other  pursuits,  although  still  owning  the  above 
property.  July  1,  1863,  Mr.  Shoemaker  enlisted 
in  Company  E,  Forty-ninth  Regiment,  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers,   receiving  his   discharge   Sep- 

"  tember  2,  1863,  by  order  of  Governor  Curtin. 
Mr.  Shoemaker  has  been  a  member  and  presi- 
dent of  the  borough  council  for  several  years, 
and  is  now  (1906)  also  serving  in  the  capacity 
of  justice  of  the  peace.  He  is  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Wyoming  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church ;  one  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Wyoming  Seminary  since  the  death  of  his  father ; 
president  of  the  Wyoming  Cemetery  Association ; 
was  a  director  for  several  years  of  the  Pittston 
Ferry  Bridge  Company ;  a  director  of  the  Peo- 
ple's Saving  Bank  of  Pittston,  since  1875.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  has  filled  all 
chairs  in  these  organizations.  He  was  appointed 
on  the  staff  of  Department  Commander.  Alfred 
Darte,  G.  A.  R.,  in  1896;  on  the  staff  of  Com- 
mander-in-Chief Eli  Torrance,  as  aide-de-camp, 
May  15,  1902;  and  Department  Commander  R. 
P.  Scott,  as  chief  mustering  officer  for  year  1902 
and  1903.  He  married,  December  23,  1863,  Mary 
M.  Sharps,  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  B. 
(Breese)  Sharps,  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  but 
of  English  origin.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shoemaker 
had  children  as  follows  : 

1.  Fannie,  born  October  14,  1864,  educated 
at  Wyoming  Seminary;  married,  October  25, 
1893,  John  Breese,  a  buyer  for  the  firm  of  J.  N. 
Adam  &  Company,  of  Buffalo,  New  York,  in 
which  city  they  reside.  Their  children  are : 
Frances  Margaret,  born  July  15,  1895;  Charles 
Le  Moyne,  April  5,  1898. 

2.  Edward  N.,  August  1,  1867,  married, 
September  19,  1888,  Carrie  Stacker,  and  has 
One  son  Jacob  I.,  born  October  28,  1891.  The 
family  resides  in  Wyoming. 

3.  Nellie   B.,   October    17,    1869,   died  July, 
-1871. 


4.  John  S.,  August  22,  1877,  died  .March  21, 
1878. 

5.  Harry,  November  15,  1880,  married,  Sep- 
tember 10,  1902,  Josie  Geiberson.  H.  E.  H. 

IRA  R.  SHOEMAKER,  one  of  the  most 
successful  and  prosperous  farmers  of  the  bor- 
ough of  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  traces  his  de- 
scent from  the  Isaac  Shoemaker  first  named  in 
the  preceding  sketch. 

(Ill)  His  father,  William  S.  Shoemaker, 
fifth  child  and  second  son  of  Jacob  I.  (2)  and 
Elizabeth  (Wolgemuth)  Shoemaker,  was  born 
in  New  Troy  (now  Wyoming),  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  February  19,  1820.  He  spent  his 
early  boyhood  in  the  hotel  and  on  the  farm  of 
Ihis  father,  and  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  vicinity.  Shortly  after  his  mar- 
riage he  formed  a  copartnership  with  his  brother 
in  the  milling  business,  under  the  firm  name  of 

I.  C.  &  W.  S.  Shoemaker.  Wheat  flour  was 
their  specialty,  and  Carbondale  the  market  whith- 
er it  was  hauled  by  horses  and  wagons,  taking 
two  days  to  make  the  trip.  They  conducted  this 
business  for  several  years,,  William  S.  finally 
disposing  of  his  interest  in  the  same  to  his  broth- 
er. He  also  managed  a  large  farm  left  to  him 
by  his  father,  who  was  an  extensive  landholder, 
but,  being  of  a  speculative  disposition,  he  con- 
tracted for  several  hundred  acres  of  coal  land 
adjoining  his  own,  finally  selling  the  coal  to  the 
Pennsylvania  Coal  Company,  reserving  the  sur- 
face rights.  He  then  purchased  the  Perkins  es- 
tate, containing  about  one  hundred  and  ten  acres 
of  good  coal  land,  the  surface  being  laid  out 
prior  to  his  death  in  town  lots  which  were  di- 
vided among  his  children.  He  held  a  one-third 
interest  in  the  firm  of  Hutchins  &  Shoemaker 
until  the  death  of  Thomas  Hutchins,  when  he 
and  his  son-in-law,  John  A.  Hutchins.  became 
equal  partners,  making  fire-brick  and  terra  cotta 
pipe.  He  was  also  one  of  the  projectors  and 
stockholders  of  the  Wyoming  Shovel  Works,  to 
which  he  contributed  liberally.  He  was  an  earn- 
est worker  for  the  success  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  for  several  years  was  chairman  of  the 
second  legislative  district  of  Luzerne  county.  He 
was  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  one  of  the  building  committee  for 
the  church  of  that  denomination  in  Wyoming. 
During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Shoemaker  was  sut- 
ler for  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers. 

William   S.   Shoemaker  was  married,   March 

II,  1841,  by  Elder  Miller,  of  Abington,  to  Maria 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


567 


Tripp,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Catherine  (La 
France)  Tripp,  residents  of  Providence  township. 
Their  children  were :  Katie,  married  Stephen  J . 
Sharps;  Rettie,  married  Denton  D.  Durland; 
William  M.,  married  Jennie  La  Bar,  and  later, 
.Mary  L.  Stark,  of  Wyoming;  Martha,  deceased, 
who  was  the  wife  of  David  O.  McCollum  ;  Jen- 
nie, who  married  John  A.  Hutchins,  deceased; 
Ira  R.,  mentioned  -hereinafter,  and  Stella,  de- 
ceased, who  became  the  wife  of  Fred  Sengfelder, 
•of  Wyoming.  William  S.  Shoemaker  died  very 
suddenly  July  17,  1884,  and  his  wife,  who  was 
born  in  Providence,  Pennsylvania,  July  23,  1822, 
passed  away  at  her  home  in  Wyoming,  June  8, 
1883.  Their  remains  were  interred  in  Wyoming 
cemetery,  of  which  association  Mr.  Shoemaker 
was  president. 

(IV)  Ira  R.  Shoemaker,  son  of  William 
.S.#  (3)  and  Maria  (Tripp)  Shoemaker,  was  born 
March  7,  1852.  He  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  in  Wyoming  Seminary.  He 
has  followed  farming  all  his  life,  and  now  resides 
on  a  farm  left  him  by  his  father,  which  is  a  model 
■of  neatness  and  thrift,  and  from  which  he  derives 
a  goodly  livelihood.  He  is  a  sound  Repub- 
lican in  politics,  and  a  substantial  citizen  of  his 
borough. 

Mr.  Shoemaker  married,  October  25,  1882, 
Martha  H.  Hatfield,  who  bore  him  five  children : 
1.  Thomas  W.  H.,  born  January  5,  1886,  a 
plumber  by  trade;  2.  George  H.,  March  2,  1889, 
now  a  student  in  Cook  (New  York)  Academy; 
3.  John  R.  H.,  January  5,  1890;  James  D.  H., 
October  17,  1892;  5.  Maria  T.,  September  21, 
1896.  The  three  younger  children  are  attending 
the  schools  of  their  native  town,  preparatory  to 
pursuing  advanced  studies  in  the  high  school. 

Mrs.  Shoemaker  is  a  daughter  of  James  and 
Jane  (Roberts)  Hatfield,  married  December  24, 
1850,  resided  on  a  farm ;  their  children :  Martha 
H.,  married  Ira  R.  Shoemaker,  as  stated  above; 
John  R.,  married  May  Stevens,  of  North  Da- 
kota, and  had  children :  Martha  and  Johnett 
Hatfield ;  George,  married  Elizabeth  Willson,  of 
North  Dakota,  and  had  children :  Oscar,  Marion 
and  Maud  Hatfield ;  Lewis,  married  Ida  Curtis, 
of  North  Dakota,  and  had  children :  Jane,  Edna, 
James  and  Lewis,  junior;  Joshua  G.,  married 
Isabel  A.  Wintersteen,  of  Plains,  Pennsylvania, 
now  living  in  North  Dakota.  James  Hatfield, 
■the  father  of  these  children,  was  born  in  Read- 
ing, Schuyler  county,  New  York,  near  Seneca 
Lake,  August  16,  1827,  and  died  there  1899.  He 
was  a  son  of  Joshua  and  Deborah  (Seaman)  Hat- 
field, the  former  born  February  25,  1804,  s°n  of 


Joshua  C,  born  August  27,  1768,  died  March 
6,  1839,  and  his  wife,  Deborah  Seaman,  who 
were  from  Connecticut,  of  English  descent  and 
Quakers.  Joshua,  the  son,  was  a  farmer  and 
died  April,  1883.  Jane  (Roberts)  Hatfield  was 
a  daughter  of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Rob- 
erts, the  former  a  farmer,  whose  family  consist- 
ed of  ten  children :  George,  a  resident  of  New 
York ;  Jane,  married  James  Hatfield,  as  above 
stated ;  Julia,  deceased,  wife  of  a  Mr.  Cass ; 
Cyrus,  a  resident  of  Kansas ;  James,  deceased ; 
Mary,  deceased,  wife  of  Dr.  Heist;  Lewis,  junior, 
a  resident  of  New  York  state ;  Gilbert,  also  a 
resident  of  New  York- state;  Charles,  deceased, 
and  Henry  Clay,  also  was  a  resident  of  New 
York  state,  now  deceased.  Lewis  Roberts,  father 
of  Jane  (Roberts)  Hatfield,  was  a  son  of  John 
and  Margaret  (Van  Vleet)  Roberts,  John  hav- 
ing come  to  this  country  about  1800  from  Wales, 
in  company  with  his  brother  James.  They  were 
farmers  and  blacksmiths,  and  took  tip  large 
tracts  of  land  near  Seneca  Lake,  town  of  Reading, 
Schuyler  county,  New  York.  John  and  Marga- 
ret (Van  Vleet)  Roberts  had  eight  children,  of 
whom  but  one  is  now  living:  Gilbert,  George, 
Martha,  Cyrus  and  Henry,  twins ;  Gilbert,  now 
eighty  years  old,  a  resident  of  Schuyler  county, 
New  York ;  William  and  Margaret  Roberts. 
William  Roberts,  father  of  John  Roberts,  married 
Rachel  Cammick,  came  to  this  country  from 
Wales  about  1770,  settling  in  Reading,  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  had  six  children :  John,  born  in 
Reading,  Pennsylvania,  June  1,  1778;  Rachel, 
James,  Mary,  Fanny,  William.  William  Roberts 
and  family  settled  in  Lodi,  New  York,  in  1800. 

H.  E.  H. 

HENRY  YOUNG  VAN  SCOY.  The  death 
of  Henry  Young  Van  Scoy,  which  occurred  at 
his  home  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  August  13, 
1904,  removed  from  that  community  one  of  its 
most  successful  business  men,  one  who  stood 
high  in  the  estimation  of  his  business  colleagues 
and  many  patrons  and  who  was  noted  for  good 
judgment,  rare  discrimination  and  strict  integ- 
rity. He  was  born  in  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania, 
February  4,  1838,  a  son  of  Daniel  and'  Lydia 
(Young)  Van  Scoy,  and  one  of  three  children, 
namely :  Cynthia,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  the 
late  Abram  Hoover,  of  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania. 
Henry;  Lydia  T.,  widow  of  John  W.  Patten, 
late  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Daniel  Van  Scoy  was  born  in  Southampton, 
Long  Island,  1804,  educated  in  public  schools 
of  the  district,  became  a  farmer  and  developed 
into  a  successful  business  man.     He  later  became 


368 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


an  extensive  land  owner,  possessing  some  valu- 
able coal  lands,  and  was  identified  with  the  late 
Messrs.  Swetland  and  Pettibone  (sketches  of 
whom  appear  elsewhere).  He  originally  farmed 
on  the  back  road  in  Wyoming  (then  called  Ex- 
eter), where  his  children  were  born.  He  lived 
a  retired  life  in  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  for  a 
number  of  years  before  his  death,  which  occurred 
November  23,  1882,  at  seventy-nine  years  of 
age.  Daniel  Van  Scoy  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  a  deacon  for 
many  years,  being  a  strict  cnurch  member.  He 
was  a  trustee,  member  of  various  committees, 
and  was  converted  when  Thomas  Pearn  was 
preaching  in  this  district.  His  wife,  Lydia 
(Young)  Van  Scoy,  was  born  1815,  daughter 
of  Henry  and  Ollie  Young,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  January  19,  1895,  at  eighty  years 
of  age.  They  were  both  buried  in  Forty  Fort 
cemetery. 

Henry  Y.  Van  Scoy  was  reared  on  his  fath- 
er's farm  in  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania  (on  the 
west  side),  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  district  and  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston. 
He  began  the  active  duties  of  life  as  a  farmer 
on  the  parental  estate  and  continued  thus  for 
many  years.  About  the  year  1870  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  em- 
barked in  the  baking  business,  which  proved 
highly  successful.  He  took  an  active  interest  in 
political  affairs,  and  about  1884  was  elected 
county  commissioner  and  served  in  that  office 
for  one  term.  He  was  later  appointed  postmas- 
ter of  Kingston,  a  position  he  held  for  two  terms 
(eight  years),  and  in  the  opinion  of  its  patrons 
his  incumbency  of  office  was  noted  for  faithful- 
ness and  efficiency,  he  being  the  most  capable  and 
best  postmaster  Kingston  ever  had.  He  ruled 
gently,  but  firmly,  was  highly  spoken  of  by  the 
employes,  and  no  infraction  of  rules  was  ever 
permitted.  After  completing  his  term  of  service 
as  postmaster  he  retired  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  a 
well  spent  life.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  an  adherent  to  the  principles 
of  Democracy,  and  an  attendant  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  his  widow 
is  a  member. 

Mr.  Van  Scoy  married,  February  8,  1865, 
Mary  Alice  Shoemaker,  daughter  of  Isaac  and 
Catherine  A.  (Shoemaker)  Shoemaker  (see 
Shoemaker  family),  and  two  children  were  the 
issue,  namely :  Isaac  Shoemaker,  born  Novem- 
ber 30,  1865,  educated  in  Wyoming  Seminary, 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Turner  &  Van  Scoy,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  a   Mason,    Knight   Templar    and 


Shriner ;  in  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  re- 
sides in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  Addie  Finch, 
born  September  15,  1870,  died  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen months,  and  buried  in  Forty  Fort  cemetery. 
The  remains  of  Mr.  Van  Scoy  were  also  interred 
in  the  same. 

H.  WATSON  BROWNSCOMBE,  deceased, 
who  was  one  of  the  enterprising  business  men 
of  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  born  October 
11,  1847,  m  Mt.  Pleasant,  New  York,  son  of  Rev. 
Henry  and  Sarah  E.  ( Overfield)  Brownscombe, 
and  grandson  of  John  and  Joanna  Brownscombe, 
natives  of  England,  and  residents  of  Bridgrule, 
Cornwall,  England,  from  whence  they  emigrated 
to  the  United  States  in  1830,  accompanied  by 
their  son  Henry  and  two  daughters,  and  after 
a  six  weeks  voyage  landed  in  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, and  later  settled  at  Bethany,  Wayne  county, 
Pennsylvania. 

Rev.  Henry  Brownscombe  (father)  was  born 
in    Bridgrule,    Cornwall,    England,    August     18, 
1817.     In  early  life,  prior  to  leaving  his  native 
land,  he  showed  the  religious  traits  which  after- 
wards were  so  manifest.    His  education  was  lim- 
ited, but  being  exceedingly  fond  of  reading  and 
possessing  a  fine    library,    he    acquired    a    vast 
amount  of  knowledge  on  various  subjects.     In  a 
celebrated   revival  in    the    Methodist    Episcopal 
Church  at  Honesdale,  Pennsylvania,  he  was  con- 
verted on  November  25,    1835,  was  licensed  to 
preach  in  1841,  and  the  same  year  received  on 
trial  in  the  Oneida  conference  and  sent  to  Spring- 
field,  Pennsylvania.     He  was   a   man   in    whom 
many  of  the  best  traits   of  character  were  pre- 
eminent, and  he  devoted  his  entire  attention  to 
looking  after  the  interests  of  his  charge.    He  was 
a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Methodist  Episcopal 
Conference  for  about  fifty  years,  and  during  this 
time   served   sixteen   different  charges,  three  of 
them  the  second  time,  and  was  for   four  years 
presiding  elder  of  the  Wyalusing  district.     He 
was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  this 
conference,  having  been  first  elected  in  1858  and 
continuing   in   office    for   twenty-six   years,    until 
his  death,  at  the  same  time  serving  as  secretary 
of  the  board  and  assuming  charge  of  the  finances. 
Rev.   Henry    Brownscombe  married,   August 
21,  1843,  Sarah  E.  Overfield,  born  February  28, 
1820,  daughter  of  Paul  and  Lydia  Overfield,  of 
Messhoppen,     Pennsylvania.       (See    Overfield.) 
They  had  three  children:     1.    John  P.,  born  Oc- 
tober  13,    1845,  in   Dundaff,   Pennsylvania,   died 
January  30,   1891  :  married  Jennie  Price,  daugh- 
ter   of    Charles    Price    and    sister  of   ex-Mayor 


THE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


3&9 


Price  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  (See 
Price  family.)  2.  H.  Watson,  born  October  11, 
1847,  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  see,  forward.  3.  Kate, 
born  at  Providence  (now  Scranton)  August  27, 
1S51,  died  June  22,  1879;  she  married  A.  H. 
Phillips,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  of  the  firm  of  Phillips 
&  Moore,  real  estate  dealers.  Rev.  Henry 
Brownscombe  died  at  his  home  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
April  30,  1886,  aged  sixty-nine  years,  greatly  la- 
mented by  all.  The  pallbearers  at  his  funeral 
were  all  members  of  the  Wyoming  conference, 
and  the  interment  was  in  Hollenback  cemetery. 
At  his  death  he  left  a  sum  to  found  two  churches 
on  the  frontier  to  bear  the  names,  respectively, 
of  his  two  sainted  children.  The  Wyoming  Sem- 
inarv  received  his  fine  library,  and  he  also  made 
other  bequests,  his  modesty  preventing  all  his 
good  deeds  from  being  known. 

H.  Watson  Brownscombe  spent  his  early  days 
in  Tunkhannock  and  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia. He  was  educated  at  Wyoming  Seminary, 
Kingston,  from  which  he  graduated  in  the  com- 
mercial course.  He  then  engaged  in  quarrying, 
cutting  and  shipping  building  stone,  in  partner- 
ship with  his  brother,  John  P.,  with  quarries  and 
mills  at  Meshoppen,  Pennsylvania,  and  conduct- 
ed an  extensive  business  for  a  number  of  years, 
continuing  until  his  death,  after  which  sad  event 
the  business  was  carried  on  and  greatly  enlarged 
by  his  brother,  John  P.  Brownscombe,  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  January  31,  189 1.  Both  were 
members  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  John  R.  was  sec- 
retary of  the  Sunday  school  many  years.  Both 
were  members  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  Re- 
publicans in  politics,  as  were  also  the  other  male 
members  of  this  family. 

Mr.  Brownscombe  married,  October  8,  1873, 
Frances  Ann  Pearne  Shoemaker,  daughter  of 
Isaac  C.  and  Catherine  A.  (Shoemaker)  Shoe- 
maker, of  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania.  (See  Shoe- 
maker family.)  Mr.  Brownscombe  died  at  his 
home  in  Wilkes-Barre,  April  9,  1874,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-seven  years,  in  the  very  prime  of  his 
manhood,  and  was  greatly  deplored  by  all  who 
possessed  his  friendship  or  acquaintance.  He 
left  to  his  widow  an  unsullied  and  exceptional 
record  for  strictest  integrity  and  uprightness. 

H.  E.  H. 

ARCHIE  CARVER  SHOEMAKER,  ac- 
tively engaged  in  the  profession  of  dentistrv  in 
Pittston,  where  he  has  practiced  since  April, 
1890,  the  greater  portion  of  which  time  he  was 


in  partnership  with  the  late  Dr.  E.  B.  Long,  was 
born  in  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  August  18, 
1869,  son  of  Samuel  Raub  and  Jennie  M.  (Car- 
ver) Shoemaker,  grandson  of  Isaac  C.  and  Cath- 
arine A.  (Shoemaker)  Shoemaker,  great-grand- 
son of  Jacob  I.  and  Elizabeth  (Wohlgemuth) 
Shoemaker,  and  great-great-grandson  of  Isaac 
Shoemaker,  a  descendant  of  a  German  origin. 

Isaac  Shoemaker,  the  first  of  the  ancestors 
of  whom  there  is  any  defini'-e  information,  re- 
moved from  the  vicinity  of  Raubville,  Northamp- 
ton count}-,  Pennsylvania,  to  the  Wyoming  val- 
lev  in  1807-0S,  and  purchased  a  farm  from  Ben- 
jamin and  Gilbert  Carpenter.  His  property  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  September,  1829,  amounted 
to  about  three  hundred  acres  of  land,  a  gristmill, 
sawmill  and  fulling-mill.  He  was  the  father  of 
seven  children,  three  sons  and  four  daughters, 
namely :  Jacob  I.,  of  whom  further ;  Samuel,. 
Isaac,  Katie,  Rosanna,  Annie,  Sallie. 

Jacob  I.  Shoemaker,  son  of  Isaac  Shoe- 
maker, born  January  7,  1785,  died  185 1. 
He  was  a  saddler  by  trade,  serving  an 
apprenticeship  in  Freysbush,  New  York, 
where  he  followed  his  trade  till  he  removed  to 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  purchased  a  farm  and 
operated  this  in  conjunction  with  the  manage- 
ment of  a  hotel  known  as  "Shoemaker's  Hotel," 
later  known  as  the  Pollock  House.  Mr.  Shoe- 
maker married,  in  Freysbush,  New  York,  1809, 
Elizabeth  Wohlgemuth,  born  June  4,  1787,  died 
1839,  and  was  the  first  person  interred  in  Wyo- 
ming cemetery.  They  had  eight  children :  Isaac 
C,  Mary  and  Ann,  all  born  in  Freysbush,  New 
York ;  and  Katie,  Rosanna,  William,  Margaret: 
and  Sallie,  all  born  in  Wyoming  valley. 

Isaac  C.  Shoemaker,  eldest  son  of  Jacob  I., 
and  Elizabeth  (Wohlgemuth)  Shoemaker,  born 
in  Freysbush,  New  York,  died  January  18,  1875. 
He  accompanied  his  parents  upon  their  removal 
from  New  York  state  to  Pennsylvania,  they  lo- 
cating in  the  Wyoming  valley.  He  became  the 
owner  and  proprietor  of  the  Shoemaker  steam 
grist  mills  and  the  Wyoming  woolen  mill,  which 
he  conducted  for  many  years  alone,  but  subse- 
quentlv  admitted  his  sons  into  partnership,  and 
the  style  of  the  firm  was  then  changed  to  I.  C. 
Shoemaker  &  Sons.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling 
integrity,  and  exercised  a  powerful  influence 
for  good  in  the  community.  He  married.  May 
25,  1837,  Catharine  A.  Shoemaker,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  among  their  children  were: 
Jacob  I.  (see  sketch),  Alice,  married  Henry  Van 
Scoy   (see  Van  Scoy)  ;  Isaac,  a  member  of  the: 


24 


370 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


firm  of  Turner  &  Van  Scoy,  of  Wilkes-Barre ; 
Samuel  Raub,  see  forward,  and  Frances,  married 
H.  Watson  Brownscombe,  lives  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

Samuel  Raub  Shoemaker,  son  of  Isaac  C.  and 
Catharine  A.  (Shoemaker)  Shoemaker,  born 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  May  i,  1841,  died  May 
2,  190 1,  Wyoming,  and  was  buried  in  Forty  Fort 
cemetery.  He  was  a  farmer,  conducting  his  op- 
erations in  Wyoming,  taking  one-half  of  the 
homestead  farm  in  1881,  and  followed  this  oc- 
cupation till  1885,  when  he  retired  from  active 
pursuits.  He  was  a  member  and  trustee  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Wyoming,  one 
of  the  trustees  of  the  Wyoming  Cemetery  Asso- 
ciation and  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
Knights  Templar,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  and  Royal  Arcanum.  He  married,  at 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  January  7,  1868,  Jen- 
nie M.  Carver,  born  Carverton,  March  7,  1850, 
and  had  two  children :  Archie  Carver,  whose 
name  heads  this  sketch,  and  Amy,  died  1871, 
Wyoming,  aged  one  and  a  half  years. 

Jennie  M.  (Carver)  Shoemaker  (eighth  gen- 
eration), wife  of  Samuel  Raub  Shoemaker, 
traced  her  ancestry  on  the  maternal  side  to  Ste- 
phen Harding  (2),  of  Providence,  Rhode 
Island,  who  was  formerly  a  resident  of  Brain- 
tree,  Massachusetts,  and  was  supposed  to  be  a 
son  of  John  Harding  (I).  The  next  in  line  was 
Capt.  Stephen  Harding  (3),  born  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  1680,  who  was  the  father  of  Capt. 
Stephen  Harding  (4),  born  1723,  died  Eaton  (or 
Exeter)  township,  Luzerne  county,  October  11, 
1789.  He  was  captain  of  Seventh  Company, 
Twentv-fourth  Reeiment  Connecticut  Militia,  at 
Westmoreland,  October,  1775  ;  was  in  command 
of  Fort  Jenkins.  Wyoming,  July  2,  1778,  when 
compelled  to  surrender  his  command  of  twelve 
men  to  Col.  John  Butler  and  his  Indians  and 
Tories  after  the  massacre,  June  30,  1778 ;  was 
justice  of  Westmoreland  county  May,  1778,.  to 
May,  1779;  member  of  committee  of  inspection 
for  Westmoreland  county,  August  1,  1775  ;  mar- 
ried, in  1747,  Amy  Gardner.  Elisha  Harding, 
Sr.  (5),  son  of  Capt.  Stephen  and  Amy  (Gard- 
ner) Harding,  born  Colchester,  Connecticut,  Au- 
gust 1,  1763,  died,  Eaton,  August  1,  1839;  he 
married.  Pittston,  1 78 1,  Martha  Rider,  born  Feb- 
ruary 4.  1766,  died,  Eaton,  April  23,  1832. 
Elisha  Harding,  Jr.  (6),  a  magistrate,  born, 
Easton,  November  15,  1790,  died,  Eaton,  Feb- 
ruary 25.  1874:  married  Pittston,  Amy  Jenkins 
(see  Jenkins  family),  born  Pittston,  December 
9,  1795,  died.  Eaton,  February  10,  1831.  Nancy 
Harding    (7),  daughter  of  Elisha  Harding,  Jr., 


and  his  wife,  Amy  Jenkins  born,  Eaton,  Decem- 
ber 24,  1824,  died,  Wyoming,  February  5,  1887. 
She  married,  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  October  2, 
1846,  Rufus  Carver,  born  in  Carverton,  June  22, 
1820,  died,  Wyoming,  May  21,  1866,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  Jennie  M.  Carver  (8), 
aforementioned  as  the  wife  of  Samuel  Raub 
Shoemaker  and  the  mother  of  Archie  Carver 
Shoemaker. 

Archie  Carver  Shoemaker  (9)  attended  the 
public  schools,  of  Wyoming,  Keystone  Academy, 
Factoryville,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  University  of 
Maryland,  Baltimore,  Maryland,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  March,  1889,  with  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  The  same  year  he 
began  practicing  in  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  continued  until  April,  1890,  when  he 
went  to  Pittston  and  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  Dr.  E.  B.  Long.  This  connection  continued 
until  the  death  of  Dr.  Long,  September,  1904, 
and  from  then  to  the  present  time  (1906)  Dr. 
Shoemaker  has  continued  to  practice  in  the  same 
office.  He  keeps  in  touch  with  the  advanced 
thought  of  the  day  along  the  line  of  his  profession 
by  membership  in  the  Pennsylvania  State  Dental 
Society,  Susquehanna  Dental  Society,  and  Lu- 
zerne and  Lackawanna  Dental  Societies.  He  also 
holds  membership  in  the  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, Wyoming;  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  New 
England  Society,  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society,  and  National  Interstate  Tele- 
phone Association.  He  was  formerly  a  director 
and  treasurer  of  Jackson  ( Tennessee  J  Tele- 
phone Company,  and  is  now  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  Kewaunee  (Illinois)  Telephone  Com- 
pany, and  trustee  and  treasurer  of  Wyoming 
Cemetery  Association,  Wyoming.  Dr.  Shoe- 
maker married,  January  10,  1895,  at  Wyoming, 
Pennsylvania,  Mary  Searle  Green,  born  April  12, 
1870.  daughter  of  James  Dean  and  Martha  M. 
(Searle)  Green.  (See  sketch  of  James  Dean 
Greene).  Their  children  are:  James  Samuel, 
born  January,  1896,  died  January,  1897,  buried 
in  Forty  Fort  cemetery;  Samuel  Archibald,  born 
August  21,  1901.  H.  E.  H. 

JAMES  PRYOR  WILLIAMSON,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  was  descended  from 
many  lines  of  distinguished  ancestors.  He  was 
allied  by  blood  to  many  prominent  New  York, 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  families,  and  was 
eligible  to  all  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  so- 
cieties as  well  as  to  the  Huguenot  and  Holland 
Societies.  According  to  Burke  and  other  author- 
ities, the  Williamson  family  was  settled  in  Pre- 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


37* 


'■bleshire,  Scotland,  as  early  as  1317,  in  the  rec- 
•ords  of  which  shire  the  family  can  be  traced. 
From  this  place  they  spread  into  other  parts  of 
Scotland.  Several  descendants  of  this  ancient 
family  came  to  the  American  colonies,  establish- 
ing families  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Dela- 
ware and  Virginia.  The  progenitor  of  the  line 
"to  which  the  subject  of  our  sketch  belongs, 
Duncan  Williamson  came  to  America  in  1660. 

James  Pryor  Williamson  was  born  in  Balti- 
more, Maryland,  December  3.  1839,  the  son  of 
James  Pryor  Williamson,  Sr.  After  grad- 
uating from  the  higher  schools  of  Balti- 
more he  became  a  cotton  broker  in  the  employ 
of  his  great-uncle,  Thomas  Wilson,  in  George- 
town, D.  C,  Mr.  Wilson  was  the  most  promi- 
nent banker-merchant  of  Baltimore  at  this 
time,  and  had  been  for  many  years,  1855  to 
1867,  president  of  the  old  Baltimore  Coal  Com- 
pany. Through  his  philanthropy  many  sick 
children  have  been  restored  to  health  in  the 
institution  which  he  founded — the  Wilson 
Home  for  Invalid  Children.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  Mr.  Williamson  enlisted  in  the 
Artillery  service.  Confederate  States  Army, 
but,  being  the  sole  support  of  his  widowed 
mother  and  her  orphan  children,  he  was  per- 
suaded to  resign  from  the  army  by  his  uncle, 
Mr.  Wilson,  who  sent  him  to  Wilkes-Barre 
"to  handle  his  coal  properties,  of  which  he  had 
great  holdings  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and 
Virginia. 

Mr.  Williamson  immediately  established 
himself  in  the  business  world  of  Wilkes-Barre 
and  in  the  interests  of  his  adopted  city's  wel- 
fare. He  entered  in  1862  into  business  with 
John  McNeish,  Jr.,  as  McNeish  &  Williamson, 
having  stores  in  Plymouth  and  Wilkes-Barre. 
Then  under  the  name  of  Williamson  &  Com- 
pany a  banking  business  was  established  at 
the  corner  of  the  public  square  and  South  Main 
street,  where  the  Lowenstein  building  now 
stands,  and  from  this  business  the  present 
Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  and  Savings  Bank  de- 
veloped and  wras  incorporated  May  20,  1871. 
Mr.  Williamson  was  its  first  cashier  and  re- 
mained in  that  office  until  August  2,  1878, 
when  he  resigned  because  of  failing  health. 
He  was  a  director  in  this  bank  from  1876  until 
his  death  October  24,  1879.  He  was  one  of 
the  volunteer  firemen  of  that  time,  serving 
as  foreman  of  Engine  Company  No.  2,  his 
brother-in-law,  the  late  Judge  Stanley  Wood- 
"ward,  being  the  chief  of  the  department.  As 
■a   communicant    in    St.    Stephen's    Church    he 


served  as  a  vestryman  from  April  10,  1871,  to 
October  24,  1879.  He  was  the  first  superin- 
tendent of  Calvary  Sunday  School,  North 
Wilkes-Barre,  serving  from  April  9,  1871,  to 
October  24,  1879,  being  interested  in  that 
church's  growth  from  the  very  start.  He  was 
secretary  and  a  trustee  of  the  Home  for 
Friendless  Children,  and  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  Wvoming  Valley  Ice  Company  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  ' 

He  was  one  of  the  charter  members  of 
Landmark  Lodge,  Xo.  442,  F.  and  A.  M., 
Wilkes-Barre,  serving  as  its  first  worshipful 
master,  and  was  a  member  of  Coeur  de  Leon 
Commandary  Knights  Templar,  of  Scranton, 
serving  in  the  highest  offices  in  that  order,  and 
being  buried  with  its  ritual  by  Dieu  le  Veut 
Commandary  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

He  married,  October  10,  1869,  Mary  H. 
Woodward,  born  March,  1849,  died  October 
16,  1884,  youngest  daughter  of  the  late  Chief 
Justice  George  Washington  Woodward,  of  the 
supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania,  and  his  wife, 
Sarah  Elizabeth  Trott  (see  Woodward  Fam- 
ily). Three  children  blessed  this  union:  Eliz- 
abeth, died  in  infancy ;  James  Pryor,  now  liv- 
ing in  Wilkes-Barre :  and  Harriet,  married 
Mr.  David  Crowell  Percival,  Jr.,  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts. 

James  Pryor  Williamson  died  on  October 
24,  1879,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-nine  years, 
leaving  behind  the  memory  of  an  honored  life, 
a  precious  heritage  to  a  loving  and  sorrowing 
wife  who  survivd  him  but  a  short  time,  and 
to  his  children  a  memory  that  ever  grows 
more  sweet  with  the  passing  of  the  years. 

H.  E.  H. 

ABIJAH  SMITH  and  JOHN  B.  SMITH. 
The  Smith  family  of  the  Wyoming  valley  in 
Pennsylvania,  of  the  particular  line  under  con- 
sideration in  these  annals,  was  of  good  old 
Connecticut  ancestry,  their  residence  there 
antedating  the  revolutionary  period,  and  ex- 
tending back,  as  family  tradition  indicates, 
even  to  the  early  days  of  that  colony. 

Abijah  Smith,  of  Derby,  Connecticut,  born 
there  October  3,  1764,  settled  in  Plymouth, 
Pennsylvania,  in  1806.  and  died  there  March 
6,  1826.  In  the  fall  of  1807,  Abijah  Smith  pur- 
chased an  ark  of  John  P.  Arndt,  a  merchant  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  which  had  been  used  for  trans- 
portation of  plaster,  loaded  it  at  Plymouth 
with  about  fifty  tons  of  anthracite  coal,  and 
late  in  the  same  year  landed  this  cargo  at  Col- 


372 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


limbia,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania.    This 
probably  was  the  first  cargo  of  anthracite  coal 
ever  offered    for    sale    in    this    or    any    other 
country,  and  Abijah  Smith,  of  Plymouth,  a  na- 
tive of  Connecticut,  a  Yankee,  was  a  pioneer 
in   the  business.     He  was   a  man   of   achieve- 
ment, and  when  his  life's  work  was  closed,  he 
was  found  to  have  accomplished  good  results. 
He  married,  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  June  10, 
1810,   Esther  Ransom,    born    Plymouth,    Oc- 
tober   12,    1788,    died   there   August    10,    1839, 
daughter  of  George  Palmer,  and  Olive  (Utley) 
Ransom,    and   granddaughter   of    Samuel    and 
Esther     (Lawrence)      Ransom.      (See     Ransom 
Family).     Their  children  were:     Lovisa,  born 
Wilkes-Barre,     Pennsylvania,     February     II, 
1812,   married,    Plymouth,    Pennsylvania,    Oc- 
tober 16,  1834;  Samuel  Davenport,  born  Plym- 
outh, September  21,  1813,  died  there  Septem- 
ber  22,    1850,    they   had:      Marinda    Augusta, 
married  Brice  S.  Blair ;  Almina  Harriet,  mar- 
ried   Henry    Rorbach    Noll;    Abijah,    married 
Emma  Williams  Brown  ;  Sheldon  Stanley,  died 
young ;   John    Ingham,     died     young ;     Florence 
Estella,    married    Brice    S.    Blair.      2.      Maria, 
born  Plymouth,  May  13,  1814,  died  there  1824. 
3.       Ransom,     born      Plymouth,     January      21, 
1816,  died  there  October  4,  1816.     4.     William 
Ransom,  born  Plymouth,  September  17,  1817, 
died  December  3,  1861 ;  married,  West  Nanti- 
coke,   Pennsylvania,   December  8,   1839,   Ellen 
L.    Edwards,    born    Ross    township,    Pennsyl- 
vania,   September    23,    1822,    died    March    18, 
1882.       She     married      (second)     August     L. 
Thomas.     He  had  by  his  first  marriage  Anna 
Maria,  Elijah  Davenport,  married  Emily  Au- 
gusta Cease ;   Francis  Draper,   married   Susan 
Hannie :   Esther    Elizabeth,    married    Michael 
Ratchford :  William  Wallace,  and  Mary  Eva- 
line.     5.     John   B.,   born    Plymouth,    May  26, 
1819,   mentioned  hereafter.      6.     Levi   C.   Mc- 
Corkle,  born  Plymouth,  January  23,  1825,  mar- 
rid,  Plymouth,  May  27,  1844,  Emily  Cook,  born 
Hope,  New  Jersey,  September   14,   1823,  died 
Kingston,      Pennsylvania,    August    29,     1880. 
Levi  McCorkle  Smith  is  a  banker  at  Golden, 
Colorado.     His  children  were :     Leander  Jack- 
son,  married   Ada   Church:   Emily  Josephine, 
married    Patrick    McPike  ;     Major ;     Caroline  ; 
Charles  Edgar,  married  Martha  Ann  Parsons ; 
Abijah     George ;     Lizzie    Ellen,   married     Isaac 
Grahart  Eckert ;  Stella  May. 

John  B.  Smith  was  born  in  Plymouth  town- 
ship, Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  Mav  26, 
1819,  at  the  spot  where  the  Smith  Opera  House 


now  stands,  and  which  was  built  by  him  in  honor 
of  his  parents.    His  education  was  limited  to  the 
meager  facilities  afforded  by  the  Plymouth  Acad- 
emy at  the  time  of  his  boyhood.     He  earned  his 
first  money   when  twelve  years  of  age  digging 
potatoes,    and    during    the    following   two    sum- 
mers he  worked  on  a  farm  for  Frank  Turner,^ 
deceased,   also   of   Plymouth,    for   which   he   re- 
ceived a  shilling  a  day.     When  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  engaged  with  the  firm  of  Smith 
&  Wright,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  of  which  his 
half  brother,  Fitch,  was  the  senior  member,  to 
learn  the  saddler's  trade.    He  remained  just  nine- 
days  and  then  came  by  boat  to  Easton,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  from  there  walked  to  Plymouth.    The 
following   clay    he    began    an    apprenticeship   at 
cabinet  making,  which  he  followed  a  year  and 
a  half,  and  then  entered  the  employ  of  his  broth- 
er-in-law, Samuel  Davenport,  in  a  general  mer- 
cantile business.     When  he  was  twenty-one  he 
became  a  partner  in  the  business,  succeeding  to- 
the  proprietorship  when  Mr.  Davenport  died  in 
1849,  and  continued  alone  till  1864,  when  he  ad- 
mitted his  nephew,  Abijah  Davenport  Smith,  as. 
partner,  and  he  continued  in  the  business  until 
1870.     Many  years  prior  to,  his  retirement  from 
mercantile  business,  Mr.  Smith  began  acquiring 
interests  in  coal  lands,  developing  and  operating 
them,  and  buying  and  selling  as  opportunity  of- 
fered  to  his  advantage.     He  began  in  a   small 
way  at  first,  worked  out  his  plans  after  his  own 
ideas,  and  he  was  rarely  mistaken  in  his  conclu- 
sions.   He  purchased  the  coal  business  of  Heber 
&  Crouse,  of  Plymouth,   in   1862,  and   in    July, 
1864,  sold  it  for  $51,000.     He  was  a  large  oper- 
ator, and  at  times  a  bold  one,  but  he  seemed  to- 
see  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  the  result 
of  his  endeavors  was  a  financial  fabric  of  good 
proportions  and  the  confidence  and  regard  of  the- 
business   and   financial   world.     Mr.    Smith  was. 
otherwise  interested  in  personal  and  private  en- 
terprises, being  for  many  years  and  up  to  the 
time   of   his    death   president   of   the   First   Na- 
tional  bank   of  Plymouth,   which  he  organized, 
builder  and  owner  of  the  Smith   Opera   House- 
in  Plymouth,  and  interested  in  several  other  un- 
dertakings by  which  the  public  was  benefited  as 
well  as  hmself.     He  was  the  owner  of  five  large 
farms  in  Pennsylvania,  and  a  tract  of  3,860  acres; 
in   one   of  the   best   gold   districts   of   Colorado, 
.which  apart  from  its  fertile  soil,  has  been  pro- 
nounced by  experts  as  an  unusually  good  gold 
field.     Besides  these  vast  estates,  he  owned  and' 
dealt  in  town  property  to  a  great  extent  in  Nan- 
ticoke,    Forty    Fort,    Plymouth    and    adjoining 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


373 


towns.  He  was  president  of  the  Kingston  and 
Dallas  Turnpike  Company  from  its  organiza- 
tion until  his  death.  He  was  interested  in  agri- 
culture, or  better,  practical  farming,  and  was  a 
•delegate,  by  Governor  Pattison's  appointment,  to 
the  Farmers'  American  Congress  at  Sedalia, 
Missouri,  in  November,  1891.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Farmers'  State  Board.  A 
member  of  Shawnee  Lodge,  No.  225.  I. 
O.  O.  F.,  of  Plymouth.  For  fifty  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  Church  of  Plymouth,  and  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees,  the  last  surviv- 
ing member  of  the  original  trustees.  In  his  po- 
litical views  he  always  advocated  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party,  and  represented  the  dis- 
trict in  the  state  legislature  at  Harrisburg  from 
1876  to  1880.  He  was  a  close,  careful  reader,  a 
friend  of  the  schools  and  education,  generally, 
and  his  business  life  and  career  indicated  that 
he  inherited  many  of  his  father's  personal  char- 
acteristics, and  especially  his  habits  of  industry, 
thrift,  and  progressiveness.  During  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  he  travelled  extensively,  and 
profited  by  observation  of  and  contact  with  men 
of  business  and  social  station.  It  may  truth- 
fully be  said  of  him  that  he  was  the  "architect 
of  his  own  fortune,"  but  while  he  budded  for 
himself  he  likewise  was  a  factor  for  good  in  the 
lousiness  history  of  his  native  township,  and  also 
in  the  town  of  his  adoption. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  three  times :  he 
(first)  married  February  8,  1843,  Liva,  daughter 
of  Robert  Davenport,  of  Plymouth,  and  had  three 
children:  1.  Robert  Newton,  born  Plymouth. 
November  22,  1843,  married,  October  11,  1866, 
Mary  Kate  Koch,  born  Plymouth,  January  19, 
1847.  He  is  teller  in  the  First  National  Bank  at 
Plymouth.  2.  Liva  Albertina,  born  Plymouth, 
December  25,  1845,  married,  November  13,  1866, 
Albert  Gould  Rickard,  M.  D.,  born  Plymouth, 
September  27,  1829.  3.  John  E.,  deceased.  Mr. 
Smith  married  (second)  January  25,  1851,  Eve- 
line Keeler,  who  died  November  25,  1895. 
daughter  of  Asa  and  Elizabeth  Keeler,  and  had 
nine  children  two  of  whom  are  living :  Mar- 
garet Eveline  Ransom,  born  Plymouth,  January 
27,  1854,  married,  October  18,  1877,  Harvey 
Yeager,  was  born  at  Roaring  Creek,  Pennsyl- 
vania, November  23,  1847  '<  May  Virginia,  born 
Plymouth,  September  29,  i860,  resides  on  the  old 
Iiomestead  October  6,  1897,  Mr.  Smith  married 
(third)  Mrs.  Margaret  Ferris,  mother  of  Judge 
Ferris,  who  survives.  The  children  of  Robert 
Newton  and  Mary  Kate  (Koch)  Smith  were: 
John  Robert,  born  Plvmouth,  January  6,  1867, 
■died  March  8,  1867.    Gurton  Dupont,  born  Ply- 


mouth, October  29,  1871.  Cordie  Albertina,  born 
Plymouth,  January  14,  1874;  James  Howard, 
born  Plymouth,  May  4,  1877;  John  B.,  born 
Plymouth,  December  7,  1878.  Children  of  Dr. 
Albert  Gould  Rickard  and  Liva  Albertina  Smith : 
John  Byron,  born  Plymouth,  September  7,  1867; 
Ellen  Elizabeth  born  Plymouth,  October  9, 
1869,  died  January  20,  1872;  Stella,  born  Ply- 
mouth, June  25,  1872;  Kate  Daisy,  born  Ply- 
mouth, August  2,  1874.  May  A^irginia,  Iborn 
Plymouth,  September  17,  1876;  Emma  Gould, 
born  Plymouth,  December  6,  1878. 

John  B.  Smith  died  at  his  beautiful  residence 
in  Forty  Fort  borough,  which  he  built  in  1868, 
July  19,  1904,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-five 
years.  Death  was  caused  by  the  infirmities  of 
age,  he  having  been  ill  for  some  time.  The  fun- 
eral services  were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  L.  O. 
Knipp,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  B.  P.  Ripley.  Inter- 
ment was  made  in  Shawnee  Cemetery  at  Ply- 
mouth. 

The  engraving  of  Mr.  Smith  found  in  this 
work  was  placed  here  by  his  daughter,  May  Vir- 
ginia Smith.1  H.  E.  H. 

HARVEY  YEAGER  was  born  at  Roaring 
Brook,  Pennsylvania,  November  23,  1847,  son 
of  Jacob  and  Lena  (Fisher)  Yeager.  His  pater- 
nal grandfather,  John  Yeager,  was  born  in  Ami- 
tyville,  Berks  county,  and  went  to  Roaring 
Brook  as  a  pioneer,  there  clearing  a  large  tract 
of  land,  passing  his  life  thereon  and  dying  at 
about  eighty-nine  years  of  age. 

Jacob  Yeager  was  born  at  Roaring  Brook, 
where  he  was  educated  in  the  common  schools. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  also  a  merchant  establish- 
ing the  first  store,  and  long  carrying  on  the  most 
extensive  business  there.  He  was  also  postmas- 
ter, the  postoffice  being  kept  in  his  store  for  a 
period  of.  nearly  fifty  years.  He  held  various 
local  offices,  and  as  "Uncle  Jake"  was  favorably 
known  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  that  region,  who 
held  him  in  high  esteem  for  his  neighborly  qual- 
ities. He  was  a  member  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church,  in  which  he  took  an  active  in- 
terest, and  in  politics  was  a  Democrat.     He  died 


1.  The  Davenport  family  so  closely  connected 
with  the  Smith  family  was  one  of  the  earliest  in  the 
Wyoming  valley,  and  one  of  them  was  of  the  original 
"forty."  Thomas  Davenport,  the  ancestor  of  the  now 
resident  family  in  Plymouth,  and  elsewhere  scattered 
throughout  the  valley,  came  from  Esopus  on  the  Hud- 
son in  New  York  state  in  1794.  His  name  is  registered 
on  the  assessor's  list  of  1796,  and  he  was  then  the  owner 
of  much  land.  He  died  in  1812,  leaving  six  sons  and 
four  daughters.  The  sons  were  Thomas,  John,  Robert, 
Samuel,  Daniel  and  Stephen. 


374 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  To  him  and 
his  wife,  Lena  (Fisher)  Yeager,  were  born  nine 
children,  of  whom  four  are  living:  Sally,  mar- 
ried William  W.  Hurst,  of  Philadelphia ;  Harvey, 
to  be  further  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Elizabeth 
R.,  married  W.  H.  Garret,  of  Philadelphia;  Dar- 
ius N.,  of  Plymouth.  The  mother  of  these  chil- 
dren died  in  1854. 

Harvey  Yeager,  second  child  and  eldest  son 
of  Jacob  and  Lena  (Fisher)  Yeager,  was  edu- 
cated at  Roaring  Creek  and  Dansville.  He  re- 
mained with  his  father  until  of  age,  and  then 
engaged  in  general  merchandising  at  Dansville 
on  his  own  account,  conducting  a  prosperous  bus- 
iness until  1875.  He  then  removed  to  Plymouth, 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  opened  the 
Opera  House  store,  in  which  he  continued  until 
1886,  he  then  removed  to  Forty  Fort,  and  pur- 
chased a  store  which  he  conducted  a  number  of 
years.  He  subsequently  went  to  Burnett,  Indi- 
ana, where  he  accepted  the  position  of  general 
manager  for  the  Eastern  Coal  Company,  a  large 
corporation  of  which  he  afterwards  became  treas- 
urer, discharging  the  duties  of  the  place  so  ac- 
ceptably that  he  has  been  continued  in  it  to  the 
present  time,  although  making  his  home  at  Forty 
Fort.  He  is  also  actively  interested  in  various  oth- 
er important  business  enterprises,  and  was  among 
the  organizers  of  the  Consumers'  Gas  Company, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  also  of  the  West  Side  Gas 
Company.  Mr.  Yeager  married,  October  18, 
1877,  Margaretta  Evelyn  R.  Smith,  daughter  of 
John  Smith,  who  is  referred  to  at  length  in 
another  narrative.  Of  this  marriage  were 
born  the  following  children:  1.  Evelyn,  born 
in  Plymouth,  December  11,  1878;  she  graduated 
at  the  Forty  Fort  high  school,  and  later  "the  Wyo- 
ming Seminary  and  then  spent  two  years  in  the 
Emerson  school  of  oratory.  On  January  10,  1904, 
she  was  united  in  marriage  to  Dr.  Wilder  C. 
Schofield,  who  was  born  in  Factoryville,  and  is 
now  practicing  his  profession  of  dentistry  in 
Wilkes-Barre;  they  reside  in  Dorranceton.  2. 
Weldy  Smith,  born  February  21,  1880,  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Forty  Fort  schools,  and  is  now  an 
electrician  in  California.  3.  William,  born  in 
Plymouth,  March  12,  1881 ;  he  graduated  from 
the  Forty  Fort  schools  and  the  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary, and  was  a  student  for  two  years  in  Cor- 
nell University,  but  was  obliged  to  suspend  his 
studies  on  account  of  an  attack  of  typhoid  fever, 
he  is  a  bookkeeper  in  Burnett,  Indiana.  4..  Dar- 
ius Newton,  born  at  Kingston,  August  14,  1882; 
he  was  educated  at  the  Wyoming  Seminary,  and 
is  now  at  home.  5.  Margaret  May,  born  Decem- 


ber 6,  1883 ;  she  was  educated  in  the  Wyoming 
Seminary,  and  is  a  milliner  by  trade.  6.  Ruth 
Halloway,  born  May  24,  died  October  28,  1888. 
7.  Minnie  Gertrude,  born  June  29,  1886,  edu- 
cated in  Forty  Fort,  but  is  now  following  dress- 
making in  Wilkes-Barre.  8.  May  Ashton,  born 
December  13,  1887.  9.  John  Jacob,  born  March 
1,  1889,  died  the  same  day  of  birth.  10.  Carrie 
Virginia,  born  February  14,  1890.  11.  Frederic 
Albert,  born  June  29,  1893.  I2-  Frances  Viola, 
born  November  21,  1895.  13..  Roscoe  Smith, 
born  September  14,   1897.  H.  E.  H. 

THE  BOGERT  FAMILY  originated  in 
Holland,  where  they  are  known  as  Van  Bogert, 
and  the  name  is  derived  from  the  word  "Or- 
chard." The  name  was  originally  spelled  Bo- 
gaert,  but  as  far  back  as  the  sixteenth  century 
was  spelled  Bogert,  or  Bogart.  The  emigration 
to  America  was  in  the  early  part  of  1700,  or  in 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
founder  of  the  American  branch  of  the  Bogert 
family,  whose  christian  name  is  not  preserved, 
married  an  English  lady,  whose  given  name  was 
Charity,  and  after  their  arrival  in  America,  they 
settled  in  Pahaguary  township,  Warren  county,. 
New  Jersey,  postoffice,  Calne. 

Cornelius  Bogert,  son  of and  Charity 

Bogert,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  between  173a 
and  1740,  and  died  shortly  after  the  close  of  the 
Revolutionary  war.  in  which  he  was  a  participant. 
He  followed  farming  in  New  Jersey,  later  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  Canada,  near  London  Bridge, 
and  removed  to  that  place,  but  after  a  few  years 
residence  there  returned  to  New  Jersey,  where- 
he  resided  until  his  death,  at  a  ripe  old  age. 

David  Bogert,  son  of  Cornelius  Bogert,  was. 
born  in  Knowlton  township,  Warren  county, 
New  Jersey,  July  1.  1776.  three  days  before  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  In  his  boyhood 
days  he  farmed,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
embarked  in  boating  on  the  Delaware  river.  He- 
poled  a  boat  from  Milford  to,  Philadelphia,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  thirty  mile's,  transport- 
ing grain,  flour,  apples,  vinegar,  potatoes,  bark 
and  other  products  to  market,  bringing  back 
merchandise  of  various  kinds.  It  required  from 
nine  days  to  two  weeks  to  make  the  trip,  accord- 
ing to  the  condition  of  the  river.  He  followed 
boating  until  he  was  sixty  years  old,  and  later 
removed  to  New  Columbus,  following  his  son 
Samuel,  who  had  in  1843  crossed  the  Pocono- 
Mountains  and  located  in  the  lower  end  of  Lu- 
zerne county.  David  Bogert  married  Mary  Ann 
Kirkendall,  of  Oakland,   New  Jersey,  and  their 


C^Cs\^ 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


575 


children  were:  John,  born  September  8,  1798; 
George,  February  9,  1800;  Christiana,  October 
11,  1801  ;  Catherine,  August  16,  1803;  Sarah, 
October  g,  1805  ;  Polly,  December  6,  1807 ;  Cor- 
nelius, October  25,  1809;  Charity,  April  14, 
1811;  Samuel,  May  18,  1813,  (see  below); 
David,  March  2,  1815;  Adam,  April  18,  1817; 
and  Evan  T.,  March  19,  1819.  David  Bogert 
and  his  wife  resided  for  many  years  at  Mount 
Bethel,  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  from 
whence  they  removed  to  New  Columbus,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  their  deaths  occurred.  He  died 
March  24,  i860,  aged  eighty-three  years,  eight 
months  and  twenty  days,  and  his  wife  died  Sep- 
tember 9,  1858,  aged  seventy-nine  years  and  one 
day.  Both  are  buried  in  the  New  Columbus 
cemetery. 

Samuel  Bogert,  ninth  child  of  David  and 
Mary  Ann  (Kirkendall)  Bogert,  was  born 
Mount  Bethel  township,  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
a  blacksmith  and  carried  on  a  general  wagon  and 
carriage  manufacturing  business  at  New  Colum- 
bus, Pennsylvania.  In  May,  1843,  with  his  family, 
he  left  Roxburg,  Mount  Bethel  township,  North- 
ampton county,  with  two  teams  and  household 
effects.  They  crossed  the  Pocono  Mountains 
and  stopped  aver  night  at  what  was  then  Slocum 
Hollow,  where  the  city  of  Scranton  now  stands. 
At  that  time  there  were  only  an  old  mill,  a  vacant 
blacksmith  shop,  a  small  country  store  and  a  few 
scattered  dwellings.  Everything  looked  barren 
and  forlorn,  and  a  few  mullen  stalks  helped  to 
enliven  the  scene.  Some  of  the  people  desired 
Samuel  Bogert  to  remain  and  take  the  black- 
smith shop,  but  not  being  favorably  impressed 
with  the  stuation  he  continued  on  his  journey 
to  the  borough  of  New  Columbus,  of  which 
place  he  had  heard  flattering  accounts.  He 
there  located,  and  being  a  man  of  unusual  abil- 
ity prospered  in  his  business  enterprises. 

In  the  early  part  of  1835  Samuel  Bogert  mar- 
ried Catherine  Stine,  of  Portland,  Northampton 
county,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  born  August 
11,  1816,  died  November  1,  1836,  leaving  one 
child,  David  Henry,  born  May  18,  1836,  who  fol- 
lows blacksmithing  and  farming-,  at  Register,  Lu- 
zerne county,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  Chris-, 
tiana  Baker,  of  Cambria,  Pennsylvania,  March 
24,  1861,  and  five  children  were  born.  Samuel 
Bogert  married  (second),  November  30,  1837, 
Elizabeth  Ranton,  of  Smithfield,  Pennsylvania, 
born  December  27,  181 1,  and  their  children 
were:  John,  born  December  11,  1838,  married, 
January  25,  1879,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Larish,  and  five 
children  were  born  to  them.  Eliza,  born  July  25, 
1840,   married,  August  26,    1874,   Thomas   Far- 


quar,  of  Easton,  and  six  children  were  born  to 
them.  Mary,  born  February  13,  1843,  married, 
September  29,  1867,  Israel  Parks  Long,  and  three 
children  were  the  issue.  Joseph  Kirkendall, 
born  July  16,  1845,  (see  sketch).  Emanuel  Kirk- 
endall, born  June  29,  1847,  married,  October, 
1895,  Sally  Sturdevant,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
two  children  were  born  to  them  Jacob  Welling- 
ton, born  September  29,  1848,  (see  sketch).  Al- 
mira  Alice,  born  May  13,  1851,  married,  August 
l9,  I^'75>  Cyrus  Barton  Sutton,  of  Columbia 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  had  three  children. 
Edward  Freas,  (see  sketch),  born  September 
27,  1856.  Samuel  Bogert,  father  of  these  chil- 
dren died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  July 
9,  188 1,  aged  sixty-seven  years,  and  his  remains 
were  interred  in  Hollenback  cemetery,  Wilkes- 
Barre.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  (Ranton)  Bogert, 
was  identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  New  Columbus  and  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  was  a  'consistent  member  until  her  death  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  August  3,  1888,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  seventy-six  years,  seven  months  and  six 
days.  Her  life  was  noble  and  useful,  and  her  de- 
mise lamented  by  all  with  whom  she  was  brought 
in  contact.  Her  remains  were  interred  by  the 
side  of  her  husband,  in  Hollenback  cemetery, 
Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

JOSEPH  KIRKENDALL  BOGERT,  de- 
ceased, a  man  highly  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him,  at  the  time  of  his  death  filling  efficiently  the 
office  of  postmaster  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  editor 
and  proprietor  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Leader,  was 
born  at  New  CoJumbus,  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  16,  1845,  fourth  child  and  second 
son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Ranton)   Bogert. 

He  attended  the  public  school  at  New  Co- 
lumbus and  subsequently  the  Male  and  Female 
Academy.  Early  during  the  war  of  the  Rebellion, 
when  eighteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted,  June  23, 
1863,  in  the  Twenty-eighth  Regiment  Pennsylva- 
nia Militia,  and  during  the  invasion  of  the  state 
by  the  southern  army  performed  duty  with 
it  in  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  and  participated 
in  a  sharp  skirmish  with  Fitz  Hugh  Lee's  forces 
near  Harrisburg,  June  30,  1863.  The  regiment 
was  mustered  out  of  service  July  27,  1863,  and 
Mr.  Bogert  re-enlisted  in  the  United  States  Sig- 
nal Corps,  April  4,  1864.  He  was  first  assigned  to 
duty  in  the  campaign  against  hostile  Indians  in 
Missouri,  Kansas,  Arkansas,  and  Indian  Terri- 
tory, under  orders  from  headquarters  Army  of 
the  Border,  General  S.  R.  Curtis  commanding, 
and  later  took  part  in  the  campaign  against  Gen- 


376 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


eral  Price  from  the  New  to  the  Arkansas  rivers, 
on  the  Missouri  and  Arkansas  border.  There 
were  engagements  at  Little  Blue  and  Big  Blue,  on 
October  21  and  22,  respectively,  and  later  else- 
where on  the  route.  The  campaign  ended,  he 
was  sent  to  the  Department  of  the  Northwest, 
and  took  part  in  the  Indian  expedition  up  the 
Platte  and  Powder  rivers,  which  extended  from 
July  1  to  November  4,  covering  over  two  thous- 
and miles  of  previously  unexplored  territory,  and 
was  attended  by  many  hardships  and  dangers. 
Mr.  Bogert  was  finally  mustered  out  of  service 
December  9,  1865,  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kan- 
sas, his  military  career  being  noted  for  gallant 
conduct  and  efficient  services.  On  his  return 
from  the  army  he  resumed  his  studies  and  grad- 
uated with  honors  from  Lewisburg  (now  Buck- 
nell)  University.  Then  coming  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  for  nearly  a  year  he  studied  law  with  the 
late  Hon.  Caleb  E.  Wright,  in  the  meantime  sup- 
porting himself  by  his  services  as  correspondent 
for  the  Associated  Press,  the  Philadelphia 
Times,  Scranton  Times,  and  other  newspapers. 
His  strict  attention  to  business  did  not  pass  un- 
noticed ;  he  was  appointed  assistant  to  George 
P.  Richards,  clerk  of  the  courts,  and  shortly 
afterward  to  the  position  of  chief  deputy.  In 
1874,  through  the  influence  of  Hon.  D.  L. 
Rhone,  judge  of  the  orphans'  court,  he  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  clerk  of  that  court,  being  the  first 
incumbent  of  that  office.  He  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  register  of  wills,  1875,  and  was 
elected  by  a  large  majority  (1870),  although  sev- 
eral of  his  colleagues  on  the  ticket  were  defeated 
— an  eloquent  testimonial  to  his  sterling  integ- 
rity and  popularity. 

In  February,  1877,  in  company  with  George 
B.  Kulp,  he  purchased  the  Luzerne  Leader,  then 
recently  established  at  Pittston,  and  removed  it 
to  Wilkes-Barre.  In  January,  1879,  as  the 
Leader  Publishing  Company,  they  purchased  the 
Luzerne  Union,  for  many  years  the  Democratic 
organ  of  the  county  ;  the  two  papers  were  merged 
into  the  Union  Leader,  and  October  1,  1879,  the 
publication  of  a  daily  issue  was  begun.  Mr. 
Bogert  became  sole  proprietor  in    1880,   and  in 

1884  erected  a  building  at  No.  7  North  Main 
street,  where  he  continued  the  publication  of 
the  paper  until  his  death.  In  this  venture  he 
clearly  demonstrated  his  business  as  well  as  his 
literary  ability,  placing  the  paper  on  a  firm  foun- 
dation, and  starting  in  on  a  very  prosperous  ca- 
reer. This  brief  narrative  clearly  shows  with 
what  skill,  courage  and  pertinacity  Mr.  Bogart 
created,    with    limited    means,    out    of    a    small 

weekly,  the  best  known  Democratic  daily  jour- 


nal in  northeastern  Pennsylvania.  His  standing 
in  his  profession  was  also  attested  by  his  elec- 
tion to  the  presidency  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 
Editorial  Association,  in  which  capacity  he  ren- 
dered  faithful  and  intelligent  service. 

Mr.  Bogert  was  an  active  politician,  exercis- 
ing a  potent  influence  in  behalf  of  the  party 
whose  principles  he  advocated.  He  served  twice 
as  chairman  of  the  Democratic  county  commit- 
tee. He  was  a  candidate  for  state  treasurer  in 
1 88 1,  and  was  warmly  supported  by  a  large  con- 
tingent of  delegates,  but  failing  to  secure  the 
nomination,  he  with  considerable  reluctance  ac- 
cepted the  chairmanship  of  the  state  committee, 
this  honor  being  conferred  on  him  by  the  same 
convention,  and  he  conducted  the  campaign  with 
such  marked  ability  and  energy  as  to  win  the 
plaudits  of  his  party  throughout  the  state.  Two 
years  later  (1883)  he  was  urged  to  accept  the 
state  treasurership,  but  absolutely  refused  to  al- 
low the  use  of  his  name  in  that  connection.  He 
frequently  represented  his  party  in  state  conven- 
tions, and  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  conven- 
tions at  Chicago  in  1880  and  1884,  which  nom- 
inated Hancock  and  Cleveland,  respectively.  Mr. 
Bogert  was  untiring,  brave  and  generous,  and 
had  achieved  a  degree  of  world  success  rare  in  a 
man  of  his  years,  and  with  the  limited  advan- 
tages he  had  at  his  command.  As  a  politician 
he  was  aggressive,  but  he  firmly  believed  his 
principles  right,  and  battled  for  Democracy,  not 
only  against  her  open  ioe- — the  Republican  party 
— but  against  those  latent  enemies  to  be  found  in 
its  own  ranks.  As  a  consequence,  his  path  as  a 
politician  was  not  one  strewn  with  roses,  yet, 
true  to  his  convictions  of  duty,  he  followed  it 
with  unremitting  fidelity.  He  was  an  able  writer, 
a  faithful  public  official,  a  zealous  Democrat,  and 
a  man  of  the  stamp  that  serves  his  party  and  his 
country  well  and  faithfully. 

Mr.  Bogert  was  appointed  postmaster  of  the 
city  of  Wilkes-Barre  by  President  Cleveland,  in 
July,  1885,  took  possession  of  the  office  August 
1,  of  that  year,  and  held  it  until  his  death.  He 
possessed,  in  an  unusual  degree,  strength  of  char- 
acter, quickness  of  understanding,  sterling 
moral  qualities,  and  these,  reinforced  by  pene- 
trating common  sense,  made  him  a  thoroughly 
competent  man,  equal  to  the  onerous  and  re- 
sponsible duties  which  fell  to  his  lot  as  post- 
master. In  all  the  affairs  of  the  city  he  took  an 
active  interest,  and  was  at  one  time  president 
of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Board  of  Trade,  of  which 
he  was  one  of  the  principal  projectors. 

Laboring  almost  continually  against  ob- 
stacles which  would  have  discouraged  a  man  of 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA   VALLEYS. 


377 


less  indomitable  spirit,  he  achieved  a  proud  dis- 
tinction for  one  so  young  as  was  he  when  death 
■came,  giving  reliable  promise  that,  had  he  been 
spared,  he  would  have  attained  still  greater  prom- 
inence for  himself  and  a  broader  measure  of  use- 
fulness ti  his  fellow-citizens.  He  was  a  brave  sol- 
died,  a  self-denying  student,  and  a  firm  believer 
in  the  adoption  of  all  the  agencies  that  aid  to 
advancement.  He  loved  children,  and  for  'their 
sake  battled  for  the  best  schools  and  the  best 
instruction.  He  loved  order,  and  so  fought  to  es- 
tablish wise  rulers.  He  admired  social  graces, 
and  so  encouraged  them.  He  felt  the  deep  re- 
sponsibilitv  of  editorial  censorship  and  keenly 
watched  the  course  of  intelligent  public  opinion, 
and  endeavored  to  be  guided  by  it  always.  To 
the  humblest  of  his  employes  Mr.  Bogert  was  a 
firm  friend.  No  one  ever  went  to  him  in  time  of 
trouble,  without  receiving  quick  sympathy  and 
ready  assistance.  Honest  in  his  dealings  with 
"his  fellowmen,  energetic  in  the  discharge  of  every 
business  and  social  duty,  enterprising  in  the 
world  of  local  journalism,  an  affectionate  son, 
devoted  husband,  and  a  loving  father,  his  death, 
"which  occurred  Februarv  3,  1887,  left  a  vacant 
place  that  could  never  be  more  worthily  filled. 

In  religious  faith  he  was  a  Baptist,  and  con- 
tributed liberally  to  the  church  of  that  denomin- 
ation in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  member  of  the 
Ely  (now  Conyngham)  Post,  No.  97,  G.  A.  R. ; 
Lodge  No.  61,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  and  of  several 
beneficiary  organizations,  among  them  the  Le- 
gion of  Honor  and  the  Heptasophs. 

At  a  meeting  of  newspaper  men  held  in  the 
office  of  the  Record  the  following  resolutions 
were  adopted : 

The  newspaper  men  of  Wilkes-Barre,  met 
this  7th  of  February,  1887,  to  record  their  recog- 
nition of  a  loss  sustained,  their  testimony  to  a 
■sorrow  felt,  and  their  appreciation  of  a  sterling 
character  now  passed  away,  do  but  feebly  ex- 
press their  sentiments  upon  this  sad  occasion  by 
the  adoption  of  the  following  preamble  and  res- 
olutions : 

Whereas,  In  the  death  of  Joseph  K.  Bogert 
the  profession  has  lost  a  worthy  representative, 
and  the  city  one  of  its  most  energetic  and  useful 
citizens  ;  and 

Whereas,  Mr.  Bogert's  good  name  and  in- 
fluence were  won  in  the  face  of  obstacles  that 
only  men  of  strong  and  active  minds,  stout  nerve 
and  untiring  application  overcome.  Inured  in 
"his  younger  days  to  hard  work,  with  but  little  in 
liis  surroundings  to  arouse  his  ambition  to  rise 
above  the  common  level ;  and  with  opportunities 


within  his  grasp  for  only  the  most  limited  edu- 
cation, he  nevertheless  secured  collegiate  train- 
ing, paying  for  a  large  share  of  it  with  his  labor 
as  the  only  possible  substitute  for  the  money  he 
did  not  have  and  could  not  get,  and  thereby 
fitted  himself  for  the  higher  place  in  life  to  which 
he  aspired,  and 

Whereas,  he  entered  the  service  of  his 
country  when  but  a  youth  and  earned  the  esteem 
of  his  superior  officers  by  a  manifestation  of  all 
the  good  qualities  that  go  to  make  up  the  faith- 
ful soldier ;  and  so  fortified  himself  in  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people,  while  in  subordinate  civil 
place,  and  when  a  candidate  before  them  for 
higher  honors,  he  was  elected  by  a  large  ma- 
jority; having  served  his  party  faithfully,  both 
in  leading  its  local  forces  and  those  of  his  state, 
and  became  known  far  and  wide  as  an  earnest 
and  expert  party  manager ;  chosen  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  association  in  which  the  journalistic 
profession  is  united  throughout  the  state,  all  of 
whose  members  learned  to  respect  and  admire 
him ;  having  built  up  his  newspaper  from  small- 
est beginnings  and  prospered  with  it  until 
though  a  partisan  paper,  it  had  become  known 
and  respected  everywhere ;  and  all  this,  though 
he  was  a  man  of  pronounced  opinions  and  ag- 
gressive temperament,  which  necessarily  pro- 
voked opposition  and  antagonism ;  having 
fought  sturdily  for  the  position  in  life  which  he 
had  attained,  and  deserved  the  success  that  ac- 
companied it,  and  believing  that  had  he  lived  his 
allotted  time  he  would  of  necessity  have  multi- 
plied his  usefulness  many  fold. 

Resolved,  That  death  has  removed  from  our 
number  one  of  the  brightest  minds,  bravest 
hearts,  cheeriest  companions,  ablest  writers  and 
most  zealous  workers  within  the  brotherhood  of: 
journalists. 

Resolved,  That  while  we  revered  him,  living, 
more  than  the  conventionalisms  of  business  and 
social  intercourse  would  admit  of  our  express- 
ing, so  now  dead,  we  have  no  words  to  ade- 
quately express  our  regard  for  his  character, 
our  admiration  for  his  manhood  and  our  grief 
at   his  loss.     ***** 

Resolved,  That  we  can  hold  the  life  and  char- 
acter of  Joseph  K.  Bogert  before  the  eyes  of  the 
young  men  of  this  country  and  say,  "go  thou  and 
do  likewise,"  for  he  was  one  to  inspire  emula- 
tion as  to  his  ambitions,  his  method,  his  zeal, 
his  brotherly  love,  his  enterprise,  his  activities 
and  his  large  charity. 

Resolved,  That  we,  his  intimate  brotherhood 
of  friends  and  the  newspaper  fraternity  of  the 


378 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


city  and  county,  and  the  political  honesty  and  the 
social  economy  of  this  vicinity,  have  each  sus- 
tained a  loss  that  will  be  more  deeply  felt  as  the 
realization  of  it  becomes  more  manifest  through 
the  absence  of  its  influence  upon  affairs  among 
and  about  us. 

Resolved,  That  our  sorrow  is  beyond  expres- 
sion, our  loss  beyond  reparation  and  our  sym- 
pathy for  the  bereaved  ones  deeper  than  any 
mere  words  can  imply. 

Resolved,  That  we  convey  to  the  stricken 
widow  and  fatherless  child  these  assurances  of 
our  sympathy  for  them,  and  these  evidences  of 
our  great  regard  for  him  whom  they  and  we  have 
profound  reason  to  mourn. 

On  February  7th  following,  funeral  services 
were  held  in  St.  Stephen's  Church,  where  Mr. 
Bogert  had  been  a  regular  attendant,  and  of 
which  his  wife  was  a  member.  The  officiating 
clergyman  was  the  rector,  the  Rev.  Henry  L. 
Jones,  in  presence  of  a  large  concourse  which  in- 
cluded the  publishers  and  printers  of  the  city, 
and  delegations  from  the  Masonic  Lodge  and  Ely 
Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Jones  (who  ministered  to,  the  deceased  dur- 
ing his  last  illness)  said  at  his  funeral:  "The 
record  of  the  life  now  ended  has  been  placed  be- 
fore you  in  the  daily  press.  That  record  tells  of  a 
life  strong,  aggressive,  positive,  upright,  honor- 
able and  useful,  and  now  we  commend  to  the 
Merciful  Father  and  Righteous  Judge  the  dear 
ones  in  their  sorrow." 

The  remains  of  the  deceased  were  interred 
in  the  Hollenback  cemetery  with  military  hon- 
ors, by  Ely  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 
At  their  conclusion  "Taps"  (the  saddest,  sweet- 
est, of  all  army  calls)  were  sounded  by  Sergeant 
Boettger,  U.  S.  A.,  with  the  same  silver  bugle 
which  he  used  over  the  remains  of  General 
Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  General  William  S.  Han- 
cock. ' 

Mr.  Bogert  married,  December  31,  1879,  at 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  Mary  E,  daughter 
of  Lorenzo  D.  and  Elizabeth  J.  Patterson,  of 
Sweetair,  near  Baltimore,  Maryland.  Two  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them :  Lawrence  Patterson, 
born  August  12,  1881,  died  September  6,  1881 ; 
and  Harold  Patterson,  born  March  14,  1883,  now 
residing  in  Wilkes-Barre,  with  his  widowed 
mother.  He  graduated  at  Hillman  Academy  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  later  was  a  student  at  Yale 
College,  class  1905,  and  a  member  of  the  Chi 
Phi  fraternity  there.  He  is  now  located  in  the 
International  Text  Book  Company  of  Scranton, 
Pennsylvania. 


Mrs.  Bogert  was  educated  at  the  State  Nor- 
mal School,  Millersville,  Pennsylvania.  After  her 
course  there  she  taught  for  one  term  at  the  Col- 
legiate Institute,  Salem,  New  Jersey,  from  which 
through  the  efforts  of  influential  friends,  she  was 
called  to  the  Franklin  grammar  school  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania.  She  achieved  great  suc- 
cess in  her  vocation,  teaching  for  the  love  of  the 
work,  as  well  as  for  the  remuneration  received, 
and  continued  in  this  capacity  until  her  mar- 
miage  to  Mr.  Bogert.  After  the  decease  of  Mr. 
Bogert,  little  more  than  a  year  after  he  had  en- 
tered upon  the  office  of  postmaster,  the  citizens 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  without  regard  to  politics, 
united  in  a  determined  effort  to  secure  the  posi- 
tion for  Mrs.  Bogert,  and  forwarded  to  the  Post- 
office  department,  a  petition  which  was  acknow- 
ledged at  the  time  to  be  the  strongest  paper  of 
the  kind  ever  presented  there.  As  a  re- 
sult, President  Cleveland  appointed  her  post- 
master of  Wilkes-Barre,  April  5,  1887.  During 
her  five  years  incumbency  of  the  office  she  gave 
personal  supervision  to  the  details  of  all  depart- 
ments of  the  office,  controlling  both  clerical  and 
carrier  forces,  and  devoting  the  greater  portion 
of  her  time  to  the  work.  She  was  also,  appointed 
by  the  Postmaster  General  to  the  task  of  county 
postoffice  visitation,  and  this  called  out  some  of 
her  best  work.  She  personally  visited  forty- 
four  postoffices  in  Luzerne  county,  making  a 
thorough  inspection,  giving  special  instruction 
where  needed,  and  affording  the  benefit  of  her 
knowledge  in  various  cases  where  the  postmas- 
ter labored  under  peculiar  difficulties.  The  re- 
sult of  her  labor  was  cordially  appreciated  by  the 
Postmaster  General,  and  her  report  was  repro- 
duced at  length  in  a  printed  volume  containing 
his  annual  report  and  the  statistics  of  the  depart- 
ment. 

About  a  fortnight  after  the  completion  of  her 
official  term  as  postmaster,  Mrs.  Bogert  was- 
called  back  to  the  office  by  a  series  of  sad  cir- 
cumstances. The  new  postmaster  being  called 
away  by  the  death  of  his  father,  the  postmaster 
requested  Mrs.  Bogert  to  take  temporary  charge 
of  the  office.  This  she  did,  and  later,  at  his  re- 
quest, accepted  the  position  of  assistant  postmas- 
ter. Her  service  continued  for  eight  years,  ex- 
tending her  postoffice  labors  to  thirteen  years. 
During  this  entire  period  her  relations  with  both 
the  department  and  her  employees  were  most 
pleasant.  She  received  from  the  department 
many  evidences  of  sincere  appreciation,  and" 
every  courtesy  from  those  immediately  about 
her.  At  her  retirement  she  was  kindly  remem- 
bered by  the  clerks  and  carriers  of  the  Wilkes- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


379^ 


Barre  office,  and  the  latter  presented  to  her  an 
artistic  and  exquisite  pen  and  ink  testimonial  of 
several  pages,  beautifully  illustrated  and  bound 
in  leather.  The  concluding  phrases  were  a  pleas- 
ing tribute:  "In  a  word  she  has  been  our  friend, 
as  well  as  our  official  superior.  She  has  had  our 
respect  and  esteem,  as  well  as  our  willing  obed- 
ience, and  she  carries  with  her  into  her  retire- 
ment from  the  position  she  has  so  dutifully  and 
honorably  filled,  the  undying  good  wishes  of  her 
Letter  Carriers."  H.  E.  H. 

JACOB  WELLINGTON  BOGERT,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  sixth  child  of  Samuel  and  Eliza- 
beth (Ranton)  Bogert,  was  born  in  Columbus, 
September  29,  1848.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  New  Columbus  Academy, 
where  he  graduated  in  1868.  He  then  learned  the 
trade  of  blacksmith,  which  for  a  number  of  years 
he  followed  at  Dallas.  For  several  years  prior 
to  June,  1903,  he  was  pressman  for  the  Wilkcs- 
Barrc  Leader,  and  since  that  date  has  been  an 
attache  of  the  Prudential  Insurance  Company. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Malta,  Prince 
of  Peace  Commandery  No.  69,  and  is  deputy 
grand  commander  of  the  Luzerne  County  Dis- 
trict. He  is  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  No. 
396,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Junior  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics,  Columbia  Council,  No.  43. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 

He  married,  at  Shickshinny,  Pennsylvania, 
February  20,  1876,  Emma  Alice  Seward,  of  Har- 
veyville,  who  was  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools 
of  Luzerne  county,  daughter  of  Levi  and  Mary 
(Smith)  Seward,  of  Huntington  township.  Mrs. 
Bogert  was  the  organizer  of  the  Dames  of  Malta, 
No.  20,  Wilkes-Barre.and  is  a  member  of  Conyng- 
ham  Relief  Corps,  No.  37  ;  the  Women's  Christian 
Temperance  LTnion,  and  was  one  of  the  first  fe- 
male school  directors  to  serve  in  New  Columbus, 
Luzerne  county,  and  was  the  secretary  of  the 
school  board  for  two  and  one-half  years. 

Nine  children  were  born  to  Jacob  W.  and 
Emma  Alice  (Seward)  Bogert:  1.  Stanley,  who 
is  in  charge  of  the  Scripps-McRae  Press  Asso- 
ciation at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  He  represented  his 
employers  on  the  special  car  of  Vice-President 
Fairbanks  on  his  electioneering  tour  across  the 
continent  in  1904.  2.  Daisy  P.,  graduated  as 
a  trained  nurse  at  the  Wilkes-Barre  City  Hos- 
pital ;  afterwards  she  married  Frederick  W. 
Wachterhouser,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one 
child,  Pauline;  they  reside  in  Staten  Island,  New 
York.  3.  J.  Leslie.  4.  Lawrence  S.  5.  Fran- 
ces Ruth,  died  February   13,   1892.     6.    May  E. 


7.     Joseph    K.     8.     Paul    J.     9.    Earl    F.     Mr.. 
Bogert  attends  the  Presbyterian  church,  of  which 
his  wife  and  familv  are  members. 

H.  E.  H. 

EDWARD  FREAS  BOGERT,  eighth  child, 
of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Ranton)  Bogert,  was 
born  September  27,  1856.  He  is  a  native  of  Lu- 
zerne county,  Pennsylvania.  After  the  death  of 
his  brother,  Joseph  K.  Bogert,  in  February,  1887, . 
he  managed  the  Evening  and  Weekly  Leader  up 
to  April  1,  1888,  at  which  date  he  acquired  the 
ownership  of  the  Evening  and  Weekly  Leader, 
which  were  consolidated  with  the  Sunday  Morn- 
ing Leader  (a  publication  established  by  E.  F. 
Bogert  in  November,  1885),  and  for  fifteen, 
years  prior  to  January  1,  1903,  was  editor,  pro- 
prietor and  publisher  of  the  same.  On  April  6, 
1896,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Grover 
Cleveland  postmaster  of  Wilkes-Barre  over  sev- 
eral formidable  competitiors.  He  was  confirmed 
by  the  senate  May  6,  and  assumed  the  duties  of" 
the  position  June  1,  1896.  Although  carefully 
looking  after  his  newspapers  and  postoffice  du- 
ties, Mr.  Bogert  found  time  for  other  occupa- 
tions that  combine  pleasure  with  business.  He 
made  himself  a  leader  in  the  development  of  ath- 
letic sports  in  the  city,  being  the  prime  mover  in- 
establishing  the  Athletic  Park  in  1886.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  served  as  president  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Base  Ball  Club;  and  is  a  member 
of  the  Eastern  League,  composed  of  the  cities  of 
Buffalo,  Rochester,  Syracuse,  Troy  and  Albany, 
New  York ;  Montreal  and  Toronto,  Canada ; 
Providence,  Rhode  Island ;  Worcester  and 
Springfield,  Massachusetts ;  Newark  and  Jersey 
City,  New  Jersey,  and  Scranton  and  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  a  director  of  the 
latter.  From  April,  1884,  to  December,  1886,. 
he  served  in  the  Ninth  Regiment  National  Guard, 
and  holds  an  honorable  discharge.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  a  number  of  fraternal  organizations, 
among  which  is  the  Wilkes-Barre  Lodge  of  Elks, 
the  Masonic  bodies,  including  Royal  Arch,. 
Knights  Templar,  Scottish  Rite,  Thirty-second 
degree,  and  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Royal  Arcanum,  P.  O.  S.  of  A.,  and  other 
orders,  and  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in 
their  advancement.  Politically  Mr.  Bogert  has 
always  been  an  earnest  Democrat,  and  an  active 
worker  in  the  interests  of  the  party,  alike  through 
his  editorial  work  and  his  personal  connection 
with  party  movements. 

Mr.  Bogert  was  married  November  15,  1897, 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  L.  Jones,  to  Sarah  Eve- 


38o 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


lyn  Bates,  daughter  of  John  H.  and  Sara  Evelyn 
(Caslow)  Bates,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  granddaughter  of  Captain  and  Mrs. 
John  F.  Caslow,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  with 
whom  she  had  lived  since  childhood.  Captain 
John  F.  Caslow  died  in  Washington,  D.  C,  No- 
vember 22,  1902,  aged  seventy-eight  years,  and 
was  buried  at  Arlington  with  military  honors 
and  full  ritualistic  services  under  the  auspices  of 
Encampment  No.  in,  Union  Veteran  Legion, 
•of  which  he  was  a  member.  He  was  attached  to 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  rendered  merito- 
rious service  to  his  country.  He  was  a  member 
of  Meade  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Washington,  and 
was  also  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason.  He  was  born 
January  29,  1824,  in  Londonderry  township,  near 
Harrisburg,  Dauphin  county,  Pennsylvania.  His 
wife,  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Caslow,  died  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  March  16,  1904,  and  was  buried  in 
Arlington  cemetery.  Captain  and  Mrs.  Caslow 
were  the  parents  of  six  children,  one  son  and 
five  daughters. 

Edward  F.  and  Sarah  E.  (Bates)  Bogert  are 
the  parents  of  two  children :  Dorothea  Caslow, 
born  September  25,  189S :  and  Sara  Evelyn,  born 
March   18,   1903.  H.  E.  H. 

WRIGHT  FAMILY.  John  Wright  (1) 
(Samuel  2,  Caleb  3,  Joseph  4,  Hendrick  Bradley 
5,  Harrison  6)  came  from  England  to  Amer- 
ica with  William  Penn's  colony  of  immigrant 
Quakers  in  1681,,  and  was  the  founder  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Wrightstown,  Burlington  county,  New 
Jersey.  He  held  a  commission  of  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  also  captain  of  the  militia,  under  the 
royal  seal  of  Charles  II.  His  wife  was  Abigail 
Crispin,  daughter  of  Silas  Crispin,  the  elder,  and 
his  wife  Mary  (Stockton)  Shinn,  daughter  of 
Lieutenant  Richard  Stockton,  of  Long  Island 
(1664-80)  and  New  Jersey  (1680-1707).  After 
the  grant  of  Pennsylvania  to  Penn,  Silas  Crispin 
was  appointed  surveyor-general,  and  sailed  with 
William  Crispin,  his  father  and  others,  who  were 
-commissioned  with  power  to  purchase  lands  from 
"the  Indians,  and  to  select  a  site  for  and  lav  out 
a  great  city.  William  died  on  the  voyage  and 
Captain  Thomas  Holmes  was  appointed  his  suc- 
cessor. 

Samuel  Wright  (2),  son  of  John  and  Abi- 
gail, was  born  in  Wrightstown  in  1719,  and  died 
in  1781  ;  married  Elizabeth  Haines,  daughter  of 
Caleb  Haines  of  Evesham. 

Caleb  Wright  (3),  son  of  Samuel  and  Eliza- 
'beth,    was    born    in    Wrightstown    Januarv    14, 


1754.  He  married  in  1779,  Catherine,  daughter 
of  John  Gardner,  and  removed  with  his  family 
to  the  "Susquehanna  country"  in  1795.  He  pur- 
chased and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Union  township, 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  two  miles  above 
Shickshinny,  where  he  remained  unil  181 1,  and 
then  returned  to  New  Jersey,  where  both  he  and 
his  wife  died.  They  lived  to  good  old  age,  and 
their  remains  were  buried  in  the  Friends'  burial 
ground  at  East  Branch,  Upper  Freehold,  Mon- 
mouth county. 

Joseph  Wright  (4),  son  of  Caleb  and  Cather- 
ine, was  born  May  2,  1785,  and  was  ten  years 
old  when  his  parents  removed  from  Wrights- 
ville  to  the  "Susquehanna  country."  Previous  to 
the  return  of  his  father  to  New  Jersey  he  had 
married  and  established  a  small  store  in  Plym- 
outh, and  he  alone  of  the  family  remained  in 
Wyoming  Valley.  He  lived  in  Plymouth  more 
than  half  a  century,  and  during  that  period  was 
ultimately  connected  with  its  government  and 
was  one  of  its  representative  men.  He  was  the 
second  mercantile  proprietor  there,  but  was  in 
business  only  a  short  time,  as  he  devoted  himself 
chiefly  to  fanning  pursuits.  For  two  hundred 
years  his  ancestors  had  been  Friends,  and  he 
steadily  adhered  to  that  faith  to  the  hour  of  his 
death,  notwithstanding  the  fact  of  his  expulsion 
from  the  Society  because  he  had  married  outside 
of  the  limits  of  the  church  and  contrary  to  its 
discipline.  Unlike  the  majority  of  the  Friends 
•he  was  not  on  principle  "conscientiously  scrupu- 
lous of  bearing  arms."  In  this  respect  lie  relaxed 
somewhat  the  rigid  adherence  to  the  teachings 
.of  the  Society,  entered  the  American  service  dur- 
ing the  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  and 
marched  with  Captain  Halleck's  company  of 
militia  as  a  third  regiment  to  the  defense  of  Bal- 
timore, although  its  services  were  not  required. 
Fourteen  officers  and  men,  including  Sergeant 
Wright  and  Lieutenant  Noah  Wadhams,  were 
drawn  from  Plymouth,  and  all,  or  nearly  all,  were 
assigned  to  Captain  Peter  Halleck's  company. 
They  marched  to  Danville,  and  they  were  at- 
tached to  the  Thirty-sixth  Regiment  Militia. 
For  his  services  Sergeant  Wright  received  a 
United  States  land  warrant  for  140  acres  of  the 
public  domain. 

Joseph  Wright  married,  June  15.  1807,  Ellen 
Hendrick,  born  January  12,  1776,  widow  of 
Moses  Wadhams,  and  daughter  of  John  Hen- 
drick and  his  wife  Eunice  Bradley,  who  was  a 
descendant  in  the  fourth  generation  of  Daniel 
Hendrick    (who  was  of  Haverhill  in   1645.  an'' 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


38  r 


had  been  of  Hampton  in  1639)  and  wife  Dorothy 
Pike,  daughter  of  John  Pike,  of  Newbury,  in 
1635.  Moses  Wadhams  was  one  of  the  four 
sons  of  Rev.  Noah  Wadham  (he  thus  wrote  his 
name),  born  Connecticut,  May  17,  1726,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  fourth  generation  of  John  Wad- 
ham,  of  Somersetshire,  England,  who  was  early 
as  1650  settled  in  Wethersfield,  Connecticut, 
where  he  died  in  1676.  Noah  2d  graduated  from 
Princeton,  A.  B.,  1754;  married  November  8, 
1758,  Elizabeth  Ingersoll,  of  New  Haven;  was 
for  several  years  pastor  of  Congregational  church 
in  New  Preston,  Connecticut ;  came  first  to  the 
Wyoming  Valley,  1772,  but  soon  returned  to 
Connecticut;  came  again  in  1773  to  Plymouth, 
Pennsylvania,  as  minister  to  that  town,  and  con- 
tinued to  perform  the  duties  of  his  calling  in  that 
and  other  towns  until  his  death,  May  22,  1806. 

Joseph  Wright  died  August  14,  1855,  and 
Ellen  Hendrick  Wright  died  August  6,  1872. 
Their  children  were : 

Hendrick  Bradley  Wright,  born  April  24, 
1808,  died  September  2,  1881 ;  see  forward. 

Caleb  Earl  Wright,  born  February  4,  1810, 
died  December  2,  1899;  married  April  30,  1838, 
Phebe  Ann  Fell,  daughter  of  William  Fell,  of 
Philadelphia.  Caleb  Earl  was  educated  in  Plym- 
outh and  Wilkes-Barre  academies,  read  law  with 
John  G.  Montgomery,  of  Danville,  Pennsylva- 
nia ;  admitted  to  Luzerne  bar  August  6,  1833  ; 
admitted  to  Bucks  county  bar,  and  practiced  in 
Doylestown ;  was  president  of  the  first  borough 
council  of  Doylestown  in  1838 ;  and  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  prosecuting  attorney  for  Bucks 
county  in  1839.  He  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre  in 
June,  1853 ;  was  grand  master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  (I.  O.  O.  F.)  1855-56; 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society,  1858 ;  member  of 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Law  and  Library  Association; 
trustee  of  the  Wyoming  Seminary ;  U.  S.  col- 
lector of  internal  revenue  1866-69 !  member  con- 
stitutional convention,  1873  ■  local  preacher 
Methodist  Episcopal  church ;  returned  to  Doyles- 
town 1876,  gave  up  practice  and  devoted  himself 
to  literary  pursuits ;  was  author  of  "Wyoming ; 
a  Tale,"  (1864)  ;  "Marcus  Blair;  a  Story  of  Pro- 
vincial Times"  (1873)  ;  "On  the  Lackawanna" 
(1886)  ;  'A  Legend  of  Bucks  County"  (1887); 
"Rachel  Craig"    (1888). 

Ellen  Wright,  born  July  10,  1812;  died  Oc- 
tober 31,  1891. 

Harrison  Wright,  born  Plymouth,  January 
24,    1815  ;  died   August  25,    1856;   married   No- 


vember 14,  1841,  Emily  Cist,1  died  Wilkes-Barre,. 
September  26,  1894,  daughter  of  Jacob  Cist  and 
his  wife  Sarah  Hollenback.  Mr.  Wright  was 
educated  in  Plymouth  and  Wilkes-Barre,  admit- 
ted to  practice  law,  November  6,  1838;  appointed 
deputy  attorney  general  for  Luzerne  county  and. 
served  until  1843 ;  partner  with  his  brother  Caleb 
E.  Wright  from  July,  1853,  to  time  of  Harrison's 
death;  elected  representative,  1855;  died  1856. 
He  was  "an  eminent  lawyer,  a  generous  and  con- 
fiding friend,  and  an  upright  and  honest  man." 
In  the  very  best  and  most  enlarged  sense  of  the 
phrase,  he  was  a  man  of  public  spirit.  To  the 
erection  of  our  churches — to  the  schemes  for  the 
development  of  our  mineral  resources — to  the  or- 
ganization of  our  gas  company — to  the  measures 
requisite  to  the  completion  of  the  North  Branch 
canal — to  the  efforts  to  extend  to  this  county  the 
general  mining  law — to  the  establishment  of  our 
law  library — his  experience  and  liberality  were- 
ungrudgingly  and  effectively  extended."     (Har- 


1.     Emily  Cist  was   a  descendant  of   Charles   Cist,, 
a    well-to-do    German    merchant,    who    settled     in     St. 
Petersburg,    Russia,    and    married    there    Anna    Maria. 
Thomassen.     Their    second    child,    Charles    Cist,    born 
August  15,   1738,  matriculated  April  23,   1755,   as  studi- 
osus     medicine,  University  of  Halle,  but  did  not  gradu- 
ate ;    entered   practice  and  had   an  apothecary   store   in 
St.   Petersburg;  was  a  liberalist;  joined  with  others  in. 
revolution  to  overthrow  the  government;  was  discovered, 
goods   confiscated,   and  he   exiled  to   Siberia,    1767;   es- 
caped   and    fled    to    America;    landed    in    Philadelphia,. 
October  25,  1773 ;  employed  on  P ennsylvanischer  Staats- 
bote   to   translate   English  into   German;    1775,   partner 
with  Melchoir  Styner  in  printing-office,  but  discontinued 
in  1776;   enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  Third  battalion,. 
Pennsylvania  militia,  1777,  and  took  oath  of  allegiance; 
resumed  business   after  British  evacuation  of  city,  and 
in    1779   established   a    German   newspaper;    1784,    with, 
others  established   The  American  Herald  and  General 
Advertiser,   soon   discontinued;    1789,    established,    with, 
others,    Columbian  Magazine.     Mr.    Cist  published   be- ' 
tween  1781-1805  several  religious  and  political  works  in. 
at  least  four  languages,  and  continued  in  the  capacity 
of  printer,  publisher  and  bookseller   until  his   death  in. 
1805.     He   was    a    member   of   the    German    Society   of 
Pennsylvania;  member  school  committee  1782,  and  sec- 
retary  of   the   association   in   1795;    secretary   of  a   fire- 
insurance  company  in  Philadelphia. 

His  son  Jacob  tested  on  the  "black  stone"    (coal) 
discovered  on  the  Lehigh   by   Philip   Genter  and  taken, 
to  Philadelphia  by  Col.  Weiss,  and  which  he  pronounced. 
to   be   anthracite   coal.      He    was    one   of   the    founders 
and  stockholders  of  the  Lehigh  Coal  Mining  Company, 
1792.     He  died  of  apoplexy  Dec.  1,  1805,  and  lies  buried 
in  Moravian  burial-ground  in  Bethlehem.     He  married,. 
June   7,   1781,   Mary,  daughter  of  John  Jacob  and  Re- 
becca Weiss,  and  had  eight  children.     (See  McClintock; 
Family). 


-382 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


vey's  "Lodge  No.  61.")  Children  of  Harrison 
Wright  and  his  wife,  Emily  Cist:  Josephine, 
Mrs.  Hillman  (see  Hillman 'Family)  ;  Augusta, 
deceased;  Jessie;  Mrs.  William  J.  Harvey  (see 
Harvey  sketch)  ;  Harrison  (see  below)  ;  Sarah, 
Mrs.  George  W.  Guthrie  (see  Guthrie  Family)  ; 
Jacob  Ridgway  (see  below). 

Samuel  Gardner  Wright,  born  August  2, 
181 7;  died  March  26,  1818. 

Aristeen  Wright,  born  June  29,  1820 ;  died 
.September  7,  1822.  H.  E.  H. 

HARRISON  WRIGHT  (6),  A.  M.,  Ph.  D., 
eldest  son  of  Harrison  Wright  (5)  and  his  wife 
Emily  Cist,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  July  15,  1850, 
died  Wilkes-Barre,  February  20,  1885.  He  early 
developed  those  mental  traits  which  character- 
ized his  more  mature  manhood.  Before  he  was 
fifteen  years  old  he  had  acquired  a  marked  taste 
for  history  and  the  natural  sciences,  and  he 
formed  at  that  time  an  interesting  cabinet  of  spec- 
imens and  objects  illustrative  of  his  several  pur- 
suits. After  a  preparatory  course  of  study  at 
home  he  was  in  1867  matriculated  as  a  student  of 
philosophy  at  the  University  of  Heidelberg,  Ger- 
many, and  in  1871  was  graduated  with  the  de- 
crees of  Master  of  Arts  and  Doctor  of  Philoso- 
phy. He  also  acquired  a  thorough  understanding 
of  German,  and  became  proficient  in  the  French 
and  Italian  languages.  Indeed,  his  versatility  was 
remarkable,  illuminating  everything  he  undertook. 
His  especial  study  in  Heidelberg  was  mineralogy, 
and  his  excellence  in  his  pursuit  of  this  science 
induced  his  preceptor,  the  late  Professor  Blum 
(the  leading  mineralogist  of  his  time)  to  select 
Mr.  Wright  as  assistant  professor  of  mineralogy, 
but  a  prolonged  summer's  absence  from  the  Uni- 
versity led  to  the  appointment  of  another.  Much 
of  his  vacation  time  was  spent  in  European  travel 
with  a  view  to  archaeological  research  and  the 
study  of  national  customs,  and  thus  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Archaeological  Society  of  Rome, 
and  likewise  was  accorded  honorary  membership 
•of  the  Papal  Club,  a  social  organization  of  the 
officers  of  the  Papal  Guard. 

In  1 87 1  Mr.  Wright  returned  to  his  home  in 
Wilkes-Barre  and  soon  afterward  took  up  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  his  uncle,  Andrew 
T.  McClintock,  LL.  D.,  and  was  duly  admitted 
to  the  Luzerne  bar  September  14,  1874.  He 
never  engaged  actively  in  practice  although  ad- 
mirably equipped  by  native  endowment  and  ac- 
quired acknowledge  for  a  high  place  in  the  legal 
profession.  The  temptations  of  politics  were  pre- 
sented to  him,  but  he  declined  them,  and  natur- 


ally sought  out  the  more  congenial  pursuits  of 
literature  and  science,  a  field  of  unlimited  boun- 
daries, and  one  in  which  he  accomplished  exceed- 
ingly good  results.  He  early  became  a  member 
of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  So- 
ciety, and  was  its  mainstay  and  support,  and 
most  devoted  friend  as  long  as  he  lived.  He  was 
its  recording  secretary,  1872-85 ;  member  of 
board  of  trustees,  1884-85  ;  and  curator  of  min- 
eralogy, 1884-85 ;  in  fact,  he  was  the  guiding 
spirit  of  the  society  from  the  day  he  first  took  an 
interest  in  its  affairs  until  his  death.  The  third 
volume  of  the  "Proceedings  of  the  Society"  is  an 
eloquent  "Memorial"  of  him. 

H.  E.  H. 

MAJOR  JACOB  RIDGWAY  WRIGHT, 
youngest  son  of  Harrison  Wright  and  his  wife 
Emily  Cist,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  July  7,  1856, 
died  January  20,  1905.  He  graduated  from 
Princeton  College,  B.  A.,  1879.  In  November, 
1886,  he  was  elected  to  represent  Wilkes-Barre 
in  the  state  legislature.  He  was  adjutant  of 
Ninth  Regiment,  and  inspector  of  Third  Brigade, 
National  Guard  of  Pennsylvania ;  was  recording 
secretary  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society,  1885-86;  librarian,  1887-99;  vice- 
president,  1900-1905,  and  a  life  member;  elected 
member  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  city  council  in  1894; 
became  a  member  of  Lodge  61,  F.  and  A.  M., 
August  5,  1889 ;  was  a  member  of  Shekinah 
Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Dieu  le  Veut  Comman- 
dery,  K.  T. ;  and  past  illustrious  potentate  of 
Irem  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  the  Sons 
of  the  Revolution,  Pennsylvania  Society  of  Colo- 
nial Wars,  and  Pennsylvania  Society  of  the  War 
of  1812 ;  and  the  courageous  and  successful  pres- 
ident of  the  Luzerne  County  Citizens'  Alliance 
during  the  strike  in  that  county  in  1902. 

Jacob  Ridgway  Wright  married.  December 
28,  1876,  Stella  Rieman,  daughter  of  Robert  Gar- 
rett Rieman  and  his  wife  Margaret  Harvey. 
1  nev  had  one  son,  Harrison  Wright,  born  Octo- 
ber "13,  1887.  H.  E.  H. 

HENDRICK  BRADLEY  WRIGHT,  eldest 
child  and  son  of  Joseph  Wright  and  his  wife 
Ellen  Hendrick,  was  born  in  Plymouth,  Penn- 
sylvania, April,  1808.  He  spent  his  youth  at 
home  with  his  parents,  assisting  his  father  on  the 
farm  and  attending  winter  terms  of  school  at 
Plymouth ;  but  he  then  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  college  course,  and  in  the  fall  of  1826,  entered 
Dickinson  College  at  Carlisle.    He  was  a  student 


ISSmU 


7T^~> 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


383 


there  until  the  end  of  his  junior  year,  when  he 
left  college  and  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the 
-office  of  John  N.  Conyngham,  of  Wilkes-Barre ; 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  November  8,  1831. 
About  a  year  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  Mr. 
Wright  was  appointed  deputy  attorney   general 
for  Luzerne  county,  and  in  November,  1833,  ne 
was  reappointed  by  Attorney  General  Dallas.    In 
August,  1835,  he  resigned  on  the  ground  that  he 
was    "politically   opposed   to   the   state   adminis- 
tration."    At   this  time  the   anti-Masonic   party 
was  at  the  zenith  of  its  power  in  Pennsylvania. 
Wolf,  Democrat,  was  governor,  and  a  candidate 
for  re-election,  but  in   1835  he  was  defeated  at 
the  polls   by   Ritner,   the   nominee    of   the   anti- 
Masons.     Mr.  Wright,  then  twenty-seven  years 
•old,  took  an  active  part  in  the  councils  and  con- 
ventions of  the  latter  party  in  Luzerne   county 
■during   the    campaign    of    that    year.      In    June, 
1835,  he  was  elected  and  commissioned  colonel 
•of   the   Wyoming   Volunteer   Regiment,    Second 
Brigade,  Eighth  Division,  Pennsylvania   Militia, 
which  commission  he  held  until  1842.     With  the 
exception    of    time    given    to    politics,    Colonel 
Wright  devoted  himself   closely  to  the  practice 
•of  law  during  the  years  following  his  admission 
to  the  bar,  and  he  soon  took  a  high  position  both 
.as  a  lawyer  and  as  an  advocate,  his  success  in  the 
trial   courts   before   a   jury  being  somewhat   re- 
markable.   In  1837  and  1840  he  was  a  member  of 
the    town    council    of    Wilkes-Barre,    and    from 
May,    1838,  to  May,    1839,   was  burgess  of  the 
horough.  .  In  1840  he  was  elected  to  the  lower 
house  of  the  state  legislature,  and  at  once  became 
;a  prominent  member  of  that  body — one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  house.     He  was   re-elected   1841, 
and  was   chairman   of  the  committee  on  canals 
and  internal  improvements  and  a  member  of  the 
judiciary  committee.     In  1842  he  was  offered  a 
seat  in  the  senate,  but  he  preferred  to  remain  in 
the  lower  house,  and  was  re-elected  for  a  third 
term.     At  the  opening  of  the    session    he    was 
chosen    speaker,    in    which    capacity    he    was    a 
"thorn  in  the  side"  of  Porter's  administration. 

In  the  Democratic  national  convention  of 
1844,  held  in  Baltimore  (May  27),  Colonel 
Wright  was  delegate-at-large  from  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  was  chosen  temporary  chairman  and 
then  permanent  presiding  officer  over  the  delib- 
erations of  the  body  that  nominated  Polk  for 
the  presidency,  a  result  which  was  not  relished  by 
Colonel  Wright  and  his  strong  minority  follow- 
ing. In  October,  1850,:  he  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  congress,  and  was  defeated  by 
Henry   M.    Fuller,   the   Whig   candidate.      Two 


years  later  they  were  again  opposing  candidates, 
and  Colonel  Wright  was  elected.  In  1854  their 
names  again  headed  the  congressional  ticket,  and 
once  more  the  Whig  candidate  (Fuller)  was  suc- 
cessful. 

In  March,  1856,  Colonel  Wright  was  a  del- 
egate to  the  Democratic  state  convention,  and 
was  elected  its  chairman.  He  espoused  Buch- 
anan's cause  and  advocated  his  nomination  for 
the  presidency.  In  1858  he  was  a  substitute  del- 
egate to  the  state  convention  and  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  resolutions.  In  1861  he  was  the 
candidate  of  the  War  Democratic  party  for  con- 
gress, and  secured  an  overwhelming  majority  at 
the  polls.  He  declared  himself  clearly  on  the  side 
of  the  Union  and  against  the  right  of  the  south- 
ern states  to  withdraw  from  the  national  com- 
pact, but' afterward  voted  against  the  bill  to  abol- 
ish slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  When 
criticised  for  this  action  he  justified  himself  in 
these  words :  "I  voted  against  the  bill  for  abol- 
ishing slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  it 
is  my  purpose  to  vote  against  any  bill  abolishing 
slavery  anywhere,  without  the  consent  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  state  where  it  exists,  and  in  doing  this  I 
will  violate  no  pledge  that  I  ever  assumed,  either 
by  word  or  implication,  in  the  remotest  degree." 
In  March,  1863,  at  the  close  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  congress,  Colonel  Wright  returned  to  his 
home  and  to  his  extensive  law  practice  which, 
per  force,  he  had  laid  aside  during  the  period  of 
his  public  service.  Among  other  things  he 
turned  himself  to  literary  pursuits,  and  published 
in  1871  a  "Practical  Treatise  on  Labor,"  which 
originally  appeared  in  a  series  of  articles  in  the 
Anthracite  Monitor  under  the  nom  cle  plume 
of  "Vindicator."  In  April,  1873,  was  published 
his  "Historical  Sketches  of  Plymouth." 

In  1872  Colonel  Wright  was  again  impressed 
into  the  service  of  his  party  as  its  congressional 
candidate,  but  he  was  defeated  at  the  polls.  In 
1873  he  presided  over  the  Democratic  state  con- 
vention at  Erie,  and  from  that  time  until  1875 
served  as  chairman  of  the  state  committee.  In 
1876  he  was  again  a  candidate  for  congress,  and 
was  elected  in  the  fall  of  that  year  and  re-elected 
in  1878.  With  the  ending  of  the  Forty-sixth 
congress,  March  4,  1881,  Colonel  Wright  closed 
his  political  life  after  a  service  of  eleven  years  in 
the  state  and  national  legislature  and  with  his 
retirement  from  public  life  he  also  gave  up  his 
business  and  professional  pursuits,  and  retired 
to  his  country  residence  on  the  shores  of  Shawa- 
nese  Lake,  about  twelve  miles  from  Wilkes- 
Barre.     He  was   one   of  the   organizers,   and  a 


3»4 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees  in  1839  °f 
the  Wyoming  Athenaeum ;  was  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  W  ilkes-Barre  Law  and  Library  Asso- 
ciation, organized  June  8,  1850;  was  one  of  the 
organizers  and  for  many  years  president  of  the 
W  ilkes-Barre  Water  Company  ;  a  stockholder  and 
for  several  years  director  of  the  Second  National 
Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre;  and  was  president  of  the 
Wyoming  Historical  and  Geological  Society, 
1870-1872. 

Colonel  Wright  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1881,  and  was  buried  in  the  Hollenback 
cemetery  three  days  later.  "Charity  and  benev- 
olence were  the  ruling  features  of  his  heart.  The 
distribution  of  his  holiday  loaves  to  the  poor,  a 
practice  he  continued  for  years ;  his  acts  of  gen- 
erosity to  the  poor  the  year  round ;  his  aid  to  peo- 
ple in  debt,  contributions  to  public  charities,  and 
various  subscriptions  for  public  purposes,  all  in- 
dicated the  existence  in  him  of  that  priceless  fea- 
ture of  exalted  manhood  and  the  true  ornament 
of  human  life." 

Hendrick  Bradley  Wright  married,  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  April  21,  1835,  Mary  Ann 
Bradley  Robinson,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  June  9, 
1818,  died  there  September  8,  1871,  only  daugh- 
ter of  John  W.  Robinson  and  his  wife  Ann  But- 
ler. Mary  Ann  Bradley  Robinson  was  grand- 
daughter of  Col.  Zebulon  Butler.  She  was  a 
descendant  of  the  fifth  generation  of  the  Dux- 
bury  pastor,  Rev.  John  Robinson;  a  descendant 
of  the  seventh  generation  of  Maj.  William  Brad- 
ford, who  was  an  officer  during  the  Narragan- 
sett  war,  and  w^s  wounded  at  the  Great  Swamp 
fight,  December  19,  1679 ;  a  descendant  of  the 
eighth  generation  of  William  Bradford,  one  of 
the  "Mayflower"  company  and  second  governor 
of  Plymouth  colony — holding  the  office  thirty- 
one  years ;  a  descendant  of  the  seventh  genera- 
tion of  Rev.  James  Fitch,  first  of  Saybrook,  and 
then  the  first  pastor  of  the  church  at  Norwalk, 
Connecticut ;  and  she  was  also  a  descendant  of 
the  eighth  generation  of  Maj  .-Gen.  John  Mason, 
leader  of  the  Connecticut  forces  in  the  Pequot 
war,  and  one  time  deputy  of  the  colony.  Her. 
father,  John  W.  Robinson,  born  Norwich,  Con- 
necticut, April  5,  1779,  eldest  child  of  Samuel 
Robinson  .  and  his  wife  Priscilla  Metcalf ;  great- 
grandson  of  Rev.  John  Robinson,  the  able  but 
eccentric  pastor  of  the  church  at  Duxbury,  Mas- 
sachusetts, 1702-37.  Rev.  John  Robinson  was 
born  at  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  April  17. 
1875  ;  graduated  Harvard  1898.  His  wife  was 
Hannah  Wiswell,  and  one  of  their  daughters  was 


Faith  Robinson,  born  1718,  married  1735,  Jona- 
than Trumbull,  governor  of  Connecticut,  17O9- 
1784. 

The  children  of  Hendrick  Bradley  and  Mary 
Ann  (Robinson)  Wright  were: 

Charles  Robinson  Wright  (twin),  born  March 
12,  1836;  died  August  26,  1836. 

Ellen  Hendrick  Wright  (twin),  born  March 
12,  1836;  died  September  19,  1836. 

Joseph  Wright,  born  June  16,  1837  ;  studied 
law  and  admitted  to  practice  January  2,  i860; 
first  lieutenant  Company  C,  Eighth  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers  (formerly  Wyoming  Light  Dra- 
goons), for  three  months;  mustered  out  July  29, 
1 86 1  ;  captain  Company  D,  Sixth  Cavalry  (Sev- 
entieth Regiment),  mustered  for  three  years  Sep- 
tember, 1861  ;  died  May  18,  1862,  at  German- 
town,  Pennsylvania,  of  typhoid  fever  contracted 
in  camp  in  Virginia ;  buried  in  Wilkes-Barre  with 
military  honors. 

Ann  Augusta  Wright,  born  June  18,  1839, 
unmarried. 

Mary  Elizabeth  Wright,  born  February  17, 
1841,  died  December  25,  1888;  married  Febru- 
ary 2,  1861,  Christopher  Eldredge  Hawley,  born 
August  7,  1833.  a  mining  engineer;  son  of  James 
S.  Hawley,  civil  engineer  of  Binghamton,  New 
York,  and  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and 
grandson  of  Maj.  Martin  Hawley,  of  Bing- 
hamton. 

Ellen  Hendrick  Wright,  born  November  3, 
1852;  married  December  18,  1872,  Thomas 
Graeme,  born  Virginia,  but  later  residing  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Graeme  is  a 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 
ical Society ;  he  had  one  son,  Lieut.  Joseph 
Wright  Graeme,  LT.  S.  N.,  deceased.  (See 
sketch   Lieutenant   Graeme.) 

Caroline  Griffin  Wright,  born  September  28, 
1844.  unmarried. 

Hendrick  Bradlev  Wright,  bom  July  16, 
1847 !  died  Aprfl  14,  1880. 

George  Riddle  Wright,  born  November  21, 
1851;  Princeton  '73;  admitted  to  Luzerne  bar, 
September  6,  1875 ;  a  practicing  lawyer  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania ;  former  vice-presi- 
dent Humane  Society ;  former  president  United 
Charities  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  life  member  Wyo- 
ming Historical  and  Geological  Society ;  member 
Society  of  the  WTar  of  1812,  and  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Society  Sons  of  the  Revolution. 

Charles  Robinson  Wright,  born  May  id, 
1854 ;  died  December  23,  i860.  H.  E.  H. 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


385 


PARSONS  FAMILY.  The  Rev.  Jonathan 
Parsons,  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  born  No- 
vember 30,  1705,  an  eminent  clergyman  of  New 
England,  grandson  of  Benjamin  Parsons,  the 
'progenitor  of  Captain  Calvin  Parsons  of  Wyo- 
ming Valley,  stated  in  a  letter  dated  October  20, 
1769  (New  England  Hist.-Reg.  xii,  175),  "My 
great-grandfather  Parsons  came  from  Great 
Torrington,  England,  about  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  from  Tiverton,  and  not  far  from  Exeter. 
He  came  over  and  brought  my  grandfather  Ben- 
jamin Parsons  and  other  children,  about  130  or 
140  years  ago.'' 

The  name  of  this  ancestor  does  not  appear, 
but  it  may  have  been  either  Richard  of  Windsor, 
Connecticut,  who  returned  to  England  1640,  or 
Joseph  of  Colchester,  near  Springfield,  Essex, 
England,  the  home  of  William  Pynchon,  who 
was  with  Rev.  John  Robinson  at  Leyden,  and 
among  those  who  did  not  sail  in  the  "May- 
flower," but  came  later  and  returned.  However, 
he  had  certainly  two  sons  who  early  settled  at 
Springfield,  Massachusetts — Cornet  Joseph  Par- 
sons, and  his  brother  Benjamin,  the  head  of  the 
following  family. 

Cornet  Joseph  Parsons,  the  elder  of  the  two, 
was  born  1617-18  at  Great  Torrington,  near 
Essex,  Devonshire,  England,  according  to  his 
sworn  testimony  1661-62.  He  appeared  in 
Springfield  with  William  Pynchon,  founder  of 
that  town,  and  July  18,  1636,  signed  the  Indian 
deed  of  the  land  to  Pynchon  as  "witness."  He 
died  Springfield,.  October  9,  1683,  married  there 
November  26,  1646,  Mary  Bliss,  born  England, 
January  29,  1712,  daughter  of  Thomas  Bliss,  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Springfield.  He  was  the 
head  of  the  extensive  line  of  Parsons  in  America 
descending  from  Joseph,  among  whom  were  Rev. 
Winfield  Scott  Parsons,  and  Rev.  Horace  Edwin 
Hayden,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Joseph 
Parsons  founded  Northampton,  Massachusetts, 
was  extensively  interested  in  the  fur  trade  and 
large  landed  property,  and  next  to  William  Pyn- 
chon was  the  richest  man  in  Springfield.  Joseph 
Parsons'  wife  Mary  was  charged  with  witchcraft, 
but  with  recognized  ability  defended  herself  be- 
fore the  court  and  was  acquitted,  and  out  of  the 
trial  came  a  suit  for  slander  against  her  accuser. 
In  the  trial  Benjamin  Parsons  was  a  witness,  and 
in  his  evidence  referred  to  her  as  "my  sister"  and 
as  "sister  Parsons."  William  Pynchon  when  liv- 
ing in  Springfield  had  extensive  dealings  with 
Joseph  Parsons,  and  in  the  entries  of  his  ac- 
counts, stlil  preserved  in  the  Springfield  City  Li- 
brary, occur  charges  of  this  kind:   "March    12, 

25 


1656,  to  Goodman  Bissal  I  paid  for  you  I9d  more 
than  I  formerly  accounted  &  the  wheate  your 
Brother  Benjamin  delivered  me  and  I  accounted 
it  ]/2  bushel  to  much."  So  in  1658  he  credits 
Joseph  "By  so  much  I  received  of  yqur  Brother 
Benjamin,  12  shillings."  The  traditions  of  the- 
two  families  have  been  tenaciously  held  for  over 
two  centuries  that  Joseph  and  Benjamin  Par- 
sons were  brothers.  This  has  been  denied  by 
Colonel  Lemuel  Chester,  the  genealogist,  whose 
assistance  in  making  researches  in  England  at  an 
expense  to  the  family  of  Benjamin  of  $4,000  did 
not,  as  his  records  show,  go  near  Great  Torring- 
ton, but  finding  a  Benjamin  in  Oxfordshire  that 
suited  his  purpose,  rejected  Joseph,  and  claimed 
the  Oxford  Benjamin  for  the  line  of  Benjamin  of 
Springfield.  Pynchon's  record  and  Benjamin's 
testimony  have  settled  the  question  forever 
against  Chester.  He  married  (first),  November 
6,  1653,  Sarah  Vore,  daughter  of  Richard  Vore, 
a  resident  of  Dorchester  in  1635,  and  Windsor 
prior  to  1640.  She  died  January  1,  1675-76.  He 
married  (second),  February  21,  1676-77,  Sarah 
(Heald)  Leonard,  widow  of  John,  of  Spring- 
field, who  was  killed  by  the  Indians  early  in  the 
year  1676.     She  died  November  23,  171 1. 

Deacon  Benjamin  Parsons  (3),  younger 
brother  of  Cornet  Joseph  Parsons,  born  March 
17,  1625,  died  August  21,  1689,  emigrated  to 
America,  locating  in  Springfield,  among  the  first 
settlers  there,  about  1636.  In  165 1  he  was  one 
of  the  committee  charged  with  organizing  a  new 
settlement  at  Long  Meadow.  From  October  31, 
1654,  he  was  chosen  surveyor  of  highways,  se- 
lectman, constable,  fence  viewer  and  sealer  of 
weights  and  measures,  holding  some  office  of 
public  trust  until  his  death.  Deacon  Benjamin 
Parsons  had  nine  children,  of  whom 

Lieutenant  Benjamin  Parsons,  the  eldest,  was 
born  September  15,  1658,  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts, died  December  29,  1728,  Enfield,  Connecti- 
ticut.  He  was  chosen  March  26,  1687,  selectman 
of  Enfield,  and  to  1716  held  several  town  offices. 
Lieutenant  Parsons  married  at  Enfield,  January 
17.  1683-84,  Sarah  Keep,  born  August  5,  1666, 
Springfield,  died  July  3,  1729,  Enfield,  aged 
sixty-two  years,  daughter  of  John>  and  Sarah 
(Leonard)  Keep,  of  Springfield,  Massachusetts. 
They  had  four  children  of  whom 

Christopher  Parsons  was  the  third  son,  born 
Enfield,  Connecticut,  January  28,  1691,  died  En- 
field, September  10,  1749.  He  was  constable  of 
Enfield  in  1718;  surveyor,  March  8,  1725,  and 
March  10,  1734;  treasurer,  1732-40,  and  select- 
man,  March  10,  1734-35.     He  married,  Enfield, 


J86. 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


April  22,  1714,  Mary  Pease,  born  May  24,  16S8, 
daughter  of  John  and  Margaret  (Adams)  Pease, 
Enfield.    They  had  twelve  children  of  whom 

John  Parsons  was  the  eldest  sqn ;  born  De- 
cember 27,  1716-17,  Enfield,  Connecticut,  died 
February  7,  1773.  He  married,  Enfield,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1740,  Ann  Colton,  of  Long  Meadow, 
Massachusetts,  born  Jul}'  26,  1720,  died  Octo- 
ber 14,  1796,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Margaret 
(Pease)  Colton.  They  had  nine  children  of 
whom 

John  Parsons,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  En- 
field, Connecticut,  April  4,  1744,  died  Enfield, 
January  7,  182 1.  He  was  surveyor  of  highways, 
1771  ;  assessor,  1778;  collector  of  town  rates, 
1789;  selectman,  1795.  He  married,  Enfield, 
June  i,  1769,  Ann  Osborn,  East  Windsor,  Con- 
necticut, born  October  13,  1743,  died  March  28, 
1814,  Enfield.     They  had  six  children  of  whom 

Captain  Hezekiah  Parsons,  the  sixth  child, 
born  Enfield,  Connecticut,  March  25,  1777,  died 
Wilkes-Barre,  April  19,  1845.  He  was  a^cloth- 
ier  in  Wilkes-Barre  township,  now  borough  of 
Parsons,  and  erected  the  first  fulling  mill  in  Lu- 
zerne county,  whither  he  removed  from  Ash- 
ford,  November,  1813.  He  was  an  upright  and 
worthy  citizen.  Both  in  public  offices  as  well  as 
in  private  life  he  displayed  a  true  christian  spirit. 
He  married,  November  18,  1801,  Eunice  Whiton, 
Ashford,  Connecticut,  born  September  12,  1778, 
died  January  1,  1853,  Wilkes-Barre,  daughter  of 
Stephen  and.  Susannah  (Dana)  Whiton,  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Stephen  Whiton,  born  April  2,  1752,  was 
killed  by  the  Indians  at  the  Wyoming  massacre, 
July  3,  1778,  and  his  wife  fled  on  foot  to  Ash- 
ford, a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles,  where 
her  daughter,  Eunice  Whiton,  was  born.  Their 
children  were:  1.  Stephen  Whiton,  born  Sep- 
tember 2,  1802,  died  October  2,  1802.  2.  Parma, 
born  August  8,  1803,  married  Col.  Benajah  Park 
Bailey.  3.  Louisa,  born  September  28,  181 1, 
died  September  19,  1838,  married,  June  14, 
1830,  Hiram  McAlpin,  born  July  18,  1807,  died 
February  27,  1853,  Wilkes-Barre.  4.  Calvin, 
born  April  2,  1815,  mentioned  below. 

Captain  Calvin  Parsons,  fourth  child  of  Cap- 
tain Hezekiah  and  Eunice  (Whiton)  Parsons, 
was  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  at  the 
homestead  in  Old  Laurel  Run,  now  Parsons  bor- 
ough, where  he  passed  his  entire  life.  He  died 
January  1,  ,1900.  He  was  educated  at  Laurel 
Run  and  Wilkes-Barre,  his  first  teacher  having 
been  Sylvanus  Deith,  who  taught  in  the  old  log 
school  house  in  the  woods  near  his  home.  The 
ether  teachers   during  the   following   few   vears 


were :  Sallie  Tyson,  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  Ruth 
Ellsworth  (afterwards  Mrs.  Dr.  Boyd),  Wilkes- 
Barre;  Joel  Rogers,  Wilkes-Barre;  and  Mr.  L'tly, 
Plains.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  attended  a  little 
frame  school  house  built  by  his  father,  Judge 
David  Scott,  Mr.  Hollenback,  Jehoida  P.  John- 
son and  others,  Mr.  Hollenback  furnishing  the 
logs  for  the  building  and  his  father,  Hezekiah 
Parsons,  sawing  them  into  lumber.  Later  he 
spent  three  years  at  the  old  Wilkes-Barre  Acad- 
emy, then  under  Israel  Dickinson.  In  1836  he 
became  associated  with  his  father  in  his  milling 
enterprises,  and  in  1840  succeeded  to  their  con- 
trol, managing  them  with  signal  success.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  property  which  he  accumulated,  he 
inherited  from  his  father  several  hundred  acres 
of  land  which  became  of  great  value  on  account 
of  the  underlying  coal.  Of  the  557  acres  belong- 
ing to  the  estate  of  his  father,  Hezekiah  Parsons, 
375  were  one  continuous  coal  mine,  operated  by 
the  Mineral  Springs  Coal  Company,  Capt.  Calvin 
Parsons  and  Reuben  J.  Flick  having  been  the 
proprietors  of  the  land  for  many  years.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Water  Company  and  of  the  People's  Bank,  serv- 
ing as  a  director  in  both.  He  was  commissioned 
captain  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  and  Pittston  Blues 
by  Governor  Ritner  in  1835,  he  being  then  only 
twenty  years  of  age.  When  General  Lee  in- 
vaded Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Parsons,  then  past  the 
age  of  military  service,  assisted  in  organizing  a 
company  of  Home  Guards  at  Plains,  and  was 
chosen  first  lieutenant.  He  was  a  life-Ions:  mem- 
ber.  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  for  over  fifty  years  was  one  of  its 
ruling  elders.  He  was  in  early  life  a  famous 
singer,  and  from  1834  to  1864  was  the  leader  of 
the  choir  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  com- 
ing to  Wilkes-Barre,  from  his  home  in  Parsons, 
to  fulfill  this  task  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  He 
also  taught  singing  school  at  various  times  in 
the  valley.  He  took  great  interest  in  historical 
matters,  and  was  an  original  member  of  the  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  Geological  Societv,  vice- 
president  1870-95,  president  1877-78,  92-93. 
Was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  Wyoming 
Commemorative  Association,  and  succeeded 
Colonel  Charles  Dorrance  as  its  president.  He 
never  missed  a  meeting,  and  his  fund  of  histori- 
cal information  was  most  extensive.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Republican,  and  a  Prohibitionist 
for  many  years,  a  total  abstainer  from  the 
use  of  alcoholic  beverages  from  early  manhood. 
He  was  prominent  in  the  Sons  of  Temper- 
ance and  the  Good  Templars,  and  frequently 


L 


^o-yd^) 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


387 


attended  the  meetings  of  the  Grand  Division 
■of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  of  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  a  man  of  most  even  temper,  a  patriotic 
and  public-spirited  citizen,  and  always  had  a 
pleasant  word  for  those  he  met,  one  of  nat- 
ure's noblemen  and  the  soul  of  honor..  It  was 
to  his  regular  habits  of  life  that  he  attributed 
his  splendid  health.  He  applied  for  life  insur- 
ance at  the  age  of  seventy,  and  notwithstand- 
ing his  years  the  medical  examiners  showed 
him  to  be  in  excellent  physical  condition  and 
he  was  accepted. 

Calvin   Parsons  married,  August   17,   1837, 
Ann  Parsons,  born  June  22,  18 14,  died  Janua^ 
a,  1896,  daughter  of  Oliver  and  Vena  (Pasco) 
Parsons,  Enfield,  Connecticut.     This  courtship 
Lad  a  tinge  of  romance  about  it.    Ann  had  ac- 
companied her  uncle  on  a  visit  from  Connecti- 
cut to  the  Wyoming  valley,  and  remained  here 
to   accept   the   position   of   teacher   in    a    school. 
'Calvin  Parsons,  who  had  never  seen  her  before, 
was  so  charmed  with  the  young  teacher,  then 
.a  girl  of  twenty-two,  that  though  they  were 
first  cousins  he  wooed  and  won  her.    They  set 
up  their  household  at  Laurel  Run,  now   Par- 
sons, where  their  early  years  were  marked  by 
an    almost    pioneer    experience.      Laurel    Run 
was  then  a  mere  hamlet,  but  their  mutual  dili- 
gence and  thrift  brought  them  prosperity,  and 
their  home  was  always  noted  for  its  comfort- 
able appointments  and  the  charming  hospitality 
•of  its  occupants,  as  well  as  for  the  mutual  af- 
fection between  all  of  its  members.     In  earlier 
days  when  it  was  customary  to  entertain  the 
traveling  clergymen,  of  whatever  denomination, 
no  doors  ever  opened^with  a  greater  cordiality 
of  welcome  than   did  those    of    the    Parsons 
"home.     Mr.  "and   Mrs.   Parsons   had   five   chil- 
dren:     Oliver  Alphonso,  born   May   11,   1838, 
see    forward.      Louise    Amelia,    born    May   4, 
1840,  married,  _May  24,    1864,   Clarence   Porter 
Kidder,   born   May    10,    1839,   son    of    Lyman 
Church  and  Mary   (Dana)   Kidder.     (See  Kid- 
der  Family).     Almeda  Adelia,  born  July   31, 
1843,  married,  October  10,  1870,  Emanuel  Coy- 
kendall     Cole,     son     of     Josiah     and     Elizabeth 
(Wilson)  Cole ;  he  was  a  merchant  at  Ashley, 
Pennsylvania,  and  died  October  13,  1886.     (See 
Cole  Eamily).    Anna  Dana,  born  July  24,  1848, 
married,  November  20,   1872,  George  Warren 
Fish.     Hezekiah,  born  October  20,  1854,  mar- 
ried  September   30,   1880,   Sarah  C.    Mannees, 
born  June  23,  1855,  adopted  daughter  of  Will- 
jam  W.  and  Alvira  (Carpenter)  'Mannees. 

Major    .Oliver  ^Jrjhjrjnso_J^ar_sojjS) _el.4e.st 


child  of   Calvin  and   Ann    (Parsons)    Parsons, 
was  born  May  11,  1838.    He  served  as  foreman 
in  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Company 
seven  years,  then  removed  to  Kansas  for  one 
year,  thereby  securing  his  soldier's  claim  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land.     He  enlisted 
April  16,  1861,  as  sergeant  Company  F,  Eighth 
Regiment    Pennsylvania    Volunteer    Infantry, 
and    was   honorably   discharged   at    Harrisburg, 
July  29,  1861.    He  re-enlisted  August  18,  1861, 
as  second  sergeant  Company  L,  Twenty-third 
Regiment,     Pennsylvania     Infantry,     and    his 
company  was  transferred    to    the    Sixty-first 
Pennsylvania  Infantry,  March,   1862.     During 
the    desperate   battle   of   Fair   Oaks,    May   31, 
1862,  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  confined  in 
Libby  and  Belle  Island  prisons  and  at  Salis- 
bury, North  Carolina.     From  Salisbury  he_was 
returned  to  Richmond,  paroled    and    sent    to 
Annapolis,    Maryland.      He     was    exchanged 
November  10,  1862,  and  at  once  reported  to  his 
command.      While  a  prisoner  of  war  he  was 
promoted    orderly-sergeant    of    his    company, 
July  22,  1862.     He  was  discharged  December 
20,  1863,  Brandy  Station,  Virginia,  to  veteran- 
ize and  re-enlist  in  the  same  command,  and  the 
day  following  was  granted  a  veteran's  furlough 
of  thirty-five  days.     He  was  promoted  second- 
lieutenant  of  his  company,  April  19,  1864,  and 
October  1,  1864,  first  lieutenant.     He  was  de- 
tailed as   acting  regimental  quartermaster,   Sep- 
tember, 1864,  was  appointed  captain,  Novem- 
ber 30,  1864,  and  May  14,   1865,  promoted  to 
major  of  his  regiment.      After    the    battle    of 
Cedar  Creek  he  commanded  two  companies   of 
his  regiment,   and  at  the  same  time  acted  as 
adjutant,   by  reasyn  of  scarcity  of  officers   in 
his  command.     Among  the   important  battles 
in  which  he  was  engaged    were    Fair    Oaks, 
Fredericksburg,        Marye's       Heights,        Salem 
Church,    Gettysburg,    Rappahannock    Station, 
Mine  Run,  Wilderness.  Spottsylvania,   North 
Anna  River,  Cold  Harbor,  Siege  of  Petersburg, 
Ream's  Station,  Fort  Stephens  (near  Washing- 
ton, D.  C),  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and  the 
final  assault  on  the  lines  in  front  of  Petersburg, 
May  18,  1864.     During  the  battle  of  Spottsyl- 
vania Court  House,  Virginia,  he  was  wounded 
by  the  fragment  of  a  shell  in  the  left  arm  near 
the  shoulder,  but  did  not  leave  the  ranks.  -   He 
wras   honorably   discharged    at    Bull's     Cross- 
roads,  Virginia,  June  28,   1865.     Mr.  Parsons 
belongs  to  Conyngham  Ppst,  No.  97,  G.  A.  R., 
in  which  he  is.  past  commander;  Encampment 
No.   135,  Union  Veteran  Legion ;  the  Military 


383 


THE   WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion ;  the  Lackawanna 
Association ;  the  Ex-Prisoners  of  War  Associa- 
tion,and  is  a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society. 

He  married,  October  10,  1865,  Martha 
Washington  Stark,  born  February  11,  1839, 
died  December  27,  1904.  She  was  the  daughter 
of  John  and  Cornelia  (Wilcox)  Stark,  of  Plains^ 
Pennsylvania.  ( See  Stark  and  Wilcox  famil- 
ies). The)'  had  one  son,  John  Sedgwick  Par- 
sons, born  May  15,  1867,  in  the  borough  of 
Parsons,  Pennsylvania,  and  now  (1906")  in  the 
United  States  railroad  mail  service.  He  mar- 
ried Gertrude  K.  Green,  and  they  have  one  son, 
Sheldon  M. 

Mrs.  O.  A.  Parsons  died  very  suddenly, 
while  returning  to  Wilkes-Barre  from  a  visit 
to  her  son  in  Buffalo,  New  York.  She  had 
stopped  at  Waverly,  New  York,  to  visit  her 
sister-in-law,  Mrs.  George  W.  Fish.  While 
sitting  at  the  dinner  table  she  was  taken  sud- 
denly ill  and  died  in  a  few  moments,  passing 
away  as  she  had  always  wished,  suddenly  and 
painlessly.  She  was  survived  by  her  husband, 
son,  and  four  brothers  and  sisters :  Henry 
Stark,  of  West  Pittston ;  Mrs.  Garrick  Miller 
and  Mrs.  Stephen  Miller,  of  Wilkes-Barre;  and 
Mrs.  Nancy  Connard,  of  Charlottesville,  Ohio, 
Mrs.  Parsons  was  an  Episcopalian,  and  was 
formerly  a  member  of  St.  Stephen's,  but  later 
a  member  of  Calvarv  Church,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

H.  E.  H. 

CLARENCE  PORTER  KIDDER,  de- 
ceased, for  many  years  a  well  known  personal- 
ity in  the  professional,  political  and  social  cir- 
cles of  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
was  ?  man  of  rare  intellectual  attainments, 
sterling  character  and  executive  ability  of  a 
high  order.  He  was  also  a  man  of  genial  dis- 
position and  pleasing  personality,  which  won 
for  him  a  host  of  friends,  all  of  whom  valued 
him  at  his  true  worth.  He  was  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  May  10,  1839,  and  died 
December  28,  1900. 

He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  James  Kidder. 
Jr.,  who  was  born  in  East  Grinstead,  county 
Sussex,  England,  1626,  from  whence  he  emi- 
grated to  the  new  world  in  1649  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three  years,  settling  in  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Clar- 
ence P.  Kidder  had  in  his  veins  some  of  the 
blood  of  the  sturdy,  old  New  England  stock, 
men  who  founded  a  nation  in  the  face  of  diffi- 
culties which  would  have  daunted  those  of  less 


heroic  mould.  His  wife  was  Ann  Moore, 
daughter  of  Elder  Francis  Moore,  and  was  the 
mother  of  several  children,  among  whom  was 
a  son  John,  born  in  1655,  in  Cambridge,  Mas- 
saschusetts,  who  was  the  father  of  a  son 
Thomas,  born  October  30,  1690,  who  was  the 
father  of  a  son  Aaron,  born  December  22,  1719, 
who  was  the  father  of  a  son  Luther,  born  June 
29,  1767,  died  Pike,  Pennsylvania,  September 
2,  1831.  He  married  Phcebe  Church,  of  Wind- 
ham, Connecticut,  but  she  died  in  Ware,  Massa- 
chusetts, 185 1, "and  he  in  turn  was  the  father  of  a 
son,  Lyman  Church,  born  in  Woodstock,  Ver- 
mont, April  18,  1802,  died  December  10,  1850,  in 
Zanesville.     His  son, 

Lyman  Church  Kidder,  father  of  Clarence  P. 
Kidder,  emigrated  to  the  Wyoming  Valley  with 
his  father  an  an  early  day,  they  being  among  the 
pioneers    of    that    section.      He    married    Mary 
Dana,  daughter     of  Anderson  and  Sarah   (Ste- 
vens)   Dana,    and    granddaughter    of    Anderson 
Dana,  a  native  of  Ashford,   Connecticut,,  and  a 
lawyer    of    eminence     and     renown.     Anderson 
Dana,  Sr.,  removed  from  his  native  state  to  Penn- 
sylvania,   settling    in    Wilkes-Barre,    and    imme- 
diately set  about  the  establishment  of  free  schools 
and  a  gospel  ministry.     Near  the  close  of  June, 
1778,    having    returned    from    the    assembly    at 
Hartford,  where  he  was  serving  a  term  as  rep- 
resentative, the  enemy  having  come  to  the  val- 
ley, he  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  from  town  to 
town,   arousing  the   inmates   of  the   houses   and 
urging  them  to  engage  in  the  conflict.     Though 
by  law   exempt  from  militia  duty,   he  hastened 
to  the  field  and  fell.   His  wife,  who  was  a  woman 
of  great  strength  of  character  and  keen  discern- 
ment, gathered  up  all  the  valuable  articles,  took 
provisions,  and  with  her  children  sought  her  way 
to  the   former  home  in   Connecticut.     Anderson 
Dana,  Jr.,  was  bound  out  as  an  apprentice,  but 
in  later  years   returned  to  the  Wyoming  vallev 
and   recovered  the   patrimonial   estate,   this    fact 
being  a  fitting  illustration    of    the    strength    of 
character    he    inherited    from    his    parents.     His 
wife,  Sarah  (Stevens)  Dana,  was  a  daughter  of 
Asa  Stevens,  a  native  of  Canterbury,  Connecti- 
cut, who  removed  to  Wyoming  in   17,72,  was  a 
lieutenant  in  one  of  the  companies  that  marched 
out  from  Forty  Fort,  Jul}-  3,  1778,  and  was  slain 
in  the  massacre  that  day.     In  Canterbury,  Con- 
necticut, October   1,   176.1,  Asa  Stevens  married 
Sarah  Adams,  who  was  born  January  17,   176S. 
Asa  Stevens  was  a  son  of  Jonathan  Stevens,  who 
was  a  son  of  Simon  Stevens,  who  was  a  son  of 
Cyprian  Sevens,  who  was  a  son  of  Col.    Thomas 


THE  WYOMING  AXD   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


389 


Stevens,  of  Devonshire,  England,  and  subse- 
quently of  London.  He  was  an  armorer  in  But- 
tolph  Lane. 

The  educational  advantages  enjoyed  by  Clar- 
ence P.  Kidder  were  obtained  at  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary, Kingston,  Pennsylvania ;  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, Middletown,  Connecticut ;  and  Union 
College,  Schenectady,  New  York,  where  he  took 
a  degree.  He  pursued  a  course  of  legal  study 
with  Caleb  E.  Wright  and  David  C.  Harring- 
ton, and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Luzerne 
county,  April  4,  1864.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  was  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Kidder  & 
Nichols,  a  well  known  law  firm  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  after  the  dissolution  of  this  connection  prac- 
ticed alone,  being  engaged  frequently  in  cases  of 
unusual  importance,  which  required  him  to  bring 
to  bear  all  his  professional  skill  and  ability  in 
order  to  achieve  success.  In  1865  he  was  elected 
one  of  the  councilmen  of  the  borough  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  serving  in  that  position  for  six  years, 
when  Wilkes-Barre  was  made  a  city,  and  he  was 
again  elected  a  councilman  for  three  years.  In 
1869  he  received  the  nomination  for  register  of 
wills,  his  opponent  being  Charles  C.  Plotz,  but 
was  defeated  by  a  majority  of  only  two  hundred 
and  sixty-five  votss.  During  his  incumbencv  of 
office  he  served  on  important  committees,  his  sup- 
port being  always  given  to  all  measures  that  af- 
fected the  interest  and  well  being  of  his  constit- 
uents. He  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
gave  effective  aid  to  his  party  during  the  cam- 
paigns by  his  services  as  a  forceful  and  eloquent 
orator.  Like  his  ancestors,  Mr.  Kidder  was 
patriotic  and  loyal.  An  interesting  fact  is  that 
both  his  great-grandfathers  were  slain  in  the 
massacre  of  Wyoming.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in 
Company  H  (Captain  Stanley  Woodward), 
Third  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Militia,  serving  in 
the  Antietam  campaign,  and  the  following  year, 
during  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  was  a  member 
of  Company  K,  Thirteenth  Regiment  Pennsvlva- 
nia  Volunteer  Militia,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Finch. 

Mr.  Kidder  married,  May  24,  1864,  Louisa 
Amelia  Parsons,  daughter  of  Captain  Calvin  Par- 
sons, of  the  borough  of  Parsons,  Luzerne  county, 
and  three  children  were  the  issue  of  the  mar- 
riage:  Calvin  Parsons,  Marv  Louise  and  Clar- 
ence Lyman  Kidder.  Mrs.  Kidder,  in  the  ninth 
generation,  traces  her  ancestrv  to  Deacon  Benja- 
min Parsons,  born  at  Great  Tofrington.  Devon- 
shire county,  England,  March  17,  1627.  the 
son  of  Richard  Parsons.  Benjamin  Parsons  was 
among  the  first  settlers  of  Springfield,  Massachu- 


setts ;  held  many  responsible  offices  in  the  town, 
and  was  an  active  factor  in  the  formation  of  the 
church.  H.  E.   H. 

CALVIN  PARSONS  KIDDER,  son  of 
Clarence  P.  and  Louise  (Parsons)  Kidder,  pro- 
prietor of  an  extensive  grocery  establishment  at 
No.  419  South  Main  street,  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  that  city, 
is  of  the  eighth  generation  of  the  line  of  James 
Kidder,  Jr.,  who  emigrated  from  Sussex,  Eng- 
land, to  New  England,  and  locted  at  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  in   1649. 

Calvin  Parsons  Kidder,  named  in  honor  of 
his  maternal  grandfather,  was  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  March  17,  1865.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  and  high  schools  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kings- 
ton. In  1889  he  engaged  in  the  paper  business 
on  his  own  account,  his  manufacturing  plant  be- 
ing located  at  the  corner  of  Water  and  North 
streets,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  this  he  conducted  un- 
til 1893,  a  period  of  four  years,  when  he  closed 
out  the  business.  He  then  entered  the  grocery 
business  at  his  present  stand,  No.  419  South 
Main  street,  and  being  a  man  of  energy  and 
enterprise,  genial  and  accommodating  to  his  cus- 
tomers, has  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  trade. 
At  the  present  time  (1905)  his  brother.  Clar- 
ence Lyman  Kidder,  is  associated  with  him  in 
the  above  business.  On  August  11,  1902,  Mr. 
Kidder  became  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  and  is  identified  with  Mark 
Lodge,  No.  4d.2,of  Wilkes-Barre  ;  Shekinah  Chap- 
ter No.  182,  R.  A.  M. ;  Dieu  Le  Yeut  Comman- 
dery.  No.  45.  K.  T. ;  and  Irem  Temple,  Mystic 
Shrine.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  since  1899,  and  is  an 
active  member  of  the  Concordia  Society  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  In  politics  he  is  a  firm  Republi- 
can. 

Mr.  Kidder  married,  June  15,  1892,  Emma 
E.  Nichols,  daughter  of  Dr.  Thomas  and  Cath- 
erine Nichols,  of  West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania, 
whose  family  consisted  of  five  children  :  Frank 
H,  a  lawyer,  married  in  Pittston,  Pennsylvania, 
and  resides  in  Brooklvn ;  Thomas  J.,  married 
Jeanette  Wilbur,  of  West  Pittston.  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  resides  in  Atlanta,  Georgia ;  Emma 
E.,  wife  of  Calvin  P.  Kidder:  Mary,  deceased, 
buried  at  West  Pittston ;  and  Anna,  deceased, 
buried  at  West  Pittston.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kidder 
are  the  parents  of  two  children:  Frances  M., 
born  May  13,  1894,  died  December  21.  1897, 
aged  three  years,  buried  at  Hollenback  cemeterv ; 
and  Mary  Louise,  born  December  9,   1898.    Mr. 


390 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


and  Mrs.  Kidder  attend  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  are  highly  es- 
teemed in  the  community,  enjoying  the  acquain- 
tance of  a  wide  circle  of  friends.         H.  E.  H. 

CHARLES  BURTON  DANA,  an  old  and 
highly  esteemed  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, born  August  12,  1833,  near  the  "Round 
Mound,"  now  Circleville,  Ohio,  is  a  representa- 
tive of  a  family  pre-eminent  among  the  many 
noble  and  patriotic  people  of  Luzerne,  whose 
name  is  immortally  linked  with  that  of  Wyo- 
ming.    He  descended  from 

Anderson  Dana,  who  came  to  Wyoming  from 
Ashford,  Windham  county,  Connecticut,  a  law- 
yer, the  pioneer  in  the  profession  here,  who  by 
his  wise  counsels  at  once  took  a  prominent  place 
in  the  affairs  of  the  people.  A  Puritan  of  the 
strictest  sect,  he  was  the  strong  friend  and  advo- 
cate of  the  church  and  school.  He  looked  to  the 
education  of  the  young  as  of  first  importance, 
and  hardly  had  he  cleared  away  the  first  trees 
around  his  cabin  when  he  sent  his  eldest  son 
Daniel  to  school  at  Lebanon  to  prepare  for  a  reg- 
ular college  course.  Mr.  Dana  was  sent  by  the 
people  to  the  Connecticut  assembly  at  Hartford, 
from  which  he  hastened  to  his  home  in  the  Wyo- 
ming valley  at  the  threatened  invasion,  1778, 
and  at  once  mounting  his  horse  rode  over  the  set- 
tlement, rousing  the  people  to  prepare  for  the 
impending  attack.  By  law  exempt  from  mili- 
tary duty,  as  a  citizen  volunteer  he  was  the  first 
in  the  bloody  conflict  where  his  noble  life  was  a 
sacrifice  to  the  great  cause.  The  widowed  mother 
and  daughter,  even  in  that  awful  moment,  had 
no,  time  for  despair.  Mrs.  Dana,  with  a  thought- 
fulness  unequaled,  knowing  that  as  her  husband 
was  much  engaged  in  public  life  his  papers  must 
be  valuable,  gathered  up  all  she  deemed  most 
important,  and  with  her  children  fled.  She  carried 
the  papers  in  a  pillowslip  on  her  back  to  Con- 
necticut, and  something  of  their  value  may  now 
be  known  when  it  is  told  that  these  papers  were 
the  foundation  title  to  much  of  the  lands  in  the 
valley.  Had  these  papers  been  lost  they  could 
never  have  been  replaced,  and  the  rightful  own- 
ers of  millions  of  dollars  worth  of  these  rich 
acres  would  have  been  deprived  of  their  rights. 
The  poor  distressed  fugitives  eventually  found 
their  way  to  their  former  Connecticut  home, 
where  Anderson  Dana,  Jr.,  the  only  male  pro- 
tector they  had,  was  apprenticed,  and  Daniel, 
the  eldest  son,  was  in  time  sent  to  college,  sub- 
sequently becoming  a  lawyer,  settling  in  New 
York,  where  he  became  widely  known  as  a  skill- 
ful practitioner. 


Anderson  Dana,  Jr.,  son  of  Anderson  Dana,. 
Sr.,  was  born  August  11,  1765,  died  June  24, 
185 1,  aged  eighty-six.  He  completed  his  appren- 
ticeship in  Connecticut,  above  referred  to,  and 
then  returned  to  Luzerne,  Pennsylvania,  to  re- 
cover the  patrimonial  estate.  On  the  old  home- 
stead he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  long  and 
honorable  life,  and  prosperity,  wealth  and  num- 
erous friends  were  his.  He  made  of  the  old  Dana 
homestead  one  of  the  finest  possessions  in  the 
county,  the  family  mansion  a  landmark,  and  in 
time  "Dana  Academy"  was  established  near  the 
north  line  of  the  farm.  Through  this  property 
the  canal  was  built,  and  in  time  the  railroad,  and 
the  growth  and  spread  of  Wilkes-Barre  made  the 
broad  acres  in  demand  for  building  lots.  Mr. 
Dana  married  Sarah  Stevens,  born  1764,  daugh- 
ter of  Asa  Stevens,  Their  children  were  Amelia. 
Laura,  Asa  S.,  father  of  the  late  Judge  Edmund 
L.  Dana  ;  Sarah  ;  Francis,  mentioned  hereafter ; 
Louisa,  Anderson,  Eleazer,  Sylvester ;  Mary, 
married  Lyman  C.  Kidder  (See  Kidder  fam- 
ily), and  Charles  Dana. 

Francis  Dana,  son  of  Anderson  and  Sarah 
(Stevens)  Dana,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, May  23,  1798,  died  March  25,  1848.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  fol- 
lowed the  occupation  of  farmer  for  many  years 
in  his  native  town,  thereby  gaining  a  large  de- 
gree of  success.  His  life  was  an  eminent  ex- 
ample of  industry,  usefulness  and  patriotism 
worthy  to  be  followed  by  all.  He  was  married 
November  20,  1820,  to  Sophia  Whitcomb,  born 
Scottsville,  Pennsylvania,  formerly  Windham, 
November  20,  1798,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah 
(Marsh)  Whitcomb.  Nine  children  were  born 
to  them:  1.  Jane  Louisa,  born  September  3,  1820, 
married  Elias  Downing,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
died  May  27,  1896.  2.  Sarah  Maranda,  born 
September  26,  1822,  died  January  2^,  1888,  mar- 
ried John  Williamson,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  3.  Al- 
vira  Sophia,  born  July  21,  1824,  married  Will- 
iam T.  Rhodes,  of  Sugar  Loaf,  died  September 
1,  1894.  4.  Frances  Mafia,  born  May  6,  1826, 
married  D.  G.  McClean,  of  Bloomfield,  Connec- 
ticut, and  died  October  27,  1872.  5.  James  Fran- 
cis, born  April  15,  1828,  died  August  20,  1829. 
6.  Ellen  Affa,  born  March  6,  1830,  married  A. 
D.  McClean,  of  Bloomfield,  Connecticut,  brother 
of  D.  G.  McClean,  and  died  July  31,  1863.  7 
Charles  Burton,  born  August  12.  1833,  men- 
tioned hereafter.  8.  Susan  Huntington,  born 
April  24,  1838.  married  J-  R-  Coolbaugh,  of 
Macedonia,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  December  30, 
1904.  Anna  Augusta,  born  March  16,  1842,  mar- 
ried William  M.  Bennett,  of  Macedonia,  and  had 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


39i 


one  daughter  Sophia  Dana,  and  one  son,  Richard 
Bennett,  who  is  of  the  firm  of  Bennett  &  Geddes, 
Wilkes-Barre.  Charles  B.  Dana  and  Mrs.  Ben- 
nett are  the  only  survivors  of  this  large  family. 

Charles  Burton  Dana,  son  of  Francis  and 
Sophia  (Whitcomb)  Dana,  born  August  12, 
1833,  received  his  education  in  the  common  and 
high  schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He 
became  a  harness  maker  in  Carbondale,  then  re- 
turned to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  followed  clerk- 
ing for  two  years,  then  went  to  Fulton,  Wiscon- 
sin, as  a  farmer,  remaining  six  years,  then  went 
to  Indiana  and  resided  in  different  towns,  in- 
cluding Laporte,  where  he  followed  his  trade  of 
harness-maker  six  years.  He  returned  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  April  16,  1866,  and  after  a 
short  time  went  to  Lehighton,  and  was  employed 
as  a  foreman  on  railroad  construction  on  the  Jer- 
sey Central  Railroad  for  eighteen  months.  He 
the  went  to  Sugar  Notch,  near  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  served  as  despatcher  for  the  New  Jer- 
sey Coal  Company,  operated  by  William  F. 
Maffett  &  Company,  remaining  two  years.  He 
then  became  section  foreman  on  the  railroad, 
serving  in  that  capacity  five  years.  He  then 
conducted  a  harness  shop  at  South  Wilkes-Barre 
one  year,  after  which  he  accepted  the  position  of 
foreman  for  the  Lehigh  and  Wilkes-Barre  Coal 
Company,  serving  up  to  the  time  of  his  resigna- 
tion, a  period  of  twenty-four  years.  In  1904  he 
was  appointed  alderman  of  the  twelfth  ward  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  in  February,.  1905,  was  elected 
to  the  same  office,  in  which  capacity  he  is  serv- 
ing at  the  present  time,  rendering  valuable  and 
efficient  service.  His  commission  will  expire 
May,  1910. 

Mr.  Dana  is  actively  and  prominently  iden- 
tified with  many  fraternal  organizations.  He 
joined  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Union,  in  Laporte, 
Indiana,  i860.  He  became  a  member  of  Lodge 
No,  222,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Kings- 
bury, Indiana,  1862,  and  in  1875  was  demitted  to 
Lodge  No.  61,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He  joined  Centen- 
nial Lodge,  No.  927,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  1882, 
and  passed  through  all  the  chairs  twice.  He  be- 
came a  member  of  Outalissi  Encampment,  No. 
39,  same  order,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  passed  all 
chairs  three  times,  and  of  Wilkes-Barre  Canton, 
No.  31,  Patriarchs  Militant,  and  in  1903  was  en- 
sign of  the  Patriarchs  Militant,  of  Pennsylvania. 
He  has  held  all  the  offices  in  Washington  Camp, 
No.  408,  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  of 
Wilkes-Barre ;  also  in  Camp  No.  64,  Patriotic 
Order  of  True  Americans,  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  and 


is  a  member  of  Chapter  No.  1,  Eastern  Star,  of 
Pittston.  He  was  formerly  a  member  of  the 
Patrons  of  Industry  of  Wilkes-Barre,  in  which 
he  held  all  offices.  He  was. first  noble  grand  of 
Sarah  Bennett  Lodge,  No.  2,  Daughters  of  Re- 
bekah.  He  has  served  as  secretary  of  the  I.  O. 
Hall  Association  since  April  12,  1888. 

Mr.  Dana  married,  March  25,  1856,  Ellen 
Wright  Learn,  a  daughter  of  Levi  and  Sally 
(Sterling)  Learn,  born  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, died  December  27,  1891.  Levi  and 
Sally  Learn  had  eight  children :  Mary,  Ellen 
Wright,  Maria,  William,  Jane,  Henderson, 
James,  and  Emily,  all  residents  of  Indiana.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Dana  had  four  children:  1.  Francis  L., 
born  January  3,  1857,  married  Clara  Cool,  and 
had  four  children :  Bertha,  Charles  E.,  Mabel, 
and  Lewis ;  they  reside  in  Manhattan,   Kansas. 

2.  Vincent  R.,  born  in  Laporte,  Indiana,  April 
17,  1 86 1,  died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  1888. 

3.  Charles  W.,  born  August  4,  1871,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  now  engaged  in  the  real  es- 
tate business  in  that  city ;  married  Ida  Nesbitt,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  had  children :  Charles  A.  and 
Francis  Allan  Dana.  4.  Richard  Edmund,  born 
Wilkes-Barre,  July  14,  1876,  married  Helen  Ben- 
ner,  of  Hazleton,  Pennsylvania,  and  has  one 
child,  Franklin  Benner ;  he  is  connected  with 
the  Second  National  Bank,  Wilkes-Barre,  but 
resides  in  Kingston.  Mrs.  Dana,  the  mother  of 
these  children,  passed  away  December  27,  1901, 
mourned  not  only  by  her  immediate  family  but 


by  a  large  circle  of  friends. 


H.  E.  H. 


JOHN  BEHEE,  deceased,  was  a  native  of 
Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  born 
March  17,  1818.  He  was  for  many  years  ac- 
tively engaged  in  blacksmithing  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  his  death  occurred, 
December  23,  1882.  He  was  the  son  of  George 
Behee,  who  came  to  Hanover  township  and 
purchased  a  grist  mill  in  1789,  which  he  oper- 
ated up  to  1846,  when  he  retired,  and  died 
November  20,  1846.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth 
Haupt.  She  reared  seven  children,  all  dead. 
She  died  in  1870,  at  eighty-one  years  of  age. 

John  Behee  pursued  his  studies  in  the 
schools  of  Hanover,  where  his  father  was  pro- 
prietor of  the  carding  and  flour  mills,  and  after 
his  father's  death  he  followed  farming  and  also 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of  black- 
smith. In  1840  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
Wilkes-Barre  and  there  followed  his  trade  for 
a  number  of  years.  Later  he  removed  to  White 
Haven,  but  after  a  brief  residence  there  returned 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  en°aged  in  trade  till  death. 


39- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Being  a  fine  mechanic,  thorough  and  practical, 
he  soon  built  up  an  extensive  and  lucrative  trade, 
and  the  house  in  which  his  family  resides  at  the 
present  time  as  well  as  many  others  stand  as 
monuments  to  his  skill  and  ability.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, and  all  of  his  sons  are  identified  with  that 
order  or  the  Masonic  fraternity.  Mr.  Behee  was 
liberal  and  gracious  in  his  gifts  to  worthy  causes 
in  which  he  was  interested,  also  to  the  poor  and 
needy,  by  whom  he  is  greatly  missed. 

Mr.  Behee  married,  March  22,  1843,  Mercy 
Fell,  born  in  Pittston,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, April  7,  1823,  and  their  eight  children 
were:  1.  George,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  August 
7,  1844,  married  Susan  Honeywell  and  their 
three  children  are :  Edith,  born  September  22, 
1870,  married  Dr.  Lathrop,  a  member  of  the 
staff  of  the  State  Hospital  at  Hazleton,  Penn- 
sylvania; Charles,  born  April  27,  1875,  married 
Gertrude  Ransom,  one  child  George,  born  Jan- 
uary 7,  1905 ;  and  Ethel,  born  November  15, 
1879,  married  Burt  Tennant.  2.  Mary,  born 
November  19,  1846,  married  Charles  A.  Rex, 
has  one  son,  Harry  Loyd,  who  married  Alberta 
Line,  of  Waco,  Texas,  and  has  one  child,  Dor- 
othy, born  February  28,  1903.  3.  John  B., 
born  May  13,  1849,  married  Elizabeth  Edwards, 
who  died  July  18,  1893,  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren :  Mary  E.,  deceased,  who  married  Robert 
Patterson,  and  they  had  two  children,  Alexan- 
der, the  only  one  living,  and  Mary  Fell,  who 
married  Fred  Nagle.  4.  Ruth,  born  October 
9,  1851.  5.  Daniel  F.,  born  January  30,  1854. 
6.  Joseph  L.,  born  May  6,  1856,  married  Mary 
Lagerer,  who  is  now  deceased ;  they  had  two 
sons :  Daniel  C,  born  December  24,  1884,  and 
Oscar  S.,  born  June  16,  1885,  and  now  a  stu- 
dent in  the  State  College.  7.  Ella,  born  No- 
vember 6,  i860,  married  Charles  Conner,  now 
deceased ;  they  had  six  sons,  three  living :  Max 
B.,  Daniel  B.  and  Herald  D.  8.  Anna  Augus- 
ta, born  November  14,  1863,  who  now. resides 
at  home.  H.  E.  H. 

SLOCUM  FAMILY.  Anthony  Slocum, 
the  founder  of  the  branch  of  the  Slocum  family 
herein  mentioned,  which  is  among  the  old  and 
honored  families  of  the  colonial  period,  appears 
to  have  been  one  of  the  forty-six  "first  and  an- 
cient purchasers,"  A.  D.,  1637,  of  the  territory 
on  Cohannet,  which  was  incorporated  MarHi  3, 
1639,  with  the  name  of  Taunton,  in  New  Plym- 
outh, now  Massachusetts,  and  from    which    the 


present    townships    of    Taunton,    Rzynham    and 
Berkley  have  been  organized. 

The  interests  of  the  small  purchasers  were 
in  the  ratio  of  six,  eight  and  twelve,  Anthony 
Slocum  purchasing  eight  shares.  His  name  also 
appears  in  various  other  records  in  August,  1643. 
He  appears  in  a  list  of  all  males,  fifty-four  in 
number,  from  sixteen  to  sixty  years  of  age,  with- 
in the  township  of  Taunton,  that  were  able  to 
bear  arms;  June  10,  165 1,  as  a  juryman;  June 
6,  1654,  as  one  of  the  two  surveyors  of  high- 
ways ;  June  3,  1657,  as  a  freeman,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  court,  June  7,  1659,  in  the  list  of 
twenty  persons  "sworn  as  the  Grand  Enquest ;" 
December  28,  165 1,  in  the  list  of  names  of  the 
township  of  Taunton  who  were  to  have  their  di- 
vision of  land,  "now  agreed  upon  this  day  whose 
portion  is  to  be  according  to  the  rate  here  fol- 
lowing, together  with  the  quantity  of  land,  two 
lots  and  two  heads  at  two  acres  to  the  head,  two 
acres  to  the  shilling,  and  two  acres  to  the  lot." 
Under  this  agreement  he  was  recorded  with  a 
rating  of  nineteen  shillings  and  four  pence,  six 
heads  and  fifty-three  acres.  June  3,  1662,  he 
was  one  of  two  surveyors  of  highways  for 
Taunton,  and  this  is  the  last  date  his  name  ap- 
pears as  a  resident  of  Taunton.  When  he  dis- 
posed of  his  rights  in  Taunton  to  Richard  Will- 
iams he  then  settled  near  Pascamanset  river, 
which  has  since  been  known  as  Slocum's  river. 
His  name  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  exact 
lists  of  all  freemen  in  Dartmouth  made  from 
time  to  time  and  dating  as  early  as  May  29,  1670. 
This  was  probably  due  to  his  union  with  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends.  There  has 'been  preserved  a 
fragment  of  a  letter  written  by  one  Anthony 
Slocum,  in  Dartmouth,  to  his  brother-in-law, 
William  Harvey,  as  follows : 

"To  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Taunton.  Mr. 
Shore  (the  pastor),  and  yourself  in  particular. 
I  .'desire  to  be  remembered,  whose  prayers  I 
doubt  not  I  and  mine  are  the  better  for,  and 
whose  welfare  I  earnestly  wish  and  pray  for. 
Myself,  wife,  sons  and  daughter,  Martha  (mar- 
ried John  Gilbert),  who  hath  four  sons,  remem- 
ber our  respects  and  love,  and  etc.'' 

From  the  above  we  would  infer  that  he  mar- 
ried a  sister  of  William  Harvey.  This  house- 
hold of  six  was  recorded  in  Taunton,  December 
28,  1659.  If  the  said  Anthony  Slocum  had  sons 
living  in  Dartmouth,  they  probably  died  young 
or  were  with  him  killed  in  King  Philio's  war, 
1675,  as  no  further  mention  is  found  of  them. 
Anthonv  and  (Harvev)    Slocum  had 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


393 


four  children:  Giles,  born  1618.  see  forward ;  Ed- 
ward, resided  in  Taunton,  Xew  Plymouth,  June 
1,  1647;  Martha,  married  John  Gilbert,  and  had 
four  sons,  living  in  Dartmouth,  Xew  Plymouth, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  ; 
John,  born  1641,  in  Taunton,  died  March.  1651. 
The  youngest  of  the  family,  who  held  a  high 
position,  was  killed  in  King  Phillip's  war.   1675. 

II.  Giles  Slocum,  born  1618,  Somersetshire, 
England,  died  Portsmouth  township.  Rhode 
Island,  1682.  He  was  the  oldest  child  of  An- 
thony   and  (Harvey)     Slocum.      He 

was  the  common  ancestor  in  America  who  settled 
in  what  is  now  Portsmouth,  Newport  county, 
Rhode  Island,  in  1638.  The  following  is  copied 
from  much  worn  records  in  Portsmouth,  Rhode 
Island,  from  colonial  records,  and  also  those  of 
the  colony  of  New  Plymouth,  September  4,  1648, 
"that  was  granted  by  disposers  of  land  unto 
Gyles  Slocum  within  the  bounds  of  the  town  of 
Portsmouth  and  in  peaceable  possession  of  the 
said  Gyles  Slocum  30  achers  of  land,"  which 
shows  that  he  was  a  land  owner  in  that  town 
at  the  above  date.  He  married  Joan  Barton. 
Both  Giles  and  Joan  (Barton)  Slocum  were 
early  members  of  the  Societv  of  Friends,  and 
the  records  of  Portsmouth,  Rhode  Island,  show 
that  Joan  Slocum  died  31st  6mo.,  1679.  Chil- 
dren of  Giles  and  Joan  (Barton)  Slocum: 
1.  Johanna,  born  16th,  3d  mo.,  1642,  married 
Jacob  Mott.  2.  John,  born  26th  3d  mo.,  1645, 
married  Meribah  Parker.  3.  Giles,  born  25th 
1st  mo.,  1647,  married  Anne  Lowton.  4.  Eb- 
enezer,  born  25th  1st  mo.,  1650.  married  Mary 
Thurston.  5.  Nathaniel,  born  25th  10th  mo!, 
1652,   married   Hannah.     6.      Peleg.    born    17th 

•6th  mo.,  1654,  married  Mary  Holden.  7.  Sam- 
uel, born  November  4,  1657.  see  forward.  8. 
Mary,  born  3d  5th  mo.,  1660.  married  Abraham 
Tucker.  9.  Eliezer,  born  25th  10th  mo..  1664, 
married  Eliphel   Fitzgerald. 

III.  Samuel  Slocum,  seventh  child  of  Giles 
and  Joan  (Barton)  Slocum,  born  November  4,. 
1657,  was  the  first  heir  mentioned  in  his  father's 
will.  He  was  a  brave  soldier,  and  fought  with 
distinction  in  Washington's  army.  He  married 
,  and  resided  in  or  near  New- 
port, Rhode  Island,  and  there  his  children  were 
born:  1.  Giles  (4),  married.  November  23, 
1704.  Mary  Paine,  of  Freetown,  Massachusetts, 
see  forward.  2.  Joseph  (usually  called  "Jo- 
seph of  the  woods"),  was  admitted  a  freeman 
of  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  1727.  It  was  said 
he  removed  south,  and  was  lost  sight  of. 

IV.  Giles     Slocum,     son     of     Samuel    and 


Slocum.  born  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 

16S0,  married  there,  November  zj,  1704.  Mary 
Paine,  daughter  of  Ralph  and  Dorothy  Paine, 
of  Freetown,  Massachusetts.  The  ceremony 
was  performed  by  Joseph  Sheffield,  assistant. 
He  was  admitted  a  freeman  of  Newport,  May. 
1707,  and  died  there  previous  to  1724.  They 
had  five  children:  1.  Joseph,  born  30th  nth 
mo.,  1706,  see  forward.  2.  Peleg,  born  3d  7th. 
mo.,  1707,  married  Avis  Stanton,  1728.  3.  Mar- 
tha, born  20th  7th  mo.,  1709,  married  Adam 
Lawton,  1727.  4.  John,  born  15th  8th  mo.,  171 1, 
married  Deborah  Keen.  5.  Benjamin,  born  30th 
nth  mo.,  1714.  married  (first)  Elizabeth  White. 

V.  Hon.  Joseph  Slocum,  eldest  child  of 
Giles  and  Mary  (Paine)  Slocum,  was  born  30th 
clay  of  nth  month  (January).  1706,  died  in 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  where  he  spent  his  early 
years  and  received  his  education.  He  married 
there  (first),  September  27,  1724,  Patience  Carr, 
daughter  of  Caleb  Carr,  of  Jamestown.  They 
removed  to  East  Greenwich  township,  Rhode 
Island,  where  he  was  made  a  freeman  in  1732, 
and  where  he  became  a  farmer  and  dealer  in 
land.     He   married    (second),   in    1743,   Hannah 

.     Joseph    Slocum   was    chosen    deputy 

to  the  Rhode  Island  general  assembly  from  West 
Greenwich  in  1741-42-44.  It  is  presumed  he 
removed  to  Wyoming  valley,  Pennsylvania,  1769, 
and  there  died  in  1778.  Children  by  first  wife: 
1.  Joanna,  born  April  4,  1725,  in  Newport, 
Rhode  Island.  2.  Alary,  born  November  11, 
1726,  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  3.  Desire, 
born  October  1,  1731,  in  East  Greenwich,  Rhode 
Island.  4.  Jonathan,  see  forward.  5.  Abigail, 
born  7  mo.  4,  1740,  in  West  Greenwich,  Rhode 
Island.  6.  Patience,  born  9  mo.  19,  1742.  in 
West  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island.  Children  by 
second  wife.  1.  Martha,  born  1  mo.  9,  1744. 
married   Philip   Aylesworth,  Jr.,   June    14,    1762. 

VI.  Jonathan  Slocum,  fourth  child  of  Jo- 
seph and  Patience  (Carr)  Slocum,  born  in  East 
Greenwich  township,  Kent  county,  Rhode  Island, 
May  1,  1733,  married,  February  23,  1758,  Ruth 
Tripp,  born  March  21,  1736,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Tripp,  Esq..  of  Warwick.  After  marriage  they 
purchased  land  in  Warwick,  where  they  resided 
for  some  time.  Joseph  Slocum,  his  brother,  start- 
ed for  the  beautiful  Wyoming  valley  with  his 
father-in-law  in  1768  or  1769,  and  Jonathan, 
leaving  his  family  behind,  soon  followed  and  pur- 
chased land  near  the  city  of  Scranton.  On  No- 
vember 6,  1775.  he  purchased  lot  No.  15  in  the 
town  plat  on  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania.     He  later  settled  with  his 


394 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


family  within  one  hundred  yards  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  fort,  and  here  his  beloved  daughter, 
Frances  Slocum,  was  seized  by  the  Indians,  No- 
vember 2,  1778,  and  carried  into  captivity.  "The 
cup  of  vengeance  was  not  yet  filled,"  as  Decem- 
ber 16,  1778,  Jonathan  Slocum,  Isaac  Tripp,  his 
father-in-law,  an  aged  man,  and  William  Slocum, 
a  youth,  were  out  feeding  cattle  when  they  were 
fired  on  by  the  Indians  and  the  two  former  were 
killed  and  scalped.  William,  although  wounded, 
gave  the  alarm,  but  the  alert  and  wily  foe  had 
fled  to  his  hiding  place  in  the  mountain.  This 
deed,  bold  as  it  was  cruel,  was  perpetrated  in 
the  town  plat,  in  the  center  of  which  the  fortress 
was  located.  There  in  a  short  time  Mrs.  Slocum 
had  lost  her  beloved  child,  Frances,  her  doorway 
drenched  in  blood  by  a  member  of  the  family 
being  murdered,  two  others  were  taken  away 
prisoners,  and  now  her  husband  and  father  were 
stricken  down,  murdered  and  mangled  by  the 
merciless  Indians.  Verily  the  annals  of  Indian 
atrocities  written  in  blood  record  few  instances 
of  desolation  and  woe  to  equal  this."  His  wife 
died  May  6,  1807,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia. They  had  ten  children:  1.  Giles,  born 
January  5,  1759,  died  November  14,  1826;  he 
married  Sarah  Ross.  2.  Judith,  born  October, 
1760,  died  March  11,  1814,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
She  married,  February  24,  1782,  Hugh  Forsman. 
He  was  a  subaltern  in  Captain  Hewett's  company 
during  the  Wyoming  massacre,  and  one  of  fif- 
teen of  that  corps  who  escaped,  and  the  only  one 
who  brought  back  his  gun.  (See  Wyoming 
Memorial  to  Congress.)  3.  William,  born  Jan- 
uary 6,  1762,  died  October  20,  1810,  see  forward. 
4.  Ebenezer,  born  January  10,  1766,  died  July 
25,  1832 ;  married  Sarah  Davis.  5.  Mary,  born 
December  22,  1768,  died  April  5,  1844;  married 
Joseph  Towne.  6.  Benjamin,  born  December 
7,  1760;  married  Phebe  La  France.  He  was  a 
taxable  in  Wilkes-Barre,  1799;  was  appointed, 
1811,  postmaster  of  the  first  postoffice  in  Lack- 
awanna valley;  in  1826  removed  to  the  village 
of  Tunkhannock,  where  he  died  July  5,  1832. 
His  son,  Thomas  Truxton  Slocum,  succeeded  to 
his  farm  and  gave  two  acres  of  land,  May  23, 
1842,  on  which  to  build  the  court  house  when 
Tunkhannock  was  given  the  honor  of  the  seat 
of  justice  of  Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania. 
7.  Frances,  born  March,  1773,  died  1847.  (The 
Indian  captive.  See  "History  of  Frances  Slo- 
cum, the  Lost  Sister  of  Wyoming,"  compiled  and 
written  by  her  grandniece,  Mrs.  Martha  Ben- 
nett Phelps,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  1905.)  8.  Isaac, 
born  March  4,   1775,  died   1858;  married  Eliza- 


beth Patrick.  9.  Joseph,  born  April  9,  1777, 
died  September  27,  1855 ;  married  Sarah  Fell. 
10.  Jonathan,  born  September  12,  1778,  died 
1842 ;  married  Martha  Underwood. 

VII.  William  Slocum,  third  child  of  Jona- 
than and  Ruth  (Tripp)  Slocum,  born  January 
6,  1762;  married,  January  4,  1786,  Sarah  Saw- 
yer, born  May  12,  1764.  They  were  pioneer 
residents  of  Exeter  township.  He  was  sheriff' 
1793  to  1799,  when  he  retired  to  his  farm  in 
Pittston  township,  and  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace  in  1806.  He  was  among  the  prominent 
and  influential  men  of  the  county.  He  died  on 
the  homestead,  October  20,  1810,  and  his  wife 
died  March  16,  1832.  They  had  nine  children : 
1.  Lemuel.,  born  March  24,  1787;  married,  De- 
cember 20,    1812,  ;    they    removed    to 

Delaware  county,  Ohio,  where  he  died  August 
24,  1830.  2.  Elizabeth,  born  October  3,  1788; 
married  (first)  William  Jenkins,  (second)  Zenas 
Barnum,  1815  ;  she  died  August  22,  1869,  and 
her  children  reside  in  Scranton,  Pennsylvania. 
3.  Frances,  born  August  26,  1790,  died  April 
12,  1822;  married,  August  30,  1812,  Eleazer 
Carey.  4,  Laton,  see  forward.  5.  Sarah,  born 
August  12,  1794,  died  March  17,  1829.  6.  Rhoda, 
born  July  17,  1796,  died  May  27,  1829 ;  married 
James  Wright.  7.  Merritt,  born  July  12,  1789, 
recorder  of  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  from 
1836  till  death,  July  11,  1838.  7.  Giles,  born 
May  4,  1801,  died  May  10,  1878 ;  married  Sarah 
Perkins.  9.  William,  born  May  4,  1803,  died 
May,   1856;  married  Ann  Le  Stewart. 

VIII.  Laton  Slocum,  fourth  child  of  William 
and  Sarah  (Sawyer)  Slocum,  born  August  16, 
1792,  in  Pittston,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia; died  while  attending  court  in  WTilkes-Barre, 
January  16,  1833.  He  spent  his  early  years  in 
his  home  town,  where  he  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools.  He  was  a  farmer  and  spent  his 
entire  life  on  a  farm.  He  married,  March  1, 
1 819,  Gratey  Scoville,  born  December  24,  1796, 
died  September  3,  1829,  daughter  of  James  and 
Thankful  (Nash)  Scoville,  of  Exeter  township, 
Pennsylvania.  They  settled  on  a  farm  in  that 
town,  where  they  always  resided. 

IX.  William  Slocum,  youngest  child  of 
Laton  and  Gratey  (Scoville)  Slocum,  born  Jan- 
uary 9,  1829,  in  Exeter  township,  Luzerne  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  died  October  8.  1895.  His 
mother  died  when  he  was  an  infant,  and  he  was 
educated  and  resided  in  Exeter  until  1835,  when 
he  went  to  Tunkhannock,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  remained  two  years.  He  resided  in  Owego. 
New  York,  1839-40,  and  Mokelumne  Hill,  Cali- 


^A 


t^Ct^-vzy 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


395^ 


fornia,  in  1852-53.  He  then  returned  to  Pitts- 
ton,  Pennsylvania,  and  resided  there  in  1856-57, 
and  from  the  latter  date  until  1864  m  Scranton, 
Pennsylvania.  He  went  as  a  substitute  to  the 
Civil  war.  He  married,  Februarv  17,  1864.  in 
Osceola,  Tioga  county,  Pennsylvania,  Mary  Ann 
Hoyt,  born  in  Osceola,  Pennsylvania,  November 
20.  1837,  daughter  of  Abel  and  Esther  Eliza 
(Hurlburt)  Hoyt.  (See  Hoyt  Family.)  They 
had  children:  1.  James  Phillips,  born  August 
16,  1865,  in  Osceola,  Tioga  county.  Pennsylva- 
nia, died  August  8,  1886.  2.  William  Giles, 
born  November  23,  1869. 

X.  William  Giles  Slocum,  youngest  son  of 
William  and  Mary  Ann  (Hoyt)  Slocum,  born 
November  23,  1869,  in  Exeter  township.  Penn- 
sylvania, is  the  only  lineal  descendant  in  the 
tenth  generation  of  one  of  the  old  and  highly  re- 
spected pioneer  families  of  Wyoming  vallev.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  the  town 
where  he  now  resides  with  his  mother  in  the 
house  adjoining  the  one  built  by  his  grandfather, 
Laton  Slocum.  He  is  a  gardener  and  farmer  of 
great  ability,  which  fact  is  evidenced  bv  the  ap- 
pearance of  his  farm,  which  is  one  of  the  finest 
in  Exeter  township.  This  sketch  was  abridged 
and  written  from  "The  Historv  of  the  Slocums." 

H.  E.  H. 

MACFARLANE  FAMILY.  The  "History 
of  the  Clan  Macfarlane''  says :  "All  historians 
agree  that  the  ancestor  of  the  Macfarlanes  was 
Gilchrist,  brother  to  Maulduin,  third  earl  of  Len- 
nox, the  proof  of  which  is  the  charter  bv  which 
he  gives  his  brother  Gilchrist  a  grant  'de  terris 
superiori  Arrochar  de  Liiss,'  which  lands  con- 
tinued in  the  possession  of  the  clan  for  six  hun- 
dred years,  until  the  sale  of  the  estate  in  1784. 
and  have  at  all  times  constituted  their  principal 
inheritance." 

The  same  authority  says  that  the  Macfar- 
lanes  of  the  Wyoming  valley  in  Pennsylvania, 
living  principally  in  Kingston  and  emanating 
from  that  central  locality,  are  of  the  descendants 
of  James  Macfarlane,  of  Ruthglen,  Scotland, 
born  there,  1776,  who  was  for  many  years  a  pri- 
vate in  the  British  army.  James,  son  of  James 
of  Ruthglen,  born  Glasgow,  1800,  married  Jean 
Hunter.  It  is  said  she  was  of  Paisley.  Scotland, 
a  town  noted  for  its  production  of"  famous  Pais- 
ley shawls,  and  in  the  factories  of  which  she  was 
employed  when  a  girl.  She  was  a  cousin  of  the 
noted  David  Livingston.  James  Macfarlane 
came  with  her  to  America  about  1830.  and  for 
several  vears  worked  in  the  mines  at  Pottsville 


and  Nesquehoning.  Pennsylvania.  He  located  at 
Plymouth,  in  the  Wyoming  valley,  in  1833,  and. 
later  removed  to  Edwardsville.  In  1843  ne  sll_ 
perintended  the  opening  of  the  first  coal  mine 
opened  in  Pittston — the  Butler  mine,  where  he 
remained  until  1851.  In  partnership  with  Alva 
Tompkins,  he  opened  and  operated  the  Macfar- 
lane &  Tompkins  shaft.  In  1856  he  sold  out,  re- 
moved to  Plymouth  and  opened  there  and  oper- 
ated until  his  death,  in  1864,  the  Macfarlane  shaft, , 
now  owned  by  the  Susquehanna  Coal  Company. 
James  Macfarlane  was  an  upright  man,  origin- 
ally a  devout  Presbyterian,  and  afterward  equally 
devoted  Methodist,  active  in  church  work,  and 
a  warm  friend  of  education.  He  was  an  earnest 
Abolitionist,  later  a  Whig,  and  finally  a  Republi- 
can, but  never  in  any  sense  a  politician. 

James  and  Jean  (Hunter)  [Macfarlane  had 
children :  James,  Janet,  Margaret,  Elizabeth, 
Thomas  Pringle  and  Clarinda.  1.  James,  mar- 
ried Eliza  Hillard,  and  had  three  children:  Mary, 
married  De  Haven  Lance  ;  David  and  William. 
2.  Janet,  married  Andrew  Lindsay  and  had  two 
sons  :  James  and  George.  3.  Margaret,  married 
David  Madden  and  had  three  children :  William, 
Frank  and  Fannie.  4.  Elizabeth,  married  John 
P.  Fell,  son  of  Hugh  Fell,  son  of  Joseph  Fell, 
son  of  Samuel  Fell,  son  of  Samuel  Fell,  son  of 
Thomas  Fell,  son  of  Joseph  Fell  of  Longlands, 
parish  of  Uldale,  Cumberland,  England,  who 
married  (1)  Bridget  Willson,  and  (2)  Eliza- 
beth Doyle,  and  who  was  the  ancestor  of  many 
of  the  Fells  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  the  Wyoming 
valley  in  Pennsylvania.  (See  Fell  Family).  John 
P.  and  Elizabeth  (Macfarlane)  Fell  had  three 
children:  Emma,  Charles  and  Harriet.  The- 
mother  of  these  children  died  October  29,  1866, 
and  Mr.  Fell  married  (second)  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Jane  Patten. 

Thomas  Pringle  Macfarlane,  son  of  James- 
and  Jean,  was  born  in  Plymouth.  Pennsylvania, 
May  28,  1836,  and  was  educated  chiefly  in  Wyo- 
ming Seminary,  where  he  graduated,  1857.  From 
boyhood  he  had  been  associated  with  his  father 
in  mining  enterprises  until  the  death  of  the  lat- 
ter in  1864.  He  was  then  made  superintendent 
for  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  Coal 
Company,  and  two  years  later  superintended  the 
opening  of  the  Gaylord  mines  at  Plymouth,  re- 
maining in  the  capacity  of  general  manager  un- 
til 187 1.  In  1872  he  opened  the  Black  Diamond 
mine  in  Luzerne,  and  in  1873  went  to  Colorado 
and  engaged  in  mining  operations  one  year.  He 
then  returned  to  the  Wyoming  valley  and  for  two- 
years  was  superintendent  of  the  Kingston  Coal 


396 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Company's  mines.  He  then  leased  and  for  about 
ten  years  operated  on  his  own  account  the  Chaun- 
cey  mine  at  Plymouth.  Later  on  he  was  for  sev- 
eral years  engaged  in  contracting  and  promoting 
mining  operations,  being  a  stockholder  and  di- 
rector of  the  Wyoming  Coal  and  Land  Company. 
In  1901  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  King- 
ston by  President  Roosevelt,  which  position  he 
held  until  this  office  became  one  of  the  sub-sta- 
tions of  Wilkes-Barre,  1904. 

Mr.  Macfarlane  is  a  firm  Republican.  He 
was  one  of  the  members  of  the  Plymouth  council, 
and  afterward  a  member  of  the  Kingston  school 
board.  He  married,  i860,  Margaret  McCul- 
lough,  died  1889,  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia,  daugh- 
ter of  William  McCullough  and  wife  Christian 
Hutchinson.  Their  children  are :  Lincoln  Mac- 
farlane, deceased ;  Jessie  Macfarlane,  educated  in 
Wyoming  Seminary,  at  home ;  James  Macfar- 
lane, deceased  ;  Ella  Macfarlane,  deceased  ;  Sa- 
rah Mercur  Macfarlane,  deceased ;  William 
Macfarlane,  deceased ;  Alfred  Darte  Macfarlane, 
born  December  29,  1881,  educated  at  Cornell  and 
Lehigh  Universities,  mining  engineer,  member 
of  the  engineering  corps  of  the  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad  Company  up  to  1904,  when  he  .became 
connected  with  the  Consolidated  Coal  and  Coke 
Company  of  Pocahontas,  West  Virginia. 

H.  E.  H. 

LEWIS  LEONIDAS  ROGERS,  M.  D.  The 
Rogers  families  of  the  Wyoming  valley  of  the 
line  under  consideration  in  this  narrative  were 
of  English  origin  and  New  England  ancestry. 
The  pioneer  of  the  family  in  the  Wyoming  val- 
ley in  Pennsylvania  was  Josiah  Rogers,  who  was 
born  in  1720,  settled  in  Plymouth  in  1776,  and- 
died  in  1815.  He  shared  the  privations  of  the 
period  immediately  preceding  and  during  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  suffered  with  the  other 
settlers  in  the  losses  incident  to  the  early  years 
of  that  memorable  struggle.  After  the  battle 
and  massacre  at  Wyoming,  Josiah  Rogers  went 
with  his  family  down  the  Susquehanna  river  and 
thence  across  the  mountains  towards  Northamp- 
ton and  Berks  counties.  His  wife,  who  was 
greatly  exhausted  from  the  fatigue  of  the  jour- 
ney, died  in  the  wilderness,  many  miles  from 
any  human  habitation,  July  9,  1778.  She  was 
buried  in  the  woods,  a  broken  board  being  used 
as  a  spade  with  which  to  dig  her  shallow  grave, 
but  the  ceremony  was  as  solemn  and  impressive 
as  if  accompanied  with  the  formality  of  a  funeral 
at  home.  On  a  piece  of  board  which  was  placed 
.  at  the  head  of  her  grave  was  written  with  char- 


coal this  inscription :  "Here  rest  the  remains 
of  Hannah,  wife  of  Josiah  Rogers,  who  died 
while  fleeing  from  the  Indians  after  the  massa- 
cre at  Wyoming."  Mrs.  Rogers  was  fifty-two 
years  old,  and  her  maiden  name  was  Hannah 
Ford. 

After  the  burial  of  his  wife  Mr.  Rogers  and 
the  remaining  members  of  his  family  continued 
their  journey  until  they  came  to  the  settlement 
at  the  Blue  mountain,  where  they  remained  sev- 
eral months,  and  then  returned  to  Plymouth. 
Their  stay  there  was  brief  on  account  of  contin- 
ued Indian  troubles,  and  they  were  compelled 
to  seek  the  protection  of  the  forts  further  up  the 
river.  In  1779  Mr.  Rogers,  in  company  with 
Capt.  James  Bidlack,  started  on  horseback  to 
Plymouth  to  see  if  it  was  safe  to  remove  his  fam- 
ily there,  but  they  encountered  the  savages  and 
were  compelled  to  turn  back ;  unfortunately. 
Captain  Bidlack's  saddle  girth  broke,  causing  him 
to  fall  to  the  ground,  and,  still  worse,  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  Indians.  Mr.  Rogers  escaped 
unharmed,  but  there  were  two  bullet  holes  in  his 
coat.  He  stood  firmly  with  the  settlers  during 
the  later  years  of  the  war  and  the  still  later  con- 
test over  "land  titles,  and  was  looked  upon  as  one 
of  the  leading  men  of  the  settlement  in  his  time. 
He  died  in  1815  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety-six 
years.  Many  of  his  descendants  are  still  living 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  Wyoming  valley. 

The  line  of  descent  of  this  branch  of  the  Rog- 
ers family  from  the  American  ancestor  is  noted 
as  follows :  Joseph  Rogers  came  from  England, 
and  his  wife  was  Sarah  Currier.  Their  son,  Hope 
Rogers,  married  Esther  Mecomb,  and  their  son, 
Josiah  Rogers,  the  pioneer  of  the  family  in  the 
Wyoming  valley  in  Pennsylvania,  married  Han- 
nah Ford.  Their  son,  Jonah  Rogers,  married 
Deliverance  Chaffee,  and  their  son,  Joel  Rogers, 
married  (first)  Polly  Linn ;  (second)  Mary  Jack- 
son, married  September  30,  1815;  (third)  Amy 
Bonhorn.  Joel  Rogers  was  born  March  7,  1780, 
and  died  July  29,  1850.  His  wife,  Mary  Jack- 
son, was  born  November  24,  1784,  and  died  Oc- 
tober 7,  1836.  Their  children:  Jose  Rogers,  born 
July  24,  1816;  Joel  Jackson  Rogers,  born  March 
4,  1818;  Lydia  Rogers,  born  December  24,  1819, 
died  Sepember  13,  1844;  Lewis  W.  Rogers,  born 
May  22,  1822,  died  August  3,  1845,  at  Kelly. 
Union  county ;  Stephen  Rogers,  born  April  17. 
1824. 

Rev.  Joel  Rogers  was  a  clergyman  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  and  a  teacher  whose  influence 
was  always  for  good  in  the  community  in  which 
he  lived  and  labored  so  long.     His  son,  Dr.  loel 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


397 


Jackson  Rogers,  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Lu- 
zerne county,  Pennsylvania,  and  acquired  his 
early  education  .chiefly  under  his  father's  direc- 
tion, for  he  was  a  teacher  as  well  as  minister  of 
the  Gospel.  In  the  winter  of  1842-1843  he  stud- 
ied medicine  in  New  York  City,  and  paid  his 
personal  expenses  by  selling  books  and  period- 
icals during  his  leisure  hours.  He  was  regularly 
graduated  from  a  medical  institution,  and  in  1846 
began  his  professional  career  in  Lehman  town- 
ship, in  Luzerne  county.  In  1847  ne  removed  to 
Huntsville,  where  he  afterward  lived  and  prac- 
ticed for  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century. 
He  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  and  its  Sunday  school  for  more 
than  sixty  years.  At  the  time  of  his  death  in 
1902  Dr.  Rogers  was  the  oldest  member  of  the 
Luzerne  County  Medical  Society. 

Dr.  Rogers  married,  April  15,  1851,  at  Trucks- 
ville,  Pennsylvania,  Sarah  Caroline  Rice,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Jacob  Rice  and  wife  Sarah  Cook. 
Dr.  Rogers  and  his  wife  celebrated  their  golden 
wedding  April  15,  1901.  Of  their  marriage  five 
children  were  born,  all  of  whom  are  now  living, 
as  is  the  mother,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years : 
Lewis  Leonidas  Rogers,  born  July  29,  1852,  see 
forward;  Charles  Jacob  Rogers,  born  August  17, 
1854,  in  Kingston ;  Marv  Louise  Rogers,  born 
May  26,  1857,  in  Huntsville ;  Joseph  Alfred 
Rogers,  born  July  7,  1859.  in  Huntsville ;  Sarah 
Carrie  Rogers,  born  October  2j,  1862,  married 
Samuel  H.  Sturdevant. 

Dr.  Lewis  Leonidas  Rogers  was  educated  in 
the  Wilkes-Barre  public  schools,  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary, the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
of  Baltimore,  the  Philadelphia  Lying-in  Hos- 
pital, and  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Phil- 
adelphia, graduating  from  the  latter  with  the  de- 
gree of  M.  D.,  March  12,  1881.  Later  on  he 
took  a  post-graduate  course  in  gynecology  under 
Professors  Baer  and  Goodell  at  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania.  His  professional  career  was 
begun  in  Kingston  in  1881,  and  he  has  since 
lived  and  practiced  in  that  borough,  although  his 
practice  extends  very  much  beyond  the  limits 
of  that  place.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Association  and  of  the  Pennsylvania 
State  and  Luzerne  County  Medical  Societies. 
Aside  from  his  medical  practice,  which  always 
has  been  large,  Dr.  Rogers  has  been  and  is  in 
many  ways  identified  with  the  best  -interests  and 
institutions  of  his  vicinity.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  lecturer  of  hy- 
giene in  Wyoming  Seminary,  and  was  one  of  the 
organizers   and   for  two  years   president  of  the 


Kingston  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
He  taught  school  for  six  years  before  taking  up 
the  study  of  medicine. 

Dr.  Lewis  Leonidas  Rogers  married,  April 
16,  1884,  Mary  Elizabeth  Gushing,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Charles  Cushing  and  Hannah  Rawleigh 
Brooks.  Their  children :  Mary  Cushing  Rogers, 
born  January  27,  1885  ;  Lewis  Leonidas  Rogers, 
born  September  12,  1890. 

Mrs.  Rogers  was  born  in  Binghamton,  New 
York,  August  18,  1855,  and  graduated  from  the 
Central  High  School  of  that  city.  She  is  de- 
scended from  old  New  England  stock,  the  family 
dating  its  history  in  America  to  the  time  of  the 
Puritans.  Joseph  Charles  Cushing,  her  father, 
was  born  in  Bainbridge,  Chenango  county.  New 
York,  July  23,  1821,  and  died  August  21,  1874. 
He  was  educated  for  the  legal  profession,  but 
failing  health  compelled  him  to  select  some  less 
confining  occupation.  He  went  south  and  trav- 
eled in  connection  with  business  pursuits,  and 
later  returned  north  and  located  in  Bingham- 
ton, where  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  fur- 
niture. He  was  a  Presbyterian  and  took  much 
interest  in  church  work.  Politically  he  was  a 
Whig,  and  afterward  a  Republican.  He  was  a 
member  of  Otseningo  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  M.,  of 
Binghamton.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
Binghamton,  August  10,  1854,  was  Hannah  Raw- 
leigh Brooks,  daughter  of  Dr.  Pelatiah  Brooks., 
and  wife  Sarah  McCullough.  Joseph  C.  Cush- 
ing was  a  son  of  William  Cushing,  who  was  born 
July  25,  1792;  married,  October  25,  1818,  Betsey 
Olmsted,  who  was  born  July  27,  1799.  Hannah 
Rawleigh  Brooks  Cushing  was  educated  in  Bing- 
hamton at  Miss  White's  Seminary,  besides  which 
she  had  private  instruction  in  the  languages.  She 
died  November  20,  1867.  She  was  a  devout 
Methodist  and  active  in  church  work ;  a  woman 
of  refined  literary  tastes,  a  writer  of  considera- 
ble note,  and  some  of  her  works  were  published. 
She  was  a  descendant  in  direct  line  from  Lord 
Brooke,  who  founded  Saybrook,  in  the  colony 
of  Connecticut.  Her  great-grandfather  was  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution,  one  of  Washington's 
aides,  and  lost  an  arm  at  Brandywine.  He  was 
brevetted  for  bravery  in  action,  and  was  offered 
but  declined,  a  pension.  Her  grandfather,  Dr. 
Pelatiah  B.  Brooks,  was  one  of  the  earliest  phy- 
sicians in  Broome  county,  and  a  man  of  great  in- 
fluence and  dignity,  a  student  all  his  life,  to  the 
age  of  eighty-six  years.  He  was  a  Methodist,  and 
in  politics  originally  a  Democrat,  but  at  the  close 
of  Buchanan's  term  his  party  drifted  away  from 
him  and  left  him  in  the  Republican  ranks.     He  - 


393 


THE   WYOMING   AXD   LACKAWAXXA  VALLEYS. 


died  in  May,  1874.     His  wife  was  Sarah  McCul- 
lough,  and  they  had  eight  children. 

Sarah  Carrie  Rogers,  youngest  child  and 
daughter  of  Dr.  Joel  Jackson  and  Sarah  Caro- 
line (Rice)  Rogers,  was  born  October  27,  1862. 
She  was  educated  at  Wyoming  Seminary,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  taking  an 
earnest  interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  wel- 
fare of  that  society.  She  married,  at  Huntsville, 
Pennsylvania,  December  19,  1888,  Samuel  Henry 
Sturdevant.  Mr.  Sturdevant  was  born  at  Har- 
vey's Lake,  Luzerne  county.  May  14,  1861,  and 
died  July  5,   1903.     When  he  was  three  months 

■  old  his  parents  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where 
he  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in 
Wyoming  Seminary.  Leaving  school,  he  engaged 
with  his  father  in  the  lumber  business  which  was 
his  chief  occupation  as  long  as  he  lived ;  but  he 
was  otherwise  identified  with  the  business  his- 
tory  of    the    locality,    being    organizer    of    the 

•  Ganoga  Ice  Company,  vice-president  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania   Lumbermen's    Protective    Association, 

.  and  general  manager  of  S.  H.  Sturdevant's  Sons' 
lumbering  interests.  He  was  always  a  busy  man, 
successful  in  his  operations,  fair  and  honest  in 
all  his  dealings  with  his  fellow-men.     Politically 

'he  was  a  Republican,  and  in  religious  preference 
a  Methodist.  H.  E.  H. 

TROXELL  FAMILY.  In  Mayer's  "His- 
"-tory  of  the  Reformed  Church*'  the  Swiss  family 
Troxell  is  mentioned  as  follows:  "In  1522  we 
-find  some  of  the  priests  of  Sweitz  advocating  the 
doctrine  of  the  Reformer.  Among  these  was 
Balthazer  Trachsel,  pastor  of  the  town  of  Art, 
.  and  one  of  the  eleven  clerics  who  subscribed  to 
the  'humble  supplication'  to  Bishop  Hugo  in  be- 
half of  the  free  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
marriage  of  the  clergy — Canton  of  Sweitz,  Switz- 
erland. The  name  has  been  written  in  various 
forms — Drachsel,  Drachsell,  Draxel,  Traxel, 
Trexler,  Troxsell,  Troxel,  Troxell.  In  the  co- 
lonial records  of  Pennsylvania  it  is  written 
irachsell,  Traxel,  Drachsel.  The  Troxell  fam- 
ily of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  descend  from 
French  Huguenot,  Holland  and  German  ances- 
tors. Four  ancestors,  Troxell,  Michelet,  Desch- 
ler  and  Fogel,  came  to  Lehigh  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1732-33,  two  receiving  the  same  coat-of- 
arms  as  Lords  of  Beauval  and  Interval  by  Louis 
XI  of  France,  and  another  fought  bravely  under 
Louis  IX  in  the  Holy  Land.  All  served  on  Rev- 
olutionary committees  and  were  prominent  dur- 
ing the  .period  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
their   descendants   are  anions'-  the   honored   and 


respected  families  of  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia." 

Peter  (Drachsell)  Troxell,  the  progenitor  of 
the  family  in  America,  was  born  in  Alsace,  Lor- 
raine, 1690.  He  arrived  in  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania, from  the  Palatinate,  August  17,  1733, 
on  the  ship  "Samuel,"  Hugh  Percy,  master,  from 
Rotterdam,  last  from  Deal,  and  settled  at  Egypt 
(now  Whitehall  township),  Northampton  count}, 
where  he  purchased  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
of  land,  deeded  January  26,  1743.  The  church 
service  at  Egypt  was  held  in  the  house  of  Peter 
Troxell  before  the  church  was  erected.  In 
1757  Peter  Trexler,  as  he  is  recorded,  was  elect- 
ed justice  of  the  section  known  as  "Egypta," 
which  later  in  the  year  was  created  as  Whitehall 
township.  He  served  from  1757  to  1764,  and 
was  made  justice  also  March  9,  1774,  June  3, 
1777.  His  house,  built  in  1744,  is  still  standing. 
He  died  in  Whitehall  township,  Pennsylvania. 
He  married  Juliana  Catherine  Deshler,  and  the 
first  baptism  recorded  in  "Aegypten"  bv  the  Rev. 
Goetchins  was  that  of  a  son  of  "The  respectable 
Peter  Troxell"  and  his  wife,  Juliana  Catherine, 
(church  census  of  the  Reformed  congregation  at 
that  place.)  The  child  was  baptized  October  26, 
1733,  and  was  named  Johannes  Troxell.  Jo- 
hannes (or  John)  Troxell,  son  of  Peter  and  Ju- 
liana Troxell,  was  a  private  in  Captain  Reitz's 
Eigth  Company  of  Colonel  Stephen  Balliet's 
(Balliot)  battalion,  enlisting  July  22,  1781.  He 
had  one  son,  Peter. 

The  Deshler  family  was  founded  in  this 
country  by  Adam  Deshler  and  his  wife,  Appolo- 
nia,  who  sailed  in  the  ship  "Hope"  from  Rotter- 
dam, last  from  Cowes,  Daniel  Ried,  master,  ar- 
riving August  28,  1733,  in  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  colonies  of  Great  Britain.  He  was  promi- 
nent in  the  colonial  history  of  Northampton 
county.  He  also  built  the  Deshler  Fort  in  \\  nite- 
hall  township  in  1756,  where  the  families  of  the 
neighborhood  took  refuge  during  the  Indian  raid 
in  1763.  Adam  Deshler  was  a  descendant  of 
Capt.  David  Deshler,  aide-de-camp  to  the  Prince 
Palatine ;  he  married  Marie  Wister,  a  sister  of 
Casper  Wister,  of  Germantown,  in  171 1.  His 
son,  David  Deshler,  was  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee of  supplies  and  of  observation  chosen  De- 
cember 21,  1774.  and  served  during  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  advanced  money  out  of  his  own  pri- 
vate means  when  the  treasurv  of  the  Lnited 
States  was  empty,  also  of  the  state  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. His  was  one  of  the  four  guns  of  the  com- 
pany reported  to  Colonel  Burd  in   1763.     David 


JfisnA&ctsrt  i   ._y ;     , 


// 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


399 


.Deshler  was  born  in  North  Whitehall  township, 
1733,  and  died  at  Bierye  Bridge,  December,  1796. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Muhlenburg. 

Peter  Troxell,  son  of  Johannes  Troxell, 
.married  Julia  Barbara  Burkhalter,  a  daughter 
of  Peter  and  Anna  Maria  Catherine  (Deshler) 
Burkhalter,  and  granddaughter  of  Ulrich  Burk- 
halter, born  1710,  who  arrived  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  in  ship  "Samuel"  from  Rotterdam, 
last  from  Cowes,  Hugh  Percy,  master.  Ulrich 
Burkhalter  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
American  colonies  of  Great  Britain  upon  his  ar- 
riya,  August  11,  1732,  and  setted  in  Whitehall 
township,  Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  from  Richard 
Hockley  of  three  hundred  acres,  rich,  fertile  and 
beautifully  situated,  deeded  February  4,  1743, 
and  was  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  county. 
His  wife,  Barbara,  bore  him  two  children :  Eliza- 
beth Barbara,  married  Jean  Jacques  Michelet 
(Mickley),  mentioned  later;  and  Peter,  who  was 
captain  of  the  White  Hall  Company,  Associated 
Battalion,  Militia  of  the  Revolution,  May  22, 
I775,  and  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  conven- 
tion, 1776. 

Peter  Troxell,  son  of  Peter  and  Julia  Barbara 
(Burkhalter)  Troxell,  married  in  Whitehall 
township,  Pennsylvania,  Elizabeth  Mickley,  born 
August  13,  1793,  died  December  10,  1866,  daugh- 
ter of  Christian  and  Elizabeth  (Deshler)  Mick- 
ley, the  former  born  in  1767,  died  1812.  Chris- 
tian Mickley  was  the  son  of  John  Jacob  Mickley, 
born  December  17,  1737,  died  December  12,  1800, 
in  White  Hall,  Lehigh  county,  his  death  being 
■caused  by  a  tree  falling  on  him  near  his  home. 
He  married,  November  20,  1760,  in  White  Hall, 
Susanna  Miller,  born  November  6,  1743,  died 
December  16,  1807.  They  resided  in  Whitehall 
township.  John  Jacob  Mickley  served  in  the 
Revolution  as  member  of  the  general  committee 
and  commissary  of  issues,  and  aided  in  every 
way  the  cause  of  liberty.  He  brought  the  State 
House  or  Liberty  Bell  from  Philadelphia  via 
Bethlehem  to  Allentown,  September  23,  1777. 
John  Martin  Mickley,  brother  of  John  Jacob, 
born  March  3,  1745,  died  March  11,  1828,  was 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  partici- 
pated in  the  battle,  of  Germantown.  He  settled 
in  Adams  county,  Pennsylvania.  Another  broth- 
er, John  Peter,  born  1752,  died  1828,  was  in  the 
military  service  against  the  Indians,  and  served 
as  a  fifer  during  the  entire  period  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war ;  he  lived  in  Bedmister,  Bucks 
county,  Pennsylvania,  about  1784.  Another 
^brother,  Henry  Mickley,  born  1754,  and  a  sister, 


Barbara  Mickley,  born  1756,  were  killed  by  In- 
dians while  gathering  chestnuts,  October  8,  1763. 
John  Jacob  Mickley  was  the  son  of  Jean  Jacques 
Michelet  (Mickley,  Mickle),  above  mentioned  as 
'the  husband  of  Elizabeth  Barbara  Burkhalter, 
born  1697,  in  Alsace,  Loraine,  France.  He  was 
one  of  the  Huguenot  refugees  who  fled  from 
that  country  to  Rotterdam,  Holland,  from  whence 
he  sailed  on  the  ship  "Hope,"  May  6,  1733,  ar- 
riving in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  August  28, 
1733,  and  in  the  same  year  settled  in  White  Hall, 
Northampton  county,  where  his  death  occurred 
August  18,  1769.  Jean  Jacques  Michelet  was 
the  son  of  Louis  and  Susanna  (Mangeot)  Mich- 
elet, whose  marriage  occurred  January,  1697. 
Louis  Michelet  was  born  December  17,  1675,  at 
Nietz,  later  was  the  pastor  of,  the  Huguenot 
Church  at  Deux  Ponts,  Alsace,  Loraine,  France, 
died  February  27,  1750.  The  distinguished 
French  historian,  Jules  Michelet,  was  a  near 
kinsman  of  Louis  Michelet. 

Ephraim  Troxell,  son  of  Peter  and  Elizabeth 
(Mickley)  Troxell,  was  born  in  Whitehall,  Penn- 
sylvania, February  1,  1823.  He  died  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  May  11,  1903,  aged  eighty  years.  His 
boyhood  and  early  manhood  was  spent  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  his  birthplace,  and  in  1856  he  came  to 
Wilkes-Barre  from  Fqgelville.  He  became 
identified  with  many  of  the  enterprises  and  busi- 
ness interests  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  the  own- 
er of  much  landed  property.  He  had  large  tracts 
of  farm  land  at  Harvey's  Lake,  Luzerne  county, 
and  Clifton,  and  much  of  his  time  during  his 
later  years  was  devoted  to  his  mining  and 
farming  interests.  Being  a  man  of  wealth,  the 
last  few  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  retire- 
ment. He  was  one  of  the  early  promoters  in  the 
Harvey's  Lake  trolley  line,  and  built  a  portion 
of  the  road  about  Harvey's  Lake,  where  his  sum- 
mer home  was  located.  He  was  also  interested 
in  the  Harvey's  Lake  Transit  Company,  the 
North  Street  Bridge  Company,  and  various  oth- 
er enterprises  which  tended  toward  the  improve- 
ment of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  a  faithful  mem- 
ber of  St.  Stephen's  Episcopal  Church,  charitable 
in  marked  degree,  but  without  ostentation,  a  man 
of  retiring  disposition,  who  found  his  greatest 
pleasure  at  his  own  fireside. 

Ephraim  Troxell  married,  February  18,  1845, 
in  Whitehall  township,  Pennsylvania,  Caroline 
A.  Fogel,  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Anna  ( Stah- 
ler)  Fogel,  of  Fogelsville,  Lehigh  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, born  Fogelsville,  Pennsylvania,  and 
died  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August  4,  1901, 
a  faithful  communicant  of  St.  Stephen's  church. 


4QO 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


She  was  a  descendant  of  the  Steller  families 
who  settled  in  Lynn  and  Macungie  townships, 
Bucks,  (now  Lehigh)  county,  from  1727 
10  !733'  °f  early  Huguenot,  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  families.  Solomon  Fogel,  father  of 
Carolina  A.  (Fogel)  Troxell,  was  one  of  the 
prominent  men  of  Lehigh  county.  He  was  one 
of  the  men  who  started  the  first  Sunday  school 
in  the  court  house  in  Allentown,  was  always  in- 
terested in  educational  affairs,  was  one  of  the 
first  to  establish  English  schools  in  the  county, 
and  in  every  way  assisted  in  the  growth  and  de- 
velopment of  the  community.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  stockholders  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Rail- 
road. The  Catasauqua  and  Fogelsville  Railroad 
was  named  in  his  honor,  as  it  was  through  his 
efforts  as  a  civil  engineer  that  the  railroad  was 
possible,  and  it  was  also  through  his  influence 
that  the  farmers  were  willing  to  sell  their  land 
for  the  railroad,  many  of  them  being  greatly  op- 
posed to  the  project.  He  was  the  son  of  Judge 
John  Fogel,  who  was  one  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Allentown  Academy,  and  brigade  inspector  of 
the  war  of  181 2- 14,  a  descendant  of  Johann  Fo- 
gel, of  the  general  committee  of  Northampton 
county  in  the  Revolution,  founder  of  Fogelsville, 
and  interested  in  the  schools  of  the  county,  and 
of  John  Fogel,  and  Philip  Frederick  Fogel,  who 
came  from  Wurtemberg,  sailing  from  Rotterdam 
in  the  ship  "Samuel,"  arriving  in  Philadelphia, 
August  17,  1 73 1.  He  settled  in  Lynn  township 
(then  in  Bucks  county),  and  his  house  was  built 
in  such  a  way  that  it  was  considered  a  safe  re- 
treat from  the  savages,  and  was  called  "The 
Fort."  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ephraim  Troxell  had  two 
children :  Dr.  Edgar  Rudolphus  Troxell,  West 
Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  married  Maria  Nugent, 
and  had  Helen,  Nugent,  Edgar  R.,  George,  Elsie, 
and  Gilbert.  2.  Clementine  Rosa  Troxell, 
Wilkes-Barre.  She  is  a  life  member  of  the  Wyo- 
ming Historical  and  Geological  Society,  member 
of  the  National  Society  Daughters  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  the  Huguenot  Society,  and  the 
Young  Woman's  Christian  Association  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

JOSEPH  MALLERY  STARK.  The  Stark 
family,  represented  in  the  present  generation  by 
Joseph  Mallery  Stark,  'a  coal  operator  at  Plains, 
traces  its  origin  to  Aaron  Stark  ( 1 )  and  through 
him  to  William  (2),  Ensign  Christopher  (3), 
James  (4),  Henry  (5),  John  (6),  John  R.  (7), 
and  Joseph  Mallery  (8).  Ensign  Christopher, 
James,  Henry,  John,  and  John  R.  were  old  and 
esteemed   citizens   of  the   Wyoming  valley,   and 


their  remains  are  interred  there.  Ensign  Chris- 
topher Stark  had  the  original  grant  for  the  Stark 
property,  upon  which  Joseph  Mallery  Stark,  his 
mother,  Mrs.  John  R.  Stark,  and  his  sister,  Cor- 
nelia M.  Stark,  now  reside,  and  on  which  Joseph 
M.  Stark  is  now  (1905)  mining  coal. 

John  Stark,  of  the  sixth  generation  in  line  of 
descent  from  Aaron  Stark,  the  founder  of  the 
family,  was  born  January  4,  1795,  died  June  22, 
1878,  son  of  Henry  Stark,  fifth  generation,  in  line 
of  descent,  who  was  born  April  19,  1762.  John 
Stark  married,  November  4,  1815,  Cornelia  Wil- 
cox, born  March  24,  1797,  died  May  11,  1884, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Nancy  (Newcombe)  Wil- 
cox, and  their  children  were :  Hiram,  born  Feb- 
ruary 9,  1817;  G.  W.  Dinsmore,  born  April  16, 
1818;  Elizabeth,  born  February  3,  1820,  died  No- 
vember 17,  1852;  married  June  23,  1839,  Samuel 
Billing;  Nancy,  born  December  8,  1821,  married 
Elijah  Conard.  Jane,  born  May  3,  1827,  mar- 
ried April  22,  1857,  Garrick  Mallery  Miller  (see 
Leavenworth  Family)  ;  Henry,  October  10.  1831  ; 
Mary  Almeda,  February  16,  1833,  married  April 
26,  1855,  Stephen  N.  Miller;  John  R.,  December 
15,  1834,  mentioned  later;  and  Martha  W.,  Feb- 
ruary 11,  1839,  died  in  1904,  married  October  10, 
1865,  Maj.  Oliver  A.  Parsons.  (See  Parsons 
Family.)      (See  Wilcox  genealogy.) 

John  R.  Stark,  youngest  son  of  John  and 
Cornelia  (Wilcox)  Stark,  born  December  15, 
1834,  at  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  died  Plains,  Octo- 
ber 17,  1901,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  He  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  resided  on  the  old  Stark  property  in  Plains 
throughout  his  entire  lifetime.  He  was  a  prosper- 
ous farmer,  a  thoroughly  capable  business  man,  a 
Methodist  in  religion,  and  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics. He  married,  November  3, 1863,  Phcebe  Jane 
Swallow,  born  at  Plainsville,  September  18,  1830, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Cooper)  Swallow, 
and  two  children  were  the  issue  of  this  union : 
Joseph  Mallery,  mentioned  at  length  hereafter ; 
and  Cornelia  M.  Joseph  Swallow  was  born  July 
7,  1 781,  at  Brick  Church,  New  Jersey,  subse- 
quently located  at  Plainsville,  where  he  followed 
farming,  married  Mary  Cooper,  who  was  born 
February  9,  1786,  daughter  of  George  Cooper,  of 
Revolutionary  fame,  and  their  children  were : 
James,  George,  Benjamin,  Silas,  Daniel,  Miner, 
Mary,  Clarissa,  Elizabeth,  Phcebe,  and  Jane,  the 
wife  of  John  R.  Stark.  Joseph  Swallow  died  on 
the  old  Swallow  homestead  in  Plains,  June  5, 
1 86 1.  aged  eighty  years,  and  his  remains  were 
interred  in  the  Hollenback  cemetery.  His  wife 
died  at  New-ton,  Lackawanna  county,  at  the  resi- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


401 


deuce  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Mary  Knapp,  Au- 
gust 12,  1878,  aged  ninety-two  years,  Phcebe 
Jane  (Swallow)  Stark  died  at  the  Stark  resi- 
dence, December  6,  1875,  aged  forty-five  years, 
and  her  remains  were  interred  in  the  Hollenback 
cemetery. 

John  R.  Stark  married  (second),  June  6, 
1877,  at  Rockdale,  Pennsylvania,  Rebecca  Whar- 
ram, born  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  May  26, 
1843,  daughter  of  Emanuel  and  Charlotte 
(Evans)  Wharram,  also  of  Plymouth.  Emanuel 
Wharram  was  of  English  descent,  coming  from 
North  Berton,  Yorkshire,  England,  1830,  and  lo- 
cating at  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born 
December  6,  1817,  at  North  Berton,  and  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  at  Plymouth,  where  he  mar- 
ried Charlotte  Evans,  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
Myra  (Cooper)  Evans,  also  of  Plymouth,  and  a 
descendant  of  John  Evans,  who  came  to  this 
country  as  a  captain  in  the  service  of  the  King  in 
the  French  and  Indian  war.  Rebecca  (Whar- 
ram) Stark  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Plymouth  and  at  Geneva  Normal  School,  of  Ge- 
neva, Ohio.  She  taught  in  the  public  schools  of 
Luzerne  county  for  several  years.  She  is  now 
residing  on  the  old  Stark  homestead. 

Joseph  Mallery  Stark,  only  son  of  John  R. 
and  Phcebe  Jane  (Swallow)  Stark,  born  in 
Plains,  August  28,  1868,  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  in  Plains  and  Wyoming  Semi- 
nary, and  has  been  a  lifelong  resident  of  his  na- 
tive town.  He  was  proprietor  of  a  general  store 
and  postmaster  at  the  same  time  for  a  period  of 
almost  ten  years.  At  present  ( 1905)  he  is  a  coal 
operator,  his  place  of  business  being  located  on 
the  old  Stark  property  in  Plains,  where  he  has 
erected  a  breaker  and  opened  a  slope,  mining  his 
own  coal.  Mr.  Stark  is  a  Methodist  in  religion, 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  Lodge  No.  442,  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

Mr.  Stark  married,  in  Bradford  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, June  25,  1891,  Elizabeth  A.  Stewart, 
daughter  of  Charles  L.  and  Sarah  (Billings) 
Stewart.  Charles  L.  Stewart  has  been  engaged 
in  a  variety  of  business  pursuits  during  his  life, 
in  all  of  which  he  has  been  eminently  successful. 
He  also  served  in  the  Civil  war.  His  wife,  Sarah 
Elizabeth  (Stark)  Billings,  bore  him  three  chil- 
dren :  Elizabeth  A.,  a  graduate  of  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary, Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  wife  of  Jo- 
seph Mallery  Stark ;  Marian,  widow  of  Fred 
Schmauch,  and  the  parents  of  one  child ;  and  Dr. 
Charles  L.,  Jr.,  who  was  educated  at  Wyoming 
Seminary,   University    of   Chicago,    and    Denver 

26 


Medical  College,  and  is  now  (1906)  a  practicing 
physician  at  Salt  Lake,  Utah.  He  married  Anna 
Williams,  of  Denver,  Colorado. 

H.  E.  H„ 

LONGSHORE  FAMILY.  The  Longshore 
family  is  of  long  residence  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
has  had  among  its  members  men  of  high  ability 
in  professional  callings  as  well  as  in  the  ordinary 
avocations  of  life.  The  two  of  whom  this  narra- 
tive treats  in  principal  part,  Dr.  Ashbel  B.  Long- 
shore, and  Dr.  William  R.  Longshore,  who  suc- 
ceeded his  father,  each  in  his  day,  was  an  accom- 
plished physician,  and  during  their  careers  have 
probably  given  instruction  in  medicine  to  more 
students  than  any  other  four  physicians  in  the 
Wyoming  valley.  They  were  also  of  high  per- 
sonal character,  and  models  of  true  manhood. 

The  founder  of  the  family  in  Pennsylvania 
was  Robert  Longshore,  who  came  from  England 
and  settled  at  Front  and  Market  streets,  in  Phil- 
adelphia, whence  he  later  removed  to  Bucks 
county.  Another  great-grandfather  of  Dr.  Long- 
shore was  one  Wilson,  a  Protestant  religionist 
from  the  north  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  America 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  years.  He  first  settled  in 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  later  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  where  he  bought  two  large  farms 
near  the  county  line,  the  homestead  residence 
being  at  Abington.  The  great-grandmother,. 
Sarah  Boileau,  was  of  French  descent,  and  died 
at  Beaver  Meadows,  Pennsylvania.  Here  also, 
lived  a  great-uncle,  William  Wilson,  who  erected 
the  first  building  there.  The  grandfather  on  the 
maternal  side  was  a  native  of  Germany,  of  the 
Richter  (subsequently  spelled  Righter)  family. 
His  grandfather  Wilson  was  a  lieutenant  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  his  sword  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  Dr.  W.  R.  Longshore. 

Isaiah  Longshore  (grandfather)  lived  at 
Beach  Haven,  where  he  kept  a  hotel  and  board- 
ing house  for  workmen  on  the  canal ;  he  died  at 
the  age  of  forty-seven  years,  and  was  buried 
there.  He  married  Nancy  Wilson,  who  after  the 
death  of  her  husband  lived  in  Hazleton,  but  died 
in  Weatherly,  at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety- 
two  years,  from  a  fall  in  which  she  broke  her 
hip ;  she  was  buried  at  Beaver  Meadows.  She 
and  her  husband  were  Presbyterians.  Their  chil- 
dren were  three  sons — A.  B.,  Alfred  R.,  and 
William  R.,  Alfred  having  been  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years; 
and  three  daughters — Mrs.  James  Lewis,  Mrs. 
Philip  Hofecker,  and  Mrs.  Robert  Russell. 

A.  B.  Longshore  was  reared  at  Shickshinny,. 


4-02 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  went  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  began  as  a  clerk,  later  with  Mr.  Par- 
dee,  in  Hazelton,  in  the  railway  construction 
corps,  the  first  railway  into  this  region.  He  sub- 
sequently went  to  Berwick,  where  he  clerked  in  a 
store  for  Abraham  Miller,  devoting  his  leisure 
hours  to  the  study  of  medicine  with  A.  B.  Wilson, 
his  uncle.  He  afterward  attended  lectures  at  the 
Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia,  under 
some  of  the  most  eminent  practitioners  and  pro- 
fessional teachers  of  the  day  (Professors  J.  K. 
Mitchell,  Joseph  Pancoast,  Charles  Meigs  and 
Thomas  Mutter),  and  graduated  from  the  insti- 
tution with  honors  in  1843.  He  was  as  fluent 
in  German  as  in  English,  and  the  knowledge  was 
invaluable  to  him.  In  the  year  of  his  graduation 
he  entered  upon  practice  in  Wyoming,  where  his 
professional  visitations  extended  all  over  the 
mountain  region.  It  is  of  interest  to  note,  as  a 
sidelight  upon  the  manner  of  living  in  that  day, 
a  large  part  of  his  compensation  was  in  the  nature 
of  provisions  and  country  produce.  In  the  early 
fifties,  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Pardee,  he  lo- 
cated in  Hazelton,  where  his  practice  became  so 
extensive  that  he  called  to  his  aid  as  assistants 
five  young  men  who  were  receiving  instruction 
from  him.  He  remained  in  active  practice  until 
his  death,  in  September,  1875,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
three  years.  He  was  a  man  of  sterling  character, 
and  exerted  a  strong  and  salutary  influence  in  the 
community,  but  the  exactions .  of  his  profession 
forbade  his  acceptance  of  the  various  official  posi- 
tions which  were  tendered  him.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Beaver  Meadows  militia  company.  His 
wife  was  Maria  J.  Righter,  born  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  a  daughter  of  William  Righter,  who  was 
born  at  Mill  Creek,  near  Bryn  Mawr.  Pennsyl- 
vania. She  died  at  the  age  of  seventv  vears. 
They  were  Baptists  in  religion.  They  had  eight 
children,  of  whom  Dr.  William  R.  Longshore  is 
the  only  one  living. 

William  R.  Longshore,  M.  D.,  son  of  Ash- 
bel  B.  and  Maria  J.  (Righter)  Longshore, 
was  born  in  Beaver  Meadows,  Pennsylvania, 
September  10,  1838.  His  early  years  were 
passed  at  the  family  home,  and  he  was  fourteen 
years  of  age  when  his  parents  removed  to  Hazle- 
ton.  He  began  his  education  in  the  common 
schools,  and  received  what  was  nearly  equiva- 
lent to.  a  collegiate  training  in  Kingston  Sem- 
inary and  Lewisburg  (now  Bucknell)  Univer- 
sity. He  had  the  great  advantage  of  beginning 
his  medical  studies  with  his  father  as  his  tutor, 
and  he  subsequently  attended  the  Jefferson  Medi- 
cal   College    and   the    Pennsylvania    College    of 


Medicine,  graduating  from  the  last  named  insti- 
tution in  March,  1800.  He  became  assistant  to 
Dr.  Kirkbride  in  the  male  department  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  and  was 
thus  engaged  until  the  autumn  of  18G2. 

At  that  time,  after  passing  the  required  ex- 
amination held  by  the  medical  examining  board 
of  the  United  States  army,  he  was  commis- 
sioned assistant  surgeon  with  rank  of  first  lieu- 
tenant, in  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-seventh 
Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  Colonel  Par- 
dee, which  was  a  part  of  the  First  Brigade, 
Geary*s  Second  Division,  Twelfth  Army  Corps. 
In  September,  1863,  he  accompanied  his  com- 
mand to  the  west,  and  in  October,  1863,  was  pro- 
moted to  surgeon,  with  rank  of  major.  With 
the  Twentieth  Corps  (the  Eleventh  and 
Twelfth  Corps  consolidated)  he  took  part  in  all 
the  operations  under  General  Slocum  in  the 
Wauhatchie  Valley,  including  the  battles  of 
Lookout  Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge.  While 
encamped  in  the  Wauhatchie  Valley.  Major 
Longshore  participated  in  all  the  hardships  that 
marked  the  dreadful  winter  of  18G3-4.  Owing 
to  the  repeated  tearing-up  of  the  railroad  by  the 
enemy,  supplies  had  been  cut  off,  and  the  sub- 
sistence far  both  animals  and  men  was  so  nearly 
exhausted  that  not  enough  was  available  to  keep 
them  from  suffering  with  hunger.  For  horses 
and  mules  there  was  served  only  a  double  hand- 
ful of  corn  to  last  for  three  days,  and  the  sol- 
diers, driven  to  extremity,  habitually  stole  the 
corn  from  the  famished  animals.  As  surgeon, 
Major  Longshore  was  empowered  to  make 
requisition  upon  the  commissary  department  for 
subsistence  stores  for  the  sick.  Moved  bv  the 
necessities  of  the  men  who  appealed  to  him  for 
food,  his  humanity  would  not  suffer  him  to 
draw  an  arbitrary  line  between  those  suffering 
from  a  pronounced  ailment  and  those  who  were 
starving  to  death,  and  he  exercised  his  authority 
in  their  behalf,  until  superior  officers  absolutely 
deprived  him  of  the  power.  Notwithstanding 
his  opportunity,  he  shared  hunger  with  the  com- 
mon soldiers,  to  such  an  extent  that,  when  the 
army  set  out  on  the  march  to  Bridgeport,  Ala- 
bama, and  a  ration  was  distributed  consisting  of 
about  a  mouthful  of  army  biscuit  and  an  equal 
bulk  of  bacon,  it  seemed  to  him  to  be  one  of  the 
sweetest  meals  he.  had  ever  eaten.  At  Bridge- 
port, where  the  army  went  into  winter  quarters. 
Surgeon  Longshore  was  in  charge  of  the  brigade 
hospital,  until  May  I,  1864.  With  his  com- 
mand he  participated  in  the  operations  against 
Atlanta,  acting  as  brigade,  surgeon,  and  after  the 
capture  of  that  stronghold   served   in  the  same 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


4«3 


capacity  in  Sherman's  march  to,  the  sea,  and 
the  campaign  of  the  Carolinas.  At  Goldsboro, 
North  Carolina,  he  was  granted  leave  of  absence  < 
to  visit  home  in  company  with  General  Pardee. 
While  in  Philadelphia  on  the  trip  home,  a  negro 
porter  at  his  hotel  informed  him  of  the  assassin- 
ation of  President  Lincoln,  and  the  dreadful  in- 
telligence came  with  a  terrible  shock  which  was 
intensified  as  he  recalled  the  fact  that  a  little  more 
than  four  years  before  he  had  seen  that  great 
statesman  raise  the  Flag  of  the  Union  over  In- 
dependence Hall,  in  Philadelphia,  while  he  was 
passing  through  the  city  to  his  inauguration. 

Arrived  at  Hazleton,  Surgeon  Longshore 
was  married,  April  25,  1865,  to  Miss  Matilda  A. 
Carter,  daughter  of  William  and  Margaret 
(Thomas)  Carter,  and  one  of  seven  children. 
Her  father  was  a  prominent  coal  operator  in 
.Stockton  and  Beaver  Meadows;  her  mother  died 
at  the  age  of  forty-eight  years.  Surgeon  Long- 
shore rejoined  the  army  on  May  7,  and  took  part 
in  the  Grand  Review  in  Washington,  just  be- 
fore the  disbanding  of  the  Union  armies,  and 
was  mustered  out  of  service  in  July  following. 
Dr.  Longshore  then  permanently  located  in  Haz- 
elton,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  How  active  and  use- 
ful has  been  his  service  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  during  these  forty-six  years  past  he  has 
practically  been  busy  day  and  night,  for  twelve 
years,  at  one  time  having  only  two  days  vaca- 
tion, and  in  one  year  there  was  not  a  night  when 
he  was  not  called  out.  While  caring  for  a  large 
practice  at  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home, 
he  has  long  been  in  the  service  of  the  state  in 
connection  with  its  National  Guard.  March  5, 
1874,  he  was  commissioned  surgeon  of  the  old 
Ninth  Regiment,  N.  G.  P.,  and  served  .with 
it  during  the  coal  region  riots  of  that  year, 
and  until  it  was  disbanded.  In  June,  1890, 
he  was  commissioned  surgeon  of  the  Ninth 
Regiment  Infantry,  N.  G.  P.,  in  which  he 
served  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  when  he  retired.  Throughout 
all  his  arduous  service  in  the  line  of  his  profes- 
sion, civil  and  military,  now  in  his  sixty-seventh 
year,  he  has  fully  preserved  his  physical  and 
mental  powers,  and  continues  steadfast  in  his  de- 
votion to  his  calling,  in  which  he  expects  to  con- 
tinue to  his  latest  days.  He  is  held  in  high  es- 
teem as  the  oldest  practicing  physician  in  Lu- 
zerne county,  and  is  one  of  the  most  prominent 
and  influential  members  of  the  leading  medical 
associations — the  Carbon  County,  the  Luzerne 
County,  the  Lehigh  Valley,  the  National,  and 
Pennsylvania   State — and  has  been  president  of 


nearly  all  except  the  last  named.  He  is  affiliated 
with  various  bodies  of  the  Masonic  fraternity — 
Hazleton  Lodge,  No.  3271,  F.  and  A.  M. ;  Hazle- 
ton Chapter,  R.  A.  M. ;  Mt.  Moriah  Council,  R. 
S.  M.,  of  Bloomsburg ;  and  Mt.  Vernon  Com- 
mandery.  Knights  Templar.  He  is  a  companion 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Commandery  of  the  Mili- 
tary Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Robinson  Post,  No.  20,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which 
he  was  for  several  years  surgeon ;  also  the 
Union  League  of  Philadelphia.  In  politics  he 
has  always  been  an  ardent  Republican,  having 
cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, and  holding  loyal  to  his  party  to  the  pres- 
ent time. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Longshore  were  the  parents  of 
one  child,  Harry  Carter  Longshore,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Long- 
shore adopted  a  daughter,  Jane  Martin,  who 
married  Wallace  Ellerslie  Engle,  and  to  them 
was  born  a  son,  William  Longshore  Engle,  who 
resides  in  Hazleton.  Mrs.  Longshore  died  Jan- 
uary 4,  1891.  H.  E.  H. 

GEORGE  SIVELY  PFOUTS,  deceased, 
born  March  5,  1842,  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Hanover  township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  the  only  child  of  Hon.  Benjamin  F. 
and  Mary  F.  (Sively)  Pfouts,  and  on  the  pater- 
nal side  grandchild  of  Leonard  and  Mercy  (Con- 
over)  Pfouts,  and  on  the  maternal  side  of  George 
and  Frances  (Stewart)  Sively.  Leonard  Pfouts, 
who  was  of  German  descent,  and  his  wife,  Mercy 
(Conover)  Pfouts  (whose  father  was  a  scout 
in  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Indians,  and  held  by  them  for  a  time  in  cap- 
tivity), reared  a  family  of  nine  children:  Mary, 
(Mrs.  Joseph  Barnes)  ;  Lucretia  (Mrs.  Leonard 
Elder);  Benjamin  F.,  see  below;  Mary  A., 
(Mrs.  Joseph  Bailey)  ;  Sarah  (Mrs.  Jonathan 
Pursell)  ;  Robert;  Isabella  (Mrs.  Daniel  Lat- 
chaw)  ;  Lucinda  (Mrs.  William  Lemon)  ;  and 
John.     Those  children  are  now  (1905)  all  dead. 

Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Pfouts,  father  of  George 
S.  Pfouts,  was  born  in  Jersey  Shore,  Lycoming 
county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1809,  and  died  at  his 
residence  in  Buttonwood,  Hanover  township, 
January  6,  1894.  He  remained  at  home  until  he 
was  seventeen  years  old,  and  then  went  to  Tioga 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  later  to  Northumber- 
land county,  same  state,  where  he  was  deputy 
sheriff,  and  in  1841  removed  to  Hanover  town- 
ship, where  he  engaged  in  farming  on  the  Sively 
homestead.  He  was  a  man  of  the  most  sterling 
character,  and  a  strong  advocate  of  the  principles 
of  the  Democratic  party.     He  held  nearly  all  the 


404 


THE   WYOMING   AXD   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


offices  of  the  town  in  which  he  lived,  and  was 
one  of  the  poor  directors  of  Luzerne  county 
from  the  organization  of  that  department  till  his 
death.  He  was  commissioner  of  the  county  at 
the  time  of  the  construction  of  the  court  house, 
and  being  the  nearest  resident  officer  chiefly  su- 
perintended the  work.  He  was  associate  judge 
of  Luzerne  county  for  several  years  prior  to  his 
death,  and  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the 
office  showed  rare  judgment,  good  common 
sense,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  law.  He  was  also 
a  good  business  man,  and  had  accumulated  a 
handsome  fortune  during  his  long  and  useful 
career.  Judge  Pfouts  was  a  very  active  worker 
in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Judge    Pfouts    married,    February    5,    1841, 
Mary  F.  Sively,  daughter  of  George  and  Frances 
(Stewart)    Sively,    and   one   child   was   born   to 
them,.  George  Sively,  mentioned  at  length  here- 
inafter.     John    George    Sively,    grandfather    of 
Airs.  Pfouts,  was  born  in  Germany  "and  came  to 
America  previous  to  1788.    He  was  a  surgeon  in 
the  French  army,  and  later  a  noted  physician  in 
Philadelphia,    where   he   married   Jane   Baldwin, 
and  died  near  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  in  1812.  He 
had  two  children :   George,   born    1789.   died  in 
1854  on  the  old  homestead  in  Hanover  township, 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Wilkes-Barre 
on  the  river  road,  where  he  settled  in  1809,  en- 
gaged in  clearing  a  farm,  and  reared  two  chil- 
dren, Stewart  and  Mary  F.,  wife  of  above.     Mr. 
Sively  was  a  true  type  of  the  purity  and  nobility 
of  pioneer  character,  and  deserves  much  credit 
for  hewing  down  the  forests,  battling  with  the 
wild   beasts    and    savages,    and    establishing   his 
family  in  the  comfortable  home  which  is  still  oc- 
cupied by  his  posterity.     Lazarus    Stewart   was 
born  in  Scotland,  emigrated  with  his  family  first 
to  Ireland,  then  to  Holland,  and  finally  to  Amer- 
ica in  1729.  locating  in  Lancaster  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  died.     He  had  among  other 
children,  two  sons,  Robert  and  Alexander,   the 
former  of  whom  had  two  children.  Captain  Laz- 
arus and  James,  who  came  to  Hanover  in   1769 
or  1770.    Alexander  Stewart  had  three  children : 
Lieutenant  Lazarus,  George,  and  Alary,  who  be- 
came  the   wife   of   George   Espy,    all    deceased. 
Lieutenant  Lazarus  married  Do.rcas  Hopkins,  a 
relative  of  the  Hopkins  family,  of  Philadelphia, 
came  to   Hanover  with  the  forty   settlers   from 
Harrisburg    and    his    cousin.    Captain    Lazarus 
Stewart,  and  had  one  child.  Frances  Book,  who 
became  the  wife  of  George  Sively.     Lieutenant 
Stewart  was  killed   in  the   Wvoming  massacre. 


July  3,  1778.     The  family  were  always  identified 
witn  tne  Presbyterian  Lnurch. 

George  bively  Pfouts,  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Han- 
over township,  at  the  old  original  Wilkes-Barre 
Academy,  Chiton  Springs,  and  New  York  State 
College,  graduating  when  about  twenty-one  years 
of  age.    He  then  took  up  civil  engineering  and 
entered  Martin  Correll's  engineering  corps,  and 
assisted  in  surveying  the  then  new  oil  helds  in 
western    Pennsylvania,    occupying    about    three 
years.     He  then  returned  to  the  old  homestead 
and  lived  there  for  several  years,  after  which  he 
took  up  farming,  which  he  continued  about  five 
years,  when  he  permanently  retired  from  active 
pursuits.     Air.  Pfouts  was  a  private  in  the  war 
of  the  rebellion,  enlisting  in  Hazleton,  Pennsyl- 
vania,   1865,    and    served    under   Judge    Stanley 
Woodward  in  Company  H,  Third  Regiment,  un- 
til the  end  of  the  war.    In  politics  he  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  fox  several  terms  served  as  auditor  of 
Hanover  township.     He  was  a  Presbyterian  in 
religion,   and  actively   engaged   in   church    work 
for  many  years  prior  to  his  decease,  serving  as 
class  leader,  and  teacher  in  the  Sunday  school. 
His  wife  is  an  active  member  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Wilkes-Barre.     Air.   Pfouts 
was  a  stockholder  in  the  Second  National  Bank 
of  Wilkes-Barre.     He  was  a  charter  member  of 
the   Order   of   Heptasophs,   with   which   he   was 
connected  seventeen  years,  until  his  death  and  for 
sixteen  years  was  also  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Arcanum. 

Air.  Pfouts  married  (first)  in  1865,  Emma  V. 
Quick,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren :  Fannie  L.,  born  November  14,  1866,  mar- 
ried, in  Wilkes-Barre,  September  28,  1904.  Jo- 
seph Brooks  Rogers,  of  Knoxville,  Tennessee; 
and  George  Sively,  Jr.,  born  August  20,  1868, 
who  is  now  residing  in  Colorado.  Emma  V. 
(Quick)  Pfouts  died  February  22.  1871,  in 
South  Wilkes-Barre.  at  her  mother's  home,  and 
was  buried  in  Hanover  Green  cemetery.  Lu- 
zerne county,  Pennsylvania.  Air.  Pfouts  married 
(second)  November  1,  1877.  Adella  F.  Eckroth, 
daughter  of  Peter  C  and  Katherine  E.  (Yohe) 
Eckroth,  of  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  originally 
from  Alifflinville,  Columbia  county.  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  three  children  were  the  issue  of  this 
union :  Harvey  Sterling  and  Stewart  Lazarus, 
twins,  born  January  n,  1882,  died  at  the  age  of 
four  months,  and  buried  in  Hanover  Green  cem- 
etery :  and  Alary  Elizabeth,  born  January  23, 
1887,  educated  at  the  Female  Seminary.  Wilkes- 
Barre,    from    which    she   was    graduated    in    the 


THE   WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


405 


spring  of  1905.  George  S.  Pfouts  died  at  the 
old  homestead  in  Hanover  township,  April  10, 
1902,  and  was  buried  in  Hanover  Green  cem- 
etery. 

Peter  C.  Eckroth,  father  of  Mrs.'Adella  F. 
(Eckroth)  Pfouts,  who  died  March  13,  1899, 
in  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  buried  in 
Nisky  Hill  cemetery.  Bethlehem,  was  a  son  of 
Francis  A.  and  Lydia  (Frey)  Eckworth,  of 
Mifflinville,  Pennsylvania,  the  former  dying  when 
Peter  C.  was  only  twelve  years  of  age,  and  the 
latter  about  the  year  1875.  His  wife,  Katherine 
E.  ( Yohe)  Eckroth.  who  died  February  9, 
1900,  and  was  buried  in  Nisky  Hill  cemetery, 
was  a  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Lydia  (Falk)  Yohe, 
of  Mifflinville,  Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Elisha  Yohe  was  a  stone  mason  by  trade,  and 
erected  all  the  stone  piers  on  the  first  Catawissa 
bridge,  in  1850,  and  they  are  still  standing  at 
the  present  time  (1905).  He  died  in  May,  1876, 
and  his  wife  in  July,  1876.  Peter  C.  and  Kath- 
erine E.  (Yohe)  Eckroth  had  children:  1.  Har- 
vey W..  married  (first)  Laura  Beers,  of  Bethle- 
hem, Pennsylvania,  who  bore  him  five  children: 
Helen  and  John,  living,  and  Katherine,  Dorc.thv 
and  James,  deceased.  He  married  (second) 
Minnie  Beidlehem,  and  they  reside  in  Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania.  2.  Xora  A.,  wife  of  William 
Maharg,  of  Pittsburg,  and  they  have  one  daugh- 
ter, Delia.  3.  Adella  F.,  widow  of  George  S. 
Pfouts,  as  mentioned  above.  4.  Lottie  L.,  wife 
of  Irvin  Lake,  of  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  and 
mother  of  three  children:  Irvin.  Marshall  and 
Albert  Lake.  H.  E.  H. 

STEPHEX  BUCKINGHAM  VAUGHN,  as 
his  name  indicates,  was  descended  from  respect- 
able and  substantial  Rhode  Island  and  Connecti- 
cut ancestry. 

(I)  John  Vaughan,  his  first  Rhode  Island 
progenitor,  came  to  Massachusetts  about  1634, 
but  removed  to  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  in  1638, 
as  his  name  is  recorded  in  a  list  of  inhabitants  ad- 
mitted there  May  30,  1638.  He  was  granted  land 
there  1639,  and  built  his  home.  He  was  admitted 
freeman  1655,  and  died  1687.  His  wife  was 
named  Gillian,  but  her  surname  is  not  known.  He 
had  five  children  all  born  in  Newport :  John,  born 
April  10,  16x4;  David,  born  July  19.  1646,  of 
whom  later ;  George,  born  October  20,  1650,  who 
was  deputy  to  the  general  court  for  several  years 
and  left  six  children  and  many  grandchildren; 
Daniel,  born  April  27,  1653,  wn0  als0  left  issue: 
Marv,  born  July  3,  1658. 

(II)  David  Vaughan,  second  son  of  John  and 
Gillian  Vaughan,  born  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 


July  19,  1646,  died  May,  1678  (will  proved  May 

25,  1678)  married,  1670,  Mary ,  who  died 

in  1 68 1.  She  remarried  in  1680,  Thomas  Joslin, 
of  Portsmouth.  David  Vaughan  was  made  free- 
man at  Portsmouth  in  1 67 1.  He  wills  his  Indian 
boy  to  his  father,  and  his  estate  to  his  wife  until 
the  son  John  had  reached  his  majority,  said  son 
to  be  educated.    He  had  only  one  child,  John. 

( III)  John  Vaughan,  only  child  of  David  and 
Mary  Vaughan,  was  born  in  Portsmouth.  He 
married,  November  24,  1698,  Elizabeth  Bull, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Bull,  of  Providence,  Rhode 
Island.  John  moved  to  North  Kingston  and  died 
there,  as  "John  Vaughan  and  Elizabeth  his  wife, 
of  North  Kingston,  April  22,  1729,  deeded  fifty 
acres  of  land  to  their  son  Isaac."  They  had  seven 
children :  Elizabeth,  born  December  18,  1701 ; 
David,  October  25,  1704;  Isaac,  of  whom  later; 
George,  born  July  24,  1709 ;  Mary,  born  July  19, 
1713,  married  Mr.  Congdon ;  Charity,  born  June 
20,  1716;  John,  July  8,   1721. 

(IV)  Ensign  Isaac  Vaughan,  fourth  son  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  (Bull)  Vaughan,  born  North 
Kingston,  March  31,  1707;  died  September,  1778, 
(will  dated  April  18,  1777,  probated  October  3, 

1778)  married  February  14,  1730,  Mary , 

who  was  living  in  October,  1778.  Isaac  was 
commissioned  ensign  in  the  North  Kingston, 
(Rhode  Island)  militia  1743-44-45.  He  had,  ac- 
cording to  his  will,  ten  children :  Jonathan,  John, 
Aaron,  Daniel,  Jeremiah,  of  whom  later ;  Joshua, 
Abigail,  Betty,  and  two  married  daughters. 

(V)  Jeremiah  Vaughan,  fifth  son  of  Isaac 
and  Mary  Vaughan,  born  in  North  Kingston, 
Rhode  Island,  about  1750,  died  there  1786,  (will 
dated  1786,  probated  September  11,  1786),  mar- 
ried, June  23,  1776,  Sarah  Tripp,  born  October 
1,  1749,  living  September  11,  1786,  daughter  of 
Peregrine  Tripp,  of  Exeter,  Rhode  Island,  born 
August  19,  1725,  and  his  wife  Susannah  Sher- 
man, of  South  Kingston,  whom  he  married  Janu- 
uary  22,  1749.  Sarah  Tripp  Vaughan  married 
(second)  February  8,  1787,  Henry  Congdon,  of 
Exeter.  Peregrine  Tripp  was  a  son  of  Job  Tripp, 
of  Exeter,born  April  20,  1701,  and  his  wife  Sarah, 
born  1704,  who  was  doubtless  the  grandson  of 
Peleg  Tripp,  and  his  wife  Anne  Sisson,  of  Ports- 
mouth, constable,  surveyor  of  highways,  member 
Portsmouth  council,  and  deputy  to  the  general 
court,  Rhode  Island,  1680,  1681,  1686.  Peleg  was 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (Paine)  Tripp,  of  Ports- 
mouth, who  was  deputy  thirteen  years  from  1648- 
72,  and  assistant  1670,  1673-75.  Mary  Paine, 
died  February  12,  1687,  was  a  daughter  of  An- 
thony Paine,  of  Portsmouth,  1638.  Jeremiah  and 
Sarah  Tripp  had  an  only  son  Jonathan. 


406 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


(IV)  Captain  Jonathan  Vaughan,  only  child 
of  Jeremiah  and  Sara  (Tripp)  Vaughan,  was 
born  in  North  Kingston,  Rhode  Island,  January 
6,  1779,  died  at  Montrose,  Pennsylvania,  Janu- 
ary 29,  1869,  aged  ninety  years  and  twenty-five 
days.  He  was  married  (first)  at  North  Kingston, 
by  Nicholas  Gardiner,  Esq.,  justice,  January  n, 
1796,  to  Mary  Austin,  probably  of  Robert,  of 
Kingston,  Rhode  Island.  He  married  (second) 
Montrose,  Pennsylvania,  June,  181 1,  Lydia 
Avery,  daughter  of  Ezekiel  Avery,  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier,  and  sister  of  Daniel  Avery. 

Captain  Vaughan  moved  from  Exeter,  Rhode 
Island,  where  he  had  settled,  to  East  Greenwich, 
Rhode  Island,  in  1796,  where  he  bought  of  Isaac 
and  Phebe  Coe  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  acres 
and  a  dwelling  house.  He  lived  there  until  about 
1800,  when  he  returned  to  Exeter.  He  sold  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1802,  to  John  Sweet,  of  East  Green- 
wich, ninety  acres  of  his  land.  From  Exeter  he 
moved  later  to  Arlington,  Vermont,  from  which 
place  he  moved  in  1810,  in  which  year,  February 
18,  he  located  in  Bridgewater,  Susquehanna 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  had  visited  the 
year  previous.  Mrs.  Blackman  in  her  "History 
of  Susquehanna  County,"  gives  a  few  facts  from 
his  diary  which  are  interesting. 

"1810,  February  24,  sap  free;  April  21,  apple 
trees  with  leaves;  May  1,  Daniel  Austin  and 
Chapman  Carr  came ;  went  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Wyalusing,  and  one  and  a  half  miles  below  to 
Stalford's  for  wheat ;  meeting  on  Sabbath  "out 
at  Wilson's"  and  at  Elder  Dimock's ;  September, 
helped  Mr.  Warner  at  a  logging  bee ;  November 
many  inquiring  the  way  to  Zion. 

"181 1.  Januuary,  Conference  meeting  at  Mr. 
Samuel  Scott's ;  singing  school  by  James  Burch ; 
February,  went  twice  on  one  week  to  Lathrop 
mills  after  boards  for  the  school  house ;  June, 
married  Lydia  Avery ;  October,  four  of  us  pulled 
one  hundred  bushels  of  turnips. 

"1812.  January  30,  sap  run  some.  Split  260 
rails  and  left  off  before  night." 

What  a  record  for  a  pioneer.  At  this  date  he 
was  thirty-two  years  old.  The  records  of  Sus- 
quehanna county  show  that  he  bought  of  Robert 
H.  Rose,  1814,  seventy-three  acres  in  Bridge- 
water,  in  181 5  from  E.  Fancher  forty-seven  in 
Bridgewater,  in  1850  of  Cabel  Carmalt  ninety-six 
acres,  and  in  185 1  from  Jonathan  A.  Vaughan  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  the  same  locality. 
Captain  Vaughan  was  commissioned  ensien  of 
the  Second  company,  East  Greenwich  (Rhode 
Island)  militia.  May,  1800,  and  Mav,  1801  ;  he 
was  also  commissioned  captain   of  East  Green- 


wich militia  November  2,  1801,  his  commission  as 
cauptain  being  still  in  the  possession  of  his  de- 
scendants in  Montrose.  He  had  by  his  first  mar- 
riage : 

Sarah  Vaughan,  born  in  Exeter,  Rhode 
Island,  December  18,  1796;  married  Mr.  Ship- 
man. 

Stephen  Vaughan,  born  in  East  Greenwich, 
Rhode  Island,  January  31,  1798,  of  whom  later. 

Elizabeth  Vaughan,  born  in  East  Greenwich, 
Rhode  Island,  December  4,  1800,  married  Mat- 
thew Baldwin,  born  March,  1794. 

Ariel  Vaughan,  born  in  Connecticut. 

Mercy  Vaughan,  married  Mr.  Stevens. 

By  his  second  marriage  Captain  Jonathan 
Vaughan,  had,  all  born  in  Montrose,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Crispin  Vaughan,  married  and  had  Clarke 
Vaughan ;  John  Avery  Vaughan,  of  Crescent 
Springs,  Kentucky ;  Lucinda  Carter  Vaughan  ; 
Jane  Vaughan,  married  Mr.  Griffith;  Lydia  Ann 
Vaughan,  married  Mr.  Griffith. 

(VII)  Captain  Stephen  Vaughan,  eldest  son 
of  Captain  Jonathan  and  Mary  (Austen) 
Vaughan,  born  East  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island, 
January  31,  1798,  died  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
March  12,  1862,  was  married  by  Rev.  Nicholas 
Murray,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvana,  June  2, 
1832,  to  Frances  Buckingham,  born  June  21, 
1804,  died  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  February 
7,  1834,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Tryphena 
(Hibbard)  Buckingham,  of  Lebanon,  Connecti- 
cut. Captain  Vaughan  ( as  he  is  called  in  the 
published  notice  of  his  marriage)  was  a  taxable 
in  Montrose  borough,  1827-28,  after  which,  ac- 
cording to  Roger  S.  Searle,  he  went  to  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania,  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business  in  the  firm  of  Slocum  &  Vaughan.  He 
was  a  taxable  as  a  ''"single  freeman"  in  Kings- 
ton in  1831.  In  1840  he  moved  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  was  a  clerk  in  a  store  until  1841,  when  he  en- 
tered the  mercantile  firm  of  Pettebone  and 
Vaughan,  successors  to  H.^ Pettebone  &  Co.  He- 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Johnston,  May  5, 
1851,  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  North  ward  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  reappointed  by  Governor  Pol- 
lock, April  16,  1856,  and  by  Governor  Curtin, 
April  9,  1862,  serving  until  his  death,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Sanford  Parsons,  Esq.  He  was 
a  charter  member  of  Wyoming  Lodge,  I.  O.  O. 
F.,  and  first  noble  grand,  September  23,  1831  : 
also  charter  member  and  chief  patriarch  of 
Outalissa  Encampment,  No.  39,  August  10,  1846. 
His  estate  was  administered  by  his  cousin,  George^ 
Loveland,  Esq.,  March  1  "-April  9.  1862.  He- 
is  remembered  by  those  who  knew  him  well,  as; 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


407 


a  man  of  high  character,  and  fine  business  ability. 
He  was  an  active  Democrat,  living  at  the  old 
Phoenix  Hotel.  His  office  was  for  years  the 
headquarters  of  the  Democratic  party. 

Fanny  Buckingham,  wife  of  Captain  Stephen 
Vaughan,  was  granddaughter  of  Jedediah  and 
Martha  (Clark)  Buckingham,  who  was  son  of 
Thomas  and  Mary  (Parker)  Buckingham,  the 
son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Griswold)  Buck- 
ingham, whose  father,  Rev.  Thomas  Bucking- 
ham, married  Hester  Hosmer,  and  was  the  sixth 
child  of  Thomas  and  Hannah  Buckingham,  who 
emigrated  to  Massachusetts  in  1637  and  settled 
at  Milford,  Connecticut,  in  1639.  This  Thomas, 
the  pioneer,  was  a  deputy  to  the  general  court  of 
Connecticut,  1657.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Buckingham,  was  an  eminent  minister  of  the 
Congregational  church,  1669-1709,  and  one  of 
the  moderators  of  the  Saybrook  conference  that 
formed  the  Saybrook  Platform  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  New  England  church,  1708.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  founders  and  fellows  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, from  1700  until  his  death.  Margaret  Gris- 
wold, wife  of  Thomas  Buckingham  (3)  was 
daughter  of  Lieutenant  Francis  Griswold,  of 
Norwich,  Connecticut,  deputy  to  the  general  court 
for  seven  years,  1664-71,  and  granddaughter  of 
Edward  Griswold,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Windsor,  Connecticut,  deputy  to  the  general 
court  from  Killingworth,  Connecticut,  and  mag- 
istrate for  over  twenty  years.  Martha  Clark, 
wife  of  Jedediah  Buckingham,  was  granddaugh- 
ter of  Captain  William  and  Hannah  (Strong) 
Clark,  of  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Lieutenant  William  Clark,  of 
Northampton,  who  came  here  1637.  These,  with 
Elder  John  Strong  and  his  father-in-law,  Thomas 
Ford,  were  all  deputies  to  the  general  court  for 
several  years.  Lieutenant  William  Clark  served 
in  King  Philip's  war  and  was  deputy  1663,  1664, 
166S-77,  !68o,  1682:  and  his  son.  Captain  Will- 
iam Clark,  was  captain  of  First  Company  of  Leb- 
anon Connecticut  militia  1708 ;  deputy  1705-24, 
fourteen  years ;  and  a  member  of  the  council, 
1719,  1721,  etc.,  etc. 

Stephen  and  Fanny  (Buckingham)  Vaughan 
had  but  one  child,  Stephen  Buckingham  Vaughn. 

(YIII)  Stephen  Buckingham  Vaughn,  only 
child  of  Stephen  and  Fanny  (Buckingham) 
Vaughan,  was  born  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
September  15,  1833,  cued  at  his  residence  in  Dor- 
ranceton,  Pennsylvania,  June  26,  1905  ;  married, 
December  5,  1866,  Marian  Wallace  Preston, 
daughter  of  Colonel  Joseph  Tyson  and  Sarah 
Ann    (Espy)     Preston,    of    Kingston,    Pennsyl- 


vania, and  granddaughter  of  James  Preston  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth  Fitzgerald,  daughter  of  John 
Fitzgerald,  of  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Vaughn,  having  lost  his  mother  when  he 
was  four  months  old,  was  raised  by  John  and  Ma- 
tilda (Buckingham)  Bennet,  Mrs.  Bennet  being 
his  aunt.  From  them  he  inherited  at  their  death 
much  property.  He  was  educated  at  the  old 
Presbyterian  Institute,  Luzerne  Academy,  at 
Troy,  Pennsylvania,  and  having  a  fine  estate  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  other  business.  He  was 
for  over  thirty  years  director  of  the  Central 
Poor  District  of  Luzerne  county,  serving  for 
years  when  the  office  brought  no  compensation. 
.He  was  over  twenty  years  director  of  the  Forty 
Fort  Cemetery  Association  ;  member  of  the  coun- 
cil of  Dorranceton  almost  from  its  organization, 
1888-1905,  having  been  re-elected  for  three  years 
early  in  1905  ;  he  was  also  president  of  the  coun- 
cil, 1893-95.  He  was  a  director  of  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  Kingston  (North  street)  Bridge  Com- 
panv,  and  vice-president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  and 
West  Side  Railway  Company  until  it  was  merged 
into  the  Traction  Company.  He  was  also  a  Free 
Mason,  member  of  the  Kingston  Lodge, '  past 
eminent  commander  of  Dieu  de  Veut  Comman- 
derv.  Knights  Templar,  and  a  Thirty-second  de- 
gree Mason.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Malt  Club, 
the  Westmoreland  Club,  and  for  years  one  of  the 
managers  of  the  Luzerne  County  Humane  Asso- 
ciation. Mr.  Vaughn  was  domestic  in  his  tastes, 
warmhearted  and  generous  in  his  character,  an 
unfailing  friend  to  rich  and  poor  alike,  with  a 
hand  opened  to  the  suffering  and  needy ;  ex- 
tremely kind  hearted  and  of  great  courtesy,  he 
had  many  friends  who  valued  him  and  loved  him. 
Fond  of  outdoor  sports,  he  delighted  in  his  wheel 
and  was  a  delightful  companion  to  travel  with. 
He  passed  away  with  a  Christian  hope,  and  is 
buried  in  Forty  Fort  cemetery. 

Mrs.  Vaughn*s  parents,  Colonel  Joseph  Ty- 
son and  Sarah  Ann  (Espy)  Preston,  were  well 
known  in  the  Wyoming  Valley.  James  Preston, 
father  of  Colonel  Joseph  Tyson,  was  one  of  seven 
brothers,  who  came  from  England  and  settled  in 
Philadelphia,  but  afterward  bought  a  farm  in 
Blue  Bell  township,  Montgomery  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  died  there.  He  married  twice  ;  first, 
as  above,  to  Elizabeth  Fitzgerald,  and  had  by  her 
Cornelius,  Joseph  Tyson,  Jessie  and  Rosanna. 
By  his  second  wife  he  had  Charles,  Tared  and 
John.  Colonel  Joseph  Tyson  Preston,  born  May 
9,  1814,  died  in  Kingston,  May  2"j,  1877,  was  for 
a  time  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  Thomas  Myers,  in 
Kinsrston.      He    then   moved    to    Plymouth    and 


4o8 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


entered  into  partnership  with  William  Reynolds 
in  coal  mining  and  a  company  store.  He  was  a 
colonel  of  state  militia,  a  member  of  St.  Stephen's 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
is  said  by  those  who  knew  him  to  have  been  a 
most  honorable  and  upright  gentleman.  The 
Record,  of  August  6,  1863,  said  of  him :  "Mr. 
Preston  has  been  for  many  years  a  resident  of  the 
valley,  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business,  and 
by  his  constant  attention  to  his  business,  his 
strictly  honest  and  upright  character,  and  kind 
and  accommodating  spirit,  he  had  made  for  him- 
self a  large  circle  of  warm  friends.  During  the 
last  seven  years  of  his  life  he  had  been  most  se- 
verely afflicted  with  a  lingering  disease  which 
rendered  him  incapable  of  business  and  shut  him 
up  within  the  bosom  of  his  own  family.  But  his 
mind  was  unimpaired,  and  he  was  enabled  to  put 
his  entire  trust  in  Him  who  always  supports  in 
every  suffering  those  that  trust  in  Him.  The 
large  number  of  sympathizing  friends  that  fol- 
lowed his  remains  to  the  grave  showed  plainly 
that  the  memory  of  his  many  worthy  qualities 
while  in  active  life  were  still  fresh  in  their  re- 
membrance." Sarah  Ann  Espy,  wife  of  Joseph 
Tyson  Preston,  was  the  daughter  of  George  and 
Elizabeth  (Eike)  Espy,  son  of  George  Espy,  of 
Dauphin  and  Luzerne  counties,  who  was  justice 
of  the  peace  for  fourteen  years,  and  builder  of 
the  old  stone  jail  of  Wilkes-Barre,  on  the  public 
square.  George  Espy  married  Mary  Stewart, 
daughter  of  John  Stewart,  of  Hanover,  Lancas- 
ter county,  Pennsylvania,  an  uncle  to  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  (Captain)  Lazarus  Stewart,  who  was 
slain  in  the  massacre  of  Wyoming.  George  Espy 
was  son  of  Josiah  Espy,  grandson  of  George 
Espy,  and  great-grandson  of  Josiah  ( 1 ) ,  who 
came  from  Ireland,  1729,  settled  in  Derry  town- 
ship, Lancaster  county,  and  died  there  March, 
1761.  (Egle's  Pennsylvania  Genealogies).  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Stephen  B.  Vaughn  had  four  children : 

1.  Fanny    Buckingham   Vaughn,   born   July 
29,  1868,  died  February  22,  1872. 

2.  Mariam  Matilda  Vaughn,  married  No- 
vember 12,  1899,  Frederick  Hurlbut  Pavne, 
banker,  broker,  member  New  York  Stock  Ex- 
change, lives  in  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs. 
Payne  was  educated  at  Mrs.  Henrietta  Kutz's 
school  in  Philadelphia,  and  Mrs.  Brown's  school, 
New  York.  Mr.  Payne  was  born  Tonawanda, 
New  York,  February  18,  1866,  son  of  Eugene 
Robert  and  Emily  Elizabeth  (Hurlbut)  Payne, 
grandson  of  Colonel  Lewis  Stephen  and  Mary 
(Tabor)    Payne.     Colonel    L.    S.    Payne    was    a 

son  of  Stephen  and  Ruth  A.   (Smith)   Payne,  of 


Ebenezer  (3),  Stephen  (2),  Alpha  (1).  He  was 
born  in  Monroe  county,  New  York,  January  21, 
1819,  died  Tonawanda,  New  York.  April  11, 
1898.  Was  captain  Company  D,  One  Hundredth 
New  York  Volunteers,  1861,  raising  the  company 
at  his  own  expense.  He  was  enrolled  October  9, 
1 86 1,  for  three  years,  served  under  General  Mc- 
Clellan,  General  Gilmore,  and  others,  until 
wounded  and  captured,  August  3,  1863;  ex- 
changed March  5,  1865,  mustered  out  as  lieuten- 
ant-colonel and  brevet  colonel.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Payne  have  two  children :  Eugene  Robert  and 
Marion  Dorothy  Payne. 

3.  John  Bennet  Vaughn,  educated  Chester 
Military  School,  Pennsylvania,  and  Princeton 
College.  Is  a  stock  broker  associated  with  Fred- 
erick H.  Payne,  of  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania, 
with  office  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  and  Wyoming 
Valley  Country  Clubs. 

4.  Gertrude  Turner  Vaughn,  educated 
Wilkes-Barre  Female  Institute ;  Norwood  Insti- 
tute, Washington,  D.  C. ;  and  Farmington,  Con- 
necticut, taking  a  special  course  at  Columbia 
University,  New  York.  She  is  a  member  of  the 
Wyoming  Valley  Country  Club. 

Mr.  John  Bennet,  to  whose  paternal  care  Mr. 
Vaughn  was  so  much  indebted,  born  April  25, 
1790,  died  February  10,  1863,  was  son  of  An- 
drew Bennet  and  grandson  of  Thomas  Bennet, 
who  came  to  Kingston  with  his  family,  1769,  as 
one  of  the  forty  settlers  who  founded  Eorty  Fort. 
Thomas  Bennet  was  in  the  fort  when  the  battle 
of  July  3,  1778,  occurred,  and  when  the  sur- 
render was  made  the  following  day  he  fled  with 
his  family  from  the  valley.  Returning  later  he 
was  captured,  with  his  son  Andrew  and  Lebbeus 
Hammond,  by  the  Indians,  and  carried  off.  The 
three  arose  one  night  on  their  captors,  slew  them, 
and  brought  their  arms  with  them.  Peck,  in  his 
"History  of  Wyoming"  (pp.  291  et  seq.)  describes 
at  length  their  tragic  story,  which  has  become  a 
part  of  Wyoming  history.  (  See  also  Kulp,  quoted 
from  Peck,  pp  630-650).  Andrew  Bennet  born 
1764,  died  November  20,  1824,  married  Mary 
Miller,  December  18,  1787,  born  1759,  died  Oc- 
tober 6.  1804.  They  had  Tohn,  born  April  25, 
1790,  Monroe  born  July  18,  179 1,  Martha  born 
November  8,  1799,  died  November  27,  1837 ; 
Thomas,  born  December  3,  1800.  died  t8oi.  His 
eldest  son,  John  Bennet,  married  Matilda  Buck- 
ingham, sister  of  Mrs.  Fannv  Vaughan,  the  aunt 
of  Stephen  B.  Vaughn.  John  Bennet  was  for 
some  years  a  school  teacher.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  a  splendid  specimen  of  physical  manhood — 


■  ■..■■     .-..■■ 


7*^/2^fr?£ejf 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


409 


broad  chested,  with  compact  muscles,  large  head 
and  energetic  motions,  indicating  great  vitality 
and  endurance,  with  a  face  indicative  of  intellec- 
tual power  and  great  decision  of  character.  In 
early  life  he  was  a  practical  surveyor  and  farmer ; 
friendly  and  faithful  in  all  the  relations  of  life, 
a  man  of  extensive  information,  especially  as  a 
mathematician  his  fondness  for  the  study  of 
mathematics  distinguishing  him  through  life.  Mr. 
Bennet  was  an  active  Freemason,  and  a  member 
of  Lodge  61.  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Wilkes- 
Barre :  admitted  August  2,  1813.  His  wife  Ma- 
tilda, born  January  4,  1799.  died  August  11,  1S79. 

The  following  sketch  of  Mr.  Bennet  from  the 
pen  of  Rev.  E.  H.  Snowden,  of  Forty  Fort,  was 
written  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Februarv  10, 
1863: 

"At  his  father's  death  Mr.  Bennet  became 
the  head  of  the  household,  and  rendered  very 
efficient  help.  He  brought  up  two  of  the  chil- 
dren as  his  own,  and  introduced  one  of  his  broth- 
ers to  a  lucrative  position  in  life.  He  reared  to 
maturity  nine  children  of  other  parentage.  But 
this  kindness  of  heart  was  not  confined  to  his  own 
family.  It  blessed  the  poor  and  wretched,  without 
distinction,  who  did  not  appeal  to  him  in  vain. 
Those  who  have  partaken  of  his  liberal  hospital- 
ity well  know  that  he  had  a  large  heart.  On  such 
occasions  he  charmed  the  home  circle  of  friends 
bv  his  bright  anecdotes  and  the  humor  and  orig- 
inality of  his  conversation.  We  seemed  to  be 
listening  to  one  who  had  lived  in  the  stormy 
period  of  the  Revolution,  and  had  survived  it 
to  tell  the  tale.  His  native  powers  were  of  a  high 
order,  and  with  the  culture  which  others  had  en- 
joyed he  would  have  been  distinguished. 

"There  were  two  branches,  history  and  mathe- 
matics, in  which  he  particularly  excelled.  Hav- 
ing a  retentive  memory  and  a  diligence  which 
never  tired,  he  made  himself  familiar  with  the 
lessons  of  the  past,  and  could  freely  draw  from 
its  treasures.  Mathematics  was  his  favorite 
study.  He  was  enamored  of  it  in  early  life,  and 
in  the  evening  of  his  days  it  was  a  pastime  to 
him  to  work  out  the  most  abstruse  problems. 
When  put  to  the  test  he  was  never  found  want- 
ing, but  came  off  with  honors.  He  was  always 
looking  forward  to  events  or  something  in  the 
distant  future,  which,  though  dimly  seen  by 
others  were  clearly  seen  bv  himself,  and  which  all 
see  very  visiblv  now.  Everv  subject  he  took 
Tiold  of  he  examined  thoroughly,  and  going  to  the 
foundation  of  things,  was  able  to  enlighten 
others.  Fifty  years  ago  there  was  much  greater 
:  simplicity  of  manners  and  economy  of  living  than 


there  is  to-day.  Architecture  here  was  in  its 
infancy,  buildings  were  very  plain,  and  there  was 
a  corresponding  plainness  in  dress  and  equipages. 
Carpets  were  seldom  seen,  they  were  as  rare  as 
silk  stockings  in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
When  society,  as  to  refinement  and  wealth,  was 
passing  into  a  higher  grade  our  friend  came  into 
notice.  Of  course  both  these  states  of  society 
were  represented  in  him.  He  had  the  frankness, 
and  impulsiveness  of  the  past  and  "go-aheaditive- 
ness"  (If  I  may  use  the  expression)  of  the  pres- 
ent, and  it  would  be  doing  injustice  to  his  merfi- 
ory  not  to  say  that  he  had  something  to  do  in 
inaugurating  the  transactions  to  which  I  have 
just  referred. 

"Of  course  he  was  one  of  many,  too  numerous 
to  mention,  who  acted  a  conspicuous  part.  Alas, 
how  few  of  them  remain.  Associated  with  such 
men  as  these,  first  as  surveyor,  and  afterward  as 
chief  engineer  on  the  North  Branch  extension  of 
the  canal,  he  did  much  to  develop  the  resources 
of  the  valley ;  the  railroad  soon  followed,  and 
what  was  the  result?  Why,  this  beautiful  val- 
lev.  once  isolated  and  unknown,  save  by  one 
thrilling  tragedy  of  the  Revolution,  is  now  open 
to  all.  Its  productions,  which"  had  no  outlet,  have 
free  vent,  and  all  eyes  are  attracted  to  it.  Where- 
ever  the  Anglo-Saxon  language  is  spoken,  its  his- 
tory, which  is  the  romance  of  truth,  is  known. 

"While  we  render  due  honor  to  the  heroes  of 
the  battlefield,  who  have  won  this  noble  heritage 
for  us,  let  us  remember  also  those  who  have  car- 
ried out  what  they  so  auspiciously  begun,  who 
have  beautified  and  adorned  it,  and  thus  given 
to  the  bright  vision  of  the  imagination  the  charm 
of  reality.  In  this  class  we  rank  the  one  who  is 
gone,  and  whose  face  we  shall  see  no  more  on 
earth.  He  loved  the  humble  doctrines  of  Grace, 
and  the  energy  which  raised  him  step  by  step  to 
the  desired  position  in  society  was,  in  his  last 
days,  applied  to  a  nobler  use,  and  it  might  be 
said  of  him,  as  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  'Behold,  he 
prayeth.'  "  H.  E.  H. 

EDWIN  W.  ABBOTT.  The  Abbott  fam- 
ily from  which  was  descended  the  late  Edwin 
Walter  Abbott,  traces  its  lineage  back  to  George 
Abbott,  who  emigrated  from  Yorkshire,  Eng- 
land in  the  ship  "Speedwell,"  and  settled  at  An- 
dover,  Massachusetts,  in  1640.  In  this  same  fam- 
ily line  are  to  be  found  the  names  of  John  and 
Jacob  Abbott,  the  historians,  and  the  Rev.  Lyman 
Abbott.  D.  D.,  who  succeeded  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  in  the  pulpit  of  Plymouth  Church, 
Brooklyn,  New  York. 


4io 


THE  WYOMING  AXD  LACKAWANNA   VALLEYS. 


Philip  Abbott,  grandfather  of  Edwin  W. 
Abbott,  came  to  the  Wyoming  Valley  from  To- 
land,  Connecticut,  in  179S.  His  son.  Philip,  Jr.. 
was  then  a  young  man  of  seventeen,  and  in  later 
years  he  gave  a  vivid  description  of  the  journey. 
The  family  traveled  the  entire  distance  in  "Cones- 
toga"  wagons,  ferrying  on  flat  boats  from  the 
Connecticut  to  the  Xew  Jersey  shore,  and  then 
traversing  the  old  Easton  turnpike  to  the  "Wyo- 
ming valley.  The  party  included  the  Starks.  and 
other  well  known  families.  Philip  Abbott  settled 
on  land  near  where  his  uncle,  John  Abbott  ( who 
lost  his  life  in  the  Wyoming  massacre)  had  lo- 
cated nearly  twenty-five  years  before.  The  tract 
settled  by  Philip  Abbott  is  now  covered  by  por- 
tions of  Westmore,  Kingston  and  Edwardsville. 
Upon  this  land  he  farmed  for  a  number  of  years 
until  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  son  Abiel. 
who  was  a  lad  of  eight  years  when  the  family 
came. 

Abiel  Abbott,  son  of  Philip  Abbott,  lived  a 
life  of  great  usefulness,  and  was  justly  held  in 
high  respect  by  the  community  at  large,  and  in 
genuine  affection  by  his  personal  friends.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  death  Mr.  Charles  Miner,  the 
historian,  wrote  an  obituary,  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Wyoming  Republican  (1838)  and  is 
made  the  basis  of  this  narrative.  Abiel  Abbott 
served  an  apprenticeship  to  George  Cahoon,  a 
master  carpenter  of  Wilkes-Barre,  of  whom  in 
after  years  he  was  wont  to  speak  with  tenderness 
as  "my  old  master,"  so  cordial  had  been  their  re- 
tions.  Soon  after  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
apprenticeship  (in  1813)  he  went  to  Mauch 
Chunk  where  preparations  were  being  made  for 
the  transportation  of  anthracite  coal  to  Philadel- 
phia, by  means  of  arks,  this  being  the  name  of 
the  boats  in  which  the  coal  was  to  be  shipped 
on  the  Lehigh  river.  August  9,  18 14,  he,  ardent 
and  fearless,  volunteered  to  go  on  the  first  ark. 
The  enterprise  was  of  no  slight  peril,  for  the 
stream  was  crooked  and  rocky,  and,  when  swol- 
len to  a  flood,  boiled  and  raged  with  appalling 
fury.  Small  rafts  had  made  the  voyage  in  safety, 
but  an  ark  carrying  twenty-four  tons  was  a  new 
craft  on  the  Lehigh,  and  the  hardiest  pilots  and 
boatsmen  viewed  the  venture  with  dread.  Abiel 
Abbctt  cheered  them  by  word  and  example.  The 
ark  shot  off  like  an  arrow,  and  within  three  min- 
utes had  clashed  against  a  rock,  staving  a  hole 
in  her  bow.  On  the  instant,  Abbott  had  thrown  off 
nearly  all  his  clothing,  which  he  thrust  into  the 
opening,  stopping  the  leak,  and  enabling  the  craft 
to  reach  its  destination.  It  was  a  momentous 
event,  in  itself  and  in  its  consequences.  The  coal 
was  sold  in  Philadelphia  and  at  some  profit  be- 


cause of  the  cessation  of  the  foreign  supply 
owing  to  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  then 
in  progress.  This  may  be  set  down  as  the 
beginning  of  the  anthracite  coal  trade  in  Penn- 
sylvania. As  was  remarked  by  Mr.  Miner,  in  his 
article  before  referred  to,  "Had  the  ark  of  Au- 
gust. 1814,  gone  to  the  bottom,  it  is  hardly  prob- 
ble  that  another  would  have  followed.  Had  no 
coal  been  then  taken  to  Philadelphia,  when  neces- 
sity would  compel  the  citizens  to  learn  its  use,  our 
anthracite  mines  would  most  likely  now  be  sleep- 
ing in  undisputed  and  useless  repose."  These 
particulars  are  dwelt  upon  because  to  the  pres- 
ence of  mind  and  unconquerable  spirit  of  Abiel 
Abbott  is  due  the  success  of  this  first  experiment 
— a  success  which  had  a  material  influence  upon 
his  future  fortunes,  and  those  of  the  anthracite 
region. 

That  the  intrepidity  of  Mr.  Abbott  upon  the 
occasion  before  narrated  was  in  keeping  with  his 
character,  and  not  a  mere  incident,  is  evidenced 
bv  his  conduct  upon  another  occasion.  Novem- 
ber 5,  1829,  the  canal  packet-boat  "Swan"  was 
proceeding  up  the  Lehigh  river,  when  the  draw- 
ing horse  was  jerked  from  the  tow-path,  throw- 
ing the  rider  into  the  water,  some  fourteen  feet 
deep.  The  boat  was  some  one  hundred  feet  be- 
hind, still  in  motion  by  its  momentum,  but  before 
it  reached  the  spot  where  the  driver  had  fallen 
in,  the  voting  fellow,  who  could  not  swim,  had 
disappeared  in  the  water.  On  the  boat  were  a 
number  of  the  officers  of  the  canal  company, 
among  them  the  agent  at  South  Easton,  Abiel 
Abbott,  who.  at  the  moment  the  boat  neared  the 
spot,  pulled  off  his  coat,  boots  and  hat,  and  made 
a  dive.  He  found  the  driver  at  the  bottom  of  the 
canal,  holding  on  with  a  death  grip  to  a  large 
stone.  It  ■  required  strong  effort  to  release  his 
hold,  but  Abbott  accomplished  it,  and  brought 
the  young  man  (Joseph  Corey)  to  the  surface. 
It  was  full  five  minutes  before  Corey  came  to 
consciousness,  and  his  first  words  were :  "Take 
care  of  the  horse."  In  recognition  of  his  gallant 
conduct  on  this  occasion,  the  Lehigh  Coal  and 
Navigation  Company  presented  to  Mr.  Abbott  a 
beautiful  silver  pitcher,  upon  which  was  inscribed 
a  statement  of  the  fact,  and  a  dedication :  "To 
show  their  sense  of  his  humane  and  intrepid  con- 
duct in  rescuing  a  youth  from  drowning  in  the 
river  Lehigh,  in  November.  A.  D.,  1829." 

Mr.  Abbott  subsequentlv  established  carpen- 
ter shops  in  Wilkes-Barre,  which  were  destroyed 
by  fire.  With  entire  loss  of  all  the  results  of  his 
earnings  for  several  years,  he  went  with  buoyant 
spirit  in  search  of  employment.  Under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  master  carpenter  he  undertook  getting" 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


41 ; 


out  timbers  for  the  framing;  of  a  building:  of 
stated  dimensions.  He  had  each  timber  hewn, 
mortised  and  tenoned  on  the  spot,  ready  for  put- 
ting together.  The  day  -came  for  the  raising  and 
the  master  carpenter  said,  "You  had  better  get 
your  frame  on  the  ground  and  fit  the  joints  and 
see  that  it  will  come  together ;  it  can't  all  come 
right,  and  we  shall  have  only  delay  and  confu- 
sion.'' Said  Abbott,  "I  will  take  the  responsi- 
bly ;  I'll  warrant  it  will  come  right."  "Very  well ; 
the  responsibility  is  with  you,"  was  the  answer. 
Tt  was  as  Abbott  had  said.  Every  stick  fitted  to 
its  proper  place,  like  cabinet  work.  All  were  sur- 
prised ;  none  more  so  than  the  master  carpenter, 
who  gave  Abbott  due  credit,  and  mentioned  him 
favorably  to  White  &  Hazzard,  coal  operators  at 
Mauch  Chunk.  The  incident  was  of  great  im- 
portance to  Mr.  Abbott,  and  laid  the  foundation 
of  his  prosperity.  White  &  Hazzard  soon  learned 
to  appreciate  his  merits.  They  found  in  him,  in 
addition  to  a  correct  knowledge  of  his  trade,  a 
sound  judgment,  enlarged  and  liberal  views  in 
respect  to  business  in  general,  quickness  to  dis- 
cern, prompitude  to  act,  and  skill  to  execute ;  and, 
to  combine  with  these  qualities,  strict  integrity 
and  spotless  honor ;  and  he  became  one  of  the 
most  steady,  faithful  and  efficient  servants  of  the 
Lehigh  Coal  &  Navigation  Company,  which  bore 
such  a  mighty  part  of  the  industrial  development 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  became  superintendent  of 
the  company,  and  was  so  serving  in  1838,  when 
his  health  failed,  and  he  died  in  the  autumn  of 
that  year,  on  the  David  Corey  (now  known  as 
the  Isaac  Tripp  farm  in  Forty  Fort),  which 
he  had  purchased  some  time  before.  Ex- 
cept for  the  disease  that  assailed  '  him  as 
the  result  of  a  fall  which  occurred  while 
he  was  inspecting  the  canal,  he  was  in  the  ■ 
prime  of  life.  He  was  occupying  a  re- 
sponsible and  lucrative  position,  affording  wide 
scope  for  increased  usefulness ;  had  acquired  a 
most  comfortable  home ;  and  was  happy  in  the 
companionship  of  his  wife  and  a  promising  family 
of  children.  His  unconquerable  spirit,  his  deter- 
mination to  accomplish  whatever  he  undertook, 
was  manifested  just  before  his  dissolution.  He 
asked  of  a  friend  the  hour,  and  was  handed  a 
watch.  With  painful  effort  he  raised  himself 
upon  his  elbow,  and  held  the  watch  before  his 
eye.  His  friend  noted  that  his  sight  was  failing, 
and  that  his  eye  was  glazing  with  departing  life, 
and  would  have  taken  it  from  him.  "No,"  he 
said.  "I'll  find  the  hour,"  roused  himself  until 
he  named  it  almost  accurately,  and  shortly  after- 
ward  expired.      As   his   biographer  notes,   Abiel 


Abbott  may  with  propriety  be  held  up  as  an 
example  to  young  men  coining  on  the  stage  of 
action.  By  industry,  probity  and  perseverance, 
he  acquired  wealth,  character  and  confidence.  In 
the  domestic  circle  he  was  kind,  amiable  and 
obliging.  As  a  son,  husband,  father  and  brother, 
his  virtues  were  pure,  without  blemish,  and  were 
responded  to  by  the  warmest  affection. 

"The  seasons  as  they  fly. 
Snatch  from  us  in  their  course,  year  after  year, 
Some   sweet  connection — some  endearing  tie. 

The  Parent,  Son  or  Husband,  ever  dear. 
Claims  from  the  wounded  breast  the  pious  sigh  ; 
Or  brother's  urn  demands  the  kindred  tear, 
And  gentle  sorrows  gush  from  friendship's  eye." 

Mr.  Abbott  married  Sibyl  Wheeler,  whose 
father,  James  Wheeler,  was  sheriff  of  Luzerne 
county  about  1810.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Ab- 
bott the  farm  was  managed  by  his  widow  and  the 
two  sons,  James  Wheeler  and  Edwin  Walter. 
After  the  death  of  the  mother,  the  family  was 
broken  up,  the  daughters  ( Celinda,  Ann  and 
Louise)  marrying  and  locating  in  Michigan, 
while  the  sons  went  to  Tamaqua,  where  both 
married,  their  wives  being  sisters,  the  daughters 
of  James  and  Catherine  Latimer,  formerly  of 
Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  known  as 
the  Irish  Settlement,  so  named  because  of  its 
having  been  first  settled  by  North  of  Ireland  em- 
igrants. James  Wheeler,  the  eldest  son,  was  as- 
sistant superintendent  of  the  Wiggan  colliery, 
and  afterward  was  cashier  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Tamaqua.  To  him  and  his  wife,  Olinda 
(  Latimer)  Abbott  were  born  :  Katherine  ;  Anna  ; 
Mary  Latimer,  who  became  the  wife  of  W.  W. 
Grover,  of  Luzerne;  James  Wheeler,  Jr.,  Jessie 
Ralston,  and  Edwin  Walter. 

Edwin  Walter,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
second  son  of  Abiel  and  Sibyl  (Wheeler)  Abbott, 
was  born  at  Mauch  Chunk,  October  2,  1827.  He 
was  educated  at  the  Wyoming  Seminary  for  sev- 
eral terms.  His  first  active  employment  was  with 
the  engineer  corps  of  the  Little  Schuylkill  Rail- 
road Company  at  Tamaqua,  which  was  engaged 
in  surveying  a  branch  which  afterward  became  a 
part  of  the  Reading  Railroad  system.  He  re- 
turned to  the  valley  in  February,  1859,  first  oc- 
cupying the  old  homestead,  from  which  he  re- 
moved to  the  Tuttle  farm.  In  1863  ne  purchased 
the  Greenleaf  Cottage  in  Luzerne,  or  Mill  Hol- 
low, as  it  was  then  called,  where  he  resided  until 
his  death,  May  26,  1905.  He  was  the  first  post- 
master of  Mill  Hollow,  and  also  carried  the  mails 
to  Dallas,  Huntsville,  and  the  Harvev's  Lake  re- 


412 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


gion  for  a  number  of  years.  After  the  death  of 
Charles  Bennett,  Mr.  Abbott  took  charge  of  the 
extensive  land  interests  of  the  estate,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  Miss 
Martha  Bennett  found  in  him  one  who  sympa- 
thized with  her  in  her  many  acts  of  generous 
kindness  to  the  widows  and  orphans  and  the 
worthy  poor.  In  politics  he  was  classed  as  an 
independent  voter,  with  a  leaning  toward  the  Re- 
publican-Prohibition ticket.  He  always  refused 
.to  be  a  candidate  for  office,  but  held  the  position 
of  councilman  at  the  time  of  his  death,  having 
been  appointed,  with  others,  by  the  court,  to 
fill  vacancies  occasioned  by  a  deadlock.  To  him 
and  his  wife  Amelia  (Latimer)  Abbott,  whom  he 
married  at  Tamaqua,  in  1859,  were  born  three 
children,  Mary  Latimer,  Edwin  and  Alice  Carey, 
none  of  whom  are  now  living. 

Mr.  Abbott  died  as  above,  May  26,  1905,  and 
the  following  is  from  his  obituary  notice  of  that 
date : 

His  early  life  was  formed  and  fashioned  by 
Puritan  influence — an  influence  that  gave  him  a 
character  respected  and  honored  for  honesty,  in- 
tegrity, temperance  and  those  virtues  that  make 
men  trained  by  such  influences  the  ones  to  be 
trusted  and  honored.  A  kind  and  sympathetic 
friend,  an  honest,  trustworthy  citizen  and  gen- 
erous supporter  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  his 
presence  will  be  missed  by  the  whole  community. 
He  is  survived  by  his  wife,  who  still  resides  at 
their  later  residence  in  Luzerne  borough.  The 
funeral  services  were  conducted  by  Rev.  W.  J. 
Day,  of  the  Luzerne  Presbyterian  church.  The 
interment  was   private  in   Forty  Fort  cemetery. 

H.  E.  H. 

HENRY  BLACKMAN  PLUMB.  The 
Plumbs  are  of  Norman  descent,  and  can  be  traced 
back  in  Normandy  to  Robertus  Plumme,  1180, 
and  Robert  Plome,  1195,  whose  names  appear  on 
the  "Great  Rolls  of  Normandy."  The  family  was 
numerous  in  England,  and  there  were  among  its 
descendants  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies those  who  bore  titles  of  distinction,  noble 
birth  and  high  breeding.  In  ancient  times  the 
name  was  variouslv  spelled,  without  arbitrary 
rule,  and  the  immediate  ancestor  of  the  American 
immigrant  signed  his  name  Robert  Plume,  Gent. 
His  wife  was  Grace  Crackbone.  This  Robert 
Plume,  of  Spaynes  Hall,  Great  Yeldham,  Eng- 
land, 1558-1628,  was  son  of  Robert  Plume,  yeo- 
man, and  wife  Elizabeth  Purcas.  of  Great  Yeld- 
ham, Essex.  Robert  Plume,  of  Spaynes  Hall,  was 
born,  married,  lived  and  died  in  Great  Yeldham ; 


his  son  Robert,  eldest  son  and  heir,  inherited  the 
paternal  estates,  and  his  second  son,  John,  re- 
ceived nothing  but  a  small  estate  with  Ridge- 
well  Hall,  in  Essex.  This  John  was  the  progeni- 
tor of  the  American  line  here  considered ;  he 
was  born  July  28,  1594,  and  came  to  America  in 
J63S,  with  his  wife  Dorothia. 

John  Plume,  last  mentioned,  was  a  resident 
of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  1635,  and  died  in 
±>ranford,  Connecticut,  July,  1648.  He  was  evi- 
dently a  man  of  consequence  in  the  Connecticut 
colony,  frequently  chosen  to  public  office,  and 
facts  indicate  that  he  served  in  Captain  John 
Mason's  little  army  that  vanquished  the  offending 
Pequots  in  1637.  He  and  his  wife  Dorothy  (or 
Dorothia)  were  the  parents  of  nine  children;  the 
children  known  that  survived  him  were  Robert, 
Samuel  and  Dorcas. 

Robert  Plume,  eldest  son  of  John  and  Dorothy 
Plume,  born  1617,  died  1655,  was  a  resident  of 
Milford,  Connecticut.  He  married  Mary  Bald- 
win ;  they  had  five  sons,  John,  Robert,  Samuel. 
Samuel  and  Joseph ;  and  one  daughter,  Mary. 
The  sons,  except  John,  died  childless. 

John  Plume,  eldest  son  of  Robert  and  Mary 
(Baldwin)  Plume,  born  1646,  died  1728.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Norton ;  they  had  four  sons 
and  six  daughters. 

Joseph  Plumb,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Norton)  Plumb,  born  1683,  died  1742.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  Elizabeth  Bailey,  who  bore  him  nine 
children,  and  (second)  Thankful  Gaylord,  who 
bore  him  seven  children,  sixteen  children  in  all. 

Waitstill  John  Plumb,  fourth  child  of  Joseph 
and  Elizabeth  (Bailey)  Plumb,  baptized  in  1718. 
was  probably  born  in  1715.  He  died  subsequent 
to  1805.  He  married,  July  28,  1737,  Rhoda  Cur- 
tis, who  bore  him  nine  children,  among  whom 
were :  Charles,  born  June  10,  1749,  married,  June 
19,  1769,  Susanna  Starr,  and  died  in  Ohio,  in 
183 1,  aged  eighty-two  years;  and  Jacob,  see  for- 
ward. 

Jacob  Plumb,  sixth  child  of  Waitstill  John 
and  Rhoda  (Curtis)  Plumb,  was  born  1751.  in 
Middletown,  Connecticut,  died  in  Kingston,  Lu- 
zerne county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1822.  He  was  a 
shipmaster  in  his  younger  days,  and  sailed  as  cap- 
tain of  a  privateer  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  was  captured  and  taken  a  prisoner  to  Ber- 
muda, being  retained  there  until  peace  was  de- 
clared. Subsequently  he  was  a  cabinetmaker  in 
his  native  town,  Middletown.  and  Chester,  Mas- 
sachusetts, whither  he  removed  about  1791 :  to 
Springfield.  New  York,  about  1806:  to  Mount 
Pleasant,     Pennsylvania,    about     1812;    and    to 


THE  WYOMING   AXD   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


4I3-. 


Wyoming  Valley,  Pennsylvania,  about  1814. 
In  Middietown,  Connecticut,  he  married  Pru- 
dence Powers,  and  the  following  children  were 
born  in  Middietown :  Prudence,  married  John 
Sizer ;  Esther,  married  William  Sizer ;  Jacob,  see 
forward;  and  Comfort,  born  1778,  married  Bet- 
sey Black. 

Jacob  Plumb,  eldest  son  of  Jacob  and  Pru- 
dence (Powers)  Plumb,  was  born  in  Middietown, 
Connecticut,  1776.  He  removed  to  Chester,  Mas- 
sachusetts, with  his  parents  in  1788,  and  in  1801 
built  in  that  town  the  first  carding  machine  that 
was  built  in  the  United  States.  He  re- 
moved to  Springfield,  New  York,  on  Ot- 
sego lake,  about  1806,  from  there  to  Mount 
Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  about  1812,  and  there 
built  carding  machines.  He  removed  to  Pitts- 
ton,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1813 
or  1814,  and  is  believed  to  have  built  the  first 
carding  machines  in  the  Wyoming  valley.  He 
built  carding  machines  for  the  Shoemakers  at 
Wyoming  (then  called  New  Troy),  and  at  Par- 
sons, in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  he  built  the  first 
carding  machines  in  Hanover  township,  at  Be- 
hee's  mill,  where  he  resided  during  the  years 
1825-26-27.  He  married  his  cousin,  Rhoda 
Plumb,  born  1778,  died  1872,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Susanna  ( Starr)  Plumb,  aforemen- 
tioned, the  former  named  having  been  a  marine 
on  the  state  man-of-war,  "Oliver  Cromwell"  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  war.  Their  children : 
Maria,  born  1795,  married  Ira  Stearns,  and  died 
January  14,  1886.  Harriet,  born  1797.  married 
William  Joseph,  and  died  1880.  Clara,  born  1800, 
married  George  Joseph,  and  died  1881.  Charles, 
born  1802,  married  Julia  Anna  Blackman,  died 
1831.  Simon  H,  born  1805,  married  Abbie 
Greeley,  died  1871.  Almira,  born  1807,  married 
William  Morey,  died  1827.  Lovina,  born  1814, 
married  (first)  Hosea  Aldrich,  and  (second) 
Rockwell  Bunnell.  Hiram,  born  1818,  married 
Emma  Jenkins,  died  March  31,  1902.  Jacob 
Plumb,  father  of  these  children,  died  in  Promp- 
ton,  Wayne  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1853. 

Charles  Plumb,  fourth  child  and  eldest  son 
of  Jacob  and  Rhoda  (Plumb)  Plumb,  was  born 
in  Chester,  Hampden  county,  Massachusetts, 
1802,  and  died  in  Harford,  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania,  1831.  He  removed  with  his  father 
from  Chester  to  Springfield,  New  York,  1806 ; 
thence  to  Mt.  Pleasant,  Pennsylvania,  in  1812 ; 
thence  to  Pittston,  in  1814 ;  and  to  Hanover,  Lu- 
zerne county,  in  1825,  where  with  his  father  he 
built  carding:  machines  at  Behee's  mill.  He  mar- 
ried Julia  Anna  Blackman,   daughter  of  Elisha 


Blackman.  of  Hanover  township;  they  had  one 
son,  Henry  Blackman  Plumb ;  see  forward. 

The  Blackman  family,  of  which  Mrs.  Charles 
Plumb  was  a  representative,  was  prominently 
identified  with  early  Wyoming  Valley  history. 
John  Blackman,  from  whom  the  Wyoming  Val- 
ley family  is  descended,  was  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, and  came  to  America  prior  to  1640.  The 
Rev.  Adam  Blackman,  with  his  family,  came  to. 
America  about  the  same  time,  both  landing  at, 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  the  latter  settling  at  Strat- 
ford, Connecticut,  and  served  as  minister  there 
when  the  town  was  settled.  John  Blackman  took 
up  land  at  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  now  a  part 
of  Boston.  He  married  Mary  Pond,  and  their 
children  were:  John,  born  August  10,  1656;  Jon- 
athan, born  January  I,  1658  (O.  S.)  ;  Joseph, 
born  June  27,  1661  ;  Benjamin,  born  December 
25,  1665.  His  wife  died  about  1667,  and  he  mar- 
ried Sarah ,  by  whom  he  had :  Adam,  born 

December  9,  1670 ;  and  Abraham,  born  Febru- 
ary 8,  1674-75.  John  Blackman  (father)  died. 
April  28,  1675. 

Joseph  Blackman,  third  son  of  John  and  Mary 
( Pond)  Blackman,  married,  at  Dorchester,  Mas- 
sachusetts, November  12,  1685,  Elizabeth  Church, 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  Church,  of  Little  Compton, 
a  brother  of  the  redoubtable  fighter  and  lively 
chronicler,  Captain  Benjamin  Church,  who  on. 
August  12,  1676,  with  his  gallant  band  pursued 
King  Philip,  the  son  of  Massasoit,  and  ended  the 
life  of  that  crafty  barbarian,  as  well  as  King 
Philip's  war.  Joseph  and  Benjamin  were  sons 
of  Richard  Church,  a  soldier  in  the  Pequot  war, 
which  ended  in  the  extermination  of  the  Pequot 
Indians  and  their  raids  on  the  settlers.  The  wife 
of  Richard  Church  was  Elizabeth  Warren, 
daughter  of  Richard  Warren,  one  of  the  passen- 
gers on  the  "Mayflower,"  which  landed  at  Ply- 
mouth Rock,  December  11,  1620,  O.  S.  Thus 
comes  descent  from  the  pioneers  of  the  valiant 
and  mighty  host  who  have  had  so  much  to  do 
with  founding  and  peopling  the  United  States. 
Richard  Warren  was  one  of  the  forty-one  sign- 
ers to  the  compact  drawn  up  on  board  the  "May- 
flower" before  landing,  said  to  be  the  first  con- 
stitutional covenant  ever  written  by  men  for  the 
government  of  a  people.  Joseph  Blackman  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth  (Church)  Blackman  moved 
to  Little  Compton,  Rhode  Island. 

Elisha  Blackman,  one  of  the  nine  children  of 
Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Church)  Blackman,  was 
born  in  Little  Compton,  Rhode  Island,  September 
23,  1699.  He  married  Susanna  Higley,  in  Leb- 
anon, Connecticut,  to  which  place  his  father  had 


4i4 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


removed  in  1717,  where  he  purchased  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  of  land  for  six  hundred 
pounds.  Susanna  Higley  was  a  sister  of  Hannah 
Higley,  who  married  Captain  Joseph  Trumbull, 
the  famous  governor  of  Connecticut  during  the 
Revolution,  the  friend  and  adviser  of  General 
Washington,  whom  the  latter  called  "Brother 
Jonathan,"  and  for  whom  Elisha  Blackman,  men- 
tioned below,  was  a  messenger  till  twelve  years 
of  age.  Among  other  children  born  to  Elisha  and 
Susanna  (Higley)  Blackman  was  a  son  Elisha, 
mentioned  at  length  in  the  following  paragraph. 
Elisha  Blackman,  son  of  Elisha  and  Susanna 
(Higley)  Blackman,  was  born  September  19, 
1727.  He  married,  March  22,  1753,  Lucy  Polly, 
widow  of  Ebenezer  Smith,  who  was  the  mother 
of  two  sons,  Ebenezer  and  David,  the  first  of 
these  being  the  Colonel  Ebenezer  Smith  of  the 
Revolution,  and  known  as  "the  wise  man,"  or 
"the  long  head."  Elisha  and  Lucy  Polly  Black- 
man  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children : 
Lucy,  born  September  7,  1755,  married  Titus 
Darrow ;  Lovina,  born  September  7,  1757,  mar- 
ried Darius  Spafford,  the  ceremony  being  per- 
formed in  Wilkes-Barre ;  Elisha,  born  April  4, 
1760,  see  forward ;  Ichabod,  born  March  24, 
1762,  married  Elizabeth  Franklin,  1786;  and 
Eleazer,  born  May  31,  1765,  see  forward.  Elisha 
Blackman,  the  father  of  these  children,  emigrated 
to  the  Wyoming  Valley  in  1772.  He  was  a  lieu- 
tenant in  the  company  commanded  by  Captain 
William  Hooker  Smith,  of  the  Twenty-fourth 
Connecticut  line,  known  as  the  old  "Reforma- 
does."  stationed  in  the  fort  at  Wilkes-Barre  at 
the  time  of  the  Wyoming  massacre.  At  the  time 
of    battle    and    massacre,    Lieutenant    Blackman 

.  would  not  leave  the  fort,  believing  with  Captain 
Smith  that  by  remaining  they  might  afford  pro- 
tection to  the  survivors.  Darius  Spafford,  son- 
in-law  of  Lieutenant  Blackman,  was  killed  in  the 
massacre.  Lieutenant  Blackman  and  his  son 
Elisha  were  the  last  to  leave  the  fort ;  they  went 
down  the  river,  crossed  Nescopeck  mountain,  and 

"  thus  reached  Stroudsburg.  Lieutenant  Black- 
man  subsequently  returned  (1787)  and  died  in 
Wilkes-Barre  in  1804. 

Elisha  Blackman,  son  of  Elisha  and  Lucy 
Polly  (Smith)  Blackman.  was  born  April  4,  1700. 
He  removed  with  his  parents  to  Wyoming  Valley 
in  1772,  when  he  was  twelve  years  old,  and  when 
eighteen  years  old  was  mustered  into  Captain  Bid- 
lack's  company,  and  was  a  noted  scout  in  the  Sus- 
quehanna valley  until  the  battle  and  massacre. 
He  was  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight,  slew  his  In- 
dian, and  was  one  of  the    eight  men  who  escaped 


alive  out  of  the  thirty-two  comprising  his  com- 
pany, that  went  into  the  battle,  and  were  either 
killed  in  battle,  or  in  the  massacre  afterward. 
He  swam  the  river  to  an  island  to  escape  the  sav- 
ages, who  fired  at  him  in  the  water  when  they 
could  not  coax  him  back  with  fine  promises,  as 
they  did  many  whom  they  killed  as  soon  as  they 
got  out  of  the  water,  but  their  shots  at  him  were 
without  effect.  Arriving  at  the  island  about  dusk- 
he  crawled  under  some  willow  bushes  bent  down 
to  the  water  at  the  edge  of  the  island  not  more 
than  a  foot  'or  so  above  the  sand,  and  lay  there 
until  all  was  quiet.  Late  in  the  evening  the  sav- 
ages came  toward  the  island ;  he  heard  them 
walking  on  the  willows  over  him,  but  they  did  not 
discover  him.  The  Indians  having  got  through 
torturing  their  prisoners  and  yelling,  after  mid- 
night he  crawled  out  and  swam  back  to  the  west 
shore  of  the  river  and  down  the  river  bank  to 
Forty  Fort.  About  daylight  McMullen,  an  Irish- 
man, came  in  naked.  Elisha  borrowed  a  shirt  and 
breeches  for  him,  and  they,  having  learned  the 
fort  was  to  be  surrendered,  determined  not  to 
be  surrendered  with  it.  They  went  to  the  lower 
gate  and  waited  for  it  to  be  opened,  and  about 
ten  o'clock  the  gate  was  opened  to  drive  in  some 
cattle,  and  he  and  McMullen  ran.  The  guard 
shouted,  "Halt,  or  I'll  shoot,"  and  they  answered, 
"Shoot  and  be  damned";  but  he  didn't  shoot. 
They  went  down  the  river  two  miles  to  opposite 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  there  they  found  a  canoe  and 
crossed  over  to  the  east  side  to  the  Wilkes-Barre 
fort,  and  there  he  found  his  father  the  only  man  in 
the  fort,  the  rest  having  gone  with  the  women  and 
children  to  show  them  the  path  to  Stroudsburg, 
but  they  did  not  come  .back.  They  waited  till  the 
middle  of  the  afternoon.  Elisha  went  out  into 
the  woods  and  brought  in  their  cattle,  and  not 
knowing  the  way  to  Stroudsburg,  they  started 
clown  the  river  road  and  at  Nanticoke,  eight  miles 
down,  they  made  a  fire  and  heated  a  rock  and 
baked  a  cake  from  some  flour  Elisha  had  in  a  pil- 
low case  he  got  in  their  own  house  as  they  passed 
it  on  their  way  down,  and  water.  At  Nanticoke 
their  cattle,  in  the  dark,  ran  into  a  laurel  swamp 
and  they  lost  them.  They  went  on  down  the 
river  to  a  creek  where  they  saw  a  light  and  found 
a  cabin  and  a  man  living  there  alone.  They  staid 
all  night  there  and  in  the  morning  he  showed  them 
a  path  that  led  to  Stroudsburg,  where  they  ar- 
rived in  two  days,  Elisha  badly  crippled  with 
rheumatism. 

What  language  can  protray  the  hardships  en- 
dured by  those  early  pioneers.  Pursued  by  the 
British  and  bv  the  still  more  deadlv  foes,  the  sav- 


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THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


415 


ages,  in  a  land  where  as  yet  the  foot  of  white  man 
liad  hardly  trod,  threading  their  way  through 
trackless  forests,  over  rugged  mountains,  through 
swamps  and  morasses,  whose  only  inhabitants 
were  wild  beasts,  hundreds  of  miles  from  civiliza- 
tion. Truly  no  monument  can  be  erected  that  can 
adequately  describe  their  struggles.  Elisha 
Blackman  returned  to  Wyoming  in  August  with 
Captain  Spaulding's  company,  and  in  October 
helped  to  bury  the  dead  at  Wyoming  and  save 
whatever  property  had  escaped  destruction.  Later 
he  served  two  years  with  the  army  in  Cherry  Val- 
ley and  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Susquehanna,  in 
New  York  State,  and  in  1781  enlisted  in  Colonel 
Sherman"s  regiment  on  the  Hudson,  being  dis- 
charged in  1782.  The  ceremony  of  laying  the 
cornerstone  of  Wyoming  Monument,  July  3, 
1833,  was  performed  by  Elisha  Blackman.  He 
married,  January  10,  1788,  Anna  Hurlburt.  He 
died  December  5,  1845. 

Major  Eleazer  Blackman,  son  of  Elisha  and 
Lucy  Polly  (Smith)  Blackman,  was  born  in  Leb- 
anon, Connecticut,  May  31,  1765,  and  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1772.  He 
was  thirteen  years  old  at  the  time  of  the  invasion 
of  the  valley  in  1778  by  the  British  and  Indians 
under  John  Butler,  and  assisted  in  building  the 
fort  at  Wilkes-Barre  by  hauling  logs.  He  fled 
with  his  mother  and  family,  July  4,  1778,  across 
the  mountains  and  through  the  "Shades  of  Death" 
to  Strousburg,  where  they  were  joined  by  their 
father,  and  then  made  their  way  to  Lebanon,  Con- 
necticut, where  he  was  reared.  He  returned  to 
Wilkes-Barre  with  his  brothers  in  1786,  and  the 
remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in  that  place.  His 
father,  his  brothers  and  he  were  all  of  the  stuff 
that  good  men  honor.  Their  lives  were  true  and 
tried  in  the  faith  of  patriots.  In  the  search  for 
freedom's  holy  light  on  the  then  western  frontier 
their  souls  were  seared  with  the  trials  that  befell. 
Nobly  they  lived  their  lives  and  played  their  parts 
with  the  mighty  host  of  pioneers  who  shared  the 
perils  with  them.  In  1787  Major  Eleazer  Black- 
man  married  Clarinda  Hyde,  daughter  of  John 
Hyde.  He  died  September  10,  1843,  aged  seven- 
ty-eight years,  and  his  wife  died  January  25,  1830, 
aged  sixty  years.  Their  daughter,  Melinda,  born 
May  4,  1793,  married  Daniel  Collings,  in  1812, 
and  they  had  eleven  children,  Julia  Collings, 
mother  of  C  Bow  Dougherty,  being  the  tenth 
child.  Daniel  Collings  died  in  1861,  aged  sixty- 
eight  years.  The  engraving  of  Elisha  Black- 
man  which  has  so  generously  been  placed  in  this 
work  by  his  grandson,  Henry  B.  Plumb,  will  ever 
;prove  a  source  of  g-ratification  to  all. 


Henry  Blackman  Plumb,  only  child  of  Charles 
and  Julia  Anna  (  Blackman)  Plumb,  was  born  in 
Hanover  township,  Pennsylvania,  November  13, 
1829,  in  a  house  on  the  ground  where  he  still  re- 
sides. He  was  educated  in  the  Wilkes-Barre 
common  schools  and  also  in  the  old  academy.  He 
read  law  with  Volney  L.  Maxwell,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  Luzerne  county,  November 
21,  1859.  He  served  as  corporal  in  Company  K, 
Thirtieth  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  in  the 
War  of  1861-65,  and  afterwards  returned  to 
professional  pursuits,  but  not  for  long,  as  he  re- 
tired early  from  the  law  and  devoted  his  attention 
to  other  personal  concerns.  His  home  is  at 
Peely  postoffice,  Warrior  Run  borough,  in  his  na- 
tive town,  where  he  lives  in  quiet,  surrounded 
with  friends  and  books.  His  history  of  Hanover 
township  has  been  standard  authority  since  its 
publication  ;  he  has  given  considerable  attention 
to  genealogy,  generally  of  the  old  Hanover  fam- 
ilies, and  particularly  of  his  own  family. 

Mr.  Plumb  married,  September  28,  1851, 
Emma  L.  Ruggles,  born  1835,  died  July  19,  1859, 
daughter  of  Ashbel  and  Angelina  (  Bennett) 
Ruggles,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  one  son, 
George  Henry  Ruggles  Plumb,  mentioned  here- 
inafter. Ashbel  Ruggles  was  born  in  Hanover 
township,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  Alfred  and  Re- 
becca Ruggles.  Alfred  Ruggles  was  a -son  of  the 
Massachusetts  Ruggles,  whose  first  name  is  un- 
known, one  of  two  brothers  (Ruggles  or  Rugles) 
who  came  from  England  and  settled  in  Massa- 
chusetts. One  of  the  brothers  afterward  went 
south,  and  the  Ruggles  of  Hanover,  Pennsyl- 
vania, are  descended  from  the  Ruggles  who  set- 
tled permanently  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in 
1630.-  Mr.  Plumb  married  for  his  second  wife, 
April  24,  1900,  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  Mrs.  Edith 
M.  (Green)  Wilson,  widow  of  Harvey  Wilson, 
whom  she  married  May  29,  1890,  and  who  died 
December  18,  1892,  leaving  one  child,  William  T. 
S.  Wilson,  born  August  28,  1891.  Edith  M. 
Plumb  was  born  July  29,  1872,  in  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, only  child  of  William  G.  and  Elizabeth 
(Selby)  Green,  who  were  married  September  21, 
1871.  Elizabeth  (Selby)  Green,  was  married 
(second)  to  Henry  Schaeffer,  August  30,  1875, 
and  they  had  five  children,  one  of  whom  is  de- 
ceased. Mrs.  Schaeffer  was  the  daughter  of 
Joseph  M.  and  Julia  Anna  (Boos)  Selby,  of  Vir- 
ginia, the  latter  named  having  been  born  July  2, 
1824,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Black- 
man)  Boos,  who  were  the  parents  of  five  children. 
Henry  Boos  was  born  near  Basle,  Switzerland, 
and  his  wife  was  born  August  26,  1799,  in  Han- 


416 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


over,  Pennsylvania,  died  in  Iowa,  February  20, 
1858,  daughter  of  Elisha  Blackman,  aforemen- 
tioned, who  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut, 
April  4,  1760,  and  died  in  Hanover,  Pennsylvania. 
Two  children  were  born  to  Henry  B.  and  Edith 
M.  (Green)  (Wilson)  Plumb:  Rollo  Green, 
March  31,  190 1 ;  and  Edith  Agnes,  January  24, 
1905. 

George  Henry  Ruggles  Plumb,  only  son  and 
child  of  Henry  Blackman  and  Emma  L.  ( Ruggles) 
Plumb,  was  born  in  Honesdale,  Wayne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  June  12,  1854.  He  prepared  for 
college  at  Prompton  Normal  School  and  Wyom- 
ing Seminary;  he  entered  Lafayette  College,  1873, 
and  graduated  in  1877  with  the  degree  of  Bache- 
lor of  Science,  and  in  1880  with  that  of  Master  of 
Science.  He  taught  school  three  years,  1877-79, 
and  read  law  with  E.  P.  and  J.  V.  Darling,  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  Lu- 
zerne "county,  January  18,  1 88 1.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics.  H.  E.  H. 

GORE  FAMILY.  John  Gore  (1).  the  pio- 
neer ancestor  of  the  family,  and:  the  first  of  the 
name  to  emigrate  to  New  England,  was  born  in 
England,  and  died  in  Roxbury,  Massachusetts, 
June  2,  1657.  He  arrived  in  Roxbury  with  his 
wife  Rhoda  on  April  18,  1637,  and  was  one  of  the 
few  men  in  the  colony  honored  with  the  title  of 
"Mister."  He  is  mentioned  in  a  list  of  land- 
owners of  the  year  1643  as  owning  one  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  acres.  When  he  landed  at  Bos- 
ton and  passed  on  Boston  Neck  to  Roxbury 
"Mrs.  Gore  was  carried  by  two  men,  as  the 
ground  was  wet  and  swampy.  Arriving  at  Rox- 
bury, the  men  stopped  with  their  fair  burden  on 
a  small  hill,  when  Mrs.  Gore,  who  was  -  much 
fatigued,  exclaimed  'This  is  Paradise,'  and  the 
spot  was  thenceforth  named  'Paradise  Hill.' " 
John  Gore  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  and 
Honorable  Artillery  Company  in  1638,  clerk  of 
the  company,  1655,  and  for  many  years  served 
as  town  clerk.  The  records  of  Roxbury,  now  in 
the  city  hall,  Boston,  are  in  his  handwriting  and 
in  that  of  his  son  who  succeeded  him.  Children 
of  John  and  Rhoda  Gore :  Mary,  born  in  Eng- 
land ;  John,  born  in  England,  May  23,  1634,  mar- 
ried, May  31,  1683,  Sarah  Gardner,  who  bore 
him  nine  children,  and  he  died  in  Roxbury,  Mass- 
achusetts, June  26,  1705  ;  Obadiah,  born  June  27, 
1636,  in  Roxbury,  died  September  3,  1646;  Abi- 
gail, born  August  5,  1641,  died  August  13  or  30, 
1642  ;  Abigail,  born  May  5,  1643,  baptized  May  7, 
died  October  21,  1671,  unmarried;  Hannah,  born 
May    15,    1645,   married  June    13,    1677,    Ralph 


Bradhurst,  of  Roxbury,  issue,  four  children, 
and  died  July  10,  1686;  Obadiah,  baptized  March 
25,  1648,  died  September  3,  1653 ;  twins,  who  died 
June  11,  165 1 ;  Samuel,  no  record  of  birth  or  bap- 
tism; Benjamin,  born  November  2,  1654,  died  in 
early  life.  Governor  Christopher  Gore,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, was  of  this  family. 

(11)  Samuel  Gore,  son  of  John  and  Rhoda 
Gore,  married,  August  28,  1672,  Elizabeth  Weld, 
of  Roxbury.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He 
served  for  several  years  as  selectman  of  Roxbury. 
He  died  July  4'.  1692.  He  had  one  son,  Samuel, 
(in)  Samuel  Gore,  son  of  Samuel  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Weld)  Gore,  was  born  in  Roxbury,  Octo- 
ber 20,  1681,  died  in  Norwich,  Connecticut.  May 
27-  :756-  He  married  (first)  Hannah  Draper, 
who  died  in  Norwich,  July  11,  1741.  He  married 
(second),  May  13,  1742,  Mrs.  Dorcas  Blunt. 
Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Gore  had  five  sons  of 
whom 

(IV)     Obadiah  Gore,  senior,  fifth  son  of  Sam- 
uel and  Hannah    ( Draper)    Gore,  born  at  Rox- 
bury, Massachusetts,  July  26,  1714,  died  Wyom- 
ing, Pennsylvania,  January  10,  1779.    He  married 
November  4,  1742.  Hannah  Parks,  born  Preston, 
Connecticut,  July  3,  1721,  died  August  14,  1804. 
He  resided  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  removed  to 
Plainfield,     Connecticut,    and    in     1768    to    the 
Wyoming  valley,  Pennsylvania.     He  was  one  of 
the   first   white   men   in   Wilkes-Barre,    Pennsyl- 
vania,   and    was    the    pioneer    of    the    family    in 
Wyoming   valley.      Captain    Gore    was    commis- 
sioned by  the  Connecticut  Assembly  ensign  of  the 
Eighth  Company,  Third  Regiment  Militia,  May, 
1761,  lieutenant  of  same,  May,  1762,  and  captain. 
May,  1766.     He  was  an  aged  man  at  the  time  of 
the  massacre,  and  was  left  in  Forty  Fort  while 
the  army  went  out  to  meet  the  enemy.     In  the 
little  band  that  marched  forth  July  3,  1778,  were 
his  five  sons :  Samuel,  Daniel,  Silas,  George  and 
Asa ;  also  his  sons-in-law,  John  Murfee  and  Tim- 
othy Pearce.  At  sun  setting  five  of  the  seven  were 
on   the   field,   mangled   corpses.     Asa   and   Silas 
-were  ensigns,  and  were  slain ;  George  was  slain ; 
John  Murfee  was  slain.     Timothy  Pearce  held  a 
commission  in  the  regular  army,  but  liadjrurriecl^ 
in.     He  also  was  killed.     Lieutenant  Daniel  Gore 
was  near  the  right  wing,  and  stood  a  few  rods 
below  Wintermoots'    fort,    close  to  the  old    road 
that  led  through  the  valley.     Stepping  into  the 
road,   a  ball  struck  him   in   the   arm,   tearing  it 
from   his    shirt.      He   applied   a  hasty   bandage. 
Just  at  that  moment  Captain  Durkee  stepped  into 
the   road  at  the  same  place.     "Look  out !"  said 
Daniel ;  "there  are  some  of  the  savages  concealed 


7(2' 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


417 


under  yonder  heap  of  logs."'  At  that  instant  a 
bullet  struck  Captain  Durkee  in  the  thigh.  When 
retreat  became  inevitable  Daniel  endeavored  to 
assist  Captain  Durkee  from  the  field,  but  found 
it  impossible;  and  Durkee  said:  "Save  yourself, 
Mr.  Gore — my  fate  is  sealed."  Lieutenant  Dan- 
iel Gore  then  escaped  down  the  road,  and,  leaping 
the  fence  about  a  mile  below,  lay  crouched  close 
under  a  bunch  of  bushes.  Y\ "hile  there  an  Indian 
got  over  the  fence  and  stood  near  him.  Mr.  Gore 
said  he  could  see  the  white  of  his  eye,  and  was 
almost  sure  he  was  discovered.  A  moment  after 
a  yell  was  raised  on  the  flats  below ;  the  Indian 
drew  up  his  rifle  -and  fired,  and  instantly  ran  off 
in  that  direction.  Though  the  wave  of  death 
seemed  to  have  passed  over  and  spent  itself,  yet 
Lieutenant  Gore  remained  under  cover  till  dusk, 
when  he  heard  voices  in  the  road  near  him.  One 
said  to  the  other  "It  has  been  a  hard  day  for  the 
Yankees.  "  Yes,"  replied  the  other,  "there  has 
been  blood  enough  shed."  He  thought  one  was 
Colonel  John  Butler,  but  could  not  say  for  certain. 
After  dark  Mr.  Gore  found  his  way  to  the  fort 
and  met  his  brother  Samuel,  the  only  survivors  of 
the  seven.  The  distress  of  Mrs.  Murfee  was  very 
She  feared  her  husband  had  been  tortured, 
but  when  she  learned  he  fell  on  the  field,  she  was 
less  distressed ;  and  begging  her  way  among  the 
rest  of  the  fugitives,  traversed  the  wilderness  and 
sought  a  home  in  the  state  from  which  she  had 
emigrated,  having  an  infant  born  a  few  days  after 
her  arrival  among  her  former  friends. 

Obadiah  Gore  was  one  of  the  famous  charac- 
ters of  the  Wyoming  valley  preceding  and  during 
the  years  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace  1777-78-79,  under  the  laws  of 
Connecticut,  his  commission  signed  in  April,  1778, 
bearing  the  name  of  Jonathan  Trumbull,  then 
governor  of  Connecticut.  He  was  a  blacksmith 
by  trade,  and  he  and  his  brother  Daniel  Gore,  also 
a  ijlacksmith  by  trade,  were  the  first  persons  to 
use  anthracite  coal  in  this  country,  they  beginning 
to  use  it  in  their  forges  as  early  as  1772.  They 
were  among  the  prisoners  taken  by  the  Penna- 
mites  in  1768.  Lieutenant  Obadiah  and  Hannah 
(Parks)  Gore  had : 

1.     Judge  Obadiah  Gore,  born  April  7.  1744. 

at    Sheshequin,    Pennsylvania,    March  22, 
married    March    22,    1764,    Anna    Avery, 

they     had     five     children.     He     was     one 
the     most     prominent     men     of     his      day 


died 
1821 
and 
of 


in  Wyoming  valley.  He  served  six  years  as  a 
member  of  the  Continental  army,  was  commis- 
sioned first  lieutenant  by  John  Hancock  and  later 
by  John  Jay ;  was  commissioned  first  lieutenant, 

27 


Connecticut  militia,  October  11,  1776,  and  Jan- 
uary 1,  1777,  was  on  duty  in  Westmoreland, 
Pennsylvania.  He  served  in  the  Sullivan  expedi- 
tion, June- August,  1779,  and  was  retired  by  con- 
solidation January  1,  1781.  He  was  one  of  the 
judges  commissioned  at  the  organization  of 
Luzerne  county,  participated  in  the  first  and  sec- 
ond Pennamite  wars,  was  appointed  a  justice  of 
the  peace  of  Westmoreland  county,  April,  1782, 
and  of  Luzerne  county  in  April,  1782,  May  11, 
1787,  August  17,  1 79 1,  and  August  17,  1790,  a 
judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.  He  was  one 
of  the  members  from  Westmoreland  to  the  Con- 
necticut Assembly,  1781-82,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  during  the  years 
1788-90.  His  portrait  hanging  in  the  Wyoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society  shows  him  to 
have  been  a  very  handsome  man. 

2.  Daniel,  born  March  13,  1746,  mentioned 
hereafter. 

.3  Silas,  born  December  23,  1747,  was  killed 
at  the  Wyoming  massacre,  July  3,  1778. 

4.  Asa,  born  February  28,  1750,  killed  at  the 
Wyoming  massacre,  July  3,  1778. 

5.  Hannah,  born  May  28,  1752,  became  the 
wife  of  Timothy  Pearce,  who  was  killed  in  the 
Wyoming  massacre,  July  3,  1778. 

6.  Lucy,  born  May  6,  1754,  died  September 
30,  1820.  She  was  the  wife  of  John  Murfee,  who 
was  killed  in  the  massacre  of  Wyoming,  July  3, 

1778. 

7.  Sarah,  born  November  23,  1756,  died  May 
20,  1841.  Married  (first)  Lawrence  Myers; 
(second)  Rev.  Benjamin  Bidlack. 

8.  George,  born  September  1,  1758,  killed  in 
the  massacre  of  Wyoming,  July  3,  1778,  on 
Queen's  Esther's  Rock. 

9.  Samuel,  born  May  24,  1761,  died  May  2,. 
1834:  he  married  Sarah  Broean,  who  bore  him 
six  children. 

10.  John,  born  February  25,  1764,  married 
Elizabeth  Ross,  sister  of  General  William  Ross. 

Lieutenant  Daniel  Gore,  son  of  Obadiah  and 
Hannah  (Parks)  Gore,  was  born  at  Norwich, 
Connecticut,  March  13,  1746,  died  September  3, . 
1809,  aged  sixty-three  years.  (See  his  experi- 
ence at  Y\ "voming  under  his  father's  record).  He 
married  (first)  Mary  Parks,  who  died  April  11, 
1806.  He  married  (second)  Hannah  Finn,  whose 
will  was  proved  September  23,  1809. 

George  Gore,  son  of  Lieutenant  Daniel  and 
Mary  (Parks)  Gore,  born  1781,  died  May,  1856, 
married  (first)  Mary  Larned,  who  died  October 
25.  1813.  He  married  (second)  Susanna  Cary. 
He  was  a  farmer  at  Plains,   Pennsylvania,  and 


'4iS 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


later  at  Peoria,  Illinois,  where  he  died.  He  had  by 
his  first  marriage  seven  children,  among  whom 
was  Daniel,  of  whom  later.  By  his  second  mar- 
riage he  had  six  children. 

Daniel  Gore,  second  child  of  George  and  Mary 
(Lamed)  Gore,  born  at  Plains,  Pennsylvania, 
March  19,  1803,  died  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania, 
October  21,  1883.  He  was  reared  and  educated 
on  the  farm  of  his  father,  then  came  to  Wyoming 
and  followed  farming  until  his  retirement,  being 
known  as  one  of  the  best  farmers  in  that  section 
of  the  country.  In  1879  he  purchased  the  home 
now  occupied  by  his  daughter,  Miss  Jane  Gore,  in 
Wyoming,  and  lived  here  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  man  highly  respected  by  all  who  knew  him, 
and  left  behind  hosts  of  friends  who  remembered 
him  for  his  many  noble  deeds  of  kindness  and  his 
uprightness  in  all"  his  dealings.  The  engraving 
accompanying  this  sketch  has  been  placed  there 
by  his  daughter  in  loving  remembrance,  and  will, 
it  is  felt,  be  a  source  of  pleasure  to  his  many 
friends.  He  married,  July  4,  1830,  Joanna  John- 
son, daughter  of  Abraham  and  Jane  (Labar) 
Johnson,  who  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  but  came 
to  the  Wyoming  valley  with  her  parents  when 
three  years  of  age,  and  died  there  October  28, 
1884.  Here  her  father  Abraham  was  among  the 
early  pioneers,  followed  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing, and  died  October  if,  1834,  aged  sixty-eigth 
years.  Her  mother,  Jane  Labar  Johnson,  was 
born  May  16,  1771,  died  July  7,  1833,  and  bore 
her  husband  a  number  of  children.  Daniel  and 
Joanna  (Johnson)  Gore  had  two  children:  Jane, 
the  only  one  living  at  the  present  time,  born  June 
16,  1831.  Johnson,  born  in  Kingston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, August-  25,  1832,  died  at  Wyoming,  June 

5,  ^95- 

Miss   Jane   Gore,   only   daughter    of    Daniel 

and  Joanna  (Johnson)  Gore,  represents  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  prominent  families  connected 
with  the  earl}-  history  of  Wyoming  valley,  and 
one  that  has  done  much  toward  its  development. 
She  takes  a  great  interest  in  young  people,  and 
has  done  much  to  encourage  and  advance  their 
interests.  She  has  educated  one  young  lady  who 
is  now  filling  the  position  of  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  of  Wyoming,  and  has  also  educated  a 
young  man  who  is  now  occupying  the  respon- 
sible position  of  stenographer  in  one  of  the  lead- 
ing banks  of  Wilkes-Barre.  H.  E.  H. 

BRIGADIER-GENERAL  PAUL  AM- 
BROSE OLIVER,  a  veteran  of  the  civil  war,  and 
a  resident  of  Laurel  Run,  post-office  Oliver's 
Mills,  Luzerne   county,   Pennsylvania,   was  born 


July  18,  1831,  on  board  the  ship  "Louisiana",  in 
the  English  channel,  latitude  49  degrees  19  min- 
utes, N.  longitude,  under  the  United  States  flag. 
He  descends  from  Reuben  Oliver,  of  Delaware 
and  New  York,  who  lived  between  the  years 
1730-74,  who  married  Hester  Gallaudet.  daughter 
of  Dr.  Pierre  Elisee  and  Jane  Gallaudet.  of 
Mauze,  France,  both  distinguished  families  in 
Huguenot  history.  Among  their  children  was 
a  son  named  Thomas. 

Captain  Thomas  Oliver,  son  of  Reuben  and 
Hester  (Gallaudet)  Oliver,  was  born  in  Dela- 
ware, May  23,  1770.  He  married,  1791.  Sarah 
Ambrose,  of  Virginia,  born  1771.  died  1845.  Cap- 
tain Oliver  was  a  marine  captain  of  an  Atlantic 
ocean  ship  sailing  between  Philadelphia.  Europe 
and  South  America  in  the  days  when  all  travel 
between  these  lands  was  in  sailing  vessels.  He 
was  lost  at  sea  in  the  great  storm  off  the  coast  of 
Spain,  December  15,  1812.  Captain  Thomas  and 
Sarah  Oliver  had  seven  children:  1.  Eliza, 
married  (first)  Captain  Baily,  (second)  Samp- 
son Hadley,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey.  2.  Hes- 
ter, married  John  Algeo.  3.  Paul  Ambrose, 
born  April  18,  1796,  of  whom  later.     4.     James 


Gallaudet. 


Sarah     Ann,     married     William 


Stockley.  6.  Maria  Louise,  married  John  Croft. 
7.  Thomas,  married  Sarah  Howard.  He  lived 
at  Mauch  Chunk  in  the  early  days  of  that  town, 
and  had  four  children — Elizabeth  Olivia, 
married  D.  Samuel  Bryce  Flower,  a  surgeon  in 
the  Confederate  States  army.  1861-65:  Col- 
onel William  S.  Oliver,  United  States  army,  1861- 
65,  especially  mentioned  by  General  Ulysses  S. 
Grant  in  his  "Memoirs:"  Lieutenant  Howard 
Oliver,  United  States  army,  1861-65 :  Rich- 
ard Paul  Oliver.  United  States  army,  1861-65. 

Captain  Paul  Ambrose  Oliver,  U.  S.  N..  eld- 
est son  of  Captain  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Ambrose) 
Oliver,  was  born,  Philadelphia,  April  18.  1796, 
and  died  at  Fort  Hamilton.  Long  Island,  June, 
1848.  He  was  trained  on  shipboard  by  his  father, 
captain  of  the  "Nancy  and  Kate,"  which  he  was 
sailing  at  the  time  he  was  washed  over- 
board in  1812.  Paul  Ambrose  was  first 
mate  of  the  ship,  and,  although  then  but 
a  boy  of  sixteen,  brought  his  vessel  safely 
into  port.  He  was  for  many  years  in 
command  of  his  own  ships,  the  "Tiber," 
"Superior,"'  "Trenton,"  "Louisiana,"  all  of  them 
as  notable  as  the  Cunard  steamships  of  to- 
day. He  participated  in  the  war  of  1812.  serving 
in  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie,  taking  several  officers 
prisoners  in  an  expedition  in  which  he  com- 
manded a  boat.     April    15.    1814.  he  was   com- 


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THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


419. 


•missioned  sailing  master  in  the  United  States 
aiavy.     . 

Captain  Paul  A.  Oliver  married,  July  28,  1819, 
Mary  Van  Dusen,  born  April  5,  1802,  died  at 
Oliver's  Mills,  April  22,  1878,  daughter  of  Mat- 
thew .Van  Dusen  and  his  wife,  Lydia  Brehaut, 
the  ceremony  being  performed  by  Rt.  Rev.  Will- 
iam White,  D.  D.  Matthew  Van  Dusen  was  a 
ship-builder  of  Kensington,  Pennsylvania,  who  in 
1795  purchased  the  famous  "Fairman  Mansion" 
.in  which  William  Penn  lived  until  the  Letitia 
House  was  built,  and  near  which  stood  the 
"Treaty  Tree"  under  which  Penn  made  his 
■treaty  with  the  Indians,  May,  1662.  A  scion  of 
this  tree  Captain  Oliver  planted  at  Fort  Hamil- 
ton, New  York,  and  this  scion  General  Oliver 
transplanted  in  1892  from  Fort  Hamilton  to 
Oliver's  Mills,  where  it  now  stands.  Captain 
Paul  A.  Oliver  had  several  children,  among  whom 
■was : 

Brigadier-General  Paid  Ambrose  Oliver,  U. 
•S.  V.  He  obtained  his  education  iff  Altoona,  Ger- 
many. He  went  to  New  York  and  there  engaged 
in  the  shipping  business,  and  later  in  the  cotton 
trade  with  his  brother  George  W.,  in  New  York 
;and  New  Orleans.  His  residence  was  in  Fort 
Hamilton,  New  York,  and  when  the  yellow  fever 
broke  out  there  in  1856,  he  organized  the  Fort 
Hamilton  Relief  Society,  of  which  he  was  made 
president.  Through  the  efforts  of  this  society 
the  sick  were  cared  for,  and  the  disease  was  con- 
fined to  that  locality  and  prevented  from  spread- 
ing to  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war  General 
Oliver  enlisted,  February  27,  1862,  in  the 
Twelfth  Regiment,  New  York  Volunteers,  as  sec- 
ond lieutenant,  Company  E.  He  was  promoted 
to  first  lieutenant,  May  17,  1862,  and  captain 
April  13,  1864,  ranking  from  January  1,  1864. 
He  was  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mills,  June  27,  1862, 
while  in  command  of  his  company,  and  he  com- 
manded it  at  Bull  Run,  August  30,  1862 ;  Antie- 
tam,  September  17,  and  Fredericksburg,  Decem- 
ber 13,  1862.  He  received  the  commissions  as 
major,  lieutenant-colonel  and  colonel  of  the  Fifth 
Regiment,  New  York  Volunteers,  in  1864  but  de- 
clined. He  was  appointed  and  served  as  aide  to 
Major-General  Butterfield,  Fifth  Corps,  Army  of 
"the  Potomac,  December,  1862,  to  June,  1863 ; 
served  on  the  personal  staff  of  General  George  G. 
Meade,  commanding  Army  of  the  Potomac,  June, 
1863,  to  September,  same  year;  on  staff  of  Gen- 
-eral  Joseph  Hooker,  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Corps.. 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  October,  1863,  to 
'these  discouragements  he  set  himself  to  the  task  of 


medal  of  honor  from  congress,  May  15,  1862,  for. 
distinguished  services  at  Resaca,  Georgia.  He 
was  made  chief  of  staff  to  General  Butterfield, 
commanding  the  Third  Division,  Twentieth 
Corps,  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  May  to  June, 
1864,  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Lookout 
Mountain  and  the  campaigns  about  Atlanta.  He 
was  subsequently  transferred  at  his  own  request 
to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  being  assigned  to 
duty  at  headquarters,  Fifth  Corps,  the  Twelfth 
New  York  Regiment  having  been  consolidated 
with  the  Fifth  New  York  Volunteers,  July,  1864. 
He  acted  as  provost-marshal  Fifth  Corps,  on  staff 
of  General  Warren,  until  December,  1864.  He 
was  assigned  to  duty  with  General  M.  R.  Patrick, 
January  4,  1865,  headquarters  Armies  of  the 
United  States,  by  order  of  General  Grant,  and 
was  made  brevet  brigadier-general  March  8,  of 
the  following  year.  He  was  detailed  to  assist  in 
paroling  the  Armies  of  Northern  Virginia,  Con- 
federate States  of  America,  at  Appomattox,  April 
11,  1865,  with  General  George  H.  Sharpe,  as- 
sistant provost-marshal,  who  took  the  original 
paroles  to  the  war  department  at  Washington, 
and  the  duplicate  paroles  of  that  army  were  de- 
livered in  person  at  General  R.  E.  Lee's  headquar- 
ters by  General  Oliver  to  Colonel  Taylor,  General 
Lee's  adjutant-general.  General  Oliver  was  hon- 
orably discharged  from  service  in  May,  1865. 
During  his  term  of  service  he  participated  in  the 
siege  of  Yorktown  and  the  battles  of  Hanover 
Court  House,  Gaines'  Mills,  Second  Bull  Run, 
Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Get- 
tysburg, Wauhatchie,  Lookout  Mountain,  Mis- 
sionary Ridge,  Ringgold,  Resaca,  Cas'sville,  Dal- 
las, New  Hope  Church,  Pine  Knob,  Kulp  House, 
Marietta,  Six  Mile  House,  Weldon  Railroad,  Pop- 
lar Grove  Church,  Boynton  Plank  Road  and  Hat- 
cher's Run.  He  was  accorded  honorable  men- 
tion in  General  Butterfield's  official  report  of  the 
Seven  Days  battles,  June- July,  1862 ;  in  Captain 
Huson's  official  report,  Twelfth  New  York  Vol- 
unteers, of  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  in  the 
report  of  General  Hooker  on  the  Chattanooga 
campaign. 

Upon  his  return  to  civil  life  General  Oliver 
associated  himself  with  his  brother-in-law,  the 
late  Samuel  Bonnell,  Jr.,  in  the  coal  business. 
He  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1869,  where  he 
established  a  small  powder  mill,  which  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  and  his  men  killed,  and  himself 
badly  injured.  He  then  organized  the  Luzerne 
Powder  Company  and  erected  works,  which  were 
also  destroyed  by  fire.  However,  undaunted  by 
these  discouragements,  he  set  himself  to  the  task  of 


420 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


rebuilding,  but  the  new  works  were  shortly  after- 
ward blown  up  and  two  of  the  men  killed.  Gen- 
eral Oliver  then  bought  out  the  old  company  and 
established  himself  at  Laurel  Run,  now  Oliver's 
Mills,  where  he  has  since  been  successfully  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  powder.  The  ma- 
chinery used  is  of  his  own  invention,  consisting 
mainly  of  devices  by  which  powder  can  be  made 
in  small  quantities,  thus  doing  away  with  the  dan- 
ger of  violent  explosions  and  reducing  the  risk  to 
a  minimum.  In  1903  he  sold  his  powder  works 
to  the  Dupont  Powder  Company,  since  which 
time  he  has  lived  retired  at  Oliver's  Mills. 

General  Oliver  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  the  Military  Order 
of  the  Loyal  Legion,  the  Society  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  the  Huguenot  Society,  the  Society 
of  the  War  of  1812,  and  the  Netherland  Society 
of  Philadelphia.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church,  and  has  erected  at  Oliver's 
Mills  a  handsome  and  unique  log-chapel  for  the 
use  of  his  employees,  and  continued  services  have 
been  held  therein  for  twenty-five  years.  For 
over  twenty  years  of  this  time  services  were  con- 
ducted by  Rev.  Horace  Edwin  Hayden,  the  editor 
of  this  work.  (See  Oliver  and  Gallaudet  Family, 
by  Rev.  H.  E.  Hayden).  H.  E.  H. ' 

BENNETT  and  POLEN  FAMILIES. 
The  ancestors  of  Thomas  Bennett,  one  of  the 
forty  in  the  first  settlement  of  Wyoming  Valley, 
are  said  to  have  been  a  distinguished  family  in 
Middlesex,  England,  some  belonging  to  the  court 
party  and  others  to  the  Puritans. 

Thomas  Bennett  was  a  pioneer  in  forming  new 
colonies,  and  joined  a  company  in  Scituate, 
Rhode  Island.  In  1708  he  married  Alary  Elliot, 
and  had  sons:  Solomon,  Rockwell  and  Thomas, 
Jr.,  all  of  whom  were  born  in  Connecticut. 

Thomas  Bennett,  Jr.,  son  of  Thomas  and  Mary 
(Elliott)  Bennett,  born  1728,  married  in  1753, 
Martha  Jackson,  born  1731.  He  was  one  of  the 
Susquehanna  Company,  an  association  formed  in 
Connecticut  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  settle- 
ment in  Wyoming.  Thomas  Bennett,  Sr.,  his 
father,  was  one  of  the  first  to  come  and  look  over 
the  noted  valley,  making  a  sketch  and  rude  map 
in  I7S4 — (Colonial  Records,  volume  6-3S).  He 
was  also  one  of  a  deputation  to  meet  the  Five  Na- 
tinos  at  Albany.  1754,  to  effect  a  purchase  of  the 
land  from  the  Iroquois  Indians,  the  native  pro- 
prietors. He  was  to  have  one  full  share.  There 
were  many  shares  granted,  each  one  paying  for  his 
portion.  The  Connecticut  Colony  purchased 
most  of  the  land.     Thomas  Bennett  located  his 


land  at  Forty  Fort,  but  it  was  not  until  1762  that 
they  were  aole  to  push  their  way  and  begin  a  set- 
tlement. He  was  one  of  the  forty  to  build  the 
fort,  his  land  consisting  of  some  six  hundred 
acres  at  that  place.  He  went  through  many  con- 
flicts, and  returned  to  Connecticut  three  times, 
burying  his  utensils  along  the  river  bank  until  his 
return.  He  built  a  log  cabin  near  the  fort  on  an 
elevation  near  the  bend  of  the  river  so  as  to  com- 
mand a  view  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  on  this 
spot  his  remains  .are  interred.  He  was  the  father 
of  several  children :  Martha  Bennett  Myers,  born 
January  15,  1763;  Andrew,  born  1756,  of  whom 
later ;  and  Solomon,  who  settled  in  the  Conisteo 
Valley,  New  York.  Andrew  Bennett  and  his 
father  were  both  survivors  of  the  Wyoming  mas- 
sacre, 1778,  and  members  of  John  Franklin's  com- 
pany, going  with  Sullivan's  army  to  Conisteo. 
Valley,  New  York,  1779,  and  their  names  are  re- 
corded on  a  monument  erected  to  the  Revolution- 
ary heroes  at  that  place  who  were  with  that  com- 
pany. They  returned  to  their  homes  and  fami- 
lies, and  their  death  occurred  at  Forty  Fort. 

Andrew  Bennett,  son  of  Thomas  and  Martha. 
(Jackson)  Bennett,  married  (first)  Mary  Miller, 
and  had  three  children.  He  married  (second) 
1804,  Abigail  Kelley,  born  January  13,  1776,  and 
had  eight  children.  His  sons  were:  John,  father 
of  .Charles  Bennett,  (see  Vaughan  Family)-; 
Thomas,  died  at  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania;. 
George,  died  at  Montoursville,  Pennsylvania ;  and 
Andrew,  died  at  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania.  His 
daughters  were  :  Mary,  died  at  Forty  Fort ;  Airs. 
Jane  (Bennett)  Carpenter;  Mrs.  Abigail  (Ben- 
nett) Peck:  Mrs.  Harriett  (Bennett)  Chapman: 
and  Elizabeth,  who  married  Henry  Polen,  born 
September  20,  1812,  mentioned  hereafter.  The 
sons  were  mostly  surveyors,  interested  in  the  lo- 
cation of  the  state  canal  and  in  forming  companies 
to  open  and  operate  the  anthracite  coal  deposits. 
Andrew  Bennett,  Sr.,  was  among  the  first  to  burn 
anthracite  coal,  bringing  it  from  the  river  bluffs 
in  canoes  and  burning  it  in  open  grates.  He  was 
taken  prisoner  when  fourteen  years  old,  and  en- 
dured many  hardships,  told  graphically  in  Peck's 
"History  of  Wyoming."  He  died  November  20, 
1821. 

Elizabeth  Bennett,  daughter  of  Andrew  Ben- 
nett and  his  wife  Abigail  Kelley,  born  September 
20,  1812,  married  Henry  Polen.  The  ancestors 
of  the  Polen  family  were  from  Holland  and  Ger- 
many. 

Joseph  Polen  emigrated  to  America  in  1765. 
settled  in  Sussex  county,  New  Jersey.  He  joined 
the  state  militia  and  was  several  times  called  out 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


421 


tinder  General  Wayne,  mostly  to  defend  Stony 
Point  and  forts  along  the  Hudson  river  and  New 
York,  this  being  near  the  border  line  between 
New  Jersey  and  New  York.  Joseph  Polen  had 
two  sons:  Joseph  Jr.,  born  in  Holland,  settled  in 
Chillicothe,  Ohio,  about  1800,  and  later  went  to 
Maine,  New  England ;  and  William,  of  whom 
later. 

William  Polen,  son  of  Joseph  Polen,  born 
1779,  resided  in  Sussex,  where  he  followed  farm- 
ing. He  was  drafted  from  New  Jersey,  1814,  to 
defend  Baltimore,  Maryland,  from  the  British,  for 
which  service  he  received  a  pension  of  160  acres 
of  government  land  after  the  War  of  18 12  was 
over.  He  also  served  in  Captain  Hallock's  com- 
pany after  he  came  to  Wyoming  and  was  called 
"to  Washington.  He  married  Christina  Winters 
in  New  Jersey  in  1801,  and  had  three  children: 
John,  Peter  and  William.  They  moved  from 
New  Jersey  to  Wyoming  Valley,  near  Pittston, 
1807,  and  had  seven  children  born  to  them  there: 
Henry,  of  whom  later;  Albert,  Winters,  David, 
Mary,  Edith,  and  Eleanor.  For  fourteen  years 
they  lived  at  the  head  of  the  valley  above  Pittston. 
They  purchased  a  farm,  1821,  where  the  Polen 
school  used  to  stand,  and  resided  in  the  vicinity 
of  Pittston  for  fifty-two  years.  Mr.  Polen  cleared 
the  land  himself  and  resided  thereon  until  it  was 
sold  for  the  operating  and  producing  of  coal,  this 
being  the  site  of  the  Exeter  works.  Peter  Polen, 
his  eldest  son,  purchased  land  from  John  Jenkins 
about  the  fort  and  made  a  home  for  himself,  re- 
siding there  for  the  remainder  of  his  life,  during 
which  time  ■  Pittston  grew  to  a  large,  thriving 
town. 

Henry  Polen,  son  of  William  and  Christina 
Polen,  born  1807,  m  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  died 
December  27,  1878;  was  reared  and  educated 
near  where  his  daughter,  Miss  Abbie  Polen,  now 
resides,  in  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania.  His  early 
years  were  spent  on  a  farm,  and  later  he  followed 
contracting  and  building,  having  the  contract  for 
the  erection  of  bridges  and  other  large  works. 
Subsequently  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business 
in  Wyoming  with  his  son  Peter  H.,  (see  below), 
and  continued  the  same  until  his  retirement  from 
active  pursuits.  He  was  identified  with  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  having  been  a  charter  member 
and  largely  instrumental  in  the  establishment  of 
the  lodge  at  Wyoming,  of  which  he  was  a  past 
master.  In  1842  he  was  appointed  captain  of  the 
Second  Company,  One  Hundred  and  Fifteenth 
Regiment,  Second  Brigade,  Eighth  Division,  of 
Pennsylvania  Militia,  composed  of  six  counties, 
having  a  commission  from  David  R.  Porter,  gov- 


ernor of  Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Polen  married 
Elizabeth  Bennett,  born  at  Forty  Fort,  1812, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Bennett,  above  mentioned, 
and  their  children,  all  born  in  Wyoming,  were : 
George,  an  electrical  expert  in  the  navy  yard  at 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania ;  Thomas  B.,  of 
Scranton,  agent  for  the  Central  Railroad  of  New 
Jersey ;  Peter  H.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Mrs. 
Frances  Robinson  Tracy,  a  resident  of  Wyoming ; 
Abbie  Polen,  also  a  resident  of  Wyoming. 

Peter  H.  Polen,  youngest  son  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  (Bennett)  Polen,  died  February  8, 
1901,  was  reared  in  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  and 
his  education  was  acquired  in  the  schools  there, 
and  at  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston.  He  began 
the  active  duties  of  life  by  accepting  a  clerkship 
in  Pittston,  and  when  about  eighteen  years  of  age 
engaged  in  business  on  his  own  account  in  Wyo- 
ming. He  took  an  active  part  in  Freemasonry, 
and  with  his  father  and  others,  was  instrumental 
in  establishing  the  Masonic  lodge  at  Wyoming, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  different  bodies,  in- 
cluding the  Chapter,  Council,  Commandery,  up  to 
and  including  the  thirty-second  degree.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  of  the  United 
Order  of  American  Mechanics.  He  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  social  affairs  of  the  community, 
where  he  lived.  He  left  two  sons,  Harry  and 
Millburn,  both  of  whom  reside  in  the  west. 

H.  E.  H. 

JAMES  DEAN  GREEN.  The  earliest  an- 
cestor of  the  Green  family  of  which  James  Dean 
Green  is  a  member,  was  John  Green,  a  native  of 
England,  who  came  to  America  about  1630,  re- 
sided   in    Narragansett    and    Kingstown,    Rhode 

Island,  married  Joan  ,  who  bore  him  five 

children,  possibly  more ;  he  died  between  the 
years  1692  and  1695.  Benjamin,  son  of  John 
and  Joan  Green,  born  about  1665,  was  a  resident 
of  Narragansett  and  East  Greenwich,  Rhode 
Island :  married,  about  1687,  Humility  Cogge- 
shall,  daughter  of  George  Coggeshall,  who  was 
born  in  January,  1671 ;  they  had  twelve  children. 
Benjamin  Green  died  in  1719.  Henry  Green, 
fifth  child  of  Benjamin  and  Humility  (Cogge- 
shall) Green,  born  about  1696,  resided  in  Kings- 
town, East  and  West  Greenwich,  Rhode  Island, 
and  died  February  28,  1743;  married.  May  15, 
1724,  Margaret  Rathbone,  born  November  29, 
1700,  daughter  of  Joseph  Rathbone:  eleven  chil- 
dren. Benjamin  Green,  fourth  child  of  Henry 
and  Margaret  (Rathbone)  Green,  born  July  17, 
1729,  was  a  resident  of  East  and  West  Green- 


42 i 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


wich  and  Exeter,  Rhode  Island,  and  died  sub- 
sequent to  the  year  1804;  married,  September  21, 
1752.  Mehitable  Tripp :  eleven  children. 

Benjamin  Green,  eighth  child  of  Benjamin 
and  Mehitable  (Tripp)  Green,  was  born  in  Exe- 
ter. Rhode  Island,  August  13,  1764.  and  died  in 
Benton,  Pennsylvania,  April  22,  1855,  aged  ninety 
years,  eight  months  and  nine  days.  He  married, 
January,  1787,  Joanna  Reynolds,  born  Decem- 
ber 11.  1769,  in  Rhode  Island,  died  in  Benton, 
Pennsylvania,  April  4,  1849,  age(3  seventy-nine 
years,  five  months  and  twenty-three  days.  They 
moved  from  Rhode  Island  to  Xew  York  about 
1794,  and  from  there  to  Pennsylvania  about  18 18. 
They  were  the  parents  of  nine  sons  and  three 
daughters:  1.  Henry,  a  physician;  he  married 
Almira  Gardner ;  died  in  Abington,  November 
28,  1825,  aged  thirty-seven  years.  2.  John,  died  in 
Rhode  Island,  aged  two  years.  3.  Sally,  married 
Washington  Halstead ;  she  died  in  New  York, 
December  6.  1858,  aged  sixty-four  years.  4.  Polly, 
married  John  Raymond ;  she  died  in  Waverly, 
April  11,  1856,  aged  seventy  years.  5.  Robert, 
married  Melissa  Rice  ;  he  died  in  Newton,  March, 
1864,  aged  sixty-six  years.  6.  William,  married 
Celinda  Capwell ;  he  died  in  Factoryville,  October 
16,  1885,  aged  eighty-six  years.  7.  Hiram,  men- 
tioned later.  8.  Lyman,  married  (first)  Amy  Cap- 
well,  and  (second)  Mary  Chase;  he  died  in  Ben- 
ton.   February    18,    1855.    aged    fifty-one    years. 

9.  Nancy,  married  William  Dean ;  she  died  in  Ab- 
ington,  Xovember.   1863,  aged  fifty-eight  years. 

10.  Murray,  died  in  Abington,  June  4,  1829.  aged 
twenty-two  years.  11.  Alanson,  married  Sibvl 
Dean :  in  1887  he  was  a  resident  of  Sycamore, 
De  Kalb  county,  Illinois,  and  was  then  the  only 
living  member  of  this  large  family.  12.  Devillo, 
died  in  Xew  York,  an  infant,  in  1814. 

Hiram  Green,  seventh  child  of  Benjamin  and 
Joanna  (Reynolds)  Green,  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
July  8,  180 1,  died  Factoryville,  Pennsylvania, 
March  3,  1870 ;  married,  January  18,  1829,  Eliza 
Dean,  born  July  10,  1805.  of  English  ancestry. 
Their  active  lives  extended  from  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  to  about  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  They  reared  a  family  of  five 
daughters  and  four  sons,  nearly  all  of  whom  are 
now  dead:  Henry  Judson,  born  February  21, 
1828,  died  July  12.  1864;  Catherine  D.,  born 
August  8,  1829,  died  January  =;,  1881 :  Candace 
R..  born  September  2,  1831.  died  November  3, 
1859:  James  D..  born  April  26,  1834,  of  whom 
later.  Alma  Adelia.  born  Mav  21,  1836.  died 
October  17.  1853;  Melbourne,  born  April  16, 
1839,  died  March  6.  1856:  William  Davis,  born 


November  15,  1841,  living,  1905;  Ann  Maria,, 
born  October  12,  1842;  with  her  husband  she  was 
drowned  in  the  flood  at  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,, 
May  31,  1889;  Laura  E.,  born  October  8,  1849, 
died  October,  1896. 

James  Dean  Green,  fourth  child  of  Hiram  and 
Eliza  (Dean)  Green,  was  born  in  Benton  town- 
ship, Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  26,. 
1834.  His  youth  was  spent  on  his  father's  farm 
and  he  was  brought  up  to  that  line  of  work,  but 
he  was  given  the.  benefits  of  a  good  education,  at- 
tending the  public  schools  of  his  neighborhood 
and  Madison  Academy,  at  Waverly,  Pennsyl- 
vania. His  business  career  was  begun  as  a  clerk 
for  Myron  Dean,  in  a  general  country  store  in. 
Lynn,  Susquehanna  county,  and  later  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  same  capacity  in  a  store  at  "Wav- 
erly, Pennsylvania.  In  March.  1855,  he  came  to 
Wyoming,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  employed  first 
by  Swetland  &  Pettebone.  In  August,  the  same 
year,  he  engaged  with  Thomas  F.  Atherton.  in 
a  general  store  at  Wyoming,  continuing  with  him 
until  1859,  and  at  the  end  of  his  service  he  had 
sufficient  money  to  establish  himself  in  business 
with  S.  J.  Sharps,  they  succeeding  to  the  pro- 
prietorship of  the  store  formerly  conducted  by 
Mr.  Atherton.  At  the  end  of  a  year  Mr.  Sharps, 
was  replaced  in  the  business  by  John  Sharps, 
who  was  partner  with  Mr.  Green  for  six  years, 
when  the  latter  became  sole  proprietor  and  so- 
continued  until  1878,  when  he  sold  out  the  store. 
But  he  soon  found  himself  again  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  this  time  in  partnership  with  his  brother, 
W.  D.  Green,  and  this  business  continued  for  a 
few  years.  After  thirty  years  in  the  mercantile 
business  Mr.  Green  engaged  with  the  Pittstort 
Engine  [Machine  Company  as  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, remained  six  years,  and  then  retired,  and 
is  now  (1905)  actively  engaged  in  the  insurance 
and  real  estate  business.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  a  Republican,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Wyoming  Commemorative  Association.. 
Mr.  Green  was  married  (first),  October  31.  1861, 
to  Fannie  Schooley,  daughter  of  Jesse  B.  and 
Jane  (Breese)  Schooley.  One  child  was  the- 
issue  of  this  marriage.  Clara  E.,  born  January  29, 
1863,  married,  June  15,  1887,  Henry  M.  Ives,  of 
Scranton,  and  had  one  child,  Lomie.  born  May  11. 
1889.  Mrs.  Green  died  July  12.  1867.  Mr. 
Green  married  (second),  October  15,  186S. 
[Martha  M.  Searle,  born  May  29,  1838,  daughter 
of  John  and  Mary  (Stark)  Searle,  descendants 
of  respected  old  families  of  the  Wyoming  and 
Susquehanna  valleys  in  Pennsylvania.  They  had 
two   children:    1.    Mary    Searle.   born    April    12,. 


*a£2*&*&/C. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


A2% 


1870;  married,  January  10,  1895,  Dr.  Archie 
Carver  Shoemaker,,  dentist,  Pittston,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  they  had  two  children :  James  Samuel, 
born  January  23,  1896 ;  and  Archibald,  born  Au- 
gust 21,  1901.  2.  James  Searle,  born  June  17, 
1882,  died  August  5,  1882. 

Mrs.  James  D.  Green  traces  her  ancestry  to 
Robert  Searle,  whose  son,  Nathaniel  Searle,  born 
June  9,  1662,  married  Sarah  Rogers,  1694.  Their 
son,  Nathaniel  Searle,  born  April  26,  1703,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Kinnecutt,  December,  1725,  and 
settled  in  Little  Compton,  Rhode  Island.  Their 
son,  Constant  Searle,  born  June  18,  1728,  mar- 
ried Hannah  Miner,  daughter  of  Simeon  and 
Hannah  (Wheeler)  Miner,  May  16,  1751.  He 
came  to  Pennsylvania  from  Connecticut,  and  was 
killed  in  the  Wyoming  massacre.  Their  son, 
Roger  Searle,  born  Preston,  Connecticut,  August 
13,  1762,  then  sixteen  years  of  age,  was  in  the 
battle  with  his  father,  but  escaped  unhurt.  He 
married  Catherine  Scott,  who  bore  him  the  fol- 
lowing' children,  all  born  in  Pittston :  Clarissa, 
born  February  13,  1793,  married  Joseph  Dayton, 
and  died  at  Binghamton,  New  York,  April  1, 
1834;  John,  mentioned  later;  Daniel,  born  May 
17,  1797;  married  Joanna  Stark,  daughter  of 
Henry  Stark,  December  20,  1825,  and  died  at 
Pittston,  October  13,  1879;  Elizabeth,  born  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1800,  married  Solomon  Brown,  June, 
1820,  and  died  at  Exeter,  August  26,  1854;  Me- 
hitable,  born  March  13,  1802,  married  Thomas 
Tell,  March  13,-1831,  died  October  20,  1846; 
Milton,  born  October  10,  1804,  died  at  Montrose, 
February,  1868 ;  Leonard,  born  November  7, 
1808,  married  Lydia  Dimmock,  October  23,  1832, 
died  at  Montrose,  Pennsylvania,  December  31, 
1880;  Rasalns,  born  February  1,  1812,  married 
Anna  Cross,  at  Milford,  January  11,  1871,  and 
died  at  Montrose,  Pennsylvania,  April  25,  1888. 

The  father  of  Mrs.  James  D.  Green.  John 
Searle,  son  of  Roger  and  Catherine  (Scott) 
Searle,  was  born  in  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1795,  died  October  20,  1863.  He  began 
his  business  career  as  a  farmer,  but  later  in  life 
was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  a  stage  route  from 
Wilkes-Barre.  Pennsylvania,  to  Binghamton, 
New  York,  and  during  his  active  years  was  ex- 
tensively interested  in  stasre  and  mail  routes.  In 
September,  1822,  he  married  Mary  Stark,  born 
at  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  February  16,  1800  (died 
April  16.  1891),  in  a  house  erected  bv  her  father, 
Henry  Stark,  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the 
township.  (  See  Stark  family) .  The  house  stood 
where  the  shaft  of  the  Enterprise  Colliery  is  sunk, 
and  was  the  finest  in  that  section.  The  children 
of  this  marriage  are  as  follows  : 


1.  James  S.,  born  July  8,  1823,  died  Novem- 
ber 18,  1863  ;  his  wife,  Candace  Green,  died  No- 
vember 3,   1859. 

2.  Clarissa,  born  November  14,  1824,  mar- 
ried Nelson  H.  Dean,  now  deceased,  April  25, 

1850,  and  had :  James  Elmer,  born  September  10, 

185 1,  and    Willis    L.,    born    February    5,    1857. 
(See  Dean  family). 

3.  Kathryn,  born  July  11,  1827,  married  Ed- 
win Williams,  April  '24,  1850,  and  had  :  James, 
born  September  9,  1851,  married  Ella  Dumball ; 
George  W.,  born  May  18,  1855,  married  Eva  L. 
Shoemaker  ;  Mary,  born  November  22,  1858,  wife 
of  D.  Rouse,  M.  D. ;  Martha  C,  born  April  22, 
1861,  wife  of  William  Burner;  Ruth  C,  born  Oc- 
tober 22,  1863,  wife  of  Lewis  Yost ;  Helen,  born 
August  24,  1866 ;  and  Elizabeth  V.,  born  June  24, 
1869,  wife  of  John  T.  Yoakum. 

4.  Elizabeth  M.,  born  October  5,  1829 ;  April 
25,  1S53,  married  Norman  T.  Vorse,  of  Ohio, 
and  had :  Charles,  born  September  24,  1854,  lived 
in  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  married,  August  24,  1878, 
Augusta  Tyrrell ;  and  Frank  W.,  born  February 
5,  1856,  in  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  married  October 
27,  1877,  Agnes  Newton. 

5.  Ruth  Gore,  born  January  16,  1832,  mar- 
ried September  19,  1854,  James  Courtright,  and 
they  reside  at  Kingston;  children:  John  S.,  born 
at  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  July  21,  1855,  married, 
January  17,  1877,  Ellen  Lathrop  ;  children:  Sarah 
L.  and  Florence,  who  reside  at  Montrose,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  Harrie  Benjamin,  born  February  19, 
1857,  married  March  7,  1876,  Ida  Wells ;  chil- 
dren :  Ruth  Searle,  born  January  24,  1877 ;  Jo- 
sephine Wells,  born  July  17,  1878;  and  James 
Wells,  born  February  2,  1887. 

6.  May,  born  September  13,  1833,  married 
April  23,  1857,  Rev.  J.  K.  Peck  ;  children  :  Carrie, 
born  February  28,  1857,  wife  of  J.  Wood  Piatt ; 
two  children :  William  and  Ruth ;  Mary  A.,  born 
November  28,  1861  ;  Jesse  L.,  born  March  28, 
1864,  married  Jennette  Bryden,  one  child.  Ken- 
yon  Peck :  Ruth  C,  born  August  14,  1873,  mar- 
ried Charles  C.  Hard. 

7.  John  Roger,  born  July  30,  1835,  was  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Fifty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Regi- 
ment, and  died  in  service  at  Camp  Suffolk,  Vir- 
ginia, December  13,  1862. 

8.  Martha  M.,  born  May  29,  1838,  wife  of 
James  Dean  Green.  H.  E.  H. 

FRANK  P.  HOPPER,  superintendent  of 
schools  of  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
widely  known  throughout  the  state  as  an  accom- 
plished educator,  was  born  near  Williamsport, 
Lycoming    county,    Pennsylvania,    October    30, 


424 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Mr.  Hopper  represents  old  and  honored  Penn- 
sylvania families  in  both  lines.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  John  A.  Hopper,  born  July  29,  1782, 
in  Mooresburg,  Pennsylvania,  was  of  German 
descent,  and  was  a  miller  by  occupation.  He  was 
married  twice.  First,  March  28,  1805,  to  Eliza- 
beth Mertz,  born  May  16,  1780,  who  bore  him  the 

following  children : ,   born   February  28, 

1806;  Joseph,  February  26,  1807;  Thomas,  July 
17,  1808 ;  John,  February  10,  1809 ;  Catherine, 
June  14,  181 1  ;  Samuel,  September  3,  1813; 
Maria,  December,  1815;  Susannah,  January  20, 
1817;  Elizabeth,  March  30,  1818;  Jesse,  May  19, 

1819,  and  John  Dobbs,  November  6,  1820.  Mrs. 
Hopper,  the  mother   of  these   children,   died   in 

1820.  Mr.  Hopper  married  (second),  January 
23,  1821.  Mary  Peet.  Mr.  Hopper  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years. 

John  Dobbs  Hopper,  son  of  John  A.  and 
Elizabeth  (Mertz)  Hopper,  and  father  of  Frank 
P.  Hopper,  was  born  November  6,  1820,  in 
Mooresburg,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  there  edu- 
cated, and  for  some  time  conducted  a  lumber  and 
milling  business.  In  1865  he  removed  to  Lu- 
zerne county,  locating  in  Kingston,  and  after- 
ward in  Wyoming,  and  during  all  this  time  he 
occupied  the  position  of  foreman  of  the  car 
shops  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western 
Railroad  at  Kingston.  He  married  for  his  sec- 
ond wife  Rebecca  Heberling.  who  was  born  in 
Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  September 
28,  1819,  and  the  issue  of  this  union  was  eight 
children:  Samuel,  born  December,  1843,  engaged 
in  the  lumber  business  in  Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana. 
Peter  Nilly,  born  January  9,  1846,  died  July  2, 
1849.  George  Washington,  born  February  22, 
1849,  died  September  2,  1850.  Susanna,  born 
March  15,  185 1,  died  March  29,  1865.  John  Al- 
bert, born  July  29,  1853,  who  is  foreman  of  the 
shovel  works  in  Wyoming.  Joseph  William,  born 
January  26.  1857,  who  is  superintendent  in  the 
boiler  shops  in  Beaumont,  Texas.  Frank  P..  born 
October  30,  1858,  mentioned  hereinafter.  Helen 
Mary,  born  November  4,  1861,  wife  of  J.  M. 
Schooley.  of  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania.  The 
father  of  these  children  died  March,  1884,  aged 
sixty-three  years,  and  the  mother  passed  awav 
April  15,  1881,  aged  sixty-one  years.  She  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Frank  P.  Hopper,  seventh  child  and  young- 
est son  of  John  D.  and  Rebecca  (Heberling) 
Hopper,  was  six  years  old  when  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Luzerne  county.  After  attending  the 
public  school  he  pursued  an  advanced  course  in 
the  New  Columbus  Academy,  and  in   1879  took 


tip  work  as  a  teacher,  receiving  a  wage  of  seven- 
ty-five cents  a  day.  Desirous  of  a  more  thor- 
ough preparation  for  educational  work,  he  en- 
tered the  Bloomsburg  Normal  school,  in  1883, 
and  graduated  in  June  of  the  following  year.  He 
then  taught  one  term  in  Hanover  township,  an- 
other term  in  Kingston  township,  after  which  he 
was  chosen  principal  of  the  Parsons  public 
schools,  in  which  position  he  served  most  accept- 
ably until  1894,  when  he  was  called  to  the  princi- 
palship  of  the  Dorranceton  schools.  Here  he  re- 
mained until  1899  when  he  was  elected  superin- 
tendent of  schools  for  Luzerne  county,  and  his 
usefulness  in  this  important  position  finds  abun- 
dant attestation  in  two  successsive  re-elections. 
The  result  of  the  last  of  these  elections  was  pe- 
culiarly significant,  his  candidacy  being  contested 
by  three  others,  some  of  whom  were  so  anxious 
to  obtain  the  office  that  they  proffered  their  ser- 
vices at  a  salary  below  that  which  Superintendent 
Hopper  was  receiving.  During  his  three  official 
terms  he  has  witnessed  a  broad  expansion  of  edu- 
cational facilities  in  his  county,  and  has  contrib- 
uted in  no  small  degree  to  the  advanced  efficiency 
of  the  school  system.  At  his  entrance  upon  his 
official  duties  the  schools  in  the  county  numbered 
663,  with  an  enrollment  of  30,000  children  of 
school  age.  under  his  jurisdiction,  and  these  num- 
bers have  been  increased  to  740  schools,  and 
35,000  children.  The  arduous  nature  of  his  duties 
is  witnessed  by  the  fact  that  his  visitations  to  the 
schools,  made  almost  every  ninety  days,  extend 
into  sixty-nine  school  districts,  and  he  examines 
annually  about  five  hundred  applicants  for  teach- 
ers' certificates.  His  initial  salary  was  two 
thousand  'five  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  and 
this  sum  has  been  increased  and  is  now  four 
thousand  dollars.  Highly  regarded  at  home  for 
his  great  capabilities  in  organizing  and  oversee- 
ing schools,  he  is  also  held  in  appropriate  esteem 
in  the  highest  educational  circles  in  the  state,  as 
indicated  by  his  being  chosen  to  serve  upon  the 
executive  committee  of  the  State  Educational  As- 
sociation, which  position  he  occupies  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  He  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  community,  and  is  numbered  among 
its  most  enterprising  members.  He  is  a  director 
in  the  Jackson  Home  Telephone  Company.  He 
is  also  connected  with  leading:  fraternal  bodies, 
and  is  a  past  exalted  ruler  in  Wilkes-Barre  Lodge 
No.  109.  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  and  a  member  of  May  Lodge  No.  767,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Wyoming. 
Pennsylvania.  March  w,  1892,  Mr.  Hopper  mar- 
ried   Miss    Clara   B.    Rouse,    who   was   born    in 


<^(^^r^^^~^^^ 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


42: 


Hartford,  Connecticut,  daughter  of  the  late  Cas- 
per M.  and  Weltha  J.  ( Venandan)  Rouse.  Her 
father  was  a  native  of  Bennington.  Vermont, 
whence  he  removed  to  Connecticut.  He  became 
an  expert  gunpowder  manufacturer,  and  con- 
ducted business  in  that  line  in  Moosic,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  subsequently  at  Laflin,  Pennsylvania, . 
where  he  erected  the  Laflin  powder  mills,  of 
which  he  was  superintendent  at  the  time  of  his 
death  in  1890,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years.  Mrs. 
Rouse  was  born  in  Fair  Haven,  Vermont,  and 
died  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  vears.  She  bore  to 
her  husband  four  children,  of  whom  three  are 
living :  Frank,  residing  in  Plains,  Pennsylvania ; 
.Mrs.  Thomas  Barrett,  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  and  Mrs. 
Frank  P.  Hopper.  To  Mr.  and  Airs.  Hopper 
was  born  January  17,  1893,  a  daughter,  Ruth. 
Mr.  Hopper  resides  on  Wyoming  avenue,  Dor- 
ranceton.  H.  E.  H. 

PHINEAS  M.  CARHART.  In  the  Wyo- 
ming valley  in  Pennsylvania  the  history  of  the 
Carhart  family  dates  back  hardly  half  a  century, 
but  in  the  annals  of  the  American  colonies  the 
name  is  known  among  the  families  of  prominence 
and  official  station  during  the  later  years  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  in  those  of  the  colony 
of  New  York  soon  after  the  final  overthrow  of 
the  dominion  of  the  Dutch  in  New  Amsterdam 
and  New  Netherlands.  The  immigrant  ancestor 
of  the  family  of  the  line  here  treated  was  An- 
thony Carhart,  of  Cornwall,  England,  who  was 
private  secretary  to  Col.  Thomas  Dongan,  gov- 
ernor of  the  colony,  1682-1688.  Anthony  came 
to  New  Amsterdam  in  1683  and  received  a  grant 
of  land  in  1691.  This  Anthony  Carhart  had  a 
son  Thomas  Carhart  (1650-1696)  who  married 
Mary  Lord,  and  this  Thomas  and  Mary  had  a  son 
Robert  Carhart,  who  had  a  son  Cornelius  Car- 
hart, whose  wife  was  Willimpia  Coleman. 

The  period  of  Cornelius  Carhart's  life  was 
1729-1810,  and  he  attained  distinction  during  the 
revolutionary  war,  first  as  captain  of  the  Third 
Regiment  of  Militia  of  Huntingdon  county.  New 
Jersey,  1777;  and  as  major  of  the  Second  Regi- 
ment of  Huntingdon  county  troops  under  com- 
mission of  April  20,  1778.  Major  Cornelius  Car- 
hart and  Willimpia  Coleman  had  children,  among 
whom  was  Robert  Carhart,  1760-1834,  who  was 
a  soldier  of  the  revolution,  1775-1783,  serving 
throughout  the  war  with  the  New  Jersey  militia. 
'This  Robert  had  a  son,  William  P.  Carhart,  born 
1779,  died  1863,  who  was  of  New  Hampton,  New 
Jersey,  and  whose  son  Theodore,  of  Belvidere, 
TNew  Jersey,  married  Rachel  Albright,  and  had  a 


son,  Phineas  MacMiller  Carhart,  born  in  Belvi- 
dere, New  Jersey,  September  21,  1842,  died  in 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  May  2,  1901. 

Phineas  MacMiller  Carhart  entered  the  Wyo- 
ming Seminary  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  as  a 
student  in  1865,  and  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1867.  Soon  afterward  he  was  employed  first 
as  clerk,  then  teller,  and  afterward  as  cashier  in 
the  banking  house  of  Bennett,  Phelps  &  Com- 
pany, Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  remained  until  the 
business  was  closed  in  1879.  In  1880  he  accepted 
clerkship  in  the  Wyoming  National  Bank, 
Wilkes-Barre,  which  position  he  held  until  Octo- 
ber, 1885,  when  he  was  made  teller  in  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  became 
cashier  of  the  same  bank  April  12,  1887,  and 
held  that  position  to  the  time  of  his  death  May  2, 
1901.  Mr.  Carhart's  connection  with  banking 
in  Wilkes-Barre  in  one  capacity  or  another  cov- 
ered a  period  of  thirty-five  years,  a  service  as 
long  and  honorable  and  as  faithful  as  that  of  any 
person  in  the  same  avocation  in  business  life  in 
the  Wyoming  valley.  In  1865  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Kingston  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  from  that  time  until  his  death  was  active  in 
church  and  Sunday  school  work.  He  taught  suc- 
cessf ullv  for  several  years  the  adult  Bible  class ; 
was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  several 
years  ;  was  trustee  of  the  society ;  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  board,  and  also  was  class  leader. 
Air.  Carhart  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society 
of  Good  Fellows,  No.  19,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
a  member  (elected  October  4,  1895)  of  the  Wyo- 
ming Historical  and  Geological  Society.  Phineas 
MacMiller  Carhart  married  at  Kingston,  Penn- 
sylvania, May  23,  1872,  Elizabeth  Helme,  daugh- 
ter of  Frank  Helme,  of  Kingston,  and  to  them 
one  daughter  was  born,  Helen  Helme  Carhart, 
wife  of  Jared  Warner  Stark,  who  is  connected 
with  the  Dupont  Powder  Company  at  Hazelton. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stark  have  two  children,  Edward 
Carhart  Stark,  born  November  20,  1903,  and 
Elizabeth  Helme  Stark,  born  March  27,  1905. 
The  bodies  in  which  Mr.  Carhart  was  most  deeply 
interested  paid  touching  tribute  to  his  memory 
shortly  after  his  demise.  The  directors  of  the 
First  National  Bank  prepared  and  transmitted 
to  Mrs.  Carhart  a  beautiful  brochure,  bearing 
upon  the  cover  the  words  "In  Memoriam"  in  let- 
ters of  gold,  and  upon  the  last  page  the  seal  of 
the  bank  and  the  signatures  of  William  McLean, 
president,  and  Charles  P.  Hunt,  secretary,  and 
containing  the  following  resolutions  : 

'"Friday,  May  3rd,   1901. 
"Mr.   Carhart  has  been   connected  with   this 


426 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


bank  for  more  than  fifteen  years ;  first  as  teller, 
on  October  1st,  1885  ;  then  assistant  cashier,  June 
12th,  1886;  and  cashier  from,  April  13th,  1887, 
to  the  time  of  his  death.  Since  September,  1889, 
he  has  been  a  constant  patient  sufferer,  and,  while 
we  deplore  his  death  just  in  the  prime  of  life,  yet 
we  feel  that  it  must  have  been  a  great  relief,  and 
that  our  loss  is  his  gain.  Throughout  his  con- 
nection with  this  bank,  Mr.  Carhart  has  always 
been  characterized  by  the  manners  of  a  Christian 
gentleman,  conscientious  and  faithful  in  all  the 
duties  appertaining  to  his  position,  intelligent  and 
clear-headed,  understanding  well  the  business 
over  which  he  presided,  with  dignified  urbanity. 
We  feel  it  is  but  proper  and  fitting  to  place  upon 
our  minutes  the  following  resolutions : 

"Resolved,  That  while  we  are  again  called 
upon  to  record  the  death  of  an  officer  of  this  bank, 
we  would  most  seriously  add  our  estimation  of 
his  worth  and  character  to  his  family  and  con- 
vey to  his  family  our  deepest  sympathy  under  this 
severe  affliction." 

The  following  resolutions  adopted  by  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Kingston 
were  beautifully  inscribed  with  pen  and  ink, 
bound  in  leather  and  embossed  in  gold,  attested 
by  the  signatures  of  Abraham  Nesbitt,  C.  Bach, 
W.  R.  Billings,  C.  W.  Laycock  and  Leonard 
Murdoch : 

"Quarterly  Conference  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
which  was  held  in  the  church  edifice  Monday 
evening,  May  13th,  1901,  unanimously  author- 
ized the  following  resolutions  regarding  the  de- 
cease of  Brother  Phineas  M.  Carhart. 

"Whereas,  Our  Heavenly  Father,  in  His  wise 
providence,  has  removed  from  our  midst  Phineas 
M.' Carhart,  a  brother  respected  and  beloved,  we 
desire  to  express  our  sorrow  in  this  bereavement, 
and  our  appreciation  of  the  life  and  character  of 
the  deceased,  and  our  Christian  sympathy  for  his 
afflicted  family.  Brother  Carhart  was  a  man 
whom  all  that  came  to  know  must  respect.  His 
life  appeared  to  be  above  reproach.  We  shall 
miss  his  counsel  in  our  official  meetings,  his 
prayers  and  testimony  in  the  prayer  circle,  and 
his  sound  advice  and  ardent  exhortation  in  the 
class.  We  know,  however,  that,  most  of  all,  he 
will  be  missed  from  the  home.  Our  prayers  are 
offered  for  the  consolation  of  Divine  grace  in 
behalf  of  those  who  were  so  dear  to  him,  and  we 
wish  to  record  that  in  our  sorrow  we  find  comfort 
in  the  memory  of  so  good  a  life,  and  his  life  a 
benediction  to  us.  In  Christian  influence  he  still 
lives  among  us,  while  in  the  new  and  Heavenly 


kingdom  we  trust  that  he  lives  a  citizen,  faithful,, 
obedient-  and  happy.  For  these  comforting  as- 
surances we  are  grateful  to  our  blessed  Lord. 

"Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  spread 
upon  the  minutes  of  the  Conference  and  that  an 
engrossed  copy  be  presented  to  the  family." 

H.  E.  H. 

ELISHA  A.  CORAY.  Throughout  the 
county  the  name  of  Elisha  A.  Coray,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  is  recognized  as  that  of  a  progressive  citi- 
zen and  extensive  dealer  in  real  estate.  He  was 
born  at  Monroeton,  Bradford  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, September  6,  1858.  He  is  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  Elnathan  and  Abigail  (Green ) 
Coray,  residents  of  Goshen,  Connecticut,  where 
they  were  respected  and  honored  for  their  lives 
of  usefulness  and  activity.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  five  children,  as  follows :  Gabriel,  Abigail, 
Isaac,  John  'and  Silas. 

John  Coray,  second  son  of  Elnathan  and  Abi- 
gail (Green)  Coray,  was  born  at  Goshen,  Con- 
necticut, but  came  to  Wyoming  valley  as  one  of" 
the  early  settlers.  He  was  an  upright,  worthy 
citizen,  and  achieved  a  large  degree  of  success  as 
the  result  of  his  well-directed  efforts.  His  death 
was  occasioned  by  an  accident ;  while  in  the- 
woods  he  was  mistaken  for  a  deer  by  some  hunt- 
ers by  whom  he  was  shot  and  killed.  His  wife,. 
whose  maiden  name  was  Phoebe  Howe,  bore  him 
four  children:  Silas,  born  1788;  Ira,  born  1791 ;. 
David,  born  1794;  and  John,  born  1796. 

David  Coray,  third  son  of  John  and  Phoebe 
(Howe)  Coray,  was  born  January  15,  1794.  He 
followed  the  occupation  of  lumberman,  and  while- 
engaged  in  that  pursuit  on  what  was  called  "up 
on  the  Lehigh"  was  accidentally  killed  April  24, 
1833,  by  a  log  striking  him.  He  married  Re- 
becca Atherton,  who  was  born  March  1,  1797,- 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  four  children :  Ce- 
linda,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Job  Harvey;  Elisha,  who 
married  Mary  Perkins,  and  resides  in  New  York  ; 
George,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  Helen,  wife- 
of  Jerome  Salsbury.  The  mother  of  these  chil- 
dren passed  away  May  15,  1827, 

George  Coray,  second  son  of  David  and  Re- 
becca (Atherton)  Coray,  was  born  in  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  July  5,  1824.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  in  the  neighbor- 
hood and  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  having - 
been  the  first  registered  student  of  the  latter  in- 
stitution. His  active  career  was  devoted  to  mer- 
cantile pursuits,  milling  and  real  estate  transac- 
tions. During  the  years  1869  and  1870  he  was  a 
member  of  the  legislature,  representing  the  coun— 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


4->7 


ty  of  Luzerne,  this  being  prior  to  the  division  of 
Lackawanna  and  Luzerne  counties,  being  elected 
one  of  the  three  representatives.  He  married, 
January  24,  1849,  Laura  Greene,  born  April  18, 
1822,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Melissa  (Rice) 
Greene,  and  their  children  were :  David  E., 
born  August  16,  1852,  died  in  infancy;  William 
H.,  born  August  27,  1854,  married  Alary  Wilson; 
Elisha  A.,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  and  George  E., 
born  January  16,  1863,  at  present  (1905)  a  resi- 
dent of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Coray, 
the  father  of  these  children,  died  December  28, 
1883. 

Elisha  A.  Coray,  third  son  of  George  and 
Laura  (Greene)  Coray,  passed  his  boyhood  in 
Luzerne  county,  and  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  and  at  the  Keystone  Academy  at  Factory- 
ville,  Pennsylvania.  In  1878  he  entered  the  office 
of  the  Pittston  Press  and  began  to  learn  the  trade 
of  printer.  He  remained  there  one  year,  and 
then  was  engaged  in  different  occupations  until 
1880,  when  he  became  associated  with  the  Pitts- 
ton  Gazette,  serving  on  the  paper  as  printer,  re- 
porter and  solicitor  until  1888.  In  that  year  he 
v.t..c  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket  to  represent 
the  second  district  of  Luzerne  county  in  the  state 
legislature.  He  served  from  1889  until  1891, 
later  was  re-elected  and  served  during  the  years 
1897-99-1001,  and  in  the  latter  year  was  a  candi- 
date for  state  treasurer  on  the  Fusion  ticket  com- 
posed of  independent  Republicans  and  Demo- 
crats. In  1903  Mr.  Coray  opened  an  office  at  the 
corner  of  West  Market  and  Franklin  streets, 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  has  since  conducted  an  exten- 
sive real  estate  business.  He  is  a  man  of  merit 
and  ability,  and  enjoys  the  acquaintance  of  a 
host  of  friends  throughout  the  entire  county  and 
state.  He  takes  a  deep  and  active  interest  in  re- 
ligious work,  especially  that  connected  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  West  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  of  which  he  is  a  member.  Mr. 
Coray  married,  January  29,  1896,  Sallie  Warner, 
who  was  born  May  15,  1871,  daughter  of  Henry 
Lupton  and  Sarah  G.  (Barnes)  Warner,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  the  following  children : 
Sallie,  born  December  24,  1896,  died  December 
26,  1896;  Eleanor  W.,  born  August  2,  1898;  Ed- 
ward Atherton,  born  August  24,  1901  ;  and 
Henry  Warner,  born  June  23,  1904.  Henry  Lup- 
ton Warner,  father  of  Mrs.  Coray,  was  born  May 
6,  1833,  at  Canaan,  New  York,  son  of  Joseph  and 
Elizabeth  (Lockwood)  Warner.  He  married, 
March  10,  1858,  Sarah  G.  Barnes,  daughter  of 
Daniel  D.  and  Lydia  (Douglas)  Barnes,  and 
their  children  were :   Anna,  who  lives  in  Nashua, 


New  Hampshire ;  Harriet,  widow  of  the  late  A_ 
A.  Chapin,  of  Flushing,  New  York ;  Daniel  D., 
a  resident  of  Portland,  Oregon ;  Henry  J.,  a  resi- 
dent   of    Spokane,    Washington ;    Sallie,   wife    of 
Elisha  A.  Coray,  as  mentioned  above ;  Frederick . 
G,     who     resides    in     Portland,     Oregon ;     and 
Charles  J.,   who  lives   in  Nashua,    New   Hamp- 
shire.     Mr.    Warner    died    July    20,    1S97,    at 
Canaan,  New  York.     The  family  trace  their  an- 
cestry back  to  Elder  Brewster,  one  of  the  passen 
gers  on  the  "Mayflower.'  H.  E.  H. 

SUTHERLAND  FAMILY.  William  Suth- 
erland was  in  Dutchess  count}-,  New  York, 
in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Evi- 
dently he  was  of  New  England  ancestry,  as  the- 
surname  had  representatives  among  the  Yankees 
of  both  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut.  But  of 
William's  antecedents  little  is  now  known,  ex- 
cept that  he  was  of  Dutchess  county,  New  York,, 
and  married  there,  1720,  Hannah  Avery. 

William  and  Hannah  had  a  son  David,  born. 
Crown  Elbow,  Dutchess  county,  1722;  married 
Judith  Griffin,  who  died  in  Bangall,  Dutchess 
county,  April  10,  1790.  This  David  was  colonel 
of  the  Sixth  Regiment  of  New  York  militia  from. 
October  17,  1775,  to  March  20,  1878.  He  died. 
March  15,  1794.  Colonel  David  and  Judith  Suth- 
erland had  a  son  Joel,  born  in  Dutchess  county,. 
1752;  married  Mary  Brush,  born  1757,  died  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1832. 

Brush  Sutherland,  son  of  Joel  Sutherland  and, 
his  wife  Mary  Brush,  was  born  in  Stamford,  New 
York,   June   5,    1785,   and   died  there   March    3, 
1832.      He   married,   January   3,    1812,   Deborah 
Sutherland,  born  Greenville,  New  York,  July  26, . 
1787,  died  West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  Novem-- 
ber  16,  1863,  daughter  of  Smith  Sutherland,  who- 
was  a   captain   in  the   Sixth   Regiment  of   New 
York  state  troops  during  the  Revolutionary  war.. 

Smith  Sutherland,  son  of  Brush  Sutherland, 
was  born  in  Stamford,  New  York,  October  21, 
1 8 18,  and  was  educated  at  the  once  famous  old 
Gilbertsville  Academy,  in  Gilbertsville,  New 
York.  When  a  young  man  he  moved  to  Pittston,. 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  in  mercantile  business 
there  from  1850  to  1862.  He  took  an  active  in- 
terest in  public  affairs  and  was  recognized  as  one 
of  the  leading  men  of  that  locality ;  was  justice  of 
the  peace  at  West  Pittston  from  1869  to  1879; 
served  as  member  of  the  borough  council  and 
also  as  borough  clerk.  Previous  to  his  removal 
to  Pennsylvania  he  held  a  captain's  commission 
in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first  New  York 
Infantry,  his  appointment  having  been  made  Au— 


428 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


gust  25,  1841,  and  by  Governor  Seward.  Smith 
Sutherland  married  (first),  Otego,  Otsego 
county,  New  York,  June  3,  1846,  Lucy  P.  Fuller ; 
married  (second),  Exeter,  Pennsylvania,  Sep- 
tember 16,  1861,  Laura  Loomis  Stanton,  born 
Exeter,  Pennsylvania,  January  22,  1825,  daugh- 
ter of  Asa  and  Lydia  Stanton,  of  New  London, 
Connecticut,  who  removed  in  1810  to  Pennsyl- 
vania with  an  ox  team  and  settled  in  Northmore- 
land,  Luzerne  county.  Lydia  was  a  small  child 
when  Arnold  burned  New  London,  Connecticut, 
and  distinctly  remembers  seeing  the  smoke  arise 
from  the  burning  town.  Smith  Sutherland's  chil- 
dren, issue  of  both  marriages  were  as  follows : 
Charles  Francis,  born  May  25,  1848.  George 
Henry,  born  January  5,  1850.  Walter  Coray, 
born  Exeter,  Pennsylvania,  November  7,  1862. 
Lucy  Fuller,  born  Exeter,  Pennsylvania,  March 
6,  1864. 

Walter  Coray  Sutherland  was  born  in  Exeter 
township,  Luzerne  county  Pennsylvania,  No- 
vember 7,  1862,  and  acquired  his  early  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  that  town,  and  at  Wyo- 
ming Seminary  in  Kingston.  He  was  a  commer- 
cial traveller  from  1882  to  1892,  and  in  the  latter 
year  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles  L.  Mc- 
Millan, the  style  being  Sutherland  &  McMillan, 
wholesale  grocers,  doing  business  in  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Sutherland  is  a  business  man 
and  a  busy  man  at  all  times  ;  yet  he  has  found 
time  to  take  a  public-spirited  citizen's  part  in  the 
affairs  of  his  town.  He  is  a  Republican,  but 
without  political  ambition.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  West  Pittston  borough  council  from  1897  to 
1904,  and  president  of  the  council  during  the  last 
year  of  his  term  of  office.  He  was  instrumental 
in  organizing  the  Luzerne  County  Good  Roads 
League,  holding  the  office  of  secretary.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Sons  of  the 
Revolution,  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  233,  F.  and 
A.  M.,  of  Pittston  Chapter,  No.  242,  R.  A.  M.,  of 
Wyoming  Valley  Commanderv  No.  57,  K.  T., 
and  of  Irem  Temple,  A.  A.  O.'N.  M.  S.  Walter 
Coray  Sutherland  married,  West  Pittston,  Penn- 
sylvania, April  17,  1889,  Grace  Klotz,  born  West 
Pittston,  January  1,  1865,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Klotz  and  his  wife  Mary  A.  Grube.  Their  chil- 
dren:  Martha  Chapman,  born  West  Pittston, 
January  12.  1890.  Marian  Grace,  born  West 
Pittston,  January  4,  1892.  Esther  Klotz  Suther- 
land, born  West  Pittston,  November  3,  1895. 
Grace  ( Klotz)  Sutherland  was  educated  in  the 
West  Pittston  high  school,  and  was  graduated 
there.    Her  father.  Joseph  Klotz,  served  with  the 


militia  forces  called  into  action  to  repel  the  Con- 
federate invasion  of  Pennsylvania  during  the  war 
of  1861-1865;  and  her  uncle,  Robert  Klotz, 
served  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  with  the  rank  of 
major,  and  held  a  colonel's  commission  in  the 
war  of  1861-1865.  He  was  twice  member  of 
congress ;  died  at  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania. 

H.  E.  H. 

DANIEL  DENNIS  WILCOX.  Among 
the  names  of  the  pioneers  who  helped  to  make 
history  during  the  dark  days  of  the  Wyoming 
valley  may  be  justly  mentioned  that  of  Wil- 
cox. The  first  of  the  name  of  whom  there 
exists  any  authentic  information  was  Isaac 
Wilcox,  Sr.,  born  about  1730,  who  upon  his 
arrival  in  New  York  state  from  Rhode  Island 
went  to  live  with  his  son  in  Dutchess  county, 
and  there  married  Desire  Crandall,  who  was 
born  June  16,  1738.  She  was  probably  the 
daughter  of  Eber  and  Mary  Long  Crandall, 
granddaughter  of  Eber  Crandall,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  John  Crandall,  of  Wester- 
ly, Long  Island,  commissioner  and  deputy, 
1658-71.  Their  children  were:  Isaac,  men- 
tioned hereinafter ;  Crandall,  born  in  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  July  7,  1771,  married 
Joanna  Stark ;  Thankful,  born  in  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  August  24,  1774,  married 
Daniel  Rosencrans,  and  died  in  Knox  county, 
Ohio.  Daniel  and  Thankful  (WTilcox)  Rosen- 
crans were  grandparents  of  Major-General 
William  Stark  Rosecrans,  U.  S.  A.,  1861-65, 
and  of  Right  Reverend  Sylvester  Horton  Rose- 
crans, D.  D.,  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Co- 
lumbus, Ohio,  1868-78'.  Isaac  and  Crandall 
Wilcox  were  in  Wyoming  in  1794.  Isaac  Wil- 
cox, Sr.,  was  an  active  participant  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  and  during  this  period  was  se- 
riously hurt  in  the  back.  Later  he  removed  to 
Ohio,  where  he  died  January  26,  1813.  His 
wife  died  in  the  Wyoming  valley,  and  her 
tombstone,  now  destroyed,  bore  the  following 
inscription:  "Desire  Wilcox,  wife  of  Isaac 
Wilcox,  departed  this  life  March  23,  1810, 
aged  sixty-five  vears,  five  months  and  fifteen 
days." 

Isaac  Wilcox,  eldest  son  of  Isaac  and  De- 
sire (Crandall)  Wilcox,  was  born  in  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  about  1760.  It  appears 
that  April  1,  1794,  Amos  Wilcox,  yeoman,  of 
Orange,  New  York,  s-old  to  Isaac  W'ilcox, 
husbandman,  and  Crandall  Wilcox,  black- 
smith, of  Wilkes-Barre,  lots  No.  34.  35  and  36 
on    Jacobs    Plain.       (Harvey    book.    p.    304.) 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


429, 


Isaac  Wilcox  married,  about  1790-95,  Nancy 
Newcombe,  who  was  born  in  Dutchess  county, 
New  York,  May  26,  1765,  and  died  in  Wyo- 
ming, June  15,  1857,  her  remains  being  in- 
terred at  the  Cooper  burying  ground  near 
Fort  Blanchard.  Thomas  Newcombe  was  a 
son  of  Simon  and  Deborah  Newcombe,  and 
grandson  of  Lieut.  Andrew  and  Sarah  New- 
combe. Andrew  Newcombe  was  lieutenant 
of  Massachusetts  colonial  troops,  appointed 
April  13,  1691.  Isaac  and  Nancy  (Newcombe) 
Wilcox  had :  1.  Samuel.  2.  Gilbert.  3. 
Newcome.  4.  Elizabeth.  5.  Jane,  born  Au- 
gust, 1794.  6.  Cornelia,  born  March  24,  1798. 
7.  Maria,  wife  of  Isaac  Thompson,  who  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Illi- 
nois, was  nearly  one  hundred  and  four  years 
of  age.  8.  Isaac,  born  September  17.  1801. 
9.  Crandall,  born  1803.  10.  Gardner.  11. 
James. 

Samuel  Wilcox,  eldest  child  of  Isaac  and 
Nancy  Wilcox,  married  Clara  Love  Mon- 
tayne,  born  August  19,  1796.  Their  children 
were :  , 

16.  Elias  Bowen,  born  at  Plains,  March  2, 
1818;  was  educated  in  the  common  schools. 
He  became  owner  of  the  land  which  is  now 
the  town  of  Taylor,  Pennsylvania,  near  Scran- 
ton,  but  a  question  of  title  coming  up  it  was 
lost.  He  was  a  brickmaker  and  followed  his 
calling  until  within  two  years  of  his  death,  Oc- 
tober 11,  1903,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years. 
He  married,  August  17,  1844,  Nancy  E.  Max- 
field,  born  May  23,  1827,  who  is  now  living 
in  Plymouth  in  her  seventy-eighth  year,  a  re- 
markably well-preserved  woman.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  I.  Mary  H.,  born  June  22,  1846, 
married  Alexander  Ferguson,  son  of  Robert 
and  Jane  Ferguson,  who  emigrated  from  Ire- 
land in  1862 ;  they  had  five  children :  Emma 
Ferguson,  born  March  24,  1867,  married  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1891,  Miller  Frederick,  born  in  Ash- 
ley, and  had  three  children^Donald,  Russell, 
and  Kenneth ;  Chester  Alexander  Ferguson, 
born  January  21,  1869,  married  January  29,  1895, 
Lizzie  Rennard,  and  had  two  children,  Walter  and 
Frederick ;  Jennie  Ferguson,  born  December  20, 
1875,  married  January  29,  1903,  Frank  Bitten- 
bender,  and  had  one  child,  Paul ;  John  Hen- 
drick  Ferguson,  born  April  2,  1878;  Robert 
Stewart  Ferguson  born  November  30,  1881. 
2.  Chester  B.  Wilcox,  born  November  10, 
1847,  married  January  10,  1877,  Jennie  Major, 
and  had  children :  Dr.  Homer  B.,  Martha, 
Bertha   and   Dorothy. 


17.  James,  born  September  9,  1819,  a  vet- 
eran of  the  Florida  Seminole  Indian  war. 

18.  Egbert,    born    July    29,    1821 ;    a    school, 
teacher  in  Ohio  and  Plains ;  died  young. 

19.  Ellen,  born  March   1,   1823. 

20.  Emily,  born  October  12,  1824. 

21.  Clarissa,  born  July  16,  1826. 

22.  Chester,  born  October  21,  1827. 

23.  Samuel,  born  October  12,  1829,  was  a. 
justice  of  the  peace  for  twenty-six  years.     Be- 
ginning with  practically  nothing,  he  became  a. 
well-to-do  stock  farmer,    and    left    considerable 
proerty  to  his  family. 

24.  Zilpha,  born  April  9,  1832. 

25.  Charles,  born  August  9,  1835,  a  school 
teacher  in  Ohio. 

26.  Calvin  P.,  born  August  19,  1837,  moved 
to  Covington,  Kentucky,  when  thirteen  years 
old,  and  then  to  Ohio,  where  he  studied  law 
and  practiced  his  profession.  He  enlisted  as. 
a  private  in  the  Ohio  Volunteers  in  1861,  serv- 
ing until  1865,  and  by  gallantry  rising  to  the 
rank  of  colonel.     He  died  in  Scranton. 

(VIII).     Isaac  Wilcox,  ninth  child  of  Isaac 
and   Nancy    (Newcombe)    Wilcox,   born   Sep- 
tember 17,   1801,  died  April   19,   i860;  married, 
May  6,  1824,  Sarah  Stark,  born  May  20,  1801, 
died  June  27,  1864,  daughter  of  Daniel  Stark, 
and  granddaughter  of  Aaron  Stark,  who  was. 
killed  at  Wyoming  valley  during  the  massa- 
cre, while  Nancy  Newcombe  was  in  the  fort. . 
(See  Stark  family).     Isaac  and  Sarah   (Stark). 
Wilcox  had  children : 

27.  Gardner   L.,   born   February  26,   1825. 

28.  George  S.,  bom  August  2,   1826,  died. 
November  6,  1902. 

29.  John  D.,  born  May  20,  1828.  He  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  having  purchased  part 
of  the  old  homestead,  where  he  now  resides. 
On  July  3,  1884,  he  married  Augusta  Stark,  a 
native  of  Tompkins  county,  New  York,  daugh- 
ter and  only  child  of  William  and  Mary 
(Head)  Stark,  granddaughter  of  George  D. 
Stark,  a  cooper,  who  was  born  in  Tompkins 
county,  New  York,  and  later  removed  to  the 
Wyoming  valley,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  that  section,  though  his  death  oc- 
curred in  Michigan,  at  quite  an  advanced  age. 
William  Stark,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Wilcox, 
born  in  1838,  died  1903,'  was  a  farmer,  and 
for  many  years  engaged  in  the  conduct  of  this 
business.  His  wife,  Mary  Head,  was  also  a 
native  of  Tompkins  county.  New  York.  She 
later  removed   to   Plains,  where   she   now  re- 


430 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


asides  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Wilcox.  Three 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  D. 
Wilcox:    Adelaide,    Mary   L.    and   John,    both 

'deceased.  Politically,  Mr.  Wilcox  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  was  formerly  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at 
Plains,  of  which  he  is  also  a  trustee  and  stew- 

.  ard. 

30.  Mary,  born  July  6,  1830,  died  January 
26,  1834.  , 

31.  Lovina  M.,  born  August  28,  1832,  died 
November  12,  1903 ;  married  Rev.  William 
W.     Loomis,     of     the     Methodist     Episcopal 

1  Church,   and   third    mayor    of    Wilkes-Barre, 
-Pennsylvania. 

32.  Daniel  Dennis,  born  January  15,  1835. 

33.  Carpenter  T.,  born  September  8,  1839, 
•  died  October  23,  1897. 

Daniel  Dennis.  Wilcox   (32),  fourth  son  of 

Tsaac  and  Sarah  (Stark)  Wilcox,  was  born  in 
Pittston,  now  Plains,  township,  January  15, 
1835.    He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 

•of  Plains,  and  at  Charlottsville  Seminary,  New 
York.  For  a  number  of  years  thereafter  he 
devoted  his  attention  to  farming  exclusively, 
after  which  he  engaged  in  the  livery  and  gro- 
cery business  for  several  years,  but  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health  was  forced  to  relinquish  ac- 
tive pursuits  in  1900,  since  which  time  he  has 
led   a   retired   life.      During  the   Civil  war   he 

.served  with  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  be- 
ing mustered  into  service  June  13,  1861.  Short- 
ly after  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  Virginia, 
July  27,  1861,  he  was  mustered  into  the  serv- 
ice of  the  United  States,  at  Washington,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia,  and  served  as  private  and 
corporal  in  Company  F,  Seventh  Regiment  In- 
fantry, Pennsylvania  Reserves.  At  the  time  of 
General  Lee's  invasion  of  Pennsylvania,  just 
prior  to  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  he  enlisted 
in  Company  K,  Thirtieth  Regiment,  Pennsyl- 
vania Militia,  and  was  stationed  in  the  Cum- 
berland valley  near  Harrisburg,  until  the  Con- 
federate army  withdrew  from  the  state  when 
his  regiment  was  mustered  out.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican.  He  attends  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was 
a  member  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance. 

Mr.  Wilcox  married,  November  30,  1865, 
Rebecca  Stacker,  born  April  13,  1835,  daughter 

-of  Thomas  and  Catherine  (Hartman)  Stocker, 
and  who  had  Rebecca  (Mrs.  Wilcox)  ;  An- 
netta,  born  June  29,  1822,  died  in  infancy;  Jane 
Ann,  born  January  19,  1831,  died  1895;  Helen 


Marr,  born  September  12,  1833,  died  August 
— ,  1884;  Fannie  H.,  born  October  7,  1838. 

Daniel  D.  and  Rebecca  Wilcox  had  the  fol- 
lowing children :  34.  William  S.,  born  Oc- 
tober 17,  1866,  married,  May  7,  1888,  Clara  L. 
Becker,  born  July  12,  1870,  had  three  chil- 
dren— Bernhard,  born  February  25,  1889;  Dan- 
ield  Stark,  born  April  7,  1892,  and  Clara  Beck- 
er, born  December  1,  1894.  35.  Thomas,  born 
January  30,  1871,  died  July  17,  1871.  36. 
Isaac,  twin  with  Thomas,  died  July  21,  1871. 
37.     Katharine,  born  November  14,  1872. 

H.  E.  H. 

TRIPP  FAMILY.  The  original  ancestor 
of  the  Tripp  family,  who  came  to  this  country 
from  England,  was  John  Tripp  (1),  who  lo- 
cated at  Portsmouth,  Rhode  Island,  in  1638, 
when  about  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  He 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  His  wife  was  Mary 
Paine,  daughter  of  Anthony  Paine.  John 
Tripp  was  a  prominent  citizen,  was  deputy 
many  terms  and  also  a  member  of  the  town 
council.  He  died  in  1678.  John  and  Mary 
Tripp  had  children:  John,  born  about  1640; 
Peleg,  born  about  1642,  of  whom  later ;  Joseph, 
born  about  1644;  Mary,  born  about  1646; 
Elizabeth,  born  about  1648;  Isabel,  born  165 1 ; 
Abiel,  born  about  1653 ;  James,  born  about 
1656;  Martha,  born  about  1657. 

Peleg  Tripp,  second  child  of  John  and  Mary 
(Paine)  Tripp,  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Rich- 
ard Sisson,  the  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  fam- 
ily of  his  name,  and  their  children  were:  John, 
Priscilla,  Sarah,  Job,  Peleg,  Mary,  Ann,  Me- 
hitable  and  Richard.  Job,  fourth  child  of 
Peleg  and  Anna  Tripp,  was  born  about  1673, 
and  he  had  a  son  Job,  born  April  20,  1701,  who 
had  a  son  Job,  born  June  28,  1734.  Isaac,  born 
about  1700  to  1710,  was  evidently  a  son  of  Job, 
son  of  Peleg,  so  that  the  line  becomes :  John 
(1),  Peleg  (2),  Job  (3),  Isaac  (4). 

Isaac  Tripp  (4),  son  of  Job  Tripp,  resided 
at  Pomfret,  Connecticut,  and  married  Susan- 
nah   .     Many  deeds  and  bills  of  sale 

are  recorded  at  Warwick  in  the  name  of  Isaac 
Tripp  and  Susannah,  his  wife.  Isaac  was  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  the  Wyoming  valley, 
and  in  1768  was  on  the  committee  appointed 
for  Rhode  Island  to  admit  the  first  two  hun- 
dred settlers  under  the  Connecticut  title  to 
lands  in  the  Wyoming  valley,  and  was  on  the 
committee  with  John  Jenkins,  Benjamin  Shoe- 
maker, and  others  to  regulate  the  affairs  and 
proceedings  of  the  first  forty  settlers  who  ar- 


THE  WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


43i 


rived  in  the  valley  February  8.  1769,  Ezra 
Dean  being  one  of  them.  Isaac  Tripp  and 
Ezra  Dean  were  agents  of  the  Connecticut- 
Susquehanna  Company,  and  passed  through 
the  trying  times  incident  to  these  early  days 
and  the  Pennamite  war.  Isaac  Tripp  was 
representative  to  the  Connecticut  assembly 
for  Westmoreland,  1777,  the  name  of  the 
town  comprising  the  Wyoming  valley,  which 
was  attached  to  the  county  of  Litchfield. 
Isaac  Tripp  and  others  were  appointed.  June 
2,  1773,  directors  and  proprietors  of  Provi- 
dence, Pennsylvania.  Isaac  Tripp  settled  on 
Capouse  Meadows  (now  Scranton)  as  early 
as  1771,  and  his  son  Isaac  (5)  also  in  the  same 
locality  between  1772  and  1775.  Isaac,  Sr., 
was  killed  by  the  Indians,  December  16,  1778, 
-while  assisting  his  son-in-law,  Jonathan  Slo- 
cum,  to  feed  stock.  Frances  Slocum,  a  grand- 
daughter of  Isaac  Tripp,  was  carried  off  and 
became  the  wife  of  an  Indian  chief,  and  was 
located  by  her  brothers  in  1837,  near  Peru,  In- 
diana, but  refused  to  leave  her  home  or  her 
children.  Isaac  Tripp  was  a  member  of  the 
Friends  Society.  He  married  (first)  a  Miss 
Sweet,  and  had  a  son  AVilliam  Tripp.  Isaac 
Tripp  married  (second)  a  Miss  Spencer,  and 
bad  Job  and  Ruth.  Isaac  Tripp  married 
(third)  Sarah  Dow,  and  had  Isaac  and  Henry 
Dow. 

Isaac  Tripp,  eldest  son  of  Isaac  (4)  and 
Sarah  (Dow)  Tripp,  was  born  in  East  Green- 
wich, Rhode  Island,  July  24,  1753,  and  died 
May  22,  1807.  He  married  Martha  Wall,  born 
at  the  same  place,  January  29,  1745,  died  Jan- 
uary 27,  1809.  Their  children  were :  Eliza- 
beth, born  March  6,  1763;  Mary,  born  May  5, 
1765;  William,  born  July  ir,  1767;  Isaac,  born 
November  10,  1769,  died  May  18,  1776;  Susan- 
nah, born  February  29,  1772;  Amasa,  born 
April  8,  1774;  Stephen,  born  July  19,  1776; 
Isaac,  born  January  27,  1779,  of  whom  later; 
Martha,  born  September  8,  1781 ;  Catherine, 
born  April  22,  1784;  Holden,  born  November 
'22,  1787;  Nancy,  born  January  21,  1792.  Isaac 
Tripp  (5)  and  his  son  Stephen  built  the  first 
grist  mill  on  Leggett's  creek,  and  the  former 
was  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  valley. 
He  was  a  large  landed  owner  in  the  early  set- 
tlement of  Providence,  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
active  in  its  material  development. 

Isaac  Tripp,  son  of  Isaac  and  Martha  Tripp, 
was  born  at  Rhinebeck,  New  York,  January 
:27>  1779>  and  died  in  Providence,  Pennsylvania, 
May  30,  1830.     He  married  Catherine,  daugh- 


ter of  Peter  and  Sarah  LaFrance,  who  died 
October  6,  1836.  Their  children  were :  Mar- 
tha, born  June  25,  1809,  died  January  1,  1813; 
Caroline,  born  December  31,  1810,  died  April 
26,  1812;  Benjamin  S.,  born  April  13,  1812; 
Ira,  born  January  6,  1814,  died  August  3,  1891 ; 
Mahala,  born  December  15,  181 5,  died  March 
10,  1879;  Isaac,  of  whom  later;  Phoebe,  born 
June  17.  1819,  died  October  4,  1844;  Maria, 
"born  July  23,  1822,  died  June  8,  1883 ;  Holden, 
born  October  15,  1824,  died  December  30, 
1870;  Catherine,  born  November  15,  1827,  died 
December  4,  1892.  Isaac  Tripp  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  and  resided  between  Provi- 
dence and  Hyde  Park,  Pennsylvania. 

Isaac,   sixth   child  of   Isaac   and   Catherine 
(LaFrance)    Tripp,   was   born     September    7, 
1817.      His     father    died    when    the     son    was 
about  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  he  earl}-  en- 
tered upon  a  life  of  self-support.     He  followed 
the  example  of  the  father  and  engaged  in  farm- 
ing.    He  located  in  Kingston  in  1854,  on  the 
place  where   Frank   Helms  now  lives,   subse- 
quently living  a  year  and  a  half  on  a  farm  on 
the  hill  west  of   Kingston,   and   in    1859  pur- 
chasing his  late  home  of  one  hundred  and  thir- 
ty-eight  acres,  known   as   the   "Abbot   farm." 
He  was  very  successful  as  a  stock  breeder,  and 
had  in  his  possession  a  cow,  which  he  raised 
on  his  farm,  which  weighed  over  three  thous- 
and  pounds,   undoubtedly  the  largest  cow  in 
the  world,  a  very  beautiful,  well-proportioned 
animal   of  the  Shorthorn   Durham   breed.      It 
was  looked  upon  with  wonder  by  stockraisers 
from  various  parts  of  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  who  in  many  cases  traveled  long  dis- 
tances to  see  so  extraordinary  an  animal.     Mr. 
Tripp  was  a  Republican  in  his  political  views, 
and  held  the  office  of  assessor  of  Providence. 
He  was  married   (first)   February  17,  1840,  to 
Margaret,  born  May  30,  1816,  daughter  of  Ja- 
cob   I.    and    Elizabeth    (Woulthmuth)     Shoe- 
maker, natives  of  Pennsylvania,  and  of   Ger- 
man origin.     Their  children  were :    Mary  A., 
born  July  24,  1842 ;  Penelope  E.,  born  Decem- 
ber 24,  1844,  wife  of  Isaac  Estabrook,  a  farm- 
er, at  Catherine,  New  York ;  Phoebe  M.,  born 
August  24,   1847,  wile  °I  W.  O.  Sherwood,  a 
farmer  at  Trumansburgh,  New  York ;  Margaret 
E.,   born  August  21.   1851  ;   Isaac  Eugene,  born 
September  20,  1849,  died  May  22,  185 1 ;  Emma 
C,  born  November  12,  1854,  wife  of  Stephen 
F.  Williams,  a  druggist,  at  Plvmouth,  Penn- 
sylvania.    Mrs.  Margaret   (Shoemaker)   Tripp 
died  November  23,    1856,  and  Air.  Tripp  was 


432 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


married  (second)  December  28,  1861,  to  Han- 
nah Rogers,  born  February  16,  1834,  daugh- 
ter of  Nelson  and  Jane  (Durling)  Rogers,  na- 
tives of  Maine  and  Orange  county,  New  York, 
and  of  New  England  and  Irish  lineage,  respect- 
ively. Their  children  were:  Flora  T.,  born 
April  15,  1863,  married  to  Simeon  Bronson,  a 
farmer  in  Schuylkill  township,  Chester  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania ;  Maud,  born  December  3, 
1864,  married  to  Frederick  Space,  of  Forty 
Fort;  Isaac  Nelson,  born  December  29,  1866, 
who  is  farming  in  Schulykill  township ;  Edwin 
McN.,  of  whom  later;  Catherine  Jane,  born 
July  31,  1872,  married  Dr.  Thompson  and  re- 
sides on  the  old  homestead ;  and  Bertha  May, 
born  May  18,  1875,  married  Dr.  D.  G.  Robin- 
hold  and  resides  in  Forty  Fort ;  has  one 
daughter,  Josephine,  born  May  15,  1904.  Mrs. 
Tripp  was  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  of  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr.  Tripp  died 
February  5,  1898,  aged  eighty  years.  Mrs. 
Tripp  died  July  11,  1904. 

Edwin  McNeil  Tripp,  fourth  child  of  Isaac 
and  Hannah  (Rogers)  Tripp,  was  born  in 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  September  8,  1868. 
He  passed  his  early  years  upon  the  parental 
farm,  and  began  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  at  Forty  Fort,  subsequently  attend- 
ing in  turn  the  Wyoming  Seminary  and  the 
Moravian  Military  School  at  Nazareth  Hall, 
Northampton  county,  Pennsylvania,  from 
which  last  named  institution  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  the  class  of  1889.  On  completing  his 
education  he  returned  to  the  homestead  farm, 
upon  which  he  has  continuously  resided  to  the 
present  time.  He  married,  October  16,  1895, 
Lucy  A.  Wolfe,  born  at  Pike's  Creek,  Decem- 
ber 11,  1873,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Olive 
(Thomson)  Wolfe,  of  Pike's  Creek,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Her  father  is  a  farm- 
er, and  she  is  one  of  four  children,  the  others 
being  Emma,  Charles  and  Verna.  Her  father 
is  the  son  of  Clark  and  Althea  (Goss)  Wolfe, 
of  Fairmount,  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  nine 
children :  Mary,  deceased ;  Josiah,  named 
above ;  Nathaniel,  Theodore,  Jane,  Joseph,  Ja- 
cob, Martha,  Rhoda  and  Almina.  Clark  Wolfe 
is  yet  living  at  Pike's  Creek,  at  the  venerable 
age  of  eighty-nine  years ;  his  wife  died  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1885,  aged  seventy-six  years,  and  was 
buried  at  Pike's  Creek.  Olive  Thompson,  wife 
of  Josiah  Wolfe,  is  a  daughter  of  Peter  and 
Lucy  (Sconton)  Thompson,  of  Bradford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  'both  of  whom  are  de- 
ceased. H.  E.  H. 


SAMPSON  TOWNSEND,  a  prosperous 
business  man  of  Plymouth,  was  born  August 
1,  1845,  at  Blaen  Avon,  Monmouthshire  coun- 
ty, England,  and  is  a  descendant  of  a  long  line 
of  English  ancestry  from  the  west  of  Eng- 
land. He  is  the  son  of  James  Edward  and 
Susannah  (Stiff)  Townsend,  and  grandson  of 
Sampson  and  Ann   (Stiff)   Townsend. 

Sampson  Townsend  was  born  in  Iron  Ac- 
ton, Gloucestershire  county,  England.  He  re- 
ssided  in  that  section  throughout  his  entire 
lifetime,  and  his  attention  was  devoted  to  ag- 
riculture. He  married  Ann  Stiff,  of  Iron  Ac- 
ton, and  had  three  children  :  1.  William,  who 
was  an  organ  builder  in  the  city  of  Bath,  west 
of  England,  and  died  there  without  issue.  He 
was  twice  married.  2.  Henry,  who  followed 
mining  in  the  west  of  England  and  was  killed 
in  the  mines.  He  married  and  had  a  large 
family,  a  number  of  whom  came  to  America,, 
settling  in  Canada  and  others  in  various  parts 
of  the  United  States.  3.  James  Edward,  men- 
tioned hereafter. 

Stephen  Townsend,  brother  of  Sampson 
Townsend,  was  the  father  of  a  large  family. 
Stephen  Townsend,  Jr.,  entered  the  British 
navy,  was  injured  in  battle  in  the  Baltic  sea, 
invalided  home  and  died  there.  2.  George 
saw  army  service  through  the  entire  Cri- 
mean war  and  also  through  the  Sepoy  rebel- 
lion in  India,  returned  to  England  and  there 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  and  died ;  he 
was  pensioned  by  the  English  government. 
3.  John  also  fought  all  through  the  Crimean 
war.  He  came  to  the  United  States,  entered 
the  Union  army  and  fought  all  through  the- 
Civil  war ;  he  was  pensioned  by  the  United 
States  government.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  he  located  in  Bloomsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
followed  iron  mining  there  for  a  number  of 
years,  then  coming  to  Parsons  in  1873;  he 
continued  mining  and  thereby  accumulated  a. 
competency.  He  died  in  Parsons  about  1895. 
He  married  a  Miss  Scott  and  had  one  child, 
Jennie,  married  C.  C.  Rhodes,  formerly  a 
merchant  at  Parsons,  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren. 

James  Edward  Townsend,  son  of  Samp-  ' 
son  and  Ann  Townsend,  was  born  in  Iron  Ac- 
ton, Gloucestershire,  England,  June  3,  181 1. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
town.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  appren- 
ticed to  George  Bowyer,  of  Iron  Acton,  cord- 
wainer,  for  seven  years:  The  indenture,  which- 
is    in    the    possession    of    his    son,    Sampson- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


433 


Townsend,  is  as  follows:  "George  Bowyer 
receiving  in  consideration,  the  sum  of  ten 
pounds  of  lawful  money,  current  in  Great 
Britain,  well  and  truly  paid  by  Robert  Bush, 
Esquire.  Signed  and  sealed  the  thirty-first 
day  of  December  in  the  sixth  year  of  the 
reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord  George  the 
Fourth  by  the  grace  of  God  of  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  King 
Defender  of  the  Faith,  and  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty- 
five.  Signed  and  delivered  by  the  above  men- 
tioned parties  in  the  presence  of  B.  G.  Burroughs, 
Clerk  to  Brush  Brideaux,  Jom,  Bristol.  Mark 
and  Seal  of  Jas.  Edward  Townsend.  (Signed) 
Sampson  Townsend,  George  Bowyer. 

James  Edward  Townsend  worked  for 
George  Bowyer  during  the  full  term  of  his  ap- 
prenticeship, after  which  he  married,  in  Bath, 
England,  Susannah  Stiff,  who  was  born  in 
Iron  Acton,  Gloucestershire,  England,  and 
moved  to  Blaen  Avon,  Monmouthshire,  where 
he  started  in  business  for  himself  and  remained 
there  until  he  died  on  Good  Friday,  March  26, 
1869,  aged  fifty-seven  years,  nine  months  and 
twenty-three   days.     Their   children   were : 

1.  Alonzo.  born  January  3,  1841,  book- 
keeper for  a  ship  building  firm ;  he  married 
Emma  J.  Jones,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John 
Jones,  rector  of  the  Church  of  England,  and 
had  two  sons  and  five  daughters.  He  resides 
in  Newport,  Monmouthshire,  England. 

2.  Edward  James,  born  June  8,  1843,  came 
to  the  United  States  and  located  at  Blooms- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  mining 
about  seven  years,  after  which  he  came  to 
Plymouth  and  engaged  in  the  same  business. 
He  married  Eliza  Lamb,  daughter  of  John 
Lamb,  of  Blaen  Avon,  England,  and  has  three 
children :  Effie,  married  John  Fell,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  has  one  child,  Donald ;  William, 
who  moved  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  married  and 
located  there ;  and  Ada,  unmarried. 

3.  Elvina,  died  in  infancy. 

4.  Sampson,   mentioned   hereafter. 

5.  Joseph,  born  August  16,  1849,  died  aged 
three  years.  All  these  children  were  born  at 
Blaen  Avon,  Monmouthshire,  England.  Su- 
sannah (Stiff)  Townsend,  their  mother,  came 
to  this  country  in  May,  1871,  resided  at 
Bloomsburg  until  1880,  and  then  removed  to 
Plymouth,  where  she  died  January,  1885. 

Sampson  Townsend,  uncle  of  Sampson 
Townsend,  of  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  whose 
name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  sketch,  fol- 

28 


lowed  iron  mining  in  England.  He  sailed  for 
this  country  about  1845,  but  contrary  winds 
kept  driving  them  back  after  being  in  sight 
of  New  York,  and  it  was  not  until  three 
months  after  leaving  England  that  they  land- 
ed on  these  shores.  Their  sufferings  and  pri- 
vations were  great ;  among  other  troubles  they 
ran  out  of  provisions  and  all  they  could  get 
from  a  passing  ship  were  some  sea  biscuits, 
old  and  wormy,  but  they  at  last  landed  in  New 
York.  He  located  in  Bloomsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  there  followed  iron  mining  until 
that  industry  ceased,  after  which  he  was  in 
charge  of  the  Irondale  Company's  mines  at 
this  place.  He  was  married  three  times,  the 
last  time  when  over  sixty  years  of  age.  He  had 
two  sons  by  his  first  wife,  Henry  and  Jonah.  He 
amassed  considerable  property,  and  was  an 
influential  man  in  the  community.  He- died 
in  1899,  having  lived  beyond  the  allotted  time 
of  life — three  score  years  and  ten — and  hav- 
ing survived  all  of  his  wives.  John  Town- 
send,  also  uncle  of  Sampson  Townsend  of 
Plymouth,  came  to  this  country  and  followed 
mining  at  Bloomsburg,  Pennsylvania.  He 
died  about  1865.  He  married  and  had  six: 
daughters  and  three  sons,  and  two  of  the  lat- 
ter were  soldiers  in  the  Civil  war. 

Joseph  Townsend,  another  uncle  of  Samp- 
son Townsend,  of  Plymouth,  came  to  this 
country  about  1850  and  located  at  Blooms- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  where  he  followed  mining 
and  where  he  died  about  1885.  He  married 
in  England  and  was  the  father  of  three  chil- 
dren :  1.  John,  who  came  to  this  country 
about  187 1,  and  is  now  mayor  of  Bloomsburg, 
Pennsylvania.  He  formerly  resided  in  New- 
port, Monmouthshire,  England,  and  there 
married  Lizzie  Derrett,  a  native  of  Newport, 
and  had  four  children :  Louis,  born  in  Eng- 
land ;  Harry,  Emma  and  Joseph,  born  in 
Bloomsburg.  2.  Annie,  married  Louis  Bern- 
hard,  jeweler,  of  Bloomsburg,  Pennsylvania^ 
and  had  seven  children.  3.  Henry,  died  in 
childhood. 

Sampson  Townsend,  son  of  James  Edward 
and  Susannah  (Stiff)  Townsend,  attended 
public  school  at  his  birthplace,  Blaen  Avon, 
until  eleven  vears  of  age.  He  then  entered 
the  iron  works  of  the  Blaen  Avon  Iron  and 
Coal  Company  of  Blaen  Avon,  was  employed 
in  various  capacities,  and  finally  drifted  into 
the  painting  department  where  he  remained 
three  years.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  he  was. 
apprenticed    to  William    Burfield,    of    Blaeni 


434 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Avon,  for  three  years  to  learn  the  painting  and 
paper  hanging  trades,  after  which  he  went  to 
Bath,  England,  and  followed  the  same  busi- 
ness there  for  two  years,  when  he  returned 
to  Blaen  Avon  and  re-entered  the  employ  of 
William  Burfield,  remaining  for  about  three 
years.  Mr.  Townsend  then  engaged  in  busi- 
ness for  himself  in  Blaen  Avon  until  May, 
1870,  when  he  came  to  this  country  and  lo- 
cated in  Bloomsbnrg,  Pennsylvania,  and  fol- 
lowed his  regular  business  for  about  two 
years,  when  he  removed  to  Plymouth,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  worked  for  about  two  years  for 
D.  B.  Williams  at  his  trade.  In  1874  he  be- 
gan contracting  for  himself,  in  the  old  Spry 
building  on  West  Main  street,  Plymouth,  until 
he  removed  to  his  present  quarters,  208  East 
Main  street,  Plymouth,  in  July,  1883,  where 
he  has  continued  in  business  ever  since.  He 
is  one  of  the  oldest  men  established  in  his  line 
of  business  in  Plymouth,  and  enjoys  a  pros- 
perous trade.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics ; 
a  member  of  Elm  Lodge,  No.  622,  Plymouth, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  treas- 
urer for  thirteen  years,  and  past  grand  for 
over  twenty  years  ;  and  a  member  of  the  Im- 
proved Order  of  Heptasophs,  in  which  he  has 
passed  all  the  chairs  and  is  now  passed 
archon. 

Mr.  Townsend  married  (first)  at  Blaen 
Avon,  England,  1867,  Louisa  Wills,  daughter 
of  Richard  and  Mary  Wills,  all  of  Blaen  Avon, 
England.  Richard  and  Mary  Wills  died  in 
Plymouth,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Townsend  died  in 
Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  January,  1880.  Mr. 
Townsend  married  (second)  August  1,  1882, 
Katie  L.  Rissinger,  daughter  of  Daniel  and 
Mary  (Wilson)  Rissinger,  of  Plymouth,  Penn- 
sylvania. Daniel  Rissinger  was  of  German 
descent ;  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Eshel- 
man  Coal  Company  at  Mahanoy  City,  Penn- 
sylvania, for  about  fourteen  years,  after  which 
he  went  to  Denver  and  New  Mexico  and  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  business,  which  he  fol- 
lowed for  about  fourteen  years.  He  then  lo- 
cated in  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  in 
the  employ  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna 
and  Western  Coal  Company  until  his  death, 
May,  1903,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  His  wife, 
Mary  Rissinger,  was  of  English  descent,  born 
in  England,  and  died  in  Scranton,  Pennsylva- 
nia, May,  1904.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Townsend  had 
three  children:  1.  James  Edward,  born  April 
12,  1883,  died  1883.  2.  Harry  Wilson,  born 
June  14,  1884,  graduated  from  Hillman  Acad- 


emy in  June,  1904.  3.  Hayden,  born  August 
14,  1886,  died  1887.  Mrs.  Townsend  was  born 
September  19,  1861,  and  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Plymouth  and  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary. Mr.  Townsend  and  his  family  are 
members  of  St.  Clement's  Episcopal  Church, 
South  Wilkes-Barre,  where  Mr.  Townsend  has 
been  a  member  of  the  vestry  for  four  years. 

H.  E.  H. 

VIRGIL  M-URRAY  CARPENTER,  now 
deceased,  formerly  of  Pittston,  was  born  in 
Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1832.  His 
great-grandfather.  Carmen  Carpenter,  was  born 
in  Orange  county,  New  York,  about  1750.  Col- 
onel Jonathan  Carpenter,  grandfather,  was  born 
in  the  same  county  in  1780,  and  became  a  build- 
ing contractor,  farmer  and  merchant.  He  served 
as  colonel  in  the  state  militia  in  the  war  of  181 2, 
and  as  such  had  charge  of  the  draft  in  Orange 
county.  In  1824  he  removed  to  Pennsylvania, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  forty-nine  years,  in  North- 
moreland,  Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania.  His 
wife,  Abigail  Reeves,  was  a  daughter  of  James 
Reeves,  who  was  born  in  Orange  county.  New 
York,  in  1760,  and  was  engaged  in  the  disastrous 
battle  with  the  Indians  near  Port  Jervis,  New 
York,  about  1778,  having  his  arm  shattered  by  a 
rifle  ball  in  the  engagement. 

Washington  Reeves  Carpenter,  son  of  Jona- 
than and  Abigail  Carpenter,  was  born  in  Orange 
county,  New  York,  in  1808.  At  the  age  of  six- 
teen years  he  removed  to  Pennsylvania  with  his 
father,  with  whom  he  worked  at  the  carpenter's 
trade  for  some  time,  assisting  in  the  erection  of 
the  old  Forty  Fort  Church.  He  had  acquired 
only  a  common  school  education.  After  leaving 
home  he  followed  farming  and  surveying,  and 
later  became  agent  for  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Publication  and  the  American  Bible  Society.  He 
was  representing  those  interests  in  the  state  of 
Arkansas  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
war.  His  horse,  wagon  and  books  were  confis- 
cated and  he  barely  escaped  with  his  life,  as  it 
was  thought  he  was  an  Abolitionist.  He  long 
held  membership  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  in  his  political  views  in  early  life  was  a 
Democrat,  but  became  a  Republican  in  1856.  He 
married  Maria  Harris,  a  daughter  of  Deacon 
Isaac  Harris,  a  pioneer  in  what  is  now  North- 
moreland  township,  Wyoming  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  which  place  he  removed  from  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  about  the  year  1800.  Wash- 
ington R.  Carpenter  died  in  Franklin  township, 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  at  the  age  of  sev  - 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


435 


■enty-four   years,    and   his   wife  passed  away    in 
Pittston,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one. 

Virgil  Murray  Carpenter,  son  of  Washing- 
ton Reeves  and  Maria  (Harris)  Carpenter,  was 
.born  in  Northmoreland  township,  Wyoming 
county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1832,  pursued  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools  and  afterward  at- 
tended the  Luzerne  Presbyterian  Institute.  He 
taught  school  for  several  years,  and  then  entered 
•the  service  of  the  Mine  Hill  Railroad  Company, 
in  1857,  where  he  continued  till  1866,  when  he  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
Company,  where  he  remained  until  May.  1903. 
making  a  total  of  railroad  service  of  forty-six 
years.  Mr.  Carpenter  was  originally  a  Demo- 
crat, but  after  1876  voted  with  the  Republican 
party,  although  he  might  perhaps  have  been 
termed  independent  in  politics,  as  he  did  not  con- 
sider himself  bound  by  party  ties.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  West 
Pittston,  and  belonged  to  the  Masonic  fraternity,- 
having  attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree  in 
Wyoming  Valley  Commandery,  of  which  he  was 
eminent  commander.  He  also  affiliated  with  the 
Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Hep- 
tasophs. 

Mr.  Carpenter  was  married  in  Minersville, 
Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  i860,  to  Miss 
Mary  Elizabeth  Peel,  daughter  of  Joseph  Peel, 
of  Philadelphia,  who  came  from  England  in  his 
vouth  and  is  said  to  have  been  connected  with 
"the  branch  of  the  family  to  which  Sir  Robert 
Peel  belonged.  Mrs.  Carpenter  died  in  1863, 
leaving  one  son,  Joseph  Reeves  Carpenter. 
Joseph  Reeves  Carpenter,  son  of  Virgil  Murray 
and  Maria  Elizabeth  Carpenter,  was  born  in  Gor- 
don, Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1861, 
•and  was  married  to  Manette  Lansing  Nicholls,  a 
daughter  of  Rev.  Thomas  Xicholls,  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  West  Pittston.  He  is  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  furniture  in 
'Grand  Rapids.  Michigan,  as  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Stickley  Brothers  Company.  He  has  three 
children :  Manette  Lansing,  Joseph  Griswold  and 
Mary  Elizabeth. 

December  26,  1877,  Virgil  M.  Carpenter  mar- 
ried Maria  Taggart,  daughter  of  Horatio  G  Tag- 
gart,  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Taggart,  who  came 
to  America  from  Ireland  about  1740,  and  whose 
descendants  are  now  widely  scattered  over  the 
United  States. 

By  his  second  marriage  Mr.  Carpenter  had 
one  son,  William  Taggart  Carpenter,  who  was 
"born  in  West  Pittston,  in  1881,  attended  the 
Harry  Hillman  Academy  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 


sylvania, and  was  graduated  in  the  Lehigh  Uni- 
versity in  1902.  He  was  engaged  as  a  civil  engi- 
neer on  the  United  States  geological  survey  in 
Phoenix,  Arizona,  but  later  in  Boston  in  the 
School  of  Technology. 

Virgil  M.  Carpenter  died  in  Philadelphia, 
August  16,  1904.  H.  E.  H. 

ISAAC  LONG.  The  sudden  and  unexpected 
death  of  Isaac  Long,  September  13,  1898,  re- 
moved from  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, one  of  its  most  prominent  and  influential 
citizens,  who  throughout  his  active  business 
career  was  noted  for  his  unfailing  honesty  and 
integrity.  He  was  born  in  Pretzfeld,  Bavaria, 
Germany,  February  22,  1833,  a  son  of  Louis  and 
Sarah  Long,  whose  family  consisted  of  four  other 
children :  Jonas,  deceased,  who  was  the  founder 
of  the  house  of  Jonas  Long's  Sons ;  Mrs.  Isaac 
Langfield,  of  Philadelphia ;  Mrs.  Julius  Wer- 
theimer,  of  Philadelphia ;  and  Mrs.  S.  Burgunder, 
of  Wilkes-Barre. 

When  twelve  years  of  age  Isaac  Long  came 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He  attended  the 
schools  of  that  city,  and  in  1857  removed  to  Phil- 
adelphia, where  he  engaged  in  business  for  many 
years.  In  1874  he  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
opening  a  dry  goods  store  on  the  north  side  of' 
Public  Square,  but  when  the  Wells  building  was1 
completed  he  removed  thither,  and  as  his  business 
expanded  was  compelled  to  increase  his  facilities. 
The  keen  competition  that  besets  the  pathway  of 
the  active  business  man  with  many  temptations, 
Mr.  Long  met  with  strict  honesty  and  therefore 
succeeded  admirably.  He  looked  with  disdain 
upon  any  sort  of  misrepresentation  and,  his  cus- 
tomers being  aware  of  this,  the  result  was  that 
he  was  the  proprietor  of  the  largest  and  most 
substantial  establishment  in  the  entire  state.  He 
was  kind  and  generous  to  his  employes  and  many 
of  them  he  befriended  with  special  acts  of  kind- 
ness known  only  to  them.  Employer  and  em- 
ploye worked  in  entire  harmony  and  one  was  ever 
mindful  of  the  comfort  and  welfare  of  the  other. 

Mr.  Long  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  when  its  in- 
dustrial possibilities  were  great,  when  the  real 
development  began  which  has  made  it  one  of  the 
principal  cities  of  the  state.  While  building  for 
himself  he  was  not  unmindful  of  the  future  of 
the  city,  and  every  industrial  enterprise  that  he 
deemed  worthv  of  encouragement  he  favored, 
and  those  who  approached  him  on  such  subjects 
always  found  him  willing  to  entertain  their  pro- 
position. His  counsel  and  advice  were  eagerly 
sought  by  men  of  business,  also  capitalists,  for 


436 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


they  recognized  in  him  a  progressive  as  well  as  a 
conservative  man.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trade,  and  as  president  of  the  same  his 
counsel  was  heard  at  many  a  meeting,  and 
whether  he  upheld  or  opposed  the  views  of  others 
his  suggestions  always  found  favor  and  were 
adopted.  He  was  president  of  the  Electric  Light 
Company,  a  director  of  the  People's  Bank,  and  a 
stockholder  in  many  of  the  local  organizations,  in- 
cluding the  North  Wilkes-Barre  Lace  Company 
and  the  Hotel  Sterling  Company.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geolog- 
ical Societies.  Mr.  Long  carried  the  generous 
principles  that  characterized  his  business  career 
into  private  life  also.  His  charity  was  open- 
handed  but  not  ostentatious,  and  many  deserving 
applicants  found  in  him  not  only  a  sympathizer 
but  an  assistant.  Public  and  private  charities  he 
remembered  munificently,  but  in  such  a  way  as  to 
attract  the  least  notoriety.  He  was  respected  and 
esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him  and  his  name  was 
a  synonym  for  purity  and  uprightness.  There 
was  never  a  word  of  suspicion  attached  to  his 
name,  and  never  a  word  of  reproach  was  truth- 
fully uttered  against  his  character. 

In  1863  Mr.  Long  was  married  in  Philadel- 
phia to  Miss  Dora  Rosenbaum,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
a  daughter  of  Moses  and  Caroline  (Long)  Ros- 
enbaum, whose  family  consisted  of  eight  children, 
as  follows:  Mary,  born  May  13,  1840,  wife  of 
Nathan  Lehmayer ;  they  reside  in  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  Dora,  born  March  12,  1842,  widow  of 
Isaac  Long;  Isaac,  born  June  14,  1844,  deceased; 
Henry,  born  August  9,  185 1,  a  resident  of  Phila- 
delphia ;  Lena,  born  February  22,  1852,  widow  of 
Julius  Neil,  of  Altoona,  Pennsylvania ;  Esther, 
who  died  in  infancy ;  Pauline,  born  December  19, 
J8S3,  wife  of  Moses  Ulman,  of  Philadelphia ; 
and  Edward  L.,  born  June,  1855,  married  Mary 
Lee,  and  resides  in  Philadelphia.  Moses  Rosen- 
baum was  born  near  Nurenburg,  Bavaria;  about 
1845  he  located  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business  about 
twenty-five  years.  He  then  went  to  Philadelphia 
and  followed  the  same  line  of  business  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Eighth  and  Market  streets.  His  death  oc- 
curred January  11,  1879.  His  wife  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Louis  and  Miriam  Long.  Three  daughters 
were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long :  Ella,  wife  of 
Charles  Gimbel,  a  member  of  the  extensive  de- 
partment store  of  Gimbel  Bros.,  of  Philadelphia ; 
Sarah,  wife  of  Harry  F.  Stern;  of  Wilkes-Barre ; 
and  Gertrude,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 
Abram  Marks.  H.  E.  H. 


RALPH  DUPUY  LACOE  was  born  in, 
Jenkins  township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania, 
on  his  father's  farm  near  Inkerman,  November 
14,  1824,  and  died  at  West  Pittston,  February  5,. 
1 901.  He  was  a  man  of  wide  knowledge  of  the 
world,  and  the  record  of  his  life  affords  a  con- 
spicuous example  of  a  noble  character  and  an. 
honorable  and  useful  career.  He  was  the  young- 
est son  of  Anthony  Desire  Lacoe,  born  near 
Havre,  France,  March  11,  1780,  and  died  ia 
Newton  township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,, 
March  7,  1883,  having  reached  the  remarkable 
age  of  one  hundred  and  three  years. 

The  name  Lacoe  was  originally  spelled  Lacoq,. 
and  from  1819  to  1849  Anthony  D.  Lacoe  signed 
his  name  to  checks  Anthony  D.  Lacoq,  and  not  un- 
til 1853  was  the  name  spelled  Lacoe.   He  was  the 
son  of  Stephen  Lacoq,  born  in  France,  1750,  was. 
a  farmer  by  occupation  and  had  five  children : 
Pierre  Stephen,   Pierre  Grehome,  Louis   Emma, 
Louis  Annabel,  and  Anthony  Desire.  They  all  re- 
mained  in   France   but   Anthony    Desire   Lacoq,. 
who  came  to   Philadelphia,   Pennsylvania,    1792, 
under  the  auspices  of  Francis  Gurney,  the  emi- 
nent merchant,  who  was  lieutenant-colonel  of  the- 
famous  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  which, 
under  Colonel  Adam   Hubley,  followed  General 
Sullivan  through  the  Wyoming  valley  in   1779. 
Francis    Gurney    served    as    colonel    during   the- 
Whiskey   Insurrection,  and  rose  to  the   rank  of 
brigadier-general  in  1799.     He  brought  Anthony 
D.  Lacoe  to  Philadelphia  to  place  him  in  a  count- 
ing house  as  clerk.     After  remaining  with  Mr. 
Gurney  three  or  four  years,  Anthony  D.  Lacoe 
decided  to  become  a  mechanic,  and  apprenticed, 
himself  to  a  carpenter  to'  learn  that  trade,  but 
before   the   term  had   expired   the   second   great 
scourge    of    yellow    fever    visited    Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  (1798),  and  carried  off  his  master 
and   all  his   family,   leaving   Anthony   D.    Lacoe 
quite  among  strangers.     Upon  his  recovery  from 
the  fever  he  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  followed  his  trade  successfully 
until   his   removal   to    Pittston   township,   subse- 
quent to  the  year  1812.     He  married,  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,    Pennsylvania,    April     19,     1812,    Emelie- 
Magdalene  Dupuy,  born  on  the  island  of  St.  Do- 
mingo,   November    10,    1791,    daughter   of   Jean 
Francois   and   Jane    Elizabeth    (Desire)    Dupuy. 
They  had  the  following  children :  John  Francis,. 
Elizabeth  Palmira,  Louis  Stephen,  William  An- 
thony, and  Ralph  Dupuy.     Anthony  D.  Lacoe  re- 
tained all  his  faculties  except  his  sight  until  the- 
end  of  his  life.     He  voted  reeularlv  until  he  was. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


437 


•one  hundred  and  one  years  old.  He  was  an  ex- 
cellent carpenter,  worked  at  his  trade  in  this  vicin- 
ity, and  was  always  known  as  an  industrious  and 
upright  man.  Mrs.  Anthony  D.  Lacoe  died  in 
Pittston  township,  now  Jenkins  township,  Jan- 
uary 7,  1844.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the 
great  formative  influence  in  development  of  char- 
acter is  the  maternal,  and  Ralph  D.  Lacoe  owed 
much  of  his  distinguished  success  in  later  life  to 
the  training  of  his  mother,  whose  family  history 
is  worthy  of  note. 

Her  father,  Jean  Francois  Dupuy,  was  born 
September  30,  1750,  in  Bordeaux,  France.  Her 
mother,  Jane  Elizabeth  (Desire)  Dupuy,  was  born 
August  20,  1760,  in  Nantes,  France.  Her  fam- 
ily were  Huguenots,  members  of  that  religious 
body  that  gave  to  America  man}-  of  her  most 
distinguished  religionists  and  citizens.  "Having 
"removed  from  France  to  the  island  of  San  Do- 
mingo, he  lived  there  many  years,  until  the  negro 
insurrection  in  1791,  when  he  escaped  and  came 
to  the  United  States.  Most  of  his  valuables, 
hastily  shipped  on  a  vessel  that  landed  at  Balti- 
more, Maryland,  were  either  lost  overboard,  as 
claimed  by  the  ship  officers,  or  stolen  by  them,  so 
that  he  was  left  with  only  the  means  which  he 
carried  on  his  person  in  his  retreat.  The  bulk  of 
Lis  large  estate  had  been  necessarily  left  in  San 
Domingo,  for  which  his  family  received  some 
compensation  from  the  French  government  after 
the  independence  of  Hayti  was  established. 
Leaving  Baltimore,  Maryland,  he  went  to  Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania,  then  to  (what  is  now) 
Nicholson  township,  Wyoming  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  on  June  29,  1795.  J.  F.  Dupuy  of 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  Gentleman,  bought 
land  of  William  Moore  Smith.  There  he  resided 
till  1795,  when  he  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  and  settled  at  the  northeast  corner 
■of  Franklin  and  Northampton  streets,  where 
Mr.  Dupuy  resided  until  his  death  in  1836. 
He  was  made  a  Mason,  probably  in  San  Do- 
mingo, and  became  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  61, 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  June  10,  1726,  and 
from  March,  1799.  until  his  death,  a  period  of 
thirty-seven  years,  he  served  a3  tyler  of  the  lodge. 
He  was  a  very  estimable  and  intelligent  man. 
"who,  from  having  been  a  wealthy  planter,  was 
"reduced  for  a  time  to  rely  on  personal  labor,  but 
in  the  lodge  he  forgot  his  misfortunes,  and  there 
assumed  the  proper  station  of  an  intelligent 
French  gentleman,  instructing  and  entertaining." 
(Harvey's  History  of  Lodge  No.  61,  F.  &  A.  M). 

Ralph  Dupuy  Lacoe  was  a  devoted  student  of 
paleontology.     He  collected  many  very  interest- 


ing specimens,  and  contributed  a  large  and  val- 
uable collection  of  one  hundred  thousand  pieces 
of  paleobotany  to  the  United  States  Museum  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  known  as  the  "Lacoe  Collec- 
tion." Mr.  Lacoe  not  only  continued  until  his 
death  to  enrich  his  splendid  gift,  but  in  1898  he 
also  presented  to  the  National  Museum  his  ex- 
tensive collection  of  fossil  insects  of  more  than 
two  hundred  types  and  nearly  five  thousand 
specimens.  Mr.  Lacoe  was  president  of  the  Wy- 
oming Valley  Knitting  Company,  1874;  president 
of  the  Water  Street  Bridge  Company ;  trustee  of 
the  Miners'  Savings  Bank  of  Pittston.  He  be- 
came a  life  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical 
and  Geological  Society,  March  2,  1882,  was  trus- 
tee from  1882  to  1889,  and  was  also  curator  of 
Paleontology  from  1884  to  1899,  fifteen  years. 
He  presented  to  this  society  a  fine  collection  of 
five  thousand  paleozoic  fossils. 

He  was  married  in  Pittston,  Pennsvlvania,  bv 
the  Rev.  N.  G.  Parke,  D.  D.,  April  26,  i860,  to 
Bridget  Clary ,born  March  14,  1831,  died  October 
31,  1872.  They  had  four  children:  Josephine, 
died  in  infancy ;  Margaret  Clary,  married  I.  S. 
White,  of  Rock  Island,  Illinois  ;  Ralph  Dugue,  of 
West  Pittston,  mentioned  hereafter ;  William 
Clary,  died  in  early  life. 

Ralph  Dugue  Lacoe,  son  of  Ralph  Dupuy  and 
Bridget  (Clary)  Lacoe,  was  born  in  West  Pitts- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  April  5,  1866.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Academy.  He  took  up  engineering  for  a 
time,  but  being  fond  of  travel  has  been  kept  much 
of  his  time  away  from  his  home.  He  is  an  enter- 
prising business  man,  his  labors  and  responsibili- 
ties being  discharged  with  efficiency,  testifying  to 
his  capabilities  as  a  man  of  affairs.  Mr.  Lacoe 
married,  January  8,  1890,  Hattie  C.  Stark,  born 
November  6,  1868,  in  Plains,  Pennsylvania, 
daughter  of  William  Shepherd  and  Lydia  A. 
(Kropp)  Stark.  (See  Stark  Family).  They  had 
one  child,  Ralph  Dugue  Lacoe,  born  May  21, 
1898.  H.  E.'H. 

HONEYWELL  FAMILY.  The  Honey- 
wells  were  a  prominent  family  in  Warren  county 
(New  Jersey)  history  more  than  a  century  ago, 
but  present  researches  do  not  give  satisfactory  in- 
formation as  to  their  American  ancestor,  whence 
he  came,  or  who  were  the  members  of  his  family. 
Among  the  earliest  of  the  Honeywells  of  whom 
there  is  a  known  record  was  John  Honeywell, 
who  by  thrift  accumulated  a  comfortable  for- 
tune and  made  good  use  of  it  for  the  benefit  of  his 
descendants  and  townspeople.     In  his  will  was  a 


433 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


provision  for  the  erection  and  maintenance  out  of 
his  estate  of  a  school  house  on  a  part  of  his  farm 
lands  for  the  education  of  the  poor  children  of 
that  vicinity,  and  that  has  been  added  to  and  is 
now  known  as  the  Honeywell  Academy,  at  Mt. 
Hermon,  New  Jersey.  In  1900  a  centennial  cele- 
bration was  held  at  this  school  house,  and  the 
ceremony  was  attended  by  William  J.  Honeywell, 
of  Dallas,  then  seventy-eight  years  of  age.  As  a 
youth  the  noted  divine  T.  DeWitt  Talmage  was 
a  pupil  attending  the  same  school. 

The  pioneers  of  the  Honeywell  family  in  the 
Wyoming  valley  in  Pennsylvania  were  William 
and  Richard  Honeywell,  brothers,  who  left  their 
former  homes  in  Warren  county,  New  Jersey,  in 
1808,  and  with  their  families  journeyed  overland 
by  slow  travel  into  the  mountainous  regions  of 
Luzerne  county.  They  comprised  quite  a  colony, 
twenty  in  all,  William  Honeywell,  his  wife  and 
eight  children,  and  Richard  Honeywell,  his  wife 
and  eight  children.  They  made  their  way  into 
the  then  sparsely  settled  territory  of  Dallas  from 
Pittston,  cutting  the  road  through  the  forests  for 
much  of  the  distance  of  several  miles,  which  work 
alone  occupied  their  entire  time  for  three  or  four 
days.  William  Honeywell's  five  hundred  acres  in- 
cluded the  lands  where  now  are  the  Dallas  fair 
grounds,  while  Richard's  five  hundred  acres  in- 
cluded the  site  of  the  A.  S.  Orr  Sanitarium,  which 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  June,  1905.  In  later 
years  each  of  these  pioneers  gave  to  his  children 
sufficient  land  for  a  good  farm,  and  by  their  ef- 
forts in  many  ways  contributed  to  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  the  township  during  its  early  his- 
tory. William  Honeywell  built  first  a  log  cabin, 
and  later  a  frame  house,  the  latter  being  the  first 
structure  of  its  kind  in  the  township.  In  1816 
the  first  school  house  in  Dallas  was  built  by 
William  and  John  Honeywell,  Pffilip  Shaver  and 
William  Hunt.  William  Honeywell  was  a  man 
of  sterling  qualities,  honest,  industrious,  and  pa- 
triotic in  the  extreme.  He  was  also  a  thoroughly 
religious  and  conscientious  man,  and  in  those 
days,  when  church  buildings  were  scarce,  his 
house  was  the  central  place  for  worship  for  that 
country.  His  heart  was  in  sympathy  with  the 
work  of  the  Gospel ;  his  hand  was  always  ready 
to  help  and  his  hospitable  home  was  ever  open  to. 
the  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

These  pioneer  Honeywells  were  in  many 
other  ways  identified  with  early  events  of  Dal- 
las history,  and  in  all  later  years  their  descendants 
in  each  succeeding  generation  have  been  in  some 
prominent  way  connected  with  the  best  elements 
of  the  township's  history.     William  Honeywell's 


children  were  Grace,  who  died  unmarried ; 
Thomas,  Abraham  S.,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Hannah,, 
who  married  Andrew  Puterbaugh ;  Catherine,, 
who  married  Christopher  Shaver;  and  Betsey, 
who  married  Eleazer  Swetland.  Richard  Honey- 
well's children  were  William,  Charles,  Samuel,. 
Isaac,  Nathaniel,  Richard,  Jr.,  Esther,  who  mar- 
ried Edward  McCarty ;  and  Catherine,  who  mar- 
ried Elijah  Ayers. 

Abraham  S.  Honeywell,  the  second  son  and 
third  child  of  William  Honeywell,  the  pioneer  was 
born  in  1792  in  Warren  county,  New  Jersey.  The 
greater  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Dallas,  where 
he  was  a  thrifty  farmer ;  but  about  twenty 
years  before  his  death  he  removed  to  Wyoming 
borough,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  comfortable  retirement.  He  was  a  man 
of  influence  in  his  day ;  he  held  the  office  of  con- 
stable of  Dallas  for  twenty  years,  and  held  several 
other  offices  of  trust  in  the  town.  In  those  days 
of  no  railroads  he  was  in  the  habit  of  hauling 
goods  from  Easton  to  Wilkes-Barre,  drawing 
shingles  from  the  wood  country,  south,  and  bring- 
ing back  supplies.  The  first  cast  iron  plow  used 
or  seen  in  Dallas  was  owned  by  him.  He  died  in 
Wyoming  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-five  years. 
He  married,  1820,  Lydia  Hawk,  and  they  had  two- 
children  :  William  J.,  born  June  3,  1824,  and  Sam- 
uel, born  May  27,  1828.  The  marriage  of  Abra- 
ham S.  Honeywell  and  Lydia  Hawk  was  one  of 
the  earliest  in  Dallas. 

William  J.  Honeywell,  "Squire  Honeywell," 
son  of  the  late  Abraham  S.  and  Lydia  (Hawk) 
Honeywell,  was  born  June  3,  1824,  in  Dallas.  He- 
was  one  of  the  first  white  children  born  in  that 
locality.  In  his  youth  he -was  a  pupil  in  the  log 
school  house  built  by  his  grandfather  and  others 
in  Dallas,  and  he  was  brought  up  to  farm  work. 
When  he  reached  his  majority  he  took  charge- 
of  his  father's  home  farm  and  conducted  it  for 
several  years,  thus  relieving  his  parent  of  much 
hard  work  in  his  declining  years.  Later  on  he 
was  the  owner  of  a  seventy-five  acre  farm  where 
the  Fair  Grounds  are  located,  but  even  before  that 
time  he  was  the  proprietor  of  a  farm  of  the  same- 
size.  He  made  the  first  wagon  brake  that  was. 
used  on  any  wagon.  In  1902  he  sold  his  lands 
and  took  up  his  abode  in  Dallas  borough,  where 
he  now  resides,  being  the  owner  of  a  house  and 
lot.  He  is  a  man  of  influence,  both  socially  and 
religious.  For  fifteen  years  he  served  as  justice 
of  the  peace,  hence  the  title  by  which  he  is  famil- 
iarly addressed — "Squire  Honeywell".  He  still 
holds  that  position,  although  having  attained  the 
age  of  eighty-two  years.     He  was  assessor  of  the 


>"■"■ 


**^4//rti^<+u{ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


439 


town  in  1844  a°d  served  for  three  terms.  There 
are  only  two  now  living  that  were  assessed  at 
that  time — Robert  Wilson  and  William  J.  Honey- 
well. He  also  served  three  terms  as  notary  pub- 
lic, and:  for  six  years  was  an  officer  of  Dallas 
borough,  at  one  time  serving  as  burgess,  he  being 
the  first  one  there.  When  young  he  taught  school 
for  a  time,  and  later  on  in  life  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  high  school  directors.  At  the  time 
of  the  erection  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  meet- 
ing-house he  was  president  of  the  building  com- 
mittee. Squire  Honeywell  married,  May  29, 
1847,  Sarah  Perry,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  daughter  of 
James  and  Mary  Perry,  who  bore  him  four  chil- 
dren :  Hiram  M.,  of  Parsons,  Luzerne  county  ;  he 
married  Martha,  daughter  of  Joseph  Shotwell. 
Mary,  wife  of  Josiah  Milton  Rood,  of  Dallas. 
Lydia  A.,  died  in  infancy.  Clinton  De  Witt,  of 
whom  further  mention  is  made. 

Clinton  DeWitt  Honeywell  was  born  in  Dal- 
las, February  9,  1853. .  His  young  life  was  spent 
on  his  father's  farm  and  in  attending  the  public 
schools.  Later  on  he  had  charge  of  the  home 
farm,  but  after  his  marriage  he  engaged  in  the 
butcher  business,  which  was  his  chief  occupation 
sixteen  years,  until  his  health  compelled  him  to 
turn  to  some  other  pursuit.  He  then  engaged  in 
the  sale  of  agricultural  implements  and  machin- 
ery in  partnership  with  A.  D.  Hay.  This  busi-  . 
ness  was  continued  several  years,  when  Mr. 
Hay  was  elected  county  commissioner,  and  Mr. 
Honeywell  was  made  mercantile  appraiser.  Later 
on  he  was  deputy  sheriff  under  James  G.  Harvey, 
serving  in  that  capacity  three  years.  About 
this  time  Mrs.  C.  De  Witt  Honeywell's  father 
died,  soon  after  which  Mr.  Honeywell  succeeded 
to  the  ownership  of  the  Ferguson  farm,  where  he 
resided  some  years,  and  in  1904  sold  it  and  now 
resides  with  his  father.  He  is  a  member  of 
George  M.  Dallas  Lodge,  No.  531,  F.  and  A. 
M.,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

Mr.  Honeywell  married,  February  12,  1873, 
Mary  Ferguson,  daughter  of  John  Ferguson,  a 
descendant  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Dallas. 
John  Ferguson  was  born  on  the  farm  where  he 
died  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  His  father 
was  Alexander  Ferguson.  John  Ferguson's  wife 
was  Amy  Ferguson,  daughter  of  Richard  Fer- 
guson, a  farmer  of  Centermoreland  township, 
Wyoming  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Honeywell  have 
three  children :  Eugene  Honeywell,  of  Kingston  ; 
Carrie  Honeywell,  wife  of  Dr.  Samuel  Ruffner,  of 
Wilkes-Barre  ;  and  Liang  Honeywell,  of  Dallas. 

Samuel  Honeywell,  youngest  child  of  Abra- 


ham S.  and  Lydia  (Hawk)  Honeywell,  was  born 
on  the  family  homestead  in  New  Jersey,  April  12, 
1828.  He  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  on  the  death  of  his  parents  inherited 
one-half  of  the  homestead  farm,  which  he  cul- 
tivated from  the  year  1847  until  1866.  In  the 
latter  year  he  removed  to  Carverton,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  had  purchased  a 
large  farm  in  the  previous  year,  and  which  he  oc- 
cupied until  1875,  bringing  it  into  a  high  state 
of  cultivation.  After  leaving  the  farm  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  borough  of  Wyoming, 
where  he  built  a  comfortable  and  attractive  home, 
and  in  1904  removed  to  Dallas,  to  the  home  of 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  B.  W.  Brickel.  A  man  of  ex- 
cellent business  qualifications  and  unquestioned 
integrity,  he  has  held  the  regard  and  confidence 
of  his  fellows,  and  has  been  called  to  various  po- 
sitions of  honor  and  trust,  in  all  of  which  he  has 
acquitted  himself  with  conspicuous  ability.  He 
served  for  some  years  as  a  school  director  and 
judge  of  election,  and  in  1892  was  made  tax  col- 
lector for  the  borough  of  Wyoming  by  the  county 
court  of  Luzerne  county.  He  and  his  family  are 
exemplary  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  Mr.  Honeywell  is  an  unflinching  Re- 
publican in  politics.  He  married,  December  27, 
1849,  having  just  come  of  age  that  year,  Miss 
Margaret  Frantz,  daughter  of  Jacob  A.  and  Mary 

A.  (Weiss)  Frantz,  both  natives  of  Pennsyl- 
sylvania,  descended  from  early  German  immi- 
grants. Of  this  marriage  were  born  ten  children, 
six  of  whom  are  now  living :     Mary  E.,  wife  of 

B.  W.  Brickel,  an  undertaker  of  Dallas  (for- 
merly of  Bethlehem)  Pennsylvania;  Ira  T.,  of 
Luzerne  borough,  Pennsylvania ;  Lincoln  D.,  on 
the  old  homestead  at  Carverton,  Pennsylvania ; 
Nelson  C,  of  the  borough  of  Luzerne ;  Clinton  G, 
of  Luzerne ;  and  Archie  E.,  who  is  in  the  United 
States  mail  carrier  service,  and  resides  at  Oak 
Lane,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

H.  E.  H. 

HARRISON  NESBITT,  of  Larksville,  Lu- 
zerne county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  at  Ply- 
mouth, Pennsylvania,  July  21,  1833,  son  of  Ches- 
ter and  Mary  (Moyer)  Nesbitt,  and  grandson  of 
James  and  Polly  (Lamoreux)  Nesbitt.  James 
Nesbitt  (grandfather)  was  born  in  Connecticut. 
During  his  early  manhood  he  settled  in  Plymouth, 
Pennsylvania,  and1  there  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  He  followed  farming  on  what  is 
now  East  Shawnee  avenue,  but  then  known  as 
the  Nesbitt  farm,  directly  back  of  what  is  now 
Bull  Run.     He  and  his  wife,  Polly  (Lamoreux) 


44Q 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Nesbitt,  who  was  born  in  Jackson  township,  and 
was  a  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  French  ances- 
try, were  the  parents  of  the  following  children : 
i.     Chester,  mentioned  hereinafter. 

2.  James  Madison,  married  James  Ackley 
and  had  nine  children :  Olive  Ann,  married 
Harry  Clapsaddle ;  Emeline,  married  Henry 
Brown ;  Lydia,  married  Hiram  Sherman ;  Eliza- 
beth, married  Albert  Shonk ;  Frances,  unmarried, 
a  school  teacher  at  Plymouth :  Jule,  married 
Lannie  Honeywell ;  Sallie,  married  James  Long- 
well  ;  Kate,  married  Sherman  Brown ;  and 
George,  married  Cora  McKeel. 

3.  John  L.,  married  Lena  Snyder,  and  had 
five  children :  Charles,  married  Almira  Walton, 
and  after  her  death  a  Mrs.  Roberts,  a  widow ; 
James,  who  resides  in  Nebraska,  and  is  engaged 
in  raising  cattle ;  Samuel,  married  Mary  Shonk ; 
Esther,  married  Noah  Pringle ;  and  Mary,  de- 
ceased. , 

4.  James,  who  died  unmarried  in  early  man- 
hood. 

5.  David,  married  Ellen  Fuller  and  had  three 
children  :     Alfred,  Ascher,  and  Charles. 

6.  Gardner,  married  Bethia  Wolf  and  had 
four  children-.  Chester,  Benjamin,  William,  and 
Gardner,  who  died  in  La  Porte,  Indiana. 

7.  Betsy,  married  Lewis  Prince  and  had  three 
children :    Jane,  Sarah,  and  Eliza. 

8.  Hannah,  married  Alby  Asher  Ackley  and 
had  two  children  :    Mary  and  Esther. 

Chester  Nesbitt  (father)  was  born  at  Ply- 
mouth, Pennsylvania.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools,  followed  agricultural  pursuits 
on  the  farm  on  which  he  was  born  throughout 
the  active  years  of  his  career,  and  died  thereon 
about  the  year  1842.  He  was  a  Democrat  in 
politics.  He  married  Mary  Moyer,  of  German 
descent,  and  the  issue  of  this  union  was  five  chil- 
dren:  1.  Harrison,  mentioned  hereinafter.  2. 
James,  died  in  infancy.  3.  Mary  Ann,  married 
Abram  Frisbie,  of  Canaan,  Wayne  county ;  he 
first  resided  in  Plymouth  and  later  moved  to  his 
farm  in  Jackson  township,  where  his  wife  died. 
Their  children  were :  Emily,  married  Alfred 
Ayers,  of  West  Dallas ;  George,  married  Matilda 
Edwards :  and  Perry,  married  Sarah  Wilkin- 
son. 4.  Sarah,  married  Thomas  Lamoreux  and 
had  two  children :  Eva,  married  Isaac  Frantz 
and  had  one  child,  Cora,  died  at  the  age  of  seven 
years ;  and  Samantha,  married  Randall  Rice 
and  had  one  child,  Thomas.  5.  Katherine, 
married  Walter  B.  Frantz,  now  deceased ; 
she  resides  in  Wayne  county,  near  Lake  Erie, 
and    is    the    mother    of    two    children :    George, 


married  Mame  Clark,  and  has  one  child,  Grace ; 
George  Frantz,  married  for  his  second  wife 
Bertha  Polly,  who  bore  him  five  children :  Harry, 
Chester,  Matthew  Stanley  Quay,  Mildred,  and 
Theodore  Roosevelt ;  and  Charles,  married  Ger- 
trude   ,  and  had  two  children. 

Harrison  Nesbitt  spent  his  boyhood  days  in 
Plymouth,  his  birthplace,  and  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  thereof.  He  commenced 
work  on  the  farm  at  an  early  age,  and  later  for  a 
period  of  twenty-one  years  followed  boating  on 
the  Pennsylvania  canal.  He  then  worked  at  the 
Boston  mines  for  about  fifteen  years,  and  while 
employed  there  enlisted  in  the  Two  Hundred  and 
Third  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, September,  1864,  under  Colonel  John  W. 
Moore,  of  Philadelphia.  January  15,  1865,  this 
regiment  participated  in  the  capture  of  Fort 
Fisher,  in  which  it  went  into  battle  with  five  hun- 
dred men  and  came  out  with  only  two  hundred 
and  forty-eight.  Colonel  Moore,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Lyman,  of  Williamsport,  and  eight  cap- 
tains out  of  ten  were  killed.  It  was  perhaps  one 
of  the  closest  contested  battles  of  the  war ;  the 
first  charge  was  made  at  2  P.  M.  and  the  fort  did 
not  capitulate  until  11  P.  M.,  when  the  heavens 
were  lit  up  by  the  discharge  of  red,  white  and 
blue  rockets  as  the  signal  that  the  fort  was  cap- 
tured. Harrison  Nesbitt  was  one  of  the  five  hun- 
dred men  picked  out  of  his  regiment  for  this 
battle,  serving  under  General  Albert  H.  Terry. 
Twenty-two  hundred  prisoners  were  taken.  This 
fort  was  used  as  a  blockading  fort  by  the  rebels 
on  Cape  Fear  river.  After  the  battle  of  Ft. 
Fisher  the  regiment  moved  to  Frazer  Station, 
where  news  of  President -Lincoln's  assassination 
was  received,  then  to  Raleigh,  North  Carolina, 
where  news  of  General  Lee's  surrender  reached 
them,  and  they  were  mustered  out  in  June,  1865, 
reaching  home  July  4,  1865. 

About  1867  Mr.  Nesbitt  entered  the  mercan- 
tile business  in  a  general  store  at  Larksville  Cor- 
ners and  continued  the  same  for  fifteen  years,  but 
July  4,  1882,  the  store  was  destroyed  by  fire  and 
this  calamity  ended  his  mercantile  career.  In 
1888  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  real  estate 
business,  which  he  still  continues,  and  in  addition 
to  this  he  owns  and  operates  a  nursery.  He  is  a 
very  active  man  for  his  age  (seventy-two  years 
at  the  present  time,  1905),  is  a  widely  known  and 
prominent  citizen  and  has  filled  nearly  every 
office  in  the  township,  justice  of  the  peace  twice, 
supervisor,  auditor,  assessor,  school  director,  a 
member  of  the  first  board  of  township  commis- 
sioners, and  he  and  his  colleagues  are  responsible 


THE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


441 


for  the  Plymouth  &  Larksville  trolley  line  being 
built. 

He  attends  the  Christian  Church  and  has  also 
served  as  Sunday  school  teacher  for  many  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men.  Lodge  No.  119,  having  joined  the  order  in 
1870.  and  has  filled  the  office  of  great  sachem  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the 
society  in  the  state.  He  has  attended  all  the  state 
great  councils  except  one  when  sick,  has  been 
elected  to  the  great  council  of  the  Lnited  States, 
and  is  now  a  member  of  both  state  and  national 
councils  and  has  filled  all  the  offices  in  the  state 
council.  He  attended  the  one  in  1905  at  York, 
Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Nesbitt  was  the  first  bashi- 
baw.  Red  Men's  uniform  rank.  Also  a  member - 
of  hay-makers'  degree,  also  degree  of  Pocahon- 
tas, of  which  Mr.  Xesbitt  as  great  sachem  of  the 
Red  Men.  instituted  the  first  state  council  in  Al- 
lentown,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  member  of 
Sedgwick  Post,  Plymouth,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  afterwards  withdrew  and  became  a 
charter  member  of  Hoyt  Post,  Kingston,  and 
while  there  filled  all  the  offices,  including  post 
-commander  and  was  quartermaster  for  several 
years  during  the  entire  life  of  the  post.  He  has 
also  been  connected  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
of  Kingston ;  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle, 
Larksville,  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America. 
Larksville,  and  is  a  member  of  Conyngham  Post, 
No.  97,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Mr.  Nesbitt  married.  February  12,  1857, 
Jemima  Snyder,  who  was  born  in  Plymouth, 
Pennsylvania,  February  3,  1836.  daughter  of 
George  and  Rhoda  ( Lamoreux)  Snyder,  of  Ply- 
mouth township,  Larksville,  where  George  Snv- 
der  followed  farming.  George  Snyder  came 
from  New  Jersey,  and  was  of  German  descent, 
and  his  wife  was  a  descendant  of  a  French  an- 
cestry. Mrs.  Nesbitt  attended  the  common 
•schools  of  Larksville  and  later  pursued  advanced 
studies  at  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston.  Penn- 
sylvania, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nesbitt  had  five  chil- 
dren : 

1.  Malinda  Isabelle,  born  September  21, 
1857,  married  George  Cook.  November  23.  1880, 
and  had  three  children  :     Hazel,  deceased :  Nes- 

""bitt.  deceased ;  and  Alfretta,  a  resident  of  Larks- 
ville. 

2.  Chester,  born  December  8,  1859,  married 
Jennie  E.  Lane,  February  27,  1887.  and  had  two 
children:     Mabel  and  Chittanie.     They  reside  in 

Wallejo,  California. 

3.  George,  born  June  22,    1868.  unmarried, 
-resides  in  Larksville. 


4.  Marv  Estella,  born  July  16,  1871,  married 
Robert  Law,  November  23,  1893. 

5.  Florence,  born  January  29,  1876,  married 
(first)  Burt  Connor,  July  30,  1893,  and  had  three 
children :  Harry  Wilson,  Emily,  and  Newell.the 
latter  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  She  married 
(second)  John  Wicht,  April  29,  1903. 

H.  E.  H. 

LAYCOCK  FAMILY.  The  full  extent  to 
which  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Penn- 
sylvania is  indebted  to  those  devoted  members 
who  for  its  maintenance  gave  freely  of  their  time 
and  substance  will  probably  never  be  known  or 
appreciated  bv  the  general  public.  In  the  annals 
of  the  church,  however,  their  names  are  recorded, 
and  among  those  names  that  of  Laycock  stands 
pre-eminent.  The  family  is  of  English  origin,  but 
has  been  for  generations  resident  in  this  country. 

Henry  Laycock,  the  founder  of  the  Kingston 
branch  of  the  race,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  but 
migrated  to  that  part  of  Columbia  county  which 
is  now  Montour  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
lived  as  a  farmer.  He  married  Mary  Fitzgerald, 
and  their  children  were :  Henry ;  Shadrach  B., 
mentioned  below  ;  James  ;  Zylphia  ;  Nancy ;  and 
Elizabeth. 

Shadrach  B.  Laycock,  son  of  Henry  and  Mary 
(Fitzgerald)  Laycock,  was  born  September  13, 
1795.  and  was  the  owner  of  an  iron  foundry 
which  he  operated  in  connection  with  farming. 
The  foundry  was  situated  in  Fairmount  township, 
and  the  output  was  of  a  general  character.  Not- 
withstanding the  cares  incident  to  these  callings, 
Mr.  Laycock  officiated  acceptably  as  a  minister 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  mar- 
ried. May  30,  1820,  Susan,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Bowman,  a  Methodist  Episcopal  preacher,  an 
aunt  of  Bishop  Thomas  Brown.  She  was 
born  in  Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania,  Novem- 
ber 18,  1799.  died  April  23,  1875.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Laycock  were  the  parents  of  the  following 
children :  Mary  Ann,  born  January  28,  1821  ; 
Thomas,  born  September  30,  1822 ;  Sarah  M., 
born  Februarv  20.  1824,  resides  in  California : 
Peninah,  born  May  15,  1825.  deceased:  Adam 
Clark,  whose  sketch  follows :  Henry,  born  Octo- 
ber 22,  1829,  died  March  22,  1830 ;  Charles  B., 
born  December  23,  1831,  died  1850:  John  B., 
born  October  3,  1833,  served  as  lieutenant  during 
the  Civil  war,  and  is  a  resident  of  Nebraska  :  Wil- 
ber  F..  born  March  15.  1836,  died  August  14, 
1838 :  Willard  R.,  born  August  26,  1838,  served 
in  the  Civil  war.  He  was  a  painter  by  trade,  and 
was  killed  June  5,  1886,  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michi- 


442 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA'  VALLEYS. 


gan,  by  falling  from  a  height  of  forty  feet ;  Milton 
H.,  born  August  i,  1843,  served  as  a  sergeant 
during-  the  Civil  war,  and  now  resides  at  Oakland, 
California.  Mr.  Laycock,  the  father  of  this  large 
family,  died  November,  1882. 

Adam  Clark  Laycock,  son  of  Shadrach  B. 
and  Susan  (Bowman)  Laycock,  was  born  De- 
cember 3,  1826,  near  Berwick,  Columbia  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  and  at  Wyoming  Seminary, 
Kingston.  He  learned  the  moulder's  trade  in  his 
father's  foundry,  and  when  he  was  twenty-five 
years  old  went  into  business  as  a  wheelwright, 
having  succeeded  his  father-in-law.  After  con- 
ducting the  shop  for  eleven  years  he  disposed  of 
it,  and  for  four  years  was  employed  as  a  clerk  by 
his  brother-in-law,  M.  W.  Millard.  He  then 
went  to  Shickshinny,  having  hitherto  resided  at 
Townhill,  Huntington  township,  Luzerne  county, 
and  for  five  years  took  charge  of  the  general  store 
of  the  Salem  Coal  Company.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  failing  health  obliged  him  to  resign,  and  he 
accepted  a  position  as  traveling  salesman  for  the 
firm  of  Chandler  &  Pringle,  builders  of  marble 
and  granite  monuments.  Five  years  later  he  re- 
signed, having  been  appointed  deputy  warden  of 
Luzerne  county  prison,  in  which  capacity  he 
served  two  years,  and  in  that  of  warden  the  fol- 
lowing year.  He  then  established  himself  at 
Kingston  in  the  marble  and  granite  business,  and 
remained  there  till  1890,  when  he  sold  out  and 
engaged  in  the  same  business  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
which  he  has  since  carried  on  successfully.  He 
is  past  master  of  Kingston  Lodge,  No.  395,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons ;  a  Republican  in  politics, 
always  taking  an  earnest  interest  in  borough  af- 
fairs. He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  in  which  he  has  held  the  office  of 
recording  steward  and  also  served  as  superintend- 
ent of  the  Sunday  school. 

Mr.  Laycock  married.  May  6,  185 1,  Clarissa, 
daughter  of  Charles  M.  and  Elizabeth  (Dodson) 
Millard,  and  granddaughter  of  John  and  Clar- 
issa (Harrison)  Dodson.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laycock 
have  a  son  and  a  daughter.  The  daughter,  Mary 
Amanda,  was  born  June  9,  1853,  and  became  the 
wife  of  L.  K.  Poust,  of  Williamsport,  Pennsyl- 
vania, travelling  representative  of  the  Muncy 
Furniture  Company.  Mrs.  Poust  died  August 
22,  1903,  leaving  one  son,  Herbert  M.,  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laycock's  son, 
Charles  Wilber,  is  mentioned  in  a  following  par- 
agraph. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Millard,  the  parents  of 
Mrs.  Laycock,  died  within  a  few  weeks  of  each 
other,  leaving  a  family  of  children  who  were  gen- 
erously cared  for  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Laycock. 


Charles  Wilber  Laycock,  son  of  Adam  Clark 
and  Clarrissa  (Millard)  Laycock,  was  born  Octo- 
ber 3,  i860,  in  Fairmount  township,  Luzerne 
county,  and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools, 
and  at  Wyoming  Seminary.  He  was  afterward 
employed  in  the  store  of  Pringle  &  Laycock  as 
clerk  and  later  as  bookkeeper.  February  20, 
1882,  he  entered  the  Second  National  Bank  of 
Wilkes-Barre  as  clerk,  and  was  subsequently 
promoted  to  the  position  of  general  bookkeeper. 
In  1890  he  became  cashier  in  the  Anthracite  Sav- 
ings Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre  and  has  filled  that 
position  since.  He  belongs  to  Kingston  Lodge, 
No.  395,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  West- 
moreland Club  of  Wilkes-Barre,  the  Wryoming 
Historical  and  Geological  Society,  and  is  a  Re- 
publican in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of  the- 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Kingston,  a 
member  of  the  board  of  stewards,  and  has  always 
taken  a  great  interest  in  church  work. 

Mr.  Laycock  married,  June  5,  1890,  L.  Jennie 
Clapp,  and  they  have  had  four  children :  Nesbitt 
E.,  born  August  4,  1891,  died  September  22, 
1891 ;  Charles  Harold,  born  March  15,  1892; 
Robert  Clark,  born  May  24,  1896;  and  Millard 
Day,  born  May  24,  1899. 

Mrs.  Laycock  comes  of  old  Puritan  stock. 
Her  father,  Ambrose  Spencer  Clapp,  was  born  in- 
1812,  in  New  Jersey,  son  of  Stephen  and  Jane 
(Alack)  Clapp,  and  went  to  Missouri,  where  he 
engaged  in  speculating  in  land  and  horses.  Re- 
turning to  the  east,  he  settled  in  Schuylerville, 
New  York,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  was  twice  married,  his  second  wife,, 
whom  he  wedded  in  1859,  being  Amanda  Day. 
They  had  one  daughter,  L.  Jennie,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Charles  Wilber  Laycock,  as  mentioned 
above.  Mrs.  Clapp  was  a  daughter  of  Cyrus  and 
Vashti  (Doty)  Day,  whose  children  were:  Laura 
Ann,  who  is  living  at  the  age  of  eighty-two ; 
Israel ;  Amanda,  born  April  29,  1829,  mentioned 
above  as  the  wife  of  Ambrose  Spencer  Clapp ; 
Louise  H.,  married  George  Pengan ;  and  Mary 
Elizabeth,  who  became  the  wife  of  Orvill  De 
Garmo.  H.  E.  H. 

MARCY.  Among  the  many  families  of  noted' 
ancestry  represented  in  the  Wyoming  Valley, 
mav  justly  be  mentioned  that  of  Marcy.  De 
Marcy,  or  Marcy,  is  a  name  now  quite  common 
in  France  and  its  colonies.  The  name  appears 
to  have  come  into  Normandy  with  Rollo  (A.  D. 
912),  and  went  thence  to  England  with  William 
the  Conqueror  (A.  D.  1068),  and  became  wide- 
spread in  Cheshire,  where  the  orthography  is- 
now    universally    Massey,    or    Massie.      In    this- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


443". 


form  (Massey)  it  is  common  in  the  Irish  peerage. 
In  the  patents  of  King  John  (A.  D.  1208)  men- 
tion is  made  of  one  "Radus  de  Marcy." 

(I)  John  Marcy,  the  first  American  ancestor 
of  the  Marcy  family  in  the  Wyoming  valley,  was 
a  son  of  the  high  sheriff  of  Limerick,  Ireland, 
and  was  born  about  1662.  He  joined  Rev.  John 
Eliot's  church  in  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  March 
7,  1685.  In  April,  1686,  he,  with  Benjamin  Sa- 
bin,  Jonathan  Smithers,  Henry  Bowen,  John 
Frizzel,  Mathew  Davis,  Nathaniel  Gary,  Thomas 
Bacon,  Peter  Aspinwall,  George  Griggs,  Eben- 
ezer  Morris  and  John  Lord,  took  possession 
of  Quatoset,  (Woodstock)  Connecticut,  granted 
in  1663  by  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  to  the 
town  of  Roxbury.  He  married  Sarah  Hadlock, 
daughter  of  James  and  Sarah  (Draper)  Had- 
lock, of  Roxbury.  She  was  born  December  16, 
1670.  They  lived  in  Woodstock  where  he  died 
December  23,  1724,  aged  sixty-two  years,  and 
she  died  May  9,  1743,  aged  seventy-three  years. 
Their  children  were:  1.  Anna,  born  in  Roxbury, 
October  11,  1687,  married  Ebenezer  Grosvenor, 
of  Pomfret.  2.  John,  born  November  17,  1689 ; 
married  Elizabeth  Colburn.  3.  James,  born  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1 69 1 ;  married  Ainsworth.  4.  Edward, 
born  June  28,  1695  :  married  Haskins.  5.  Joseph 
born  September  18,  1697 ;  married  Throop. 
6.  Benjamin,  born  March  11,  1699;  married  Cor- 
bin.  7.  Moses,  born  April  18,  1702 ;  married 
Morris.  8.  Samuel,  born  July  28,  1704;  married 
Russell.  9.  Sarah,  born  Eebruary  8,  1707 ;  mar- 
ried Johnson,  1728.  10.  Ebenezer  (2)  born  June 
6,  1709;  married  Martha  Nicholson.  11.  Eliza- 
beth, born  November  8,  1711. 

(II)  Ebenezer  Marcy,  eighth  son  of  John 
(1)  and  Sarah  (Hadlock)  Marcy,  was  born  at 
Woodstock,  June  6,  1709.  He  married  Martha 
Nicholson,  July  25.  1738,  and  resided  in  Dover, 
Dutchess  county,  New  York,  where  he  followed 
farmin.sf.  They  had  ten  children,  namely:  1. 
Mehitable,  married  Ward.  2.  Dolly,  married 
Hodgkis.  3.  Jerusha,  married  Connitt.  4.  Griffin. 
5.  Joseph.  6.  Ebenezer  (3),  married  Martha 
Spencer.  7.  Zebulon,  married  Jerusha  Conet.  8. 
Sarah,  married  Marcy.  9.  Ambrose  L,  lived  in 
Greene,  Chenango  county,  New  York.  10.  Ben- 
jamin. 

(III)  Ebenezer  Marcy  (Ebenezer  2,  John  1), 
fourth  son  of  Ebenezer  (2),  was  born  in  Dover, 
Dutchess  county,  New  York,  in  1741.  He  was  a 
proprietor  and  mill  owner  in  Wyoming  Vallev 
and  was  the  first  of  the  Marcv  family,  so  far  as 
known,  to  came  to  this  valley.  He  married 
Martha  Spencer,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Con- 


tent Spencer,  of  Saybrook,  Connecticut,  after- 
ward of  Fishkill,  New  York,  February  11,  1768. 
Ebenezer  Marcy  was  at  the  fort  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river  when  the  massacre  occurred  on  the  - 
west  side,  but,  the  boats  being  removed,  was  un- 
able to  be  present  at  the  fight.  (Peck's  "History 
of  Wyoming").  Ebenezer  and  Martha  (Spen- 
cer) Marcy  had  children:  1.  Jonathan,  born  May 

22,  1770;  married  Elizabeth  Marcy.  2.  Elizabeth, 
born  December  7,  1771.  3.  Marahta,  born  January 

23,  1774,  died  July  16,  1818.  4.  Content,  born 
April  8,  1776.  5.  Thankful,  born  on  Pocono 
Mountain  during  the  flight  from  the  massacre. 
6.  Ebenezer  (4),  born  February  10,  1780.  7. 
Jared  (4),  born  June  6,  1782,  died  December  18, 
1816.     8.    Joseph,  born  February  19,  1787. 

(IV)  Ebenezer  Marcy  (Ebenezer  3,  Eben- 
ezer 2,  John  1),  second  son  of  Ebenezer  (3),  was 
born  July  10,  1780.  He  lived  in  Pittston,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  died  August  9,  1850.  He  married- 
Susannah  Adams,  and  their  children  were:  1. 
Jonathan,  born  January  .31,  1803,  died  January  5, 
185 1.  2.  Ebenezer,  born  September  2,  1804. 
died  December  4,  1828.  3.  Abraham,  born  Sep- 
tember 16,  1806,  died  October  26,  1828.  4. 
Thankful,  born  July  17,  1808,  died  February  14, 
1833.  5.  Spencer  (twin  with  Thankful)  ;  mar- 
ried Harriet  Pruner.  6.  Elijah,  born  September 
4,  1810,  died  September  23,  1823.  7.  Elbert, 
born  May  28,  1812;  married  Mary  Anne  Reddin. 
8.  Sarah,  born  February  15,  1814.  9.  Jared, 
born  January  15,  1816.  10.  Joseph,  born  Jan- 
uary 22,  1818.  11.  John  Sager,  born  November 
1,  1821,  died  March  4,  1896.  12.  Martha,  born 
September  29,  1823. 

(IV)  Jared  Marcy  (Ebeneber  3,  Ebenezer  2, 
John  1),  third  son  of  Ebenezer  (3),  was  born- 
June  6,  1782,  in  Wyoming  Valley.  He  resided 
in  Pittston,  where  he  died  December  18,  1816. 
He  was  a  carpenter  in  Pittston  from  about  1800 
to  1814,  and  married  Sarah  Bennett,  daughter  of 
Rufus  Bennett,  an  old  Revolutionary  soldier  who 
died  and  was  buried  in  Hanover.  William  H. 
Marcy,  grandson  of  Jared,  has  some  old  treasury 
warrants  issued  to  Rufus  Bennett  at  an  early 
date.  The  children  of  Jared  and  Sarah  Marcy 
were:  1.  Lorinda,  born  March  18,  1805,  died' 
1848.  2.  Ira  (5),  born  April  20,  1807;  married 
Ann  Teeter.  3.  Reuben  (5).  born  September  7, 
1809 :  married  Lucy  Ann  Wrenton.  4.  Avery- 
born  January  29,  181 1;  married  Lucinda  Black- 
man.     5.    Elmira,  born  March  18,  1813. 

(V)  Ira  Marcv  (Jared  4.  Ebenezer  3,  Eben- 
ezer 2,  John  1),  first  son  of  Jared,  was  born  in 
Pittston,  April  20,  1807,  and  died  October,  1873.- 


444 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


-He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  at 
■an  early  age  engaged  in  work  on  farms  in  the 
valley,  and  at  a  later  date  learned  the  carpen- 
ter's trade,  which  he  followed,  as  did  his  brothers. 
He  followed  carpentering  and  contracting  in 
Wilkes-Barre  for  several  years,  and  was  also  a 
contractor  on  canal  work  on  locks  and  bridges 
•in  1852  on  the  Chemung  canal,  and  before  this 
had  charge  of  locks  and  bridges  on  the  North 
Branch  canal.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Teeter, 
'born  about  1810,  died  about  1865,  daughter  of 
Conrad  and  Elizabeth  (Waller)  Teeter.  Conrad 
Teeter  in  the  early  days  carried  the  mails  on 
horseback  to  the  state  of  New  York.  The  chil- 
dren of  Ira  and  Mary  Ann  Alarcy  were:  1.  Wil- 
liam H.,  born  October  1,  1836;  see  forward.  2. 
Rufus  W.,  married  Ruth  Ann  Kelley,  and  they 
liad  two  children.  3.  Sarah  Eliza,  died  July, 
1865.  4.  Ira  Teeter,  born  1852 ;  was  killed  in  a 
railroad  accident  at  Winnemucca,  Nevada,  1879. 
(VI)  William  Henry  Alarcy,  merchant  and 
lumberman,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania  eldest 
child  of  Ira  and  Alary  Ann  (Teeter)  Marcy,  was 
~born  in  the  city  in  which  he  now  resides,  October 
1,  1836.  His  education  was  obtained  in  the  pub- 
lic and  private  schools  of  his  native  city.  At  the 
■age  of  sixteen  years  he  entered  upon  an  active 
career  as  a  clerk,  and  after  serving  for  some 
time  in  that  capacitv  took  up  the  carpenter's 
trade,  and  after  becoming  a  master  workman 
followed  it  for  a  period  of  seven  years.  He  then 
for  several  years  was  engaged  as  a  bookkeeper 
for  various  firms.  He  subsequently  embarked 
in  the  mercantile  and  lumber  business  which  he 
has  conducted  to  the  present  time,  and  in  which 
he  has  proven  successful.  He  is  a  communicant 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  of  which  his 
family  are  attendants.  In  politics  he  is  a  Re- 
publican. He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity, and  also  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  Air.  Marcv  married,  March  9, 
1858,  Miss  Susan  A.  Stone,  born  June  10,  1836, 
and  had  five  children,  namely:  1.  Harry  G, 
born  December  29,  1858:  married  Alary  P. 
Rhone,  daughter  of  Judge  D.  L.  Rhone,  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  (See  Rhone  Family).  Of  this 
marriage  were  born  children :  Harry  K..  Alice 
Rhone,  Helen,  Ruth  Ann.  2.  Carrie,  died  aged 
one  and  a  half  vears.  3.  Leah  Sturdevant.  died, 
aged  two  years.  4.  Cora  Antoinette,  born  No- 
vember 2,  1865 :  married  Dr.  H.  D.  Matten,  and 
resides  in  Wilkes-Barre ;  their  child  is  Dorothy, 
born  March  28.  1899.  5.  Leonard  Ira,  born  Jan- 
uary 28,  1872 ;  married  Mabel  .  and  re- 
sides in  Allentown,  Pennsylvania.        H.  E.  H. 


JOSEPH  WINFIELD  MARCY,  of  Kings- 
ton, born  April  9,  1848,  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Marcy  township  (now  Duryea),  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  of  English  and  French  descent,  is 
a  son  of  John  Sager  (5),  and  Alary  E.  (Cool- 
baugh)  Marcy.  (Joseph  Winfield  (6),  John  Sa- 
ger (5),  Ebenezer  (4),  Ebenezer  (3),  Ebenezer 
(2),  John  (1).) 

John  Sager  Marcy  (5),  ninth  son  and  elev- 
enth child  of  Ebenezer  (4),  and  Susannah 
(Adams)  Marcy,  was  born  November  1,  1821,  in 
the  old  Marcy  homestead  in  Duryea,  where  early 
in  the  history  of  Methodism  the  presiding  elders 
held  quarterly  meetings.  Ebenezer  (4)  having 
been  a  very  religious  man  and  his  doors  being 
always  open  to  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  John 
Sager,  known  as  "Squire,"  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  and  worked  with  his  father  on 
the  farm  until  1839.  He  then  clerked  for  John 
B.  Wood,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  for  one  year,  after 
which  he  returned  to  the  farm  and  worked  there- 
on up  to  i860.  In  that  year  he  received  the  ap- 
pointment of  postmaster  at  Old  Forge.  Pennsyl- 
vania, near  the  Marcy  homestead.  He  erected  a 
building  near  at  hand,  close  to  the  Bloomsburg 
railroad,  whose  officials  agreed  to  stop  trains 
there  and  call  it  Marcy  station.  Here  Squire 
Marcy  kept  the  postoffice  and  a  general  store  un- 
til the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  G.  Fifty- 
second  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  Governor 
Hoyt's  regiment,  and  served  almost  the  entire 
period  of  the  war,  returning  home  late  in  the  year 
1864.  He  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  the 
old  homestead,  which  came  into  his  possession  at 
the  death  of  his  father..  When  not  engaged  in 
township  affairs,  in  which  he  took  an  active  in- 
terest, serving  at  various  times  as  constable,  as- 
sessor, supervisor,  school  director,  auditor  and 
for  ten  years  justice  of  the  peace,  he  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  leisure  time  within  the  circle 
of  his  own  home  and  family.  He  donated  the 
site  upon  which  the  Brick  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  is  built,  and  was  a  frequent  attendant 
upon  the  services  there.  His  political  affiliations 
were  with  the  Democratic  party. 

John  Sager  Marcy  married,  August  7.  1843. 
Alary  E.  Coolbaugh.  born  in  1820,  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Eleanor  (Jacobs)  Coolbaugh,  natives 
of  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania.  Eight  chil- 
dren were  the  issue  of  this  union,  and  the  fol- 
lowing survive  :  Joseph  Winfield.  mentioned  here- 
after. Gertrude  J.,  resides  in  Scranton.  John 
Sager  Alarcy  died  Afay  4,  1896.  His  wife.  Alary 
E.  (Coolbaugh)  Alarcy,  died  December  28,  1887, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


44£ 


aged  sixty-seven  years,  and  was  buried  in  Marcy 
cemetery,  Duryea.  Her  death  caused  grief 
among  a  large  circle  of  friends,  who  appreciated 
her  generosity  and  helpful  hand  on  occasions  of 
sorrow  and  distress.  Martha,  sister  of  John 
Sager  (5),  widow  of  W.  A.  Dana,  of  Tunkhan- 
nock,  Pennsylvania,  is  the  only  surviving  mem- 
ber of  the  family  of  Ebenezer  Marcy  (4). 

Joseph  Winfield  Marcy,  son  of  John  S.  and 
Mary  E.  Marcy,  was  reared  in  Marcy  township 
On  his  father's  farm,  in  the  meantime  pursuing 
his  studies  in  the  common  schools  adjoining  his 
home  and  the  select  school  of  Pittston,  Penn- 
sylvania, attending  the  latter  about  one  year.  In 
February,  1862,  he  enlisted  as  a  drummer  boy  in 
the  Fifth-second  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
unteers, and  went  with  General  McClellan,  in  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  from  Washington,  D.  C, 
to  Alexandria,  to  Newport  News,  to  Williams- 
burg and  Yorktown,  then  on  to  South  Carolina 
and  was  present  at  the  siege  of  Charleston  when 
Captain  Hennessy  of  this  regiment  planted  the 
flag  on  Fort  Sumter.  He  then  returned  with  the 
regiment  to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  where 
they  were  located  at  the  time  of  the  surrender 
of  General  Lee  and  of  the  assassination  of  Pres- 
ident Lincoln,  returning  home  in  June,  1865. 

Mr.  Marcy  secured  a  position  as  clerk  with 
the  firm  of  Seybolt  &  White,  and  later  with 
Clark  Bros.,  Providence,  Pennsylvania,  now 
North  Scranton,  and  in  1876  paid  his  way 
through  a  business  college  and  became  book- 
keeper for  the  Moosic  Powder  Company  at  Car- 
bondale,  Pennsylvania,  remaining  with  them  un- 
til the  two  powder  companies  consolidated  in 
1870.  In  June  of  that  year  he  became  agent  for 
the  Central  Express  Company,  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company,  and  secretary  of  the  Car- 
bondale  Gas  Company,  in  which  capacities  he 
served  for  several  years.  He  also  conducted  a 
news  agency  and  book  store  until  1877,  when  he 
purchased  the  American  House  and  was  proprie- 
tor of  that  popular  hostelry  until  1880,  when  he 
contracted  the  "western"  fever,  sold  his  hotel 
and  went  to  Colorado  in  188 1,  prospecting.  Not 
being  favorably  impressed  with  the  western  ideas, 
he  returned  to  his  native  state  in  1882,  settling 
in  Kingston,  where  he  has  since  resided.  In  the 
same  year  he  entered  the  insurance  business  for 
eight  companies,  and  in  1884  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  carriages  and  harness,  in  which 
varied  lines  he  still  continues.  His  carriage  and 
harness  trade  has  steadily  grown  in  volume  and 
importance,  and  is  probably  larger  than  that  of 
any  other  dealer  in  Luzerne  county. 

Unlike  many  young  men  of  the  present  time 


Mr.  Marcy  was  self-supporting  from  the  start  ol 
his  active  career,  and  assisted  his  father  finan- 
cially. In  1865,  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil. 
war,  his  father  returned  to  find  himself  heavily 
in  debt  (having  a  family  of  seven  children  to. 
provide  for)  and  had  to  mortgage  the  farm,  but 
in  a  few  years  this  was  paid  off  in  full  by  his  son,. 
Joseph  Winfield,  which  fact  gives  a  very  good, 
insight  into  the  character  of  the  man  and  proves . 
that  he  was  a  loyal,  faithful  and  dutiful  son.  In. 
1899  Mr.  Marcy  was  elected  to  the  council  and. 
served  until  March,  1902,  when  he  became  presi- 
dent of  the  same,  which  position  he  has  filled, 
every  year  up  to  the  present  time  (1905).  For  a. 
number  of  years  he  was  a  member  of  Good  Tem- 
plars of  Carbondale,  a  member  of  the  Carbondale 
Band,  in  which  he  played  solo  alto,  a  member- 
of  the  Carbondale  Choral  Union,  and  a  member- 
of  a  quartette  in  Carbondale.  For  a  number- 
of  years  he  was  also  associated  with  the  different 
church  choirs,  the  last  being  the  Presbyterian, 
church  choir  in  Kingston.  He  wag  the  leader  of 
an  orchestra,  and  a  member  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Oratorio  Society,  but  several  years  ago  retired 
from  active  musical  work.  Mr.  Marcy  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  the  principles  of  which  great- 
organization  he  has  upheld  since  attaining  his. 
majority. 

Mr.  Marcy  married  (first)  Juniata  Salsbury,. 
daughter  of  Orlando  and  Caroline  (Hoyt)   Sals- 
bury,  the  former  named  having  been  a  railroad 
contractor  of  note.     There  was  no  issue  of  this, 
union.     Mr.   Marcy  married   (second),  June  28,. 
1894,    Mary    Edith    Fulmer,    born    in    Portland,. 
Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  George  and  Minerva. 
(Werkheiser)  Fulmer,  of  the  same  town.    Chris- 
tian Fulmer  and  his  wife,  who  was  a  Miss  Butts, 
grandparents  of  Mrs.  Marcy,  were  the  parents  of" 
seven   children,   two  of  whom   died  in   infancy, 
and  the  surviving  members  were :  Henry,  Joseph,. 
John,    George    and    Hiram.       George    Fulmer,. 
father  of  Mrs.  Marcy,  was  the  proprietor  of  a 
tannery    at    Portland    and    Lanesboro,    Pennsyl- 
vania, and   retired   from  business  in   1888.     He 
and   his    wife,    Minerva    (Werkheiser)    Fulmer,. 
who  was  of  German  descent,  were  the  parents  of" 
two    children:    Mary    Edith    (Mrs.   Joseph    W. 
Marcy),  and  Loring  R.  Fulmer.    Henry  Fulmer, 
uncle  of  Mrs.  Marcy,  was  president  of  the  Na- 
tional Bank  in  Easton,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Marcy 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Kings- 
ton, in  which  she  takes  an  active  interest. 

H.  E.  H. 

MARKS  FAMILY.     Adam  Marks,  the  first- 
American    ancestor    of   whom    we   have    record,. 


446 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


settled    in    Locust    township,    Columbia    county, 
Pennsylvania,    near    Catawissa,    with    his    wife, 

.Elizabeth  (West)  Marks.  She  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, but  the  place  and  date  of  the  birth  of  Adam 
Marks  is  not  clearly  indicated.  He  was  a  farmer 
bv  occupation.  They  were  the  parents  of  several 
children,  who  settled  in  various  parts  of  the 
state,  some  in  Centre  county  and  others  near 
Philadelphia,  and  the  greater  number  followed 
farming.  Mr.  West,  father  of  Elizabeth  (West) 
Marks,  was  the  owner  of  a  large  estate  in  Eng- 

'.  land. 

George  Marks,  son  of  Adam  and  Elizabeth 
(West)  Marks,  was  also  a  farmer  and  resided 
near  Catawissa.  He  married  Elizabeth  Fahr- 
inger,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  a  descendant  of 
a  German  ancestry,  and  their  children  were : 

i.  Mary,  became  the  wife  of  Jesse  Johns; 
three  sons  and  five  daughters.  They  reside  in 
Mt.  Carmel,  Pennsylvania. 

2.  Washington;  who  went  west,  married  in 
Wisconsin,  and  became  the  father  of  three  chil- 
dren. 

3.  Adam,  mentioned  herafter. 

4.  Eliza,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of 
Westley  Perry,  of  Centralia,  Pennsylvania,  and 
mother  of  three  children. 

5.  Jonas,  who  served  in  the  Civil  war;  he 

-  married  a  Miss  Leiby  and  had  one  son  and  three 
daughters.     He  resides  in  Nebraska. 

6.  Harriet,  wife  of  Henry  Yeager,  and  had 
seven   children;   they  reside   in  Ashland,   Penn- 

■  sylvania. 

7.  Caroline,  wife  of  Frank  Kline,  and  had 
•  one  child  ;  Frank  Kline  was  killed  in  battle  in  the 

Civil    war.      Caroline    Kline    married    (second) 

■  George  Zarr,  and  had  two  children ;  they  reside 
in  Nebraska. 

8.  Allan,   married    Elizabeth    Kostenbauder, 

-  and  had  two  sons  and  two  daughters ;  they  re- 
side in  Riverside,  Pennsylvania. 

9.  Lloyd,  who  was  a  non-commissioned  of- 
"  ficer,  died  in  the  Civil  war,  of  typhoid  fever. 

10.  Frances,  deceased.  married  David 
Adams,  and  had  one  son ;  they  resided  in  West 
Pittston,  Pennsylvania. 

11.  Lillian,   who  married   George  Roat,   an 

-  undertaker  and  furniture  dealer,  and  had  three 
sons  and  three  daughters ;  they  reside  in  Dan- 
ville, Pennsylvania. 

12.  Emma,  who  married  Samuel  Bucher, 
and  had  one  son  and  two  daughters ;  they  reside 
in  South  Danville,  Pennsylvania. 

13.  Jane,  married  (first)  a  Mr.  Bowden,  of 
Denver,  Colorado,  now  deceased;  married  (sec- 
ond)   J.    K.    Sharpless,    of   Catawissa,    Pennsyl- 


vania, now  deceased;  she  resides  in  Catawissa, 
Pennsylvania. 

14.  Clara,  married  Wilson  Yeager,  who  con- 
ducts a  plumbing  and  tinning  business,  and  had 
three  sons  and  one  daughter.  They  reside  in 
Berwick,  Pennsylvania. 

George  Marks,  father  of  these  children,  died 
on  his  farm  near  Catawissa,  aged  seventy-seven 
years,  leaving  a  large  estate ;  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
( Fahringer)  Marks,  passed  away  at  the  age 
of  ninety  years.  Their  remains  are  interred  in 
the  cemetery  at  Roaring  Creek,  Pennsylvania. 

Adam  Marks,  second  son  of  George  and 
Elizabeth  (Fahringer)  Marks,  was  born  in 
March,  1836.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  in  Locust  township,  and  at  a  private 
school  near  the  same  place.  At  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-two he  entered  the  employ  of  his  uncle.  Mr. 
Fahringer,  to  learn  the  carpenter  trade,  and  re- 
mained with  him  three  years.  He  then  purchased 
a  farm,  which  he  conducted  in  connection  with 
his  trade,  but  shortly  afterwards  discontinued 
carpentering  work  and  devoted  his  whole  atten- 
tion to  farming,  so  continuing  to  the  time  of  his 
decease,  October  19,  1903,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church,  and  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  mar- 
ried Margaret  Jane  Kostenbauder,  born  1837, 
and  their  children  were: 

1.  George,  married  Mary  Fahringer;  two 
sons  and  three  daughters ;  they  reside  near  Cat- 
awissa, Pennsylvania. 

2.  Fannie,  wife  of  Daniel  F.  Knittle,  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  and  lumber  merchant,  residing 
at  Catawissa,  Pennsylvania ;  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 

3.  Lloyd  E.,  a  building  contractor  of  Ply- 
mouth, Pennsylvania.  He  taught  school  for  one 
vear,  and  then  learned  the  carpenter  trade.  He 
served  as  a  councilman  for  several  years,  one  of 
which  he  was  president  of  that  body.  He  mar- 
ried Ella  Stiff.  A  sketch  of  Lloyd  E.  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  work. 

4.  Alberta  married  Henry  Stokes,  and  had 
two  sons  and  one  daughter ;  they  reside  in  Sham- 
okin,  Pennsylvania. 

5.  Cora  B.,  married  George  Carl,  and  had 
six  sons  and  four  daughters ;  they  reside  near 
Catawissa.  Pennsylvania. 

6.  Daniel  G.,  married  Nettie  Karns.  and  had 
one  son  and  one  daughter :  they  reside  in  Kings- 
ton, Pennsylvania. 

7.  Clinton  Hayes,  mentioned  hereafter. 

8.  William  W.,  resides  near  Catawissa, 
Pennsylvania. 

Margaret     Jane      (Kostenbauder)        Marks, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


447 


mother  of  the  above  named  children,  who  was 
an  active  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  died 
September  4,  1891,  aged  fifty-four  years,  and  was 
buried  at  Roaring  Creek,  Pennsylvania.  She 
was  the  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Frances  (Kling- 
erman)  Kostenbauder,  of  Columbia  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. Daniel  Kostenbauder  was  an  officer 
in  the  Civil  war.  Mrs.  Marks  was  one  of  fifteen 
children,  namely :  David,  deceased ;  Daniel,  died 
in  infancy  ;  Margaret  Jane,  wife  of  Adam  Marks  ; 
Nathan,  of  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  served  in  the 
Civil  war;  James,  of  Centralia,  Pennsylvania,,  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  war ;  Fannie,  of  Catawissa, 
Pennsylvania ;  Amelia,  deceased ;  Cecilia,  of  Wil- 
liamsport,  Pennsylvania;  Haines,  of  Danville, 
Pennsylvania;  Sarah,  wife  of  George  Cooper,  of 
Edwardsville,  Pennsylvania ;  Elizabeth,  of  South 
Danville,  Pennsylvania ;  Deemer,  of  Centre 
county,  Pennsylvania ;  George,  of  Catawissa, 
Pennsylvania ;  Annie,  wife  of  Joshua  I.  Cooper, 
a  building  contractor,  of  Plymouth ;  and 
Mercy,  of  Catawissa.  They  hold  membership  in 
the  Methodist  church.  , 

Clinton  Hayes  Marks,  fourth  son  and  seventh 
child  of  Adam  and  Margaret  Jane  (Kosten- 
bauder) Marks,  was  born  May  7,  1876,  in  Lo- 
cust township,  Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania. 
He  spent  his  early  life  on  the  farm,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Columbia  county, 
Wyoming  Seminary,  and  the  Bloomsburg  Nor- 
mal and  Literary  Institute,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1899  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  In 
1892  he  began  teaching  school  in  Columbia 
county,  and  continued  the  same  vocation  for  five 
years.  He  studied  law  in  Bloomsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  the  firm  of  Jkeler  &  Jkeler,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Columbia  county  in  1900. 
He  practiced  there  for  a  short  time  and  then  came 
"to  Luzerne  county,  was  admitted  to  the  Luzerne 
county  bar,  and  has  practiced  there  ever  since. 

Mr.  Marks  is  a  Republican,  and  has  always 
taken  an  active  interest  in  politics.  He  served  as 
judge  of  elections  of  the  eighth  ward,  Plymouth, 
and    is   now    (1905)    committeeman,    elected    in 

1904,  having  charge  of  the  political  work  per- 
taining to  the  various  campaigns  in  his  district. 
In  1904  he  was  elected  secretary  of  the  Repub- 
lican organization  in  the  third  legislative  district, 
and  was  re-elected  in  1905.  On  March  7,  1904, 
he  was  elected  secretary  of  Plymouth  borough, 
and  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office,  March  6, 

1905.  He  is  a  member  of  Goodwill  Lodge,  No. 
310,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Co- 
lumbia county,  having  joined  in  1900.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles, 


No.  546,  of  Plymouth,  of  which  he  was  the  first 
secretary. 

Mr.  Marks  married,  February  14,  1899,  Jen- 
nie S.  Carl,  born  March  17,  1876,  daughter  of 
Simon  R.  and  Amelia  (Troxell)  Carl,  of  Locust 
township,  Columbia  county,  and  a  descendant  of 
a  German  ancestry.  She  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Bloomsburg  Normal  school.  Simon  R.  Carl  is 
an  agent  for  farming  implements  in  Columbia 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  he  has  five  children. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marks  had  two  children :  Gerald 
Elsworth,  born  June  24,  1900;  and  Russell 
Hayes,  born  July  12,  1904.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marks 
are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
of  Plymouth.  H.  E.  H. 

MEBANE  FAMILY.  Colonel  Alexander 
Mebane,  the  patriarch  of  the  family,  came  from 
the  north  of  Ireland  soon  after  1700  and 
settled  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained 
several  years,  when  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  North  Carolina  and  settled  in 
the  Hawfields,  in  Orange  county,  about  1745. 
He  was  a  man  of  good  sense,  upright,  in- 
dustrious, and  prudent  in  the  management 
of  his  affairs,  which  resulted  in  his  soon  ac- 
quiring considerable  wealth.  He  had  twelve 
children,  six  sons  and  six  daughters,  all  of 
whom  except  one  settled,  married  and  raised 
families  in  Orange  county. 

After  the  Declaration  of  Independence  it 
soon  became  apparent  that  they  were  in  the 
neighborhood  of  many  Tories ;  but  Colonel 
Mebane  and  all  his  sons  (except  the  youngest 
who  was  not  grown)  at  once  became  Whigs, 
taking  an  active  stand  as  defenders  of  the  lib- 
erties of  the  country  and  supporters  of  the 
army.  The  British  and  Tories  committed 
great  depredations  on  his  property,  burned 
his  barns  and  fences,  plundered  his  dwelling, 
and  took  everything  they  could  carry,  even 
emptying  the  feathers  from  the  beds  and  car- 
rying away  the  ticks  and  furniture.  The  Col- 
onel was  too  old  to  become  an  active  soldier 
himself,  but  his  sons  were  active  and  zealous 
in  the  cause  of  Independence.  He  had  Wil- 
liam, Alexander,  Robert,  John,  James  and 
David.  William  Mebane,  the  oldest,  was  a 
captain  in  the  militia. 

Alexander  Mebane  was  constantly  and  ac- 
tively engaged  in  the  service  of  his  country, 
and  in  addition  to  his  other  duties  he  dis- 
charged those  of  commissary,  collecting  sup- 
plies and  distributing  them  to  the  troops.  The 
neighborhood  was  so  much  harrasssed  by  the 


448 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Tories  that  he  was  compelled  to  send  some  of 
his  servants  and  children  to  an  adjoining  county 
out  of  their  range.  When  Cornwallis  took 
Hillsboro,  Mebane  narrowly  escaped  on  foot, 
leaving  a  valuable  mare,  saddle,  bridle,  hol- 
sters and  pistols.  While  the  British  army  was 
in  Hillsboro,  a  company  of  soldiers  went  on  a 
foraging  expedition  into  the  surrounding 
country.  They  visited  his  mill  and  dwelling, 
and,  finding  no  one  on  the  premises  except 
his  wife  and  some  of  the  younger  children, 
carried  away  meal  from  the  mill  and  bacon 
and  poultry  from  the  house.  A  few  days  after- 
ward Lee's  company  of  Light  Horse,  with  a 
company  of  Catawba  Indians,  passed  by  the 
mill,  and  subsequently  eight  or  ten  of  General 
Pickens's  men  called  at  the  gate.  Mrs.  Mary 
Mebane,  wife  of  the  colonel,  went  out  accom- 
panied by  some  of  the  younger  children.  One 
of  the  men  pointed  a  pistol  at  her  breast  and 
threatened  to  shoot  her  if  she  refused  to  tell 
where  her  husband  was.  She  immediately 
replied,  "where  he  ought  to  be — in  General 
Green's  camp."  After  some  more  talk  they 
asked  for  something  to  eat,  which  she  brought. 
They  ate  it  sitting  on  their  .horses,  and  de- 
parted. 

Robert  Mebane,  who  held  the  office  of  col- 
onel in  the  Continental  line  of  the  army,  was 
a  man  of  undoubted  courage  and  activity 
in  the  cause  of  his  country.  He  figured  in 
many  battles  and  skirmishes  with  the  British 
and  Tories.  At  the  battle  of  Cane  Creek  he 
displayed  great  prowess  and  valor,  fighting 
heroically.  General  Butler  having  ordered  a 
retreat,  Colonel  Mebane  rushed  in  front  of  the 
retreating  army  and  by  violent  efforts  stopped 
a  large  part  of  it,  winning  the  victory.  To- 
ward the  close  of  the  battle,  ammunition  be- 
coming scarce,  he  passed  along  the  line  carry- 
ing powder  in  his  hat,  which  he  distributed 
among  the  soldiers,  encouraging  and  animat- 
ing them  to  persevere  in  their  bloody  strife. 
Subsequently  he  was  on  the  waters  of  the  Cape 
Fear  with  his  regiment,  but,  on  being  notified 
that  his  services  were  needed  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state,  he  set  out  accompanied  only 
by  his  servants.  On  the  way  he  met  a  noted 
Tory  and  horse-thief  by  the  name  of  Henry 
Hightower,  who  was  armed  with  a  British 
musket.  Recognizing  the  desperado,  and  fear- 
less of  consequences,  Colonel  Mebane  pur- 
sued; but  when  within  striking  distance,  his 
arm  uplifted  for  a  blow,  Hightower  wheeled 
and  shot  him.  Perhaps  one  of  the  first  expe- 
ditions in  which  he  was  engaged  was  in  com- 


pany with  General  Rutherford  in  1776.  With 
one  thousand  nine  hundred  men  they  attacked 
the  Over-Hill  Cherokee  Indians,  routing  them, 
burning  their  towns,  and  destroying  their 
crops.  On  this  expedition  young  Mebane  dis- 
played fearlessness  and  unflinching  courage. 
In  appearance  Colonel  Mebane  was  large, 
strong  and  commanding.  And  now,  after  one 
hundred  and  twenty-three  years,  we  read  in 
the  North  Carolina  Charlotte  Observer,  of 
June  the  fifth,.  1904,  the  following:  "In  the 
list  of  North  Carolina  Revolutionary  heroes 
we  recall  no  more  honorable  career  than  that 
of  Colonel  Robert  Mebane,  nor  one  more  ill- 
fated  and  pathetic  in  its  ending.  We  cannot 
but  express  our  great  gratification  to  know 
that  individuals  in  our  midst  to-day  and 
worthily  bearing  his  honored  name,  together 
with  connections  of  the  Holt  family,  contem- 
plate the  early  erection  at  Old  Guilford  Court 
House  of  a  suitable  memorial  to  Colonel  Rob- 
ert Mebane.  Fifty  years  ago  Wheeler's  plaint 
was  regret  that  more  had  not  been  preserved 
of  this  brave  man,  and  a  little  later  the  devoted 
Caruthers  failed  of  his  fixed  purpose  to  give 
us  a  proper  sketch  of  his  life.  Let  his  name 
now  be  recorded  and  forever  preserved  at 
Guilford.  Meanwhile  let  all  additional  light 
'  possible  be  gathered  and  proclaimed  to  the 
great  congregation,  and  in  permanent  form 
published  and  distributed  to  the  youth  of  the 
land." 

Colonel  John  Mebane,  late  of  Chatham  coun- 
ty, North  Carolina,  entered  the  service  of 
his  country  as  captain.  When  Hillsboro  was 
taken  by  the  British  and  Tories,  the  lat- 
ter being  commanded  by  the  notorious  Da- 
vid Fanning,  he  was  captured,  and  with 
Thomas  Burke,  governor  of  the  state,  Wil- 
liam Kinchin  and  others,  was  marched  away 
under  the  Tory  Colonel  McDougal.  Al- 
though an  attempt  was  made  by  the  Whigs 
to  rescue  the  prisoners  at  Lindley's  Mill,  Mc- 
Dougal succeeded  in  taking  them  to  Wilming- 
ton, North  Carolina,  where  they  were  put  on 
board  a  prison  ship  and  taken  to  Charleston, 
South  Carolina.  They  were  confined  on  the 
ship  for  a  long  time,  suffering  horribly  from  the 
privations  peculiar  to  this  form  of  captivity. 
David  Mebane,  the  youngest  of  the  brothers, 
dit  not  arrive  at  fighting  age  until  near  the  close 
of  the  war,  but  notwithstanding  his  youth  he  did 
serve  two  terms  in  the  militia. 

After  peace  was  established,  the  sons  of 
Colonel  Mebane  were  highly  respected  for 
their  services  in  obtaining  the  liberty  and  inde- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


449 


pendence  of  their  country,  and  were  frequently 
called  to  the  public  service. 

William  Mebane  was  chosen  by  the  free- 
holders of  Orange  county  in  1782  to  serve 
in  the  senate  of  the  general  assembly,  McCan- 
ley  and  Mark  Patterson  being  chosen  to  the 
commons.  He  was  twice  married.  His  first 
wife  was  Miss  Abercrombie,  with  whom  he 
lived  many  years.  After  her  death  in  his  old 
age,  he  married  a  Miss  Rainey,  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  Rainey.     He  died  childless. 

Alexander  Mebane  was  a  member  of  the 
provincial  congress  or  convention  that  met  at 
Halifax  on  the  tenth  day  of  December,  A.  D. 
1776,  to  form  a  constitution  for  the  state,  and 
of  the  convention  at  Hillsboro  to  fix  the  seat 
of  government  and  adopt  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
house  of  commons  of  the  general  assembly 
in  1783,  1784,  1787,  1790-2.  About  this  time 
he  was  elected  a  brigadier-general  by  the 
general  assembly  of  North  Carolina,  In  1793 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  congress  and 
served  two  sessions  in  Philadelphia.  He  was 
elected  to  succeed  himself,  but  died  on  July 
the  fifth,  1795,  before  the  next  term  began. 
He  was  distinguished  for  his  sound,  practical 
sense,  his  unblemished  integrity  and  unflinch- 
ing firmness.  He  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
November  26,  1744.  He  married  Miss  Mary 
Armstrong,  of  Orange  county,  in  February, 
1767,  and  was  the  father  of  twelve  children, 
four  sons  and  eight  daughters.  One  of  the 
daughters  died  young;  all  the  other  children 
were  married  and  reared  large  families.  Of 
the  sons,  James  Mebane,  of  Caswell  county 
(near  Yanceyville),  was  one  of  the  first  stu- 
dents at  the  University  of  North  Carolina  at 
Chapel  Hill,  and  assisted  in  founding  the  lit- 
erary societies  at  this  institution.  The  Dia- 
lectic Society,  in  order  to  perpetuate  his  name 
and  services,  procured  a  life-sized  portrait  of 
him  which  now  hangs  in  its  hall  over  the  pres- 
ident's chair.  He  married  early  in  life  Eliza- 
beth Kinchin,  whose  name  has  been  men- 
tioned in  this  sketch.  She  bore  him  five  sons 
and  one  daughter,  two  of  whom  are  William, 
who  lives  at  Mason  Hall,  in  Orange  county, 
and  Dr.  John  Alexander  Mebane,  who  lives 
at  Greensboro,  Guilford  county.  Of  his 
daughters,  only  two  survive:  Frances,  wife 
of  the  Rev.  William  D.  Paisley,  who  was  the 
son  of  John  Paisley,  a  brave  and  valiant  sol- 
dier of  the  Revolution,  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
William    H.    Goodhue,     of    Madison     county, 

U9 


Mississippi.  In  person  Gen.  Alexander  Me- 
bane was  what  is  generally  termed  a  "likely 
man,''  about  six  feet  tall,  of  a  ruddy  complex- 
ion, black  hair,  robust  appearance.  He  was  a. 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  died 
on  the  fifth  day  of  July.  1795,  the  death  of  a 
consecrated  Christian. 

Colonel  James  Mebane  was  also  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  He  mar- 
ried Margaret  Allen,  of  the  Hawfields,  by 
whom  he  had  a  large  family  of  children.  He 
died  some  years  before  his  wife. 

Colonel  John  Mebane,  late  of  Chatham 
county,  was  elected  for  that  county  and  served  in 
the  house  of  commons  of  the  general  assembly 
in  1790-3,  1795,  1 798- 1 800,  1 80 1,  1803,  1806, 
1809,  181 1.  About  the  close  of  the  war  he 
married  Mrs.  Sarah  Kinchin,  widow  of  Wil- 
liam Kinchin,  mentioned  in  the  first  part  of 
this  sketch.  By  her  he  had  one  son,  John 
Briggs  Mebane,  who  represented  the  county 
in  the  house  of  commons  in  1813,  and  one 
daughter  who  married  Thomas  Hill,  of  Rock- 
ingham county. 

David  Mebane,  the  youngest  son  of  the  patri- 
arch of  the  family  represented  the  county 
of  Orange  in  the  house  of  commons  in  the 
years  1808-10.  He  married  Miss  Ann  Al- 
len, of  the  Hawfields,  and  had  a  large  family 
of  children,  one  of  whom  is  George  A.  Me- 
bane, of  Mason  Hall,  Orange  county.  After 
the  death  of  his  first  wife,  he  married  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Young,  of  Caswell,  by  whom  he 
had  one  daughter.  He  died  several  years- 
before  his  last  wife. 

A  considerable  portion  of  this  numerous- 
family  now  live  in  Orange,  Caswell  and  Guil- 
ford counties,  but  a  large  portion  migrated 
to  the  west  and  now  live  in  various  states — 
Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Indiana,  Arkansas, 
Louisiana,  Kentucky  and  Texas. 

The  substance  of  the  foregoing  sketch  was 
furnished  by  James  Mebane,  Esq.,  of  Cas- 
well county,  who  is  well  known  throughout 
the  state  for  his  good  sense,  his  public  spirit 
and  his  integrity.  It  was  furnished  at  the 
writer's  special  request,  and  for  this  act  of 
courtesy  and  kindness  the  writer  desires  to^ 
express  his  gratitude.  ■  The  sketch  was  pre- 
pared by  Mr.  Mebane  when  he  was  over  sev- 
enty-five years  of  age.  It  contains  many  facts 
of  interest  as  matters  of  history,  and  having 
been  written,  as  it  evidently  was,  with  candor 
and  modesty,  it  will  be  read  with  pleasure  by 
everyone  who  admires  the  spirit  and  charac- 


45° 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ter  of  the  men  who  achieved  our  independ- 
ence. Judging  by  information  received  from 
other  sources,  the  writer  is  of  the  opinion  that 
Mr.  Mebane,  instead  of  exaggerating,  has 
fallen  short  of  the  real  facts,  and  that,  in  all 
honesty  and  fairness,  much  more  concerning 
the  heroism  of  some  of  these  revolutionary 
soldiers  might  have  been  said.  One  Nathan- 
iel Slade,  of  Caswell  county,  with  whom  the 
writer  had  an  interview  some  years  ago,  was 
in  many  battles  with  Colonel  Robert  Mebane. 
From  Slade's  account  of  Colonel  Mebane's 
bravery  and  heroism,  the  description  of  this 
patriot's  part  in  the  war  for  independence  is 
indeed  far  too  modest.  In  describing  the  bat- 
tle mentioned  above,  where  Colonel  Mebane 
disobeyed  orders  and  rallied  the  retreating 
forces,  Slade  said  he  was  not  far  from  Me- 
bane- and  heard  him  giving  orders  in  a  bold 
strong  voice,  "Now  give  it  to  them,  boys, 
fire !"  Slade  said  further  that  this  brave  col- 
onel showed  an  utter  disregard  for  his  own 
safety  when  the  success  of  his  regiment  was 
at  stake. 

In  the  last  will  and  testament  of  Col.  John 
Mebane,  of  Chatham  county,  which  is  dated 
May  the  31st,  1834,  appears  the  following 
clause :  "Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my 
nephew.  Dr.  John  Mebane,  of  Greensboro,  my 
silver-hilted  sword,  it  being  the  first  sword 
taken  from  the  British  in  North  Carolina  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  war,  by  my  brother, 
Col.  Robert  Mebane."  The  sword  mentioned 
in  the  above  extract  was  taken  by  Colonel 
Mebane  from  a  British  officer  somewhere  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Wilmington,  North  Car- 
olina. It  will  probably  be  handed  down  as  a 
kind  of  heirloom  of  the  family  for  generations 
to  come. 

To  recapitulate,  therefore,  the  Mebanes 
came  from  Scotland  to  the  north  of  Ireland, 
and  soon  after  1700  some  of  them  came  over 
and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  Among  the 
most  prominent  were  Col.  Alexander  Mebane 
and  his  brother  AVilliam.  Alexander  Mebane 
was  commissioner,  colonel  and  justice  of  the 
peace  under  the  royal  government.  About 
1745  ne  removed  to  North  Carolina  and  set- 
tled in  the  Hawfields,-in  Orange  county.  He 
married  Mary  Tinnin  in  1741,  and  several  of 
his  children  were  born  before  he  removed 
from  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  devoted  Pres- 
byterian, and  took  an  active  part  in  establish- 
ing this  denomination  in  America.  He  had 
twelve   children,   six  sons  and   six  daughters. 


The  names  of  the  sons,  with  the  descendants 
of  the  second  son,  Alexander,  follow: 

I.  Capt.  William,  born  Pennsylvania, 
1742;  married  (first)  Miss  Abercrombie ;  mar- 
ried (second)   Miss  Rainey. 

II.  Brigadier-General  Alexander,  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  November  26,  1744:  died  Julv 
5,  1795  ;  married,  February,  1767,  Mary  Arm- 
strong; assisted  in  founding  University  of 
North  Carolina,  1789.  Descendants,  four 
sons  and  eight  daughters:  1.  James,  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Dialectic  Society  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  married  Elizabeth 
Kinchin.  Three  sons:  (1)  James;  (2)  William; 
(3)  Dr.  John;  four  or  five  daughters.  2.  Robert. 
3.  Hall.  4.  David,  married  (first)  Miss  Birney ; 
(second)  Annie  Cummins,  who  was  born  1770, 
died  1844;  date  of  marriage,  1804,  died  1819. 
Children  of  second  marriage :  ( 1 )  Dr.  David 
Cummins  Mebane,  born  1805,  died  May  25, 
1866;  married  Susan  E.  Watkins.  (2)  Rev. 
William  Nelson  Mebane,  born  1808,  died 
1859 !  married  Mary  Hays  Aiken.  (3)  Ru- 
hamah   Mebane,   married    Dr.   Thomas   Beaty. 

III.  Col.  Robert,  killed  during  the  Revo- 
lution by  the  Tory,  Hightower. 

IV.  Col.  John,  of  Chatham  count}",  mar- 
ried Sarah  Kinchin ;  son  John  Briggs. 

V.  Col.  James,  married  Margaret  Allen ; 
large  family. 

VI.  David,  married  (first)  Ann  Allen; 
(second)    Elizabeth   Young;   large   family. 

Also  six  daughters. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Col.  Alexander  Mebane,  five  of  his 
sons  became  prominent  in  the  Revolution — 
one  was  a  captain  in  the  militia,  three  were 
colonels,  and  one  was  a  brigadier-general. 
David,  the  youngest  of  the  brothers,  was  too 
young  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, but  near  the  close  of  the  war  did  serve 
two  terms  in  the  militia.  All  were  particu- 
larly distinguished  for  piety  and  courage. 

Let  us  now  take  up  David  Mebane  (num- 
bered 4  above)  and  follow  his  descendants. 
Some  of  David  Mebane's  descendants  think 
that  he  is  a  son  of  Brig.-Gen.  Alexander  Me- 
bane (numbered  II  above),  son  of  the  Col. 
Alexander  Mebane  mentioned  above,  but  oth- 
ers trace  him  back  to  a  AVilliam  Mebane, 
brother  of  this  Col.  Alexander  Mebane.  This 
William  Mebane  is  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the 
first,  buried  in  the  old  Alamance  gravevard, 
near  Greensboro,  North  Carolina.  His  tomb- 
stone   shows    that   he    was    born    in    1728.    and 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


45i 


•died  in  1774.  His  oldest  daughter  was  the 
grandmother  of  Dr.  Calvin  H.  Wiley,  who 
was  the  organizer  of  public  schools  in  North 
■Carolina.  David's  mother  was  Mary  Nelson. 
He  married  Annie  Cummins  in  1804.  Her 
father,  Capt.  Francis  Cummins,  from  Ireland, 
-was  a  captain  in  Light-Horse  Harry  Lee's 
brigade.  Her  mother  was  Miss  Mcllhaney, 
from  Pennsylvania.  Tom  Cummins,  an  un- 
married brother  of  Capt.  Francis  Cummins, 
•was  in  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House. 
He  owned  "Henry's  Commentaries"  in  five 
volumes,  bought  in  London  for  fifty  pounds. 
This  work  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Rev. 
J.  Edwin  Mebane,  a  Presbyterian  minister  of 
West  Virginia.  These  Cumminses  were  a 
pious  folk.  Annie  Cummins  was  pronounced 
by  Governor  Morehead  and  her  pastor  the 
most  brilliant  woman  of  their  acquaintance. 
She  was  equally  noted  for  her  piety.  At  her 
funeral  services  her  pastor  said  he  believed 
-she  knew  'Henry's  Commentaries"  by  heart. 
Probably  it  is  to  her,  fully  as  much  as  to  her  . 
husband,  David  Mebane,  who  died  early,  that 
their  descendants  owe  their  excellence  of 
"blood  as  well  as  of  training.  She  died  in 
1844,  her  husband  having_  died  in  1819. 

Their  youngest  child,  Ruhamah,  married 
Dr.  Thomas  Beaty.  She  was  much  like  her 
mother,  both  in  strength  of  character  and  in 
piety.  One  of  her  grandchildren  is  Rev.  Ar- 
thur Barnes,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  who 
graduated  at  the  head  of  his  class  at  Davidson 
College,  North  Carolina. 

The  second  child  of  David  and  Annie 
Mebane  was  Rev.  William  Nelson  Mebane, 
who  graduated  high  in  his  class  at  Princeton, 
in  the  class  of  Dr.  Alexander  Hodge,  so  well 
known  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  a  pioneer 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  North  Caro- 
lina, and  died  in  1859,  greatly  beloved  and 
honored.  It  is  said  at  his  death,  by  one  who 
well  knew  him  and  his  work  in  North  Caro- 
lina, that  he  was  the'  pioneer  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  and  Christianity  in  that  com- 
munity. The  value  of  his  labors  here  will 
never  be  estimated  till  the  Master  shall  Him- 
self make  up  the  account.  He  found  the 
church  destitute,  ignorant,  careless ;  he  has 
"left  it  strong,  well  taught,  active  and  efficient. 
He  found  the  community  openly  profane  and 
immoral ;  he  has  left  it  one  of  the  most  moral 
and  religious  in  the  state.  He  has  had  help 
in  this  work  from  ministers  of  other  churches, 
but  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  this  is, 
under   God's  direction,  chieflv  his  work.     He 


married  Mary  Hays  Aiken,  by  whom  he  had 
several  children.  One  of  his  sons  is  the  dis- 
tinguished lawyer  and  jurist.  Judge  William 
X.  Mebane,  of  the  superior  court  of  North 
Carolina,  who  was  born  in  1843  an<l  died  in 
1895.  Judge  Mebane  was  a  member  of  the 
house  of  representatives  in  1874-5,  and  of  the 
state  senate  in  1876-7.  He  was  the  author 
of  the  bill  which  re-established  the  Lniversity 
of  Xorth  Carolina  after  it  had  been  closed  by 
carpet-bag  rule.  He  was  considered  by  many 
as  one  of  the  best  lawyers  in  the  state.  He 
married  Lettie  W.  Carter.  Judge  Mebane 
was  awarded  the  degree  A.  B.  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  causa  honoris,  he 
having  left  college  in  the  middle  of  his  course 
to  enter  the  Confederate  army,  where  he  re- 
mained through  the  whole  Civil  war,  attain-  , 
ing  the  rank  of  captain.  His  oldest  son,  Frank 
C.  Mebane,  an  attorney,  formerly  residing  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  but  now  practicing  his  profes- 
sion in  New  York  City,  graduated  at  the  head 
of  his  class  at  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina in  1892. 

Another  son  of  William  Nelson  Mebane, 
Sr.,  was  David  Cummins  Mebane,  famous  as  , 
"the  last  man  killed"  in  the  Confederate  army 
on  its  retreat  from  Petersburg.  When  Gen- 
eral Lee  called  for  two  volunteers  to  burn  the 
Pocahontas  bridge  across  the  Appomattox 
river  at  Petersburg,  Lindsay  Wall  (now  liv- 
ing at  Madison,  North  Carolina)  and  Cum- 
mins Mebane  answered  the  call,  well  knowing 
that  it  meant  almost  certain  death.  When 
the  bridge  was  on  fire  and  the  work  about  fin-  , 
ished,  a  cannon  shot  took  the  life  of  young 
Mebane.  He  had  gone  into  the  army  as  a 
volunteer  at  the   age  of   sixteen.  , 

The  oldest  son  of  David  and  Annie  Cummins 
Mebane  was  Dr.  David  Cummins  Mebane,  father 
of  (the  subject  of  this  sketch)  Dr.  David 
Cummins  Mebane,  Jr.,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania. He  was  born  in  i8o5_,  and  died  at 
Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  in  1866.  He  was 
married  to  Susan  Elizabeth  Watkins  in  1845. 
He  was  a  man  of  liberal  and  classical  edu- 
cation, a  Whig  in  politics,  a  Presbyterian  of 
strong  convictions  in  his  religion,  and  a  phy- 
sician by  profession.  For  nearly  twenty-five 
years  he  was  an  honored  and  useful  ruling 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Greens- 
boro. North  Carolina.  It  is  hard  to  say 
whether  Dr.  Mebane  was  more  noted  as  a 
physician  or  as  a  church-worker  and  officer; 
but.  above  everything  else,  he  impressed  all 
as   a  man  of   God.     The  following  extract   is 


452 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


from  his  obituary,  written  by  his  pastor,  Dr. 
Jacob  Henry  Smith,  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church : 

"The  death  of  Dr.  Mebane  is  a  sad  loss 
in  every  circle  of  life  in  which  he  moved,  as 
husband  and  father,  as  Christian  and  ruling 
elder,  as  citizen  and  physician.  With  his  be- 
reaved family  the  church  mourns,  and  espe- 
cially the  families  of  the  poor,  among  whom 
he  so  constantly  ministered  almost  gratui- 
tously as  a  physician,  and  in  whose  spiritual 
welfare  he  was  ever  deeply  interested.  Dr. 
Mebane  carried  his  religion  with  him  at  all 
times,  in  all  places  and  under  all  circum- 
stances. He  was  everywhere  and  by  every- 
body known  revered  and  loved  as  a  genuine, 
benevolent,  active  man  of  God.  A  sadder  loss 
will  be  realized  and  in  more  families,  by  his 
death,  than  that  of  any  other  in  our  whole 
community.  Scores  and  hundreds  will  rise 
up  and  attest  his  worth,  his  Christian  useful- 
ness and  universal  activity,  and  call  him 
blessed.  He  leaves  a  memory  behind,  which 
to  his  family,  to  his  church  and  to  our  com- 
munity, is  a  rich  and  priceless  treasure. 

In  looking  up  Dr.  Mebane,  on  his  moth- 
er's side  we  find  that  in  1760  there  was  re- 
corded in  Cumberland  county,  Virginia,  the 
will  of  a  Thomas  Watkins.  His  eldest  son 
was  Thomas  Watkins,  of  Chickahominy,  who 
died  in  1783.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Anderson. 
They  reared  four  sons  and  seven  daughters. 
Henry  was  a  distinguished  captain  in  the  Rev- 
olution ;  Susan  became  the  wife  of  the  cele- 
brated Col.  William  Morton,  another  hero 
of  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House.  The 
family  were  generally  noted  for  industry  and 
probity. 

The  third  son  was  Joel  Watkins,  of  Wood 
Fork,  Charlotte  county,  Virginia,  who  mar- 
ried Agnes,  a  sister  to  Colonel  Morton,  just 
mentioned.  Among  the  papers  of  the  famous 
John  Randolph  was  found  the  following : 

"On  Sunday,  the  second  of  January,  de- 
parted this  life  at  an  advanced  age,  beloved, 
honored  and  lamented  by  all  who  knew  him, 
Col.  Joel  Watkins,  of  the  county  of  Charlotte 
and  state  of  Virginia.  Without  shining  abil- 
ities or  the  advantages  of  an  education,  by 
plain,  straightforward  industry,  under  the 
guidance  of  an  old-fashioned  honesty  and 
practical  good-sense,  he  accumulated  an  am- 
ple fortune,  in  which,  it  is  firmly  believed, 
there  was  not  one  dirty  shilling.  These  fruits 
of  his  own  labors  he  distributed  with  a 
promptitude    and    liberality    seldom    equalled 


and  never  surpassed,  in  suitable  provision  to- 
his  children  at  their  entrance  into  life,  and 
on  every  deserving  object  of  private  beaevo- 
lence  or  public  spirit,  reserving  to  himself  the- 
means  of  a  generous  but  unostentatious  hos- 
pitality. Nor  was  he  liberal  with  his  money 
only.  His  time,  his  trouble,  were  never  with- 
held on  the  bench  or  in  his  neighborhood, 
when  they  could  be  usefully  employed.  If, 
as  we  are  assured,  peace-makers  are  blessed, 
who  shall  feel  stronger  assurance  of  bliss  than 
this  man  as  he'passed  to  an  unknown  world?'" 
The  three  youngest  children  of  this  Joel 
and  Agnes  Morton  Watkins  were  Henry  A.,. 
William  N.  and  Jane,  wife  of  Col.  Clemment 
Carrington.  Their  second  child  was  Susanna, 
who  first  married  William  P.  Hunt,  of  Mary- 
land, and  became  the  mother  of  James  and! 
Ruth  H.  Hunt  and  of  Rev.  Thomas  P.  Hunt, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Thomas  P. 
Hunt  married  Ann  M.  Field,  and  two  of  their- 
children,  Miss  Susan  C.  Hunt  and  Mrs.  A.  M. 
Wells,  are  now  living  at  146  North  Frank- 
lin street,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.. 
Susanna  Hunt,  after  the  death  of  her  first  hus- 
band, became  the  wife  of  the  celebrated  Pres- 
byterian divine,  Dr.  Moses  D.  Hoge,  of  Rich- 
mond, Virginia.  The  oldest  child  of  Joel  and 
Agnes  Morton  Watkins  was  Polly  W,  who 
married  John  Dupuy,  of  a  Virginia  family- 
of  Huguenot  descent,  noted  for  piety  and! 
ability.  They  had  seven  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters. The  oldest  daughter  was  Susan,  who 
married  Benjamin  Watkins,  of  Pittsylvania 
county,  Virginia.  He  seems  to  have  belonged 
to  the  same  family  as  the  Watkinses  above 
mentioned,  and  to  have  inherited  their  char- 
acteristics. He  was  a  man  of  large  means,  of" 
fine  social  gifts,  liberal,  upright,  and  in  the 
latter  third  of  his  long  life  (he  was  eighty- 
nine  years  at  his  death)  a  man  of  exemplary  piety.. 
He  was  the  father  of  the  Cascade  Presbyterian, 
Church  in  Pittsylvania  county,  which  was  be- 
gun and  principally  guided  under  his  support: 
and  by  his  means  and  energy.  This,  and  the 
fact  that  all  their  twelve  children  became- 
pious  men  and  women,  was  probably  due  in 
large  measure  to  the  wife  and  mother.  From- 
them  are  descended  numerous  prominent  peo- 
ple in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina — Pres- 
byterians— quite  a  number  of  whom  are  prom- 
inent ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  that  church. 
The  third  child  was  Susan  Elizabeth,  who- 
married  Dr.  D.  C.  Mebane,  of  Greensboro, 
North  Carolina,  and  these  became  the  parents- 
of  Dr.  D.  C.  Mebane,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 


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THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


453 


sylvania.  She  was  born  June  the  4th,  1823, 
•and  died  March  the  3rd,  1891.  One  who  knew 
her  well  and  measures  his  words  wrote  of 
her :  "She  was  a  woman  of  devoted  piety ; 
confessing  Christ  in  girlhood,  she  submitted 
herself  through  life  to  His  Spirit.  She  loved 
Jesus.  She  prayed  much  to  God.  Her  Bible 
was  her  delight.  Her  piety  was  humble,  sin- 
cere, real.  She  was  remarkably  faithful.  She 
was  all  the  time  industriously  doing  her  task, 
and  doing  it  the  very  best  she  could.  Hers 
was  a  life  of  unremitting  toil ;  in  the  spirit  of 
obedience  she  served.  Among  the  faithful 
■she  was  distinguished  by  rare  unselfishness. 
She  was  loved  as  a  mother  by  all  her  ten  sons 
and  daughters  and  twelve  grandchildren ;  and 
now  they  are  saying  to  one  another,  'how  un- 
selfish our  mother  was'." 

I.  Summary. — The  Mebanes,  the  Cumminses, 
the  Watkinses,  and  the  Dupuys  were  all 
characterized  by  piety,  probity,  patriotism,  and 
public  spirit ;  had  industry  and  measura- 
ble success  in  means  and  honors,  and  each 
of  the  four  strains  showed  persons  of  ability 
and  eminence.  Perhaps  the  Cumminses  and 
the  Dupuys  contributed  most  of  piety  and 
genius ;  the  Watkinses  and  the  Mebanes,  most 
of  thrift  and  strength.  But  it  is  an  ancestry 
combining  all  elements  of  noble  worth,  and 
without  a  stain. 

II.  His  Brothers  and  Sisters.  The  fam- 
ily remained  in  Greensboro,  North  Carolina, 
after  the  death  of  the  father,  educating  the 
daughters  in  the  seminary  there.  In  1874 
they  removed  to  Davidson  College  to  edu- 
cate the  sons.  In  1880  it  broke  up,  the  mother 
afterward  living  with  her  children.  Passing 
over  the  children  that  died  young,  and  Robert 
Lee  Mebane,  who  was  accidentally  drowned 
in  1880,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  still  mourned 
as  the  loveliest  of  all,  there  remained  the  fol- 
lowing: Mary  Ellen,  wife  of  Rev.  F.  P.  Ram- 
say, Ph.  D.,  (University  of  Chicago,  where 
he  won  a  fellowship),  now  president  of  King 
College,  Bristol,  Tennessee,  a  Presbyterian 
minister.  He  graduated  first  in  his  class  at 
Davidson  College,  taking  the  debater's  medal 
and  the  orator's  medal  while  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  junior  class.  He  is  a  man  of  won- 
derful industry,  a  devoted,  painstaking  stu- 
dent of  God's  word,  and,  possessing  withal 
graet  physical  endurance,  and  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  acute  thinkers 
in  the  ministry  of  his  denomination.  He  is 
the  author  of  "Exposition  of  the  Book  of 
Church   Order,"   and   of  a  number  of  articles 


in  biblical  interpretation.  He  is  an  able 
preacher  and  has  oratorical  abilities  of  a  high 
order.  As  a  teacher  he  has  rare  facility  in 
imparting  knowledge,  and  .  his  scholarship  is 
recognized  by  competent  judges  as  extraordi- 
nary, not  only  in  its  thoroughness  but  also 
in  its  scope.  In  view  of  his  remarkable  men- 
tal equipment,  he  would  adorn  almost  any 
chair  in  any  of  the  great  universities  of  this 
country.  They  have  four  children,  the  eldest 
(twenty-three  years  of  age)  a  Ph.  D.  of  John 
Hopkins  University,  and  tutor  in  that  institution. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Watkins  Mebane,  D.  D., 
Mt.  Airy,  North  Carolina,  a  Presbyterian 
minister.  Graduating  first  in  his  class  at  Da- 
vidson College,  he  delivered  the  valedictory, 
won  the  debater's  medal,  and  was  commence- 
ment president.  He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  intellectual  men  in  the  Southern  Church, 
and  is  a  scholarly  and  eloquent  preacher.  He 
has  been  unusually  successful  in  the  pastor- 
ate, having  that  happy  faculty  of  enlisting  the 
attention  and  winning  the  affections  of  young 
as  well  as  old,  both  as  pastor  and  preacher. 
He  married  Bettie  G  Carter.  They  have 
three  children  living,  the  son  a  physician,  now 
interne  in  hospital  in  Charlotte,  North  Carolina. 

Susan  Agnes,  wife  of  Mr.  F.  M.  Ramsay 
(brother  of  Dr.  F.  P.  Ramsay  above  men- 
tioned), Laredo,  Texas.  He  is  an  unusually 
successful  merchant,  has  been  called  to  the 
office  of  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
is  a  leader  in  liberality  and  public  enterprise. 
They  have  three  children. 

Rev.  William  Nelson  Mebane,  Ph.  D. 
(University  of  Chicago),  Dublin,  Virginia, 
Presbyterian  minister.  He  graduated  third 
in  his  class  at  Davidson  College,  North  Car- 
olina, but  has  since  surpassed  all  the  rest  of 
his  family  in  scholarship,  and  has  attained 
eminence  as  a  teacher.  He  studied  theology 
at  Columbia  and  at  Princeton,  and  after  com- 
pleting his  Ph.  D.  course  in  Semitic  lan- 
guages and  literature  at  the  University  of 
Chicago,  where  he  won  a  fellowship,  he  stud- 
ied in  Germany  and  Switzerland.  At  one  time 
be  was  acting  professor  of  Greek  and  German 
at  Davidson  College,  North  Carolina ;  at  an- 
other, professor  of  Greek  and  German  at 
Federicksburg  College,  Virginia,  and  later 
professor  of  Latin  and  modern  languages  at 
Hanover  College,  Indiana,  now  occupying  the 
same  chair  in  King  College,  Bristol,  Tennes- 
see. He  married  Evelyn  P.  Kent,  and  they 
have  two  children  living. 

Dr.  David  Cummins  Mebane  himself,  now 


454 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in 
Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  April  the  third, 
1856.  He  was  educated  at  Davidson  College 
and  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
from  which  institution  he  received  the  degree 
of  M.  D.  in  18S3.  The  same  year  he  settled 
in  Parsons,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  did  a 
large  general  practice  in  medicine  for  twelve 
years.  In  1895  he  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  and  has  practiced  his  profes- 
sion in  that  city  ever  since.  He  resides  at 
62  West  Union  street.  He  is  also  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  City  Pharmacy,  60  North  Main 
street,  where  he  conducts  a  dispensary  and 
treats  a  large  number  of  patients  daily.  On 
September  21,  1887,  he  married  Jessie  Sper- 
ring,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Her 
father,  William  Hewitt  Sperring  (a  promi- 
nent merchant  on  "Public  Square"  in  the  six- 
ties), married  Jane  Ann,  the  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Catherine  Stacker,  of  Plains, 
Pennsylvania.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mebane  have 
four  children  :  Tom,  the  oldest,  aged  sixteen  ; 
Ramsay,  D.  Cummins,  Jr.,  and  Jessie.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  affairs  of  his 
adopted  city  and  state.  To  perpetuate  the 
traditions  of  his  family  and  to  prove  worth}' 
of  his  father,  whose  name  and  profession  he 
bears,  is  his  highest  ambition. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  REICHARD.  Among 
the  few  men  who  have  been  connected  with  one 
industry  for  more  than  four  decades  and  have 
seen  it  grow  from  a  very  small  beginning  to  gi- 
gantic proportions  is  to  be  named  William  Henry 
Reichard,  superintendent  of  the  wire  drawing  de- 
partment of  the  Hazard  Manufacturing  Company 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  in  which  capacity  he  has  served 
since  1880.  He  comes  of  a  long  line  of  iron 
workers,  being  in  the  fifth  generation  from  George 
Reichard,  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  ironmas- 
ters, and  connected  with  this  industry  near  Read- 
ing, Pennsylvania,  in  the  early  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century. 

The  Reichard  family  is  traced  back  to  the 
Dutch  settlers  who  located  in  New  York  in  1625. 
George  Reichard  (grandfather),  who  was  born 
near  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  son  of  George 
Reichard,  mentioned  above  as  being  connected 
with  the  iron  industry  in  its  early  stages,  was 
also  an  ironmaster.  He  came  to  East  Penn,  and 
there  had  charge  of  the  iron  works,  having  prev- 
iously learned  the  trade  of  forgeman.  He  took 
an  active  interest  in  religious  matters,  and  lib- 
erally supported  the  churches  of  his  day.    He  re- 


mained a  resident  of  East  Penn  until  his  death,. 
at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  He  was  twice  mar- 
ried. By  his  first  wife,  who  died  young,  he  had 
six  children.  By  his  second  wife  he  had  four 
children,  and  of  the  former  one  son,  Owen,  de- 
ceased, and  one  daughter,  Mrs.  Fred  Kugler,  a 
resident  of  Sandy  Run,  Pennsylvania.  The 
mother  of  these  children  died  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-two years.  His  first  wife,  Hattie  Frantz,  was  a 
descendant  of  a  Dutch  family,  which  came  to 
Pennsylvania  in  pioneer  days.  Her  father  was 
contemporary  with  the  Indians  of  that  time,  with 
whom  he  was  verv  friendly,  accompanied  them 
on  their  hunting  trips,  and  they  never  harmed 
him  or  bore  toward  him  any  ill  will.  'Sir.  Frantz 
married  a  Miss  Clater,  but  some  of  her  brothers 
and  sisters  were  less  fortunate  than  her  husband,, 
for  one  evening,  while  gathering  wild  grapes, 
they  were  suddenly  set  upon  by  the  savages  and 
killed.  Their  bodies  were  buried  near  Lehigh- 
ton,  and  a  stone  with  an  appropriate  inscription 
was  erected  to  their  memory  by  the  Historical 
Society  of  that  section. 

Simon  Reichard,  son  of  George  Reichard, 
and  father  of  William  H.  Reichard.  whose  name 
heads  this  sketch,  was  born  near  Reading,  Penn- 
sylvania, August  13,  1832.  He  was  reared  at  East 
Penn,  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  learned 
the  trade  of  forgeman.  When  the  business  of 
wire  drawing  was  in  its  infancy  he  was  among 
the  first  in  this  country  to  learn  that  trade. 
Fisher  Hazard  had  begun  in  a  small  way  the- 
manufacture  of  wire  rope  in  1848.  and  after  com- 
pleting his  trade  in  1858  Mr.  Reichard  took  a  po- 
sition with  Mr.  Hazard,  and  in  1863  became  su- 
perintendent of  the  business  at  Mauch  Chunk,  re- 
maining there  until  1885.  when  part  of  the  busi- 
ness was  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the  pres- 
ent plant  was  built,  after  which  he  retired  from 
active  pursuits.  He  was  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  a  councilman  at  Mauch  Chunk  for  four 
terms,  and  was  a  man  well  known  and  highly  re- 
spected in  that  section.  He  married  Rebecca 
Romig,  a  native  of  Montgomery  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  a  representative  of  an  early-  German 
family  who  landed  in  New  York  in  1625.  Her 
father,  Daniel  Romig,  was  a  farmer  and  came 
from  Kutztown  to  Carbon  county,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  dying  at  the  age  of 
eighty-seven  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reichard  had 
eleven  children,  seven  of  whom  are  still  living: 
William  Henry,  mentioned  hereinafter :  Mrs. 
Will  Geidner,  residing  in  Wilkes-Barre :  Alfred 
A.,  who  is  employed  by  his  brother,  William 
Henry ;  Sarah,  wife  of  William  H.  Rex,  and  they 
reside  at  Mauch   Chunk :   Mrs.   Joseph   Walker, 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


455 


of  Wilkes-Barre ;  Morris  A.,  employed  as  night 
foreman  of  the  Hazard  Manufacturing  Company ; 
Clemson,  also  connected  with  the  same  concern. 
The  father  of  these  children  died  in  1890,  aged 
fifty-seven  years,  and  the  mother  also  died  at  the 
same  age,  their  deaths  being  but  five  weeks  apart. 

William  H.  Reichard  was  born  in  East  Penn, 
Carbon  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  10,  1851.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  adjacent  to  his  home, 
and  from  an  early  age  foresaw  that  an  education 
would  be  one  of  the  prime  factors  in  his  future 
career,  and,  therefore,  although  working  hard 
during  the  day  prepared  himself  by  attending  the 
night  school  for  four  years,  after  which  he  en- 
tered the  high  school  at  Mauch  Chunk  and  there 
completed  his  studies.  Under  the  instruction  of 
his  father  he  carefully  mastered  all  of  the  various 
details  connected  with  the  manufacture  of  wire 
rope,  particularly  that  part  known  as  "wire  draw- 
ing," in  which  he  became  an  expert.  At  this 
time  there  were  only  four  "wire  drawers"  em- 
ployed by  his  father,  and  in  all  only  eleven  men. 
He  gave  careful  attention  to  every  detail,  won 
the  confidence  of  his  employer,  and  was  promoted 
to  the  position  of  foreman  in  1880.  The  Hazard 
Manufacturing  Company  was  formed  in  1876, 
and  purchased  the  interest  of  Fisher  Hazard,  and 
in  1880  part  of  the  wire  drawing  department  was 
removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Mr.  Reichard  came 
here  to  take  charge  of  the  same.  From  that  time 
the  business  has  constantly  increased  until  now 
(1905)  he  has  under  his  supervision  about  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  men.  All  the  latest  im- 
proved machinery  is  used  by  this  company,  and 
the  output  from  his  department  is  today  (1906) 
as  much  in  a  week  as  it  was  in  a  year  when  he 
began  the  business  forty-five  years  ago.  With 
one  exception  he  is  the  only  man  left  in  the  em- 
ploy of  the  concern  who  began  with  it  when  he 
did,  and  it  is  hardly  presuming  too  much  to  say 
that  there  are  probably  not  ten  men  in  the  United 
States  who  have  remained  with  one  concern  as 
long  as  Mr.  Reichard  has  been  with  this  one. 

Mr.  Reichard  has  taken  an  active  interest  in 
the  various  social  and  fraternal  organizations  of 
his  adopted  city.  He  is  a  lover  of  the  rod  and 
gun,  and  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Rod  and 
Gun  Club.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Heptas- 
ophs,  and  No.  1  Fire  Engine  Company  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  In  addition  to  these  he  has  taken  con- 
siderable interest  in  Masonry.  In  1882  he  joined 
Landmark  Lodge,  No.  442,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  passed  the  chairs,  and  served  as  worship- 
ful master  in  1897.  In  1892  he  joined  Shekinah 
Chapter,  No.  182,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  is  now 
(1906)  serving  as  king.     He  was  made  a  mem- 


ber of  Mount  Horeb  Council,  No.  34,  Royal  and 
Select  Masters,  in  1900,  and  (1905)  served  as 
thrice  illustrious  grand  master.  He  was  knighted 
in  Dieu  Le  Veut  Commandery,  No.  45,  Knights 
Templar,  in  1892,  and  became  eminent  com- 
mander in  1901  and  1902.  In  1900  he  was  made 
a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  in  Scranton  Con- 
sistory in  the  valley  of  Scranton,  and  served  as 
royal  prince  master  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
degrees  in  1902.  The  above  will  show  the  active 
work  which  he  has  done  in  Masonic  circles,  and 
the  fidelity  that  has  characterized  his  labor  in  the 
past  is  a  matter  of  pleasure  to  members  of  the 
various  bodies,  and  it  is  fair  to  presume  that 
higher  honors  are  in  store  for  him  in  the  near  fu- 
ture. When  Iran  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S., 
was  instituted  at  the  Oasis  of  Wilkes-Barre,  he 
traveled  to  the  hot  sands. 

While  in  no  sense  a  politician,  Mr.  Reichard 
has  felt  that  his  duty  requires  him  to  do  what  he 
can  to  advance  the  interest  of  the  city,  and  in 
1898  he  accepted  a  nomination  and  was  elected 
to  the  city  council,  being  the  first  councilman 
elected  in"  the  eleventh  ward  under  third-class 
city  laws.  Two  months  later  he  was  elected  joint 
chairman  of  the  fire  committee,  and  served  as  such 
for  two  vears,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was 
re-elected  to  the  select  council  and  was  elected 
president  of  that  body,  which  position  he  still 
holds.  By  virtue  of  this  office  he  is  also  presi- 
dent and  director  of  the  Fire  Relief  Association 
of  Wilkes-Barre.  A  Republican  in  politics,  he  al- 
ways endeavors  to  secure  the  best  government 
possible  for  the  people,  regardless  of  party,  and 
is  ever  keenly  alive  to  everything  which  concerns 
the  well-being  of  his  city,  state  and  nation. 

Mr.  Reichard  was  married  to  Anna  E.  Will- 
iams in  1872.  She  was  born  in  Odessa,  Dela- 
ware, daughter  of  George  E.  and  Sarah  A.  (Bar- 
low) Williams,  of  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania, 
the  former  named  a  native  of  Philadelphia.  Mrs. 
Reichard  comes  of  an  old  and  highly  influential 
family  which  has  been  traced  back  to  the  "May- 
flower," many  members  having  occupied  positions 
of  prominence  in  the  affairs  of  both  church  and 
state.  Two  members  of  this  family  served  in 
congress  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, one  being  Hon.  Joseph  Flanigan,  of  Phila- 
delphia, Pennsylvania,  and  the  other  Hon.  John 
Miller.  Another  member  of  the  family  was  a 
minister  of  the  Methodist  denomination,  and  sev- 
eral others  have  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  Moravian  denomination.  Her  great- 
grandfather, George  Conway,  was  the  owner  of 
a  large  farm  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  river, 
near  Swedesboro,  New  Jersey.     He  was  an  Epis- 


456 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


copalian,  and  in  the  old  Episcopal  Church  records 
are  to  be  found  the  names  and  dates  ofbaptism  of 
all  his  children.  Her  grandfather,  Thomas  A. 
Williams,  born  on  the  high  seas,  was  a  soldier  of 
the  war  of  1812,  and  during  this  time  wrote  a 
number  of  letters  to  his  wife,  of  a  very  interesting 
character,  which  are  now  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society.  Her 
father,  George  E.  Williams,  married  Sarah  A. 
Barlow,  daughter  of  Thomas  A.  Barlow  and 
Ann  (Briton)  Barlow.  Mrs.  Reichard  was  one 
of  ten  children,  five  of  whom  are  living:  Sally, 
wife  of  John  W.  Lee,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland ; 
Thomas  A.,  owner  of  a  large  ranch  in  Texas,  and 
father  of  two  sons,  one  a  lawyer  and  one  a  physi- 
cian; Mrs.  Henry  Fullnier,  of  Pittsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania; Silviana,  wife  of  George  Hartley,  of 
Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey ;  and  Mrs.  Robert  Nat- 
tress,  of  Mauch  Chunk.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams 
are  deceased,  and  their  remains  are  interred  at 
Mauch  Chunk.  Mrs.  Reichard  is  a  cousin  of  the 
well-known  and  prominent  attorney  of  Phila- 
delphia, Thomas  A.  Barlow. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reichard  have  two  chidren: 
Nettie  E.,  born  April  13,  1874,  married  Frank 
Craig,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children : 
Warren  William,  born  February  21,  1900;  and 
Anna  Christine,  born  March  24,  1905  ;  they  re- 
side at  No.  64  Humphreys  Avenue,  Bayonne, 
New  Jersey.  S.  Warren,  born  June  8,  1878,  now 
a  practicing  physician  of  Wilkes-Barre,  in  which 
city  he  resides  and  where  he  enjoys  a  large  prac- 
tice. He  is  serving  as  poor  director  of  the  city  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  examiner  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley  Traction  Company.  He  married  Marie 
Bossert,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  child, 
William  H.  Reichard,  Jr.     (See  sketch). 

H.  E.  H. 

FREDERICK  VANDERVEER  ROCKA- 
FELLOW.  The  name  Rockefeller  means  "rock"' 
and  "field,"  and  is  derived  from  the  Norman- 
French  Roquefeuille.  The  ancestral  castle  is  at 
Lanquedoc,  France.  The  Rockafellow  family,  of 
which  the  late  Frederick  V.  Rockafellow,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  was  a  member,  traces  its  ancestry 
to  Peter  Rockafeller,  who  was  naturalized  July, 
1730,  signed  "Articles  of  Order  and  Discipline" 
adopted  at  the  dedication  of  the  Calvinistic  High 
Dutch  Church  at  Ringoes,  New  Jersey.  Decem- 
ber 1,  1749,  and  whose  will,  probated  December 
6,  1763,  exempts  the  graveyard  at  Ringoes.  Wil- 
liam Rockefeller,  son  of  Peter,  was  the  father  of 
a  son  Andrew,  and  he  in  turn  was  the  father  of 
Christopher  Rockafeller,  father  of  Ferdinand  V. 
Rockafellow.      William    Rockefeller    and    Jacob 


Vasseler  Jacobus  Winterstein,  great-grandfathers 
of  Ferdinand  V.  Rockafellow,  serveu  in  the  revo- 
lutionary war. 

Ferdinand  Vanderveer  Rockafellow,  born  at 
Somerville,  New  Jersey,  September  17,  1826, 
died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August  17, 
1905.  He  came  to  Wilkes-Barre,  September  17, 
1855,  was  clerk  in  C.  B.  Fisher's  store  four  years, 
cashier  in  the  bank  of  Charles  B.  Drake  two 
years,  and  partner  with  A.  H.  Emley  in  the 
banking  business  until  1869,  when  he  established 
a  bank  of  his  own,  and  for  years  was  the  oldest 
living  banker  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  served  in  the 
city  council,  was  school  director,  treasurer  of  the 
borough  of  Wilkes-Barre  four  years,  and  city 
treasurer  twenty  years.  July  7,  1850,  he  married 
Julia  Jane  Ayres,  of  Bound  Brook,  New  Jersey. 
They  have  two  children :  Charles  Frederick,  and 
Grace  Ferdinand. 

Julia  Jane  (Ayres)  Rockafellow,  wife  of  Fer- 
dinand V.  Rockafellow,  traces  ancestry  on  her 
father's  side  (Ayres)  back  to  1066,  when  the 
name  Eyre  (Air)  was  given  by  William  the  Con- 
queror to  one  of  his  followers  (Truelove)  for  a 
noble  deed  at  the  battle  of  Hastings.  After  the 
battle  he  gave  him  lands  in  Derby,  and  a  crest. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  Sylvanus  Ayres,  son  of 
Moses,  son  of  Jonathan,  son  of  Nathaniel,  son  of 
John,  son  of  Obadiah,  son  of  John,  born  in  New- 
berry, England,  1592,  who  with  others  came  to 
the  Massachusetts  colony  about  1630,  and  settled 
permanently  at  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  died  in  1657.  The  homestead  facing  the  Mer- 
rimac  river  has  since  been  continuously  occupied 
by  his  descendants.  The  late  Captain  John  Ayres 
was  its  last  owner.  In  1.665  Obadiah,  youngest 
son  of  the  emigrant  John,  with  his  father-in-law, 
John  Pike,  ancestor  of  General  Zebulon  Mont- 
gomery Pike,  and  others  from  Massachusetts,  set- 
tled the  six  miles  square  now  comprising  the 
town  of  Woodbridge,  New  Jersey,  which  they 
named  in  honor  of  their  pastor.  John,  son  of 
Obadiah,  with  others  settled  Basking  Ridge,  New 
Jersey,  in  17 17.  In  1721  John  Ayres  conveyed 
lands  to  trustees  on  which  the  church  was  built, 
and  on  which  the  present  church  stands.  Nath- 
aniel Ayres,  son  of  John,  was  judge  of  common 
pleas,  Somerset  county,  New  Jersey,  1779-80-81. 
Captain  Jacob  Smalley,  Caleb  Brokaw,,  and  John 
Fisher,  great-grandfathers  of  Julia  Jane  (Ayres) 
Rockafellow,  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Julia  Jane  (Ayres)  Rockafellow  is  a  great- 
great-granddaughter  of  Hendrick  Fisher,  born 
in  Holland,  1697,  died  at  Bound  Brook,  New  Jer- 
sey, 1779.  He  was  the  first  president  of  old 
Queens  College   (now  Rutgers),  member  of  the 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


457 


colonial  assembly  of  New  Jersey  from  1745  to 
1775,  represented  New  Jersey  in  the  congress 
called  by  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  which 
met  in  New  York  from  1765  until  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  issued,  July  4,  1776, 
president  of  the  important  provincial  congress 
which  met  at  Trenton  in  May,  1775  ;  chairman  of 
the  committee  of  safety;  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee of  grievances  which  in  1775  sent  to  his 
Majesty  King  George  a  petition  asking  for  a  re- 
dress of  the  "Grievances  under  which  the  Colon- 
ies are  now  laboring."  He  was  chairman  of  the 
standing  committee  of  correspondence  and  in- 
quiry, whose  duty  was  to  obtain  the  earliest 
■possible  intelligence  of  all  acts  and  resolutions  of 
the  parliament  of  Great  Britain  that  might  affect 
the  colonies.  The  committee  on  grievances,  of 
which  he  was  elected  chairman,  January  16,  1774, 
presented  a  report  to  the  assembly  which  the 
house  adopted,  rehearsing  the  following  griev- 
ances, which  significantly  enough  were  actually 
embodied  afterward  in  Jefferson's  Declaration  of 
Independence :  "A  standing  army  kept  in  the 
colonies  without  their  consent ;  Assemblies  in- 
juriously dissolved:  Commerce  burdened  with 
restrictions  ;  heavy  duties  imposed  by  Parliament ; 
trial  by  jury  abolished:  enormous  forfeitures  for 
slight  offences ;  vexatious  informers  exempted 
from  paying  damages  :  trial  in  England  for  of- 
fences committed  in  America  :  deprivation  of  trial 
"by  peers,  etc.,  etc.  These  were  no  doubt  classi- 
fied and  written  by  Hendrick  Fisher,  and  it  is  a 
compliment  to  his  honored  memory  that  the  great 
Jefferson  found  them  accurately  and  concisely 
enough  stated  to  embodv  them  in  his  Declar- 
ation. H.  E.  H. 

PETTEBONE.  The  Pettebone  family  of  the 
Wyoming  Vallev  has  long  been  there  resident, 
and  its  record  fully  justifies  the  remarks  made 
by  one  of  its  representatives  (Jacob  S.  Pette- 
bone) at  a  recent  family  reunion :  "The  family 
took  an  active  part  in  the  struggle  for  freedom, 
in  which  struggle  many  of  them  lost  their  lives. 
Since  that  time,  I  am  happy  to  say,  the  history 
of  the  family  has  been,  on  the  whole,  equally  hon- 
orable." It  is  to  be  here  noted  that  the  Wyoming 
Valley  branch  of  the  family,  about  1850,  changed 
the  family  name  from  its  original  form  of  Petti- 
bone  to  that  of  Pettebone. 

John  Pettibone,  the  founder  of  the  family  in 
America,  was  a  native  of  France,  and  among 
"those  Huguenots  who  forsook  their  active  land  to 
escane  religious  persecution.  He  took  refuge  in 
"the  British  Isles,  where  he  allied  himself  with  the 
-royalists,  thus  incurring  the  displeasure  of  Crom- 


well and  Parliament,  and  he  emigrated  to  Amer- 
ica at  some  time  between  1640  and  1650.  His 
name  appears  as  a  freeman  at  Windsor,  Connec- 
ticut, in  1658.  In  1669  he  was  among  the  first 
settlers  at  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  where  he  died, 
July  15,  1 713,  his  wife  having  died  one  week  be- 
fore. He  married  at  Windsor,  February  16, 
1664,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Bigot  Eggleston.  They 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children :  John,  born 
June  15,  1665.  Sarah,  born  September  24,  1667. 
Stephen,  born  October  3,  1669 ;  see  forward. 
Samuel,  born  September  2,  1672 ;  died  February 
11,  1747.  Rebecca,  born  March  9,  1675;  died 
October  13,  1731.  Henry,  born  June  20,  1677. 
Ann,  born  March  11,  1679.  Benjamin,  born 
May  28,  1682;  died  March  12,  1705.  Joseph, 
born  March  11,  1688;  died  September  14,  1762. 

Stephen  (2)  married  for  his  first  wife  De- 
borah, daughter  of  Samuel  Bissel.  Their  chil- 
dren: Stephen,  died  December  11,  1750.  Jacob, 
born  1710;  died  November  19,  1772.  Noah, 
born  April  16,  1714:  died  March  25,  1791 ;  see 
forward.  David,  born  April  18,  1716,  died  Octo- 
ber 3,  1719.    Thankful,  born  December  19,  1721. 

Noah  (3)  married  (first)  Huldah  Williams, 
and  (second)  Phebe  Tubbs.  All  his  children 
were  by  the  first  marriage :  Esther,  born  June, 
1748;  died  May  1,  1833.  Huldah,  born  August, 
1749.  Noah,  Jr.,  born  November,  1751  ;  died 
July  3,  1778.  Hannah,  bom  October  18,  1753. 
Stephen,  born  September,  1755 ;  died  February 
10,  1779.  Dolly,  born  June  9,  1757.  Lydia,  born 
December,  1759.  Oliver,  born  May  13,  1762; 
died  March  17,  1832. 

Noah  Pettebone,  Sr.,  came  to  Wyoming  Val- 
ley from  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  in  1769,  bring- 
ing with  him  his  three  sons,  his  first  wife  having 
previously  died.  He  and  his  son  Oliver  were  in 
Forty  Fort  at  the  time  of  the  Wyoming-  massacre, 
July  3,  1778.  His  son  Noah  was  killed  in  that 
dreadful  butchery,  leaving  a  widow  (Lucy  Scott) 
but  no  children.  Stephen,  the  second  son,  at  the 
time  of  the  massacre  was  in  Sullivan's  army  and 
aided  to  drive  the  Indians  out  of  the  valley.  Re- 
turning late  in  the  fall,  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged from  the  army,  and  remained  with  his 
father  until  he  was  killed  by  Indians.  With  six 
others  he  was  waylaid  at  a  barn  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river,  between  Kingston  and  Wilkes-Barre. 
The  daughters  all  married  in  Connecticut,  and 
subsequently  settled  in  the  Lackawanna  Valley, 
in  the  neighborhood  where  is  now  the  city  of 
Scranton.  In  1772  Noah  Pettebone,  Sr.,  bought 
meadow  lot  No.  22  of  Aziel  Bucks,  and  was  there 
living  at  the  time  of  the  Wyoming  massacre. 
After  the  death  of  his  second  wife  he  returned  to 


45§ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


his  daughters,  who  were  married  and  living  in 
New  England.  He  subsequently  returned  to  the 
valley,  where  he  died  on  March  25,  1791. 

Oliver  (4)  youngest  child  of  Noah,  Sr.,  and 
Huldah  (Williams)  Pettebone,  was  in  Forty 
Fort  at  the  time  of  the  massacre.  He  counted 
the  men  as  they  went  out,  and  made  the  number 
382.  With  Isaac.  Legget  he  left  the  valley  the 
second  day  after  the  battle,  going  to  Amenia, 
Dutchess  county,  New  York,  where,  December 
21,  1783,  he  married  Martha,  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Barnabas  Paine;  she  was  born  July  14,  1763. 
Oliver  Pettebone  settled  at  Livingston  Manor, 
where  three  of  his  children  were  born.  He  re- 
turned to  the  valley  in  April,  1788,  and  bought 
lands  adjoining  his  father,  and  there  ten  more 
children  were  born,  all  of  whom  (except  two  who 
died  young,  married  and  reared  families  whose 
descendants  may  now  be  found  in  nearly  every 
state  in  the  union.  The  father  died  March  17, 
1832,  and  the  mother  December  25,  1833.  Their 
chidren:  Oliver,  Jr.,  born  September  9,  1784; 
died  December  6,  1813.  Esther,  born  September 
r5-  :785  ;  died  September  25,  1835.  Payne,  born 
January  24,  1787;  died  August  13,  1814.  Joshua, 
born  August  31,  1788;  died  March  29,  1877. 
Marcia,  born  November  3,  1790;  died  July  24, 
1865.  Lucy,  born  September  12,  1792 ;  died 
January  12,  1842.  Mary,  born  October  21,  1794; 
died  January  19,  1869.  Nancy,  born  November 
x3.  1796;  died  May  14,  1888.  Noah,  born  July 
27,  1798;  died  December  11,  1866.  Huldah, 
born  February  14,  1801 ;  died  November  25, 
1801.  Henry,  born  October  5.  1802;  died  May 
5,  1861.  Martha,  born  December  30,  1804;  died 
February  26,  1838.  Stephen,  born  February  2, 
1807;  died  August  5,  1810. 

Noah  (5),  son  of  Oliver  and  Martha  (Paine) 
Pettebone,  married  (first)  Sarah  Sharps,  Novem- 
ber 30,  1820.  She  dying,  he  married  (second) 
Margaret  N.  Speece,  March,  1847.  All  his 
children  except  the  three  last  named  were  by  the 
first  marriage :  Jacob  S.,  born  September  7, 
1821  ;  died  December  26,  1895.  Henry,  born 
February  8,  1824 ;  died  November  4,  1826.  John 
S.,  born  May  2,  1826.  Stephen  H.,  born  Au- 
gust 11,  1829;  died  October  4,  1905.  Martha 
Ann,  born  April  24,  1832 ;  died  January  23,  1884. 
George,  born  February  24,  1835  ;  died  October 
12,  1836.  Noah,  Jr.,  born  August  5,  1838; 
sketch  elsewhere.  Sarah  E.,  born  November  13. 
1847.  Walter  S.,  born  December  21,  1852. 
Harper  N.,  born  March   14,  1857. 

Stephen  H.  Pettebone  (6),  fourth  son  of 
Noah  and  Sarah  (Sharps)  Pettebone,  of  English, 
French  Huguenot  and    German    ancestry,    was 


born  in  Kingston  township  (now  Dorranceton). 
and  was  reared  upon  the  homestead  farm.  He- 
began  his  education  in  the  public  schools  and 
pursued  an  advanced  course  in  Wyoming  Semi- 
nary. At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  rented  a  farm 
and  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  for  some 
years.  He  then  removed  to  Orangeville,  Colum- 
bia county,  where  he  remained  five  years,  going 
thence  to  Kingston  township,  (now  Forty  Fort),. 
where  he  resided  seventeen  years,  and  finally  lo- 
cating at  Dorranceton,  where  he  occupied  a  part 
of  the  old  homestead  and  where  he  died  October 
4,  1905.  He  always  took  an  active  and  intelligent 
interest  in  community  affairs.  In  politics  he  was 
a  Democrat.  January  24,  1854,  he  married  Lu- 
anda C,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Eleanor  (Gay) 
Pettebone,  born  April  6,  1832,  descended  from 
the  same  immigrant  ancestor  with  himself,  and 
was  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  twelve  children, 
as  follows  :  Sarah  Ann,  born  April  4,  1810  ;  died 
February  12,  1888.  Oliver,  born  June  22,  181 1  ; 
died  July  17,  1874.  Samuel  T.,  born  April  27, 
1813;  died  April  18,  1880.  Elizabeth,  born  Jan- 
uary 20,  1815;  died  July  28,  1857.  Jane,  born 
February  16,  1817 ;  died  December  7,  1829. 
Ebenezer  G,  born  November  1,  1818;  died  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1887.  Benjamin  D.,  born  April  20, 
1820;  died  October  16,  1820.  Fisher,  born  Jan- 
uary 1,  1823;  died  February  8,  1824.  Mary,, 
born  February  14.  1825 ;  died  June  28,  1863. 
Esther  M.,  born  Februarv  24,  1827;  died  Feb- 
ruary 20,  1874.  George  T.,  born  October  25, 
1829;  died  March  9,  1849.  Lucinda  C,  born 
April  6,  1832,  now  resides  in  Darranceton. 

The  children  of  Stephen  H.  and  Lucinda 
(Pettebone)  Pettebone  were:  William  T.,  born- 
December  12,  1854,  married  Jane  Bonham ;  he  is 
a  clerk  for  the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company,  and 
lives  at  Forty  Fort.  John  B.,  born  February  13, 
1856;  died  March  12,  1890.  Margaret  E.,  born 
January  12,  1858;  married  J.  K.  Johnson,  and 
resides  in  Luzerne.  Mary  E.,  born  February  8, 
1859;  died  September  6,  1859.  Annie  M.,  born 
April  7,  1861  :  married  H.  P.  Streater,  and  re- 
sides in  Dorranceton ;  sketch  elsewhere.  Edgar 
R.,  born  November  24,  1863 ;  married  Isabelle 
Hughes ;  he  is  mining  engineer  and  superintend- 
ent for  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Coal  Company, 
and  lives  in  Dorranceton.  Jacob  S.,  born  June 
20,  1866;  see  below. 

Jacob  S.  Pettebone  (7),  youngest  child  of 
Stephen  and  Lucinda  (Pettebone)  Pettebone, 
was  born  at  Orangeville,  Columbia  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  was  reared  in  Dorranceton.  He 
began  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  subse- 
quently attending  Wyoming  Seminary,  and  Cor- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


459' 


nell  University,  making  a  particular  study  of 
architecture.  He  completed  his  professional 
training  in  1893,  and  entered  upon  business  as  a 
general  architect;  since  January  1,  1901,  he  has 
been  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Pettebone  & 
Ireland,  the  junior  member  being  Robert  Ireland. 
They  transact  as  large  a  business  as  any  firm  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  are  particularly  and  favorably 
known  as  breaker  architects,  having  filled  many 
important  contracts  in  that  line.  Mr.  Pettebone  is 
prominent  in  social  as  well  as  in  business  life, 
and  is  affiliated  with  various  fraternal  bodies, 
including  Landmark  Lodge,  No.  442,  F.  and  A. 
M.,  and  the  chapter,  council,  commanderv :  also 
Irem  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S. ;  all  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Histor- 
ical and  Geological  Society  and  of  the  Commem- 
orative Association,  and  in  religion  is  a  Meth- 
odist. 

Jacob  S.  Pettebone  married  (first)  Minnie 
Lutz,  of  Forty  Fort,  Pennsylvania,  August  9, 
1894.  Their  children  were:  Hattie  and  Harlow 
L..  (twins)  born  May  28,  1895.  The  former 
named  died  June  28,  1896.  Minnie  (Lutz) 
Pettebone  was  born  May  26,  1870,  died  November 
2,  1896.  Mr.  Pettebone  married  (second)  Lucy 
Hershberger,  of  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1901.  H.  E.  H. 

NOAH  PETTEBONE,  one  of  the  substan- 
tial and  influential  citizens  of  Dorranceton  bor- 
ough, who  commands  the  respect  of  all  who  know 
him,  was  born  August  5,  1838,  in  Kingston  town- 
ship, a  son  of  Noah  and  Sarah  (Sharps)  Pette- 
bone, natives,  respectively,  of  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey,  and  of  French  and  English  origin. 
Noah  Pettebone,  Sr.,  followed  the  occupation  of 
farming,  and  he  and  his  wife  reared  a  family  of 
ten  children. 

Noah  Pettebone.  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch,  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and 
Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
and  began  life  for  himself  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  farming  on  the  Meyers  farm,  in  Forty  Fort 
borough,  where  he  remained  one  year.  He  then 
worked  the  Raub  farm  in  Kingston  three  years, 
and  the  Church  farm,  owned  by  Colonel  Dor- 
rance,  for  eight  years,  after  which  he  moved  on 
a  portion  of  the  old  Pettebone  homestead  farm, 
where  he  now  resides.  Mr.  Pettebone  has  been 
assessor  and  school  director  of  Kingston  town- 
ship, has  also  held  the  same  offices  in  Dorrance- 
ton borough,  and  been  appointed  to  membership 
in  the  borough  council.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat, but  his  sympathies  are  principally  with  the 
Prohibition  party. 


On  January  14,  1864,  Mr.  Pettebone  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Jane,  daughter  of  George 
and  Sarah  (White)  Renard,  natives  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  of  German  and  English  origin,  re- 
spectively. Five  children  were  the  issue  of  this, 
union,  four  of  whom  are  living,  as  follows :  Eras- 
tus,  born  January  26, 1866,  in  Philadelphia,  Penn- 
sylvania. Harriet,  born  January  4,  1869;  mar- 
ried Willis  H.  Miller,  of  Kingston,  Pennsylvania. 
Benjamin  N.,  born  September  7,  1871,  in  Dor- 
ranceton, Pennsylvania.  Cora  J.,  born  October 
20,  1876:  married  W.  G.  Shartz,  of  Dorranceton, 
Pennsylvania.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pettebone  and 
their  family  were  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Forty  Fort,  Pennsylvania,  for 
twenty-nine  years  and  now  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Dorranceton, 
Pennsylvania.  H.  E.  H. 

STEPHEN  DECATUR  ENGLE  is  a  de- 
scendant of  one  of  the  pioneer  families  who  came 
over  with  William  Penn.  The  first  account  we 
have  of  this  line  dates  back  to  1682,  when  three 
brothers  Engle  came  to  America  and  settled  near 
Germantown,  Pennsylvania.  One  of  the  brothers 
remained  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  other  two  went 
to  New  Jersey,  and  from  them  are  descended  the 
present  generations. 

William  Engle,  the  great-grandfather  of 
Stephen  Decatur  Engle,  is  the  first  of  whom  we 
have  any  definite  information.  He  married  Mary 
Thomas  and  they  had  seven  sons,  one  of  whom 
was  John. 

John  Engle,  son  of  William  and  Mary 
(Thomas)  Engle,  married  Catharine  Sargent,  of 
New  Jersey,  in  what  was  known  as  the  Dry  Lands 
of  New  Jersey,  in  Sussex  township.  The  ances- 
tors of  Mrs.  John  Engle  were  Quakers,  both 
Orthodox  and  Hicksites.  John  and  Catharine 
(Sargent)  Engle  had  two  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters :  William,  Joseph,  Effie,  Catharine,  Jane, 
Elsie,  and  Ann. 

William   Engle,   son   of  John   and  Catharine 
(Sargent)   Engle,  was  born  in  Briarcreek  town- 
ship,   Columbia    county,    Pennsylvania,    in    1800.. 
He  married   Mary   Davis  and   they   had   eleven- 
children :     1.     Rachel,    married    Daniel    Yaeger, 
and   had   five   children :      Mary,    Ann,   William, 
Lloyd,  Johnson,  and  Angeline.     They  reside  in- 
Black  Creek  township.     2.     John,  married  (first) 
Rose    Fritz,    and    had    four    children :      George, 
Clara.    Albert    and    Emma.     Married    (second) 
Anna  Keim,  and  had  two  children  :    Howard  and 
Estelle.     3.     Sylvester,  married  Ellen  Stealy,  and" 
had  three  children :     Edith,  Ellersley,  and   Syl- 
vester.    They     reside    in    Hazleton.     4.     Eliza^ 


-460 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


married  Gideon  Klinger,  of  Sugarloaf  township, 
and  had  six  children.  They  reside  in  Sugarloaf 
township.  5.  Moses,  deceased,  married  Vir- 
ginia Tyler,  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  de- 
scendant of  John  Tyler,  and  resided  in  Scranton, 
Pennsylvania.  They  had  one  daughter.  6.  El- 
len, married  Elijah  McMutrie,  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent,  resides  in  Conyngham  valley,  and  had 
five  children :  Edna,  Wesley,  William,  Scott, 
and  Harry.  7.  Stephen  Decatur,  of  whom  later. 
8.  Sarah,  married  (first)  Dr.  Sloan,  of  Blooms- 
burg,  and  had  one  daughter,  Ida,  married  William 
Bright,  and  resides  at  Hazleton.  Married  (sec- 
ond) Henry  Dryfoos,  of  Hazleton,  and  resides 
there.  They  have  four  children :  Rose,  now 
Mrs.  Goodnow  ;  Mame,  now  Mrs.  Alvin  Markle  ; 
Louise,  now  Mrs.  Elmer  Jones ;  and  Harry,  mar- 
ried Grace  Fogle.  9.  Charles,  died  young  and 
is  buried  in  Conyngham.  10.  Elizabeth,  died 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  is  buried  at  Seiberts- 
ville.  11.  William  Wallace,  deceased,  who  mar- 
ried E.  Jane  Clark,  of  Hazleton,  and  they  had 
three  children,  among  whom  were  Guy  and  Flor- 
ence. 

Stephen  Decatur  Engle,  son  of  William  and 
Mary  (Davis)  Engle,  was  born  in  Seibertsville, 
Pennsylvania,  December  18,  1837.  He  lived  on 
a  farm  until  he  was  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  en- 
joyed no  other  advantages  for  education  than 
were  afforded  by  the  common  schools  of  the  day. 
He  was,  however,  an  inveterate  reader,  especially 
of  scientific  works,  and  thus  absorbed  a  great  deal 
of  useful  knowledge  which  was  of  the  greatest 
help  to  him  later  in  life.  When  he  was  nineteen 
years  old  he  went  to  Scranton  with  his  brother 
Moses  to  learn  the  watchmaking  trade.  He  re- 
mained there  about  two  and  a  half  years,  and 
then  went  with  his  brother  Sylvester  in  Hazleton 
for  about  six  months,  working  at  the  same  busi- 
ness. He  continued  at  the  same  work  for  John 
Dolan  in  Mauch  Chunk  for  eleven  months,  and 
then  started  in  business  for  himself  in  White- 
haven, in  1859.  From  that  place  he  came  to 
Hazleton  and  started  in  business  under  the  name 
of  Stephen  D.  Engle,  and  has  continued  in  it  up 
to  the  present  time.  He  has  acquired  a  national, 
if  not  a  world-wide  fame  as  a  scientific  and  me- 
chanical inventor.  Mr.  Engle  soon  became  the 
leading  jeweler  and  watchmaker  of  Hazleton. 
He  also  studied  and  for  a  number  of  years  prac- 
ticed dentistry  in  connection  with  his  business  as 
jeweler.  One  of  his  inventions  is  "Engle's  Pa- 
tent for  Securing  Porcelain  Teeth  to  Gold  and 
Silver  Plates."  The  "Association  for  the  Pro- 
tection of  the  Rights  of  Dentists"  officially  ap- 
proved of  this  device,  and  hastened  to  secure  an 


assignment  and  abondonment  to  the  public  of  the 
patent.  Another  invention  of  intrinsic  worth  is 
"Engle's  Dust  Proof  Watch  Case,"  affording 
such  protection  to  the  movement  as  would  not 
now  be  dispensed  with  by  manufacturers  of  the 
best  watches.  The  first  astronomical  musical 
and  apostolic  clock  ever  built  in  the  United  States 
was  invented  and  built  by  Mr.  Engle,  and  it  has 
never  been  equalled  in  automatic  wonders  or  in 
the  scientific  accuracy  of  the  astronomical  me- 
chanism. So  absorbed  was  Mr.  Engle  in  the 
planning  and  construction  of  this  clock  that  he 
after  wrote  to  a  friend :  "During  the  last 
year  before  its  completion  I  had  no  night  or  day, 
but  slept  when  I  was  sleepy  and  ate  when  I  was 
hungry,  without  any  regard  to  old  Sol."  It  was 
perhaps  fortunate  for  him  that  he  was  a  disciple 
of  Nimrod  and  Isaak  Walton,  for  without  the 
recreation  found  in  his  hunting  and  fishing  ex- 
cursions, he  would  probably  have  succumbed 
long  ago  to  an  excess  of  brain  work  and  confine- 
ment to  rooms  filled  with  machinery,  crucibles, 
metals  and  acids.  Captain  Jacob  Reid  has  exhib- 
ited this  clock  to  crowded  houses  in  every  part  of 
the  United  States  and  Canada.  A  description  of 
this  grand  piece  of  mechanism,  with  its  forty- 
eight  moving  figures,  its  movements  illustrating 
day  and  night,  changes  of  seasons,  ebbing  and 
flowing  of  tides,  and  other  phenomena,  can  not 
here  be  given.  While  Joel  Cook,  one  of  the  edi- 
tors of  the  Public  Ledger,  of  Philadelphia,  was 
visiting  Strasbourg,  in  1878,  he  saw  the  renowned 
Strasbourg  clock,  and  in  his  book,  entitled :  "A 
Holiday  Trip  to  Europe,"  he  makes  the  following 
comparison :  "The  Engle  clock  which  has  been 
exhibited  at  Philadelphia,  is  not  so  large,  and  yet 
does  all  that  this  clock  does  and  much  more  and 
does  it  better."  The  latest  invention  of  Mr.  En- 
gle is  "Engle's  Tellurion."  For  illustrating  cel- 
estial as  well  as  terrestrial  phenomena,  this  is 
far  in  advance  of  any  apparatus  hitherto  con- 
structed. It  is  the  only  apparatus  yet  in  exist- 
ence that  shows  the  true  motion  of  the  earth 
around  the  sun  in  an  actual  eclipse.  The  parallel- 
ism of  the  axis  is  at  all  times  preserved,  and  all 
the  phenomena  of  the  changes  of  day  and  night 
and  of  the  seasons,  the  greater  length  of  times 
the  sun  remains  north  than  south  of  the  equator, 
etc.,  are  clearly  shown.  This  instrument  shows 
the  length  of  the  day  and  night  at  any  season  of 
the  year  in  any  latitude,  as  well  as  the  heavenly 
constellations  visible  at  any  hour  in  any  and  every 
season  of  the  year.  The  moon  is  seen  in  its  gib- 
bous and  crescent  phases,  as  well  as  with  a  full 
enlightened  hemisphere  and  in  total  darkness,  its 
place  being  a  mask  or  hollow  hemisphere  with  the 


&^fcx>t  (MI^taJA^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


46  s 


convex  surface  thereof  black.  This  invention 
has  attracted  the  attention  of  astronomers  and 
teachers.  Parties  have  endeavored  to  negotiate 
with  Mr.  Engle  with  a  view  to  the  manufacture 
of  this  improved  Tellurion,  but  the  inventor  has 
thus  far  been  engaged  during  his  leisure  moments 
in  considering  further  improvements  in  the  mach- 
ine, and  has  not  entertained  any  of  these  proposi- 
tions. He  now  devotes  his  entire  attention  to  the 
manufacture  of  fine  jewelry,  and  is  considered 
the  only  real  manufacturer  in  his  line  in  Luzerne 
county. 

Stephen  D.  Engle  is  universally  recognized  by 
his  neighbors  as  an  upright,  honorable  and  kind- 
hearted  man.  No  case  of  suffering  or  distress 
ever  comes  to  his  knowledge  without  enlisting  his 
sympathies,  and  to  awaken  his  sympathy  is  to 
open  his  purse  strings.  He  is  a  man  of  indomit- 
able energy,  and  once  having  taken  hold  of  an 
idea  he  does  not  release  his  hold  until  he  has 
made  a  success  of  it.  In  politics  Mr.  Engle  is  a 
Republican.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  An- 
cient Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  several  years 
and  is  a  Presbyterian.  When  the  rebels  entered 
Pennsylvania  in  1863,  Mr.  Engle  served  with  the 
"emergency  men"  until  his  services  were  no 
longer  needed. 

Mr.  Engle  married,  July  8,  i860,  Martha  A. 
Grenawalt,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Rosanna 
(Charles)  Grenawalt,  residents  of  Hazleton,  and 
they  have  had  ten  children,  among  whom  were : 
Alice,  married  Harry  Smith,  of  Hazleton.  Cal- 
vin, sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere,  married 
Catharine  McGowan,  resides  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  they  have  one  child.  Martha.  Louise. 
William,  resides  in  Hazleton,  married  Minnie 
Shultz.     Stephen  D.,  Jr.,  resides  in  Hazleton. 

JUSTUS  ALTMILLER,  ex-mayor  of 
Hazleton,  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  its  promi- 
nent and  influential  citizens,  for  many  years 
the  proprietor  of  a  prosperous  business  which 
was  conducted  under  the  style  of  Justus  Alt- 
miller  was  born  in  Lautenhausen,  Hessen, 
Germany,  July  14,  1840,  son  of  Johannes  and 
Susanna  (Reinmiller)  Altmiller  both  natives 
of  Lautenhausen,  Germany. 

Johannes  Altmiller  (father)  was  reared 
and  educated  in  his  native  town,  followed  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  in  Hessen,  and  in  1864  em- 
igrated to  America  to  make  for  himself  a  new 
home  amid  new  surroundings.  He  located  in 
Hazleton,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  engaged  in 
the  coal  mining  business,  which  was  the  prin- 
cipal industry  of  the  town.  When  about 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  prior  to  his  immigra- 


tion to  America,  Mr.  Altman  married  Susanna. 
Reinmiller,  and  seven   children  were  born  to. 
them,   as   follows:     Justus,    of    whom    later;. 
John,  deceased,  who  was  a  resident  of  Hazle- 
ton;  he  married  Eliza  Bicking  and  their  chil- 
dren   were :     John,     Eliza,     Dora    and     Etta. 
Charles,  a  resident  of  Hazleton,  mentioned  at 
length    in    the    sketch    of    his    son,    Justus    E. 
Altmiller,    which    appears    elsewhere     in    this, 
work ;   he   married   Christina   Baitter,  of   Ger- 
many, and  their  children  were:  Charles,  Kate,. 
Emma,    Lena,     Hilda    John     and    Justus     E. 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  George  Krick  and  mother 
of   three    children:    John,    Robert    and    Kate;. 
Margaret,    deceased,   who    remained    in    Ger- 
many; twins,  who  died  in  infancy.  Johannes. 
Altmiller  died  at  his  home  in  Hazleton,  Penn- 
sylvania,  in    1885,   and    his   remains   were    n- 
terred  in  Vine  Street  cemetery. 

Justus  Altmiller  received  a  practical  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  Germany,  and! 
in  early  life,  when  about  fifteen  years  of  age, 
having   decided   to  test  for  himself  the   busi- 
ness opportunities  of  the  United  States,  emi- 
grated thither  and  at  once  settled   in   Hazle- 
ton,  Pennsylvania,  where  he   gained  his   first 
practical  experience  by  working  in  the  mines,., 
continuing   the    same    for    a    period     of     four 
years.     The  following  three  years  he  was  en- 
gaged  in   various   capacities   on   the    railroad, . 
after  which  he  became  engineer  for  the  firm 
of  A.  Pardee  &  Company  at  their  flour  mills,, 
remaining    in    that    capacity    two    years.      Oa> 
November  12,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a  musician, 
in  the  Union  army  at  Philadelphia,  and  went 
with  General  Sickle  and  the  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac in  the  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Infantry, 
under  Colonel  Colter.     By  an  act  of  congress- 
passed  in  1862  all  regimental  bands  were  dis- 
banded,  and   the   members   of   this   particular - 
band    were   discharged  in   Philadelphia.      Mr. 
Altmiller  then  returned  to  Hazleton  and  once- 
more  resumed  his  position  as  engineer  for  A. 
Pardee   &   Company,   remaining   for   a   period 
of  two  years.      In   September,   1864,  he  again 
enlisted    in    Philadelphia,    this    time    as    a    pri- 
vate in  the  One  Hundred  and  Ninety-eighth 
Regiment,     Pennsylvania     Volunteer     Infantry, . 
and  went  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to 
Washington,    Bermuda,   and    Petersburg,    and' 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Rhappahannock, . 
Cedar  Mountain,  Second  Bull  Run  and  several 
others   remaining   in    the    service    until    dis- 
charged on  June  13,   1865,  in  Philadelphia. 

Upon  his  return  to  Hazleton  at  the  close- 
of  the  war  Mr.  Altmiller  engaged  in  the  gro- 


-462 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


eery  business  on  his  own  account,  continuing 
•  the  same  until  1870,  in  which  year  he  added 
a  full  line  of  dry  goods  to  his  stock  in  trade, 
and  removed  his  business  to  Broad  street, 
Hazleton,  where  he  conducted  a  prosperous 
business  for  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  time  he  removed  to  more  commodious 
quarters  on  Cedar  street  and  there  continued 
operations  until  1900,  under  the  style  of  Jus- 
tus Altmiller,  at  which  time  his  son,  William 

■  Carl,  assumed  charge  of  the  business  and  is 
conducting  the  same  at  the  present  time 
(1906).     Mr.  Altmiller  conducted  his  business 

■  on  a  thoroughly  honorable  and  straightfor- 
ward  basis,   won    the   confidence    and    esteem 

■  of  his  many  patrons,  and  also  gained  an  envi- 
able reputation  in  commercial  circles  where 
his  name  was  a  synonym  for  honor  and  in- 
tegrity. For  a  period  of  almost  ten  years  Mr. 
Altmiller  served  as  a  director  in  the  Hazleton 
Building  &  Loan  Association.  On  the  Re- 
publican ticket  he  was  elected  to  the  council 
and  served  from  1883  to  1892,  and  served  in 
the  capacity  of  mayor  of  Hazleton  from  1895 
to  1898,  his  incumbency  of  both  offices  being 
noted  for  efficiency  and  capability.  He  is  a 
member  of  Lessing  Lodge,  No.  862,  Independ- 
ent  Order   of   Odd   Fellows,   of  Hazleton ;  Uh- 

Tand  Lodge,  No.  79,  Knights  of  Pythias ;  Rob- 
ertson Post,  No.  20,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, of  Hazleton,  in  which  he  was  post 
commander  during  the  year  1892,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Hazleton  Band,  of  which  he  was  leader 
for  thirty  years,  i860  to  1890. 

Mr.  Altmiller  married,  December  25,  i860, 
Ann  Elizabeth  Reinhardt,  of  Hazleton,  Penn- 
sylvania, daughter  of  Martin  and  Anna  Cath- 
erina  (Degenhardt)  Reinhardt,  of  Germany. 
Their  children  were :  Justus,  born  January 
4.  1862,  died  January  5,  1862;  Catherine  Eliza- 
beth, born  August  29,  married  Henry  Stilge- 
bauer,  of  New  York  city,  and  they  have  a 
son,  Harry.  Catherine,  born  December  6, 
1866,  died  July  18,  1867;  Anna  Barber,  born 
April  1,  1871,  died  July  12,  1871 ;  Justus  Ru- 
dolph, born  August  3,  1872,  died  August  12, 
1874;  George  Martin,  born  April  26,  1874, 
married  Margaret  Norton,  and  they  have  one 
son,  Justus.  They  reside  in  Hazleton.  Wil- 
liam Carl,  born  May  10,  1875,  married  Lillie 
Stager,  resides  in  Hazleton ;  Lizetta,  born 
August  5,  1877,  died  July  18,  1878;  Fred  Ru- 
dolph, born  July  18,  1881,  resides  in  Hazle- 
ton; Justus  Vitus,  born  July  10,  1883,  died 
"November     17,    1883;     Heinrich     Ario,    born 


March  14,  1885,  died  July  20,  1885.  All  of  the 
above  named  deceased  children  were  buried 
in  the  Vine  Street  cemetery,  Hazleton,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

BONEFACIUS  HENRY  BRODHUN,  a 
retired  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia, by  reason  of  his  long  and  eventful  career, 
is  justly  entitled  to  a  place  among  the  promi- 
nent characters  of  this  county  and  city.  He 
was  born  beyond  the  big  seas,  in  Weissen- 
born,  Prussia,  September  9,  1827,  son  of 
George  and  Elizabeth  (Mundey)  Brodhun, 
natives  of  the  same  place,  who  were  the  par- 
ents of  five  children,  namely :  Joseph,  mar- 
ried Josepha  Eicke,  and  resides  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Prussia ;  the  house  on  this  place 
was  built  in  1764;  Bonefacius  H.,  of  whom 
later;  Heinrich,  who  now  lives  in  Germany; 
Josepha,  married  a  Mr.  Hoffmeir,  and  resides 
at  Holongen,  Germany ;  Charles,  deceased, 
who  married  Charlotte  Bergold,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had  four  chil- 
dren :  Christina,  Carl,  a  bookkeeper  for  the 
Hazzard  Manufacturing  Company,  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  ;  Hannah  and  Mary,  both  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  George  Brodhun  (father)  was  the 
son  of  Henricus  Brodhun,  a  native  of  the 
same  locality  in  Prussia ;  he  was  a  tax  collec- 
tor and  the  treasurer  of  his  district  many 
years.  He  was  also  a  highly  successful  farm- 
er and  business  man.  He  handled  lumber 
and  dealt  in  live  stock.  In  religion  he  was  a 
member  of  the  German  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  Mr.  Brodhun's  maternal  grand- 
father, Mr.  Mundey,  came  from  Luedorode, 
Germany. 

Bonefacius  H.  Brodhun  spent  sixteen  years 
of  his  life  in  the  locality  of  his  birth,  receiv- 
ing his  education  in  the  district  schools.  He 
then  went  to  Berlin  to  learn  the  trade  of  a 
brickmason  and  general  builder,  being  bound 
out  as  an  apprentice,  for  which  his  father 
paid  thirty  German  dollars  for  four  years. 
Among  his  fellow-apprentices  was  Unser 
Fritz  and  other  nobility.  At  the  age  of  twen- 
ty years  he  was  drafted,  but  a  revolution 
broke  out  and  he  went  home  for  the  winter. 
The  following  spring  he  went  to  Bremen  and 
sailed  for  this  country  with  Joseph  Henkle 
and  A.  P.  Goedecke.  They  landed  in  New 
York,  May  10,  1849.  From  that  place  he  went 
with  them  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsvlvania, 
thence  on  to  the  French  mine,  near  Hazleton 
(now   Jeaneville),    Pennsylvania.      They   rode 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


463 


irom  Philadelphia  to  Pottsville  on  a  coal  car, 
walked  from  Pottsville  to  the  French  mine 
and  remained  working  there  about  three 
.months,  going  next  to  Conyngham  valley  and 
there  farmed  until  the  spring  of  1850  with 
John  Getting,  after  which  he  worked  in  Pitts- 
ton  and  Wilkes-Barre  at  his  trade.  In  the 
autumn  of  1850  he  began  to  take  contracts 
and  engaged  in  building  operations,  which 
work  extended  over  a  large  scope  of  country. 
Among  the  buildings  he  erected  was  the  First 
German  Catholic  Church  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
He  worked  on  the  Jersey  Central  machine 
shops,  at  Ashley,  Pennsylvania ;  Sweatland 
Hall  at  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  Penn- 
sylvania; the  court  house  tower,  the  Phoenix 
block,  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  all  of  which 
and  other  work  occupied  his  time  and  atten- 
tion up  to  1861,  when  he  enlisted  as  a  musi- 
cian in  the  Union  army,  becoming  a  member 
of  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  (Lochiel)  Cavalry. 
He  had  been  a  musician  in  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Guards  from  1852  to  the  date  of  his  en- 
listment in  the  regular  army.  He  was  ordered 
to  report  at  Harrisburg,  and  from  that  point 
was  sent  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  Knoxville, 
Tennessee,  and  on  to  Green  river  and  Bowl- 
ing Green.  Later  he  was  ordered  to  the  Ohio 
river,  and  scouted  after  John  Morgan,  the  fa- 
mous Confederate  raider.  By  an  act  of  con- 
gress all  regimental  bands  were  discharged, 
his  band  at  Lebanon,  Kentucky,  and  he  then 
returned  to  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
while  his  regiment  went  with  Sherman  on  his 
memorable  march  to  the  sea. 

Mr.  Brodhun  resumed  his  contracting 
work  after  his  return  from  the  army  and  con- 
tinued until  January  23,  1864,  when  via  Pan- 
ama he  went  to  California,  finally  arriving  at 
Gold  Hill,  Nevada,  where  his  brother  Charles 
was  then  mining.  He  also  took  up  that  ex- 
citing vocation,  and  took  time  to  erect  an  as- 
saying office  and  a  drug  store  at  Belmont,  be- 
ing the  sixteenth  person  in  the  town,  remain- 
ing four  years.  He  spent  much  time  in  pros- 
pecting and  locating  claims,  but  at  last  be- 
came a  master  builder,  receiving  good  salary. 
On  that  western  trip  all  was  not  sunshine, 
for  he  relates  how  he  crossed  the  great  forty- 
mile  desert  and  was  held  up  and  robbed  by 
highwaymen,  then  known  as  "road  agents." 
He  remained  in  Nevada  five  years,  in  Vir- 
ginia City  the  first  year,  and  made  an  extend- 
■ed  tour  toward  Colorado  river  country,  to 
Paranagut.  He  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,   in    1860,  wTien  lie  took   an   in- 


terest in  coal  land  in  company  with  A.  P. 
Goedecke  and  others  at  Black  Creek,  near 
Hazleton,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  opened 
a  mine  and  operated  the  same  a  year,  Mr. 
Brodhun  being  engaged  at  prospecting  and 
proving  coal  until  the  mine  was  sold.  Mr. 
Brodhun  again  took  up  building  and  contract- 
ing, following  it  until  1874,  when  he  took  his 
family  to  California,  locating  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  there  worked  at  his  trade  for  two 
years.  He  then  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  and  for  three  years  operated  as 
a  builder  and  then  engaged  in  the  hotel  busi- 
ness, which  he  followed  for  ten  years  on 
South  Main  street,  Wilkes-Barre.  Since  then 
he  has  lived  a  retired  life.  In  1880  he  went  to 
Germany  to  settle  the  family  estate. 

Mr.  Brodhun  is  a  Republican  in  party  pol- 
itics. He  is  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Lodge  No.  425,  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  of  which  he  has  been  a  mem- 
ber since  1853,  has  passed  all  the  chairs;  and  the 
encampment.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  becoming  a  member  of 
Oasis  Lodge,  No.  11,  in  Nevada  in  1865,  and 
now  a  member  of  Wilkes-Barre  Lodge,  No. 
61,  of  which  he  is  a  past  master.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
belonging  to  Eli  Post  (now  Conyngham),  No. 
97,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  a  member  of  Con- 
cordia Singing  Society.  At  one  time  he  held 
a  membership  in  the  Bricklayers'  Union  of 
San  Francisco,  California.  Mr.  Brodhun  is  a 
stockholder  in  Oak  Lawn  Cemetery  and 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Light,  Heat  and  Power 
Company. 

Mr.  Brodhun  married  in  1853,  Clemintine, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Bertels.  and  their  children 
were:  Elizabeth  R.,  married  Theodore  Overpeck, 
a  sketch  of  whom  appears  in  this  work.  John, 
married  Esther  A.  Moore,  and  their  children 
were :  Boynton,  Bessie,  deceased,  William,  Nora 
and  Flora  (twins),  John  and  Elizabeth,  who  re- 
side near  Dallas,  Pennsylvania.  Lena,  deceased, 
buried  at  Rich  Hill  cemetery,  Bucks  county, 
Pennsylvania.  One  son  who  died  in  infancy. 
For  his  second  wife,  Mr.  Brodhun  married,  De- 
cember 19,  1869,  Elizabeth  Drum,  daughter  of 
Abraham  and  Magdalena  (Winters)  Drum. 
Their  children  were :  William,  born  November 
19,  1870.  Harry,  born  December  23,  1872,  an  op- 
tician, married  Alice  Pethick.  Charles,  born  Sep- 
tember 17,  1875,  in  San  Francisco,  California, 
also  an  optician.  Eleanor,  born  June  28,  1878, 
still  at  home.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Drum)  Brodhun 
was  one  of  the  following  ten  children  in  her  pa- 


464 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


rents'  family  :  Margaret,  Mary,  Lena,  George,  So- 
phia, Eleanor,  Elizabeth,  Louise,  Stephen,  Caro- 
line. The  father  of  the  family  last  named, 
Abram  Drum,  was  one  of  ten  children  in  his 
father's  family,  named  as  follows :  George, 
John,  Jacob,  Isaac,  Philip,  William,  Abraham, 
Elizabeth,  Anna,  Margaret.  Abraham  Drum 
was  sheriff  of  his  county  for  three  years ;  he  was 
the  son  of  George  Drum,  whose  father  served  in 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Magdalena  (Winters) 
Drum  was  the  daughter  of  Adam  Winters,  a 
farmer  near  Beaver  Meadows,  Pennsylvania. 
The  great-grandfather  Winters  was  a  soldier  in 
the  Revolutionary  war. 

HON.  PHILIP  H.  SEELY,  one  of  the  large 
land  owners  and  farmers,  and  ex-member  of  the 
state  legislature,  in  which  body  he  served  with 
conspicuous  ability,  is  a  representative  of  a  fam- 
ily that  migrated  to  Luzerne  county,  settling  in 
Salem  township,  in  1801.  The  pioneer  was 
Michael  Seely,  who  was  born  in  April,  1750,  was 
an  acive  participant  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and 
an  applicant  for  pension.  (Page  273  New  York 
in  the  Revolution),  and  upon  his  settlement  in 
Salem  township  became  the  owner  of  a  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  acres,  which  he  purchased 
from  Nathan  Beach,  and  which  he  cleared,  culti- 
vated and  made  productive.  In  due  course  of 
time  he  married  a  Miss  De  Pue,  who  bore  him 
the  following  children :  John,  Samuel,  Jacob, 
Susan,  (Mrs.  Garrison),  Mathias,  Mary,  Mrs. 
Parker)  and  Sarah  (Mrs.  Garrison),  all  are 
now  dead.  The  ancestors  of  Michael  Seely  came 
from  Holland. 

John  Seely,  eldest  son  of  Michael  Seely,  was 
born  in  Penn  township,  Sussex  county,  New  Jer- 
sey, in  1778.  He  "came  with  his  father  to  Salem 
township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1801, 
was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  it  is  worthy  of 
record  that  he  raised  the  first  crop  of  wheat  which 
was  shipped  from  Salem  township  to  Easton.  He 
married  Miss  Mary  Weltz,  and  their  children 
were  as  follows:  Jacob,  Desire,  (Mrs.  Samuel 
Pollock),  Elsie,  (Mrs.  David  Cope),  Mary,  (Mrs. 
Henry  Harmon)  and  Huldah  (Mrs.  Adam  Dries- 
bach)  ;  all  are  dead.  The  death  of  John  Seey 
occurred  in  Fairmount  township  in  1855. 

Jacob  Seely,  eldest  child  and  only  son  of  John 
and  Mary  (Weltz)  Seely,  was  born  on  the  old 
Nathan  Beach  farm  in  Salem  township,  July  24, 
1803.  He  followed  the  quiet  but  useful  calling  of 
agriculture,  and  was  the  owner  of  four  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  land.  With  the  exception  of  ten 
years'  residence  in  Fairmount  township  he  spent 


his  entire  life  in  his  native  township.  For 
more  than  three  decades  he  served  in  the  capacity 
of  school  director,  and  for  two  terms  was  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  one  term  in  Fairmount  town- 
ship, and  one  in  Salem  township.  He  was  one 
of  the  distinguished  citizens  of  his  day,  winning 
and  retaining  the  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  was 
brought  in  contact.  He  married  Miss  Leah  Keen, 
daughter  of  Frederick  and  Mary  (Stump)  Keen, 
of  Salem  township,  and  thirteen  children  were 
the  issue  of  this  union,  eleven  of  whom  attained 
years  of  maturity :  Frederick  K,  of  Benton,  Co- 
lumbia county,  Pennsylvania  ;  John  W.,  deceased  ; 
Samuel  P.,  resides  in  Salem  township ;  Philip  H., 
mentioned  at  length  hereinafter ;  Edwin  C,  a 
large  farmer  at  Lawrence,  Mercer  county,  New 
Jersey;  Martha  A.  (Mrs.  Dr.  J.  E.  Patterson), 
Rachel  (Mrs.  Thomas  E.  Edwards),  Leah  D., 
(Mrs.  M.  W.  Hess),  these  three  residing  in  Ben- 
ton, Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania;  Henry  J., 
a  sketch  of  whom  appears  in  this  work ;  Mi- 
nerva J.,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Wil- 
son Hess ;  and  Cecilia  E.,  deceased,  was 
the  wife  of  C.  B.  Smithers.  Jacob  Seely, 
father  of  these  children,  died  May  30,  1874. 
Frederick  Keen,  father  of  Mrs.  Seely,  wac  born 
in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  12, 
1784,  and  his  wife  was  also  a  native  of  the  same 
county  born  January  31,  1792.  They  moved  from 
Berks  county  to  Luzerne  county,  locating  in 
Salem  township,  in  1816.  He  was  a  shoemaker 
by  trade,  but  later  in  life  became  a  practical 
farmer.  They  were  the  parents  of  one  child, 
Leah,  aforementioned  as  the  wife  of  Jacob  Seely. 
Their  deaths  occurred  within  three  days  of  two 
months  of  each  other,  his  on  March  17,  1876,  fol- 
lowed by  that  of  his  wife  on  January  20,  1876. 
He  was  believed  to  be  the  oldest  man  at  the  time 
of  his  death  that  had  lived  in  the  town  in  fifty 
years. 

Philip  H.  Seely,  fourth  son  of  Jacob  and 
Leah  (Keen)  Seely,  was  born  in  Salem  town- 
ship, February  23,  1835.  He  was  reared  in  his 
native  township,  and  enjoyed  the  educational  ad- 
vantages afforded  by  the  common  schools.  He 
remained  on  his  father's  farm  up  to  i860,  and 
then  in  company  with  his  brother,  Samuel  P. 
Seely,  engaged  in  a  mercantile  business  at  Fair- 
mount  Springs.  In  August,  1864,  when  his  coun- 
try was  in  need  of.  men  to  defend  the  integrity 
of  the  Union,  he  enrolled  as  private  in  Company 
D,  One  Hundred  and  Ninety-ninth  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  for  merit- 
orious conduct  was  appointed  first  duty  sergeant. 
He  was  attached  to  the  Army  of  the  James  and 


P.  ft.MjOy 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


465 


participated  in  the  following  battles :  Hatcher's 
Run,  Fort  Gregg,  Rye  Station  and  Appomatox. 
He  received  his  honorable  discharge  on  June  28, 
1865. 

Gpon  his  return  to  civil  life  he  engaged  in 
boating  up  to  1870,  and  the  following  year  he 
turned  his  attention  to  milling,  in  company  with 
Mr.  Driesbach,  and  continued  the  same  up  to 
1874.  Since  1876  he  has  devoted  his  entire  at- 
tention to  agricultural  pursuits,  conducting  his 
operations  on  a  farm  of  four  hundred  acres  of 
productive  land,  and  in  addition  to  the  income  de- 
rived from  this  occupation  owns  a  half  interest 
in  a  timber  tract  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres. 
During  the  years  188 1  and  1882  he  represented 
his  fellow  citizens  in  the  State  Legislature.  In 
1887  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
when  his  term  expires  in  1907  he  will  have  been 
the  incumbent  of  the  office  twenty  years,  the  long- 
est of  any  man  in  the  town,  and  he  has  also  served 
as  assessor  and  in  other  minor  township  offices. 
Mr.  Seely  holds  membership  in  the  Lutheran 
Church,  is  a  member  of  Knapp  Lodge,  No.  264, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  a  Republican 
in  politics. 

Mr.  Seely  married,  July  4,  1876,  Sarah  Har- 
mon, who  was  born  in  Salem  township,  Jan- 
uary 9,  1854,  eldest  daughter  of  Solomon  and 
Mary  Harmon  of  Salem  township,  whose  family 
consisted  of  eight  other  children :  Susan,  de- 
ceased ;  Minerva,  Sevilla,  John  A.,  Frances, 
Amelia,  Annie,  and  Ella  Harmon.  Solomon  Har- 
mon is  a  son  of  John  A.  and  Sarah  (Varner) 
Harmon,  who  were  the  parents  of  four  other 
children :  Susanna,  Elizabeth,  Voyann,  and  Se- 
villa. By  a  former  marriage  to  a  Miss  Smithers, 
John  A.  Harmon  was  the  father  of  six  children : 
Mary,  Catherine,  Caroline,  Henry,  John  and  Mar- 
garet. John  A.  Harmon  died  January,  1881. 
Eleven  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seely, 
as  follows :  Jacob  A.,  who  married  Miss  Martha 
Westbrook,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren, Philip  Seely  and  Everett  Westbrook ;  Ber- 
tha V.,  a  teacher ;  Mary  A.,  Thomas  K.,  Sarah 
M..  a  teacher;  Leah  M./Philip  H.  Jr.  Martha  H., 
deceased ;  Annie  F.,  deceased ;  Elsie  M.,  and 
Catherine  A.  H.  E.  H. 

RANSOM  FAMILY.  Samuel  Ransom,  the 
American  ancestor  of  the  Ransom  family  of  the 
line  here  treated,  Samuel  Ransom,  the  hero  and 
patriot  of  the  Revolution,  whose  deeds  in  war 
and  achievement  in  the  more  peaceful  arts  of 
domestic  life  have  been  Ynade  the  subject  of  ex- 
haustive  articles   in   public   records   and   private 

30 


prints,  was  born  in  or  near  Ipswich,  England, 
about  1737;  married,  Canaan,  .Litchfield  county, 
Connecticut,  May  5,  1756,  Esther  Lawrence,  born 
about  1739,  in  Windham  county,  Connecticut. 
After  the  death  of  Captain  Ransom,  July  3,  1778, 
Esther  married  Captain  James  Bidlack,  Sr.,  and 
returned  with  him  to  Norfolk,  Connecticut,  where 
she  died  in  August,  1794. 

Samuel  Ransom  during  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish war  was  a  soldier  in  one  of  the  Connecticut 
battalions.  His  name  first  appears  on  the  pages 
of  Wyoming  history,  October  2,  1773,  when  he 
purchased  of  John  Ransom  '"lower  tier  lot  No. 
10"  in  Plymouth  township,  Wyoming  Valley. 
About  this  time  he  was  admitted  an  inhabitant 
of  Plymouth,  and  removed  there  from  Canaan 
with  his  family.  On  March  2,  1774,  he  was  se- 
lectman of  Westmoreland  (Wyoming)  and  sur- 
veyor of  highways,  and  in  1775  was  constable  of 
the  town.  He  hauled  the  first  log  for  the  erec- 
tion of  Fort  Shawnee,  August,  1776,  and  at  this 
time  was  captain  of  the  Third  Company,  Twenty- 
fourth  Regular  Connecticut  militia,  having  been 
commissioned  in  October,  1775  ;  but  having  been 
commissioned  captain  in  the  Continental  service 
August  26,  1776,  he  gave  up  command  of  the 
militia,  and  with  Captain  Durkee  began  to  raise 
the  two  Wyoming  independent  companies. 

Captain  Ransom  and  his  men  were  with 
Washington  in  the  campaign  of  1777,  at  Bound 
Brook,  Mud  Creek,  Brandywine,  Germantown, 
and  other  points,  and  went  into  winter  quarters  at 
Valley  Forge.  In  May,  1778,  he  hastened  back 
to  Wyoming  and  took  part  in  all  the  events  pre- 
ceding and  during  the  battle.  Early  in  the  fight 
he  was  wounded  in  the  thigh,  was  left  on  the  field 
and  fell  into  the  enemy's  hands  and  when  the 
bodies  of  slain  Americans  were  afterward  gath- 
ered for  burial,  Captain  Ransom's  body  was 
found  near  the  ruins  of  Fort  Wintermoot,  cov- 
ered with  gashes  and  with  the  head  cut  off.  After 
the  battle  the  widow,  Esther  Ransom,  fled  with 
her  six  children  to  the  Delaware,  and  finally 
made  their  way  back  to  Connecticut.  Early  in 
1780  she  returned  with  the  children  to  Plymouth. 
Children  of  Samuel  Ransom  and  Esther  Law- 
rence : 

1.  Sarah,  born  Canaan,  Connecticut  (now 
Norfolk),  August  23,  1757;  died  Plymouth, 
Pennsylvania,  December  19,  1777;  married  Octo- 
ber 23,   1776,  Timothy  Hopkins. 

2.  Samuel,  born  Canaan,  September  25,  1759, 
died  1807  or  1808  by  drowning  in  Susquehanna 
river  near  Tioga  Center,  New  York ;  married, 
1783-84,  Mary  Nesbitt,  born  September  18,  1765. 


466 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


3.  George  Palmer,  born  Canaan,  January  3, 
1762,  died  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  September  5, 
1850;  married  (first)  August  14,  1783,  Olive  Ut- 
ley,  born  1760,  died  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  July 
14,  1793;  married  (second)  January  9,  1794, 
Elizabeth  Lamoreux,  born  October  18  (or  25), 
1776,  died  August  27,  1859. 

4.  Sybil,  born  Canaan,  February  5,  1764, 
died  April  30,  1826;  married,  April  8,  1784,  Ira 
Stephens,  born  July  18,  1759,  accidentally  killed 
September  20,  1803. 

5.  Esther,  born  Canaan,  March  12,  1766, 
died  in  infancy. 

6.  Louisa  Lawrence,  born  Canaan,  Connecti- 
cut, May  28,  1768,  died  Tioga  Center,  New  York, 
June  23,  1834;  married  Arthur  Frink,  born  1763, 
died  February  21,  1847.  Arthur  Frink  married 
(second),  about  1840,  Rachel  Brooks,  widow  of 
his  brother-in-law,  William  Ransom. 

7.  William,  born  Canaan,  May  26,  1770,  died 
January  8,  1822;  married,  1792,  Rachel  Brooks, 
born  Hunterdon  county,  New  Jersey,  February 
8,  1776,  died  Tioga  Center,  New  York,  May  29, 
1857.  Rachel  was  daughter  of  James  Brooks 
and  Mary  Johnson.  After  the  death  of  William 
Ransom  she  married  Arthur  Frink. 

8.  Mary,  born  Canaan,  May  20,  1772,  died 
September  16,  1825  ;  married,  1701  or  1792,  Sam- 
uel Franklin,  born  Canaan,  May  10,  1759,  died 
Hunt  township,  Pennsylvania,  June  1,  1828.  He 
was   brother   of    Colonel   John    Franklin. 

9.  Lois,  born  near  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania, 
March  20,  1775,  died  Spencer,  New  York,  March 
21,  1856;  married,  March  28,  1793,  Stephen  Bid- 
lack,  born  probably  Windham,  Connecticut,  Jan- 
uary 5,  1772-73,  died  Spencer,  New  York,  March 
4,  1849. 

George  Palmer  Ransom,  born  Canaan,  Con- 
necticut (now  Norfolk),  January  23,  1762,  died 
September  5,  1856;  married  (first),  probably  in 
Connecticut,  August  14,  1783,  Olive  Utley,  born 
1760,  died  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  July  14, 
1793,  of  whom  or  whose  family  and  ancestors 
little  is  now  known.  The  children  of  this  mar- 
riage were : 

1.  Sarah,  born  Taunton,  Massachusetts, 
September  11,  1784,  died  April  3,  185 1 ;  married, 
Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  May  1,  1800,  Joseph 
Steele,  born  New  Buffalo,  Pennsylvania,  October 
26,  1773,  died  Hanover  township,  Pennsylvania, 
January  20.  1858. 

2.  Lovisa,  born  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania, 
August  19,  1786,  died  there  July  2,  1832;  mar- 
ried, about  1803,  Horace  Morse,  born  about  1776, 


died    September   2,    1846.     One   child,    William, 
born  about  1804,  died  about  1823. 

3.  Esther,  born  Plymouth,  October  12,  1788, 
died  August  10,  1839;  married  (first),  June  10, 
1810,  Abijah  Smith;  married  (second),  April  15, 
1827,  John  Ingham,  born  April  10,  1782,  died 
October  15,  1866. 

4.  George  Palmer,  born  Plymouth,  Pennsyl- 
vania, June  3,  1791,  accidentally  killed  there  April 
29,  1824. 

Children  of  George  Palmer  Ransom  and 
Elizabeth  Lamoreux : 

1.  Samuel,  born  January  9,  1795,  died  March 
22,  1836;  married  (first)  Hannah  Wightman ; 
married  (second)   Mabel  Dodson  Ramsey. 

2.  Olive;  born  April  12,  1796,  died  August 
20,  1874;  married,  August  13,  1816,  Charles 
Cottsworth  Curtis. 

3.  William,  born  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania, 
December  27,  1797,  died  December  17,  1881  ; 
married  (first),  November  13,  1823,  Jane  Nes- 
bitt,  born  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  April  20, 
1805,  died  May  15,^  1842;  married  (second).  De- 
cember 15,  1842,  Clarissa  Davenport,  born  Jan- 
uary 28,  1814.     Children  :  see  post. 

4.  Elizabeth,  born  September  11,  1799,  died 
February  25,  1829. 

5.  Keturah,  born  April  26,  1801,  died  No- 
vember 21,  1862;  married,  March  25,  1830,  James 
Hodge,  born  July  5,  1795.  died  November  5, 
1863.  James'  parents  settled  in  Wyoming,  1763. 
He  married  (first)  Rebecca  Miller. 

6.  Liva,  born  January  9,  1804,  died  July  20, 
1872 ;  married,  July  4,  1830,  Oliver  Davenport, 
born  February  4,  1808. 

7.  Thomas,  born  April  19,  1806,  died  Au- 
gust 25,  1879;  married  (first)  Nancy  Ann 
Roushev ;  married  (second)  Elvira  Temperance 
Brink.  ' 

8.  Chester,  born  June  10,  1808,  married 
(first)  Harriet  Hartson  Tupper ;  married  (sec- 
ond) Mrs.  Hester  Ann  Bishop;  married  (third) 
Catharine  Ann  Whiteneck. 

9.  Eleanor,  born  October  12,  1810,  died  Feb- 
ruary 21,  1812. 

10.  Miner,  born  May  14,  1813,  married,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1838,  Elizabeth  Shonk,  born  March  15, 
1817. 

11.  Lydia,  born  December  12,  1815,  married, 
September  8,  1835,  John  Kridler,  born  August 
15,  1809. 

12.  Amelia,  born  February  10,  1819,  married 
September  12,  1836,  Seymour  Downs,  born  May 
31,  1 817. 


THE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


467 


13.  Ira.  born  October  11,  1822,  married 
December  28,  1847,  Mary  Smith,  born  March  12, 
1830.  Ira  served  in  the  war  of  1861-65,  private, 
Company  D,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteer  Infantry,  enlisted  August  10, 
1862,  discharged  June  12,  1865  ;  was  a  sharp- 
shooter. 

Children  of  William  Ransom  and  Clarissa 
Davenport : 

1.  Thomas  Davenport,  born  Jackson  town- 
ship, Pennsylvania,  September  12,  1843.  married, 
Plymouth,  May  28,  1871,  Emma  Delray  Mand- 
ville,  born  January  19,  1852.  Their  children : 
Frank  Davenport,  Harry  Mandville.  Ralph  Sam- 
uel, Daisy  May,  Gertie  Foster. 

2.  Charles  Curtis,  born  Jackson  township, 
January  I,  1845,  see  forward. 

3.  George  Palmer,  born  Jackson  township, 
Pennsylvania.  May  14.  1846,  died  in  Cumberland 
Hospital,  Nashville,  Tennessee,  May  26,  1865 ; 
private  in  Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Cav- 
alry,  1861-65. 

4.  Francis  Davenport,  born  Jackson  town- 
ship, October  13,  1847,  married,  October  16,  1870, 
Isabella  Culp.  born  Newport  township,  Pennsyl- 
vania, June  1,  1848.     Children:  Catharine,  Her- 

'bert  Daniel,  Clarissa  Belle,  Eva  May  and  Arthur 

Jay- 

5.  Clarissa  Jane,  born  Jackson  township, 
Pennsylvania,  April  16,  1849,  married,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1869,  Jonn  Henry  Case,  born  Jackson 
township,  June  6,  1844.  Children:  Andella 
Blanche,  Lizzie  Estella,  Stella  Alfaretta  and  Ar- 

"  thur  Eugene  Mendoza. 

6.  Lydia  Kridler,  born  Jackson  township, 
November  2.  1850.  married.  May  2,  1868,  Absa- 
lom Jasper  Case,  born  Jackson  township,  Jan- 
uary 13,  1846.  Children :  Clara,  William  Henry, 
Frank  Melvin,  Olive  Ann,  Harry  Wellington, 
Emma  Bertram,  Verna  Maud  and  Stanley  LeRoy 

'  Case. 

7.  Amanda  Shonk,  born  Jackson  township, 
September  2.  1852,  married,  December  13,  1879. 

"William  Henry  Harrison,  born  Plymouth,  Penn- 
sylvania, November'  17,  1852.  Children:  Ora 
May,  born  August  6,  1880;  Leslie,  Mazey,  de- 
ceased ;  and  Stanley. 

8.  Emma  Elizabeth,  born  Jackson  township, 
November  9,  1854,  married,  November  2,  1872, 
Albert  Ritzpaugh  Bertram,  born  Plymouth,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  11,  1848.  Children:  George  Will- 
iam.  Joe  R.,  Louise  Charlotte,  Charles  Peter,  Les- 
lie Jay  and  two  younger  children. 

9.  Adelia,  born  Jackson   township.  October 
-  21,    1857,    married,    February    12,    1880,    Peter 


Bertram,  born  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  March 
10,  1855.  Children :  Gertrude  May,  born  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1 88 1  :  Crissia,  and  Blanche. 

Charles  Curtis  Ransom,  second  son  and  child 
of  William  and  Clarissa  (Davenport)  Ransom, 
born  Jackson  township  January  1,  1845.  He 
spent  his  early  years  on  a  farm  in  Jackson  town- 
ship, and  subsequently  located  in  the 
towns  of  Lehman,  Huntsville  and  Plymouth, 
successively,  coming  to  the  latter  named  in 
1 87 1.  He  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter,  and 
after  completing  his  apprenticeship  acted  as  fore- 
man for  two  years.  He  then  engaged  in  business 
on  his  own  account  and  has  since  followed  the 
same  line  of  work,  achieving  a  large  degree  of 
success.  He  has  built  a  number  of  the  promi- 
nent buildings,  including  churches,  public  schools, 
one  of  which  cost  fifty  thousand  dollars,  the 
plant  of  the  Gas  &  Electric  Light  Company,  all 
the  best  buildings  in  Bloomsburg  and  Nanticoke, 
and  a  large  number  of  private  residences.  He 
has  also  built  a  number  of  houses  for  himself 
which  he  has  disposed  of  at  advantageous  prices. 
He  is  the  oldest  established  contractor  in  this 
section  of  the  county,  and  also  conducts  the  larg- 
est trade.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He 
held  the  office  of  school  director  for  a  number  of 
years,  rendering  valuable  and  efficient  service. 
He  has  been  a  member  and  trustee  of 
the  Christian  Church  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  has  held  offices  in  the  council,  chap- 
ter and  commandery  of  the  Masonic  fra- 
ternity, and  is  a  member  of  Irem  Temple, 
Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 
He  was  the  organizer  of  the  first  fire  company, 
and  is  now  the  oldest  living  member  of  the  same. 
Charles  Curtis  Ransom  married,  Lehman  town- 
ship, Pennsylvania,  April  21,  1867,  Mary  Eliza- 
beth Elston,  born  Lehman  township,  April  30, 
1850.     Their  children  are  : 

1.  William  L.,  born  Lehman,  Pennsylvania, 
August  4,  1868,  married  Hannah  Coyle.  Chil- 
dren :  Charles,  Joseph,  Elizabeth. 

2.  George  Corey,  born  Huntsville,  Pennsyl- 
vania, April  19,  1869,  married  Sarah  Spaight. 
One  child,  Ray. 

3.  Joe,  born  Huntsville,  Pennsylvania,  No- 
vember 21,  1870,  married  Eliza  Albrighton.  One 
child,  John  A. 

4.  Clarissa  Jennie,  born  Plymouth,  February 
1,  1873,  married  Clarence  Low. 

5.  Flora,  born  Plymouth,  March  25,  1875. 

6.  Clarence,  born  Plymouth,  March  24,  i88t, 
married  Sarah  Meeker.     One  child,  Mabel. 

7.  John  J.,  born  March  21,  1884. 


468 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


8.     Mabel  E.,  born  March  16,  1891. 

The  sixth  child  of  George  Palmer  Ransom 
and  Elizabeth  Lamoreux,  mentioned  in  an  above 
paragraph,  was  Lina  Ransom,  born  Plymouth, 
Pennsylvania;  Shekinah  Chapter,  No.  182, 
20,  1872.  Married  there,  July  4,  1830.  Oliver 
Davenport,  born  Plymouth,  February  4,  1808,  and 
cued  there.     Their  children  were : 

1.  Edwin,  born  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania, 
June  6,  1832,  married,  October  21,  i860,  Mary 
Catharine  McAlarney,  born  Pottsville,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  12,  1839. 

2.  James  Hodge,  oorn  Plymouth,  Pennsyl- 
vania, September  26,   1833,  married,  January  1, 

1 86 1,  Mary    Ann    Plewes,    born    Flamborough, 
England,  January  28,  1840. 

3.  Andrew  Crandall,  born  Plymouth,  De- 
cember 31,  1834,  died  there  April  6,  1878. 

4.  Clarissa,  born  Plymouth,  July  23,  1836, 
married  there,  December  8,  1857,  Andrew  Jack- 
son Shaver,  born  Dallas,  Pennsylvania,  August 
30,  1830,  died  there  July  24,  1862. 

5.  Lorinda,  born  Plymouth,  October  12, 
1838,  married  there,  December  26,  1873  (or  Jan- 
uary 25,  1872),  Henry  Lees,  mentioned  here- 
after. 

6.  Mary  Jeanette,  born  Plymouth,  March  16, 
1840,  married  (first),  March  10,  i860,  John  Jef- 
ferson Whitney,  born  Skinner's  Eddy,  Pennsyl- 
vania, September  7,  1836,  killed  May  8,  1864,  at 
Spottsylvania  Court  House,  Virginia.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1861,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company 
F,  Fifty-third  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry, 
rose  through  all  the  grades  to  captain,  and  was 
commissioned  such  April  23,  1864;  was  in  all  the 
engagements  and  battles  of  the  Third  Brigade, 
First  Division,  Second  Corps,  Army  of  the  Po- 
tomac. Mary  Jeanette  married  (second),  April 
.14,  1870,  Lorenzo  Whitney,  born  Skinner's  Eddy, 
February  3,  1844. 

7.  Ellen  Olewine,  born  Plymouth,  March  18, 
1844,  married  there,  November  1,  1865,  Andrew 
Fuller  Levi,  born  Wilkes-Barre  Pennsylvania, 
September  19,  1845. 

8.  Lydia  Kridler,  born  Plymouth,  December 
13,  1847,  married  there  Henry  Herbert  Ashley, 
born  Nescmehoning,  Pennsylvania,  December  1, 
1843. 

Henry  Lees,  who  married  Lorinda  Daven- 
port, was  born  in  Somercotes,  England,  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1841,  a  son  of  George  and  Anna  (Ash- 
ley) Lees,  both  of  whom  were  of  English  birth 
and  parentage.     Henry  Lees  came  to  America  in 

1862,  settled  in  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  and  be- 
gan mining.  Later  on  he  went  to  Helena,  Mon- 
tana, and  was  a  miner  there  for  five  years.     He 


then  returned  to  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  and 
with  money  earned  in  the  mines  established  a 
mercantile  store  in  Plymouth,  where  he  has  since: 
resided.  He  is  known  as  a  straightforward  busi- 
ness man,  and  enjoys  the  respect  of  all  the  people 
of  that  borough.  In  trade  circles  he  is  a  cloth- 
ing and  gents  furnishing  dealer  and  merchant 
tailor.  His  wife,  as  has  been  stated,  is  Lorinda 
Davenport,  daughter  of  Oliver  and  Lydia  (Ran- 
som) Davenport,  and  a  descendant  of  the  fourth 
generation  of  -Captain  Samuel  Ransom,  the  pa- 
triot of  the  Revolution  and  one  of  the  martyr 
heroes  of  Wyoming.  Henry  Lees  and  Lorinda. 
Davenport  have  one  child,  Rush  Oliver  Lees. 

Rush  Oliver  Lees,  son  of  Henry  and  Lorinda 
(Davenport)  Lees,  born  Plymouth,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  15,  1873,  was  educated  in  the* 
Plymouth  public  schools  and  the  Wyoming  Semi- 
nary at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  He  matricu- 
lated at  Harvard  Medical  School,  and  after  com- 
pleting his  course  was  for  about  six  months  con- 
nected with  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital.. 
He  first  located  at  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  re- 
mained there  about  two  and  one-half  years,  then 
went  abroad  to  further  perfect  his  medical  educa- 
tion in  the  great  institutions  of  Vienna,  and  while, 
there  was  a  student  under  the  famous  Dr. 
Lorenz.  Returning  to  America  he  settled  in. 
Utica,  New  York,  where  he  has  built  up  an  ex- 
tensive practice  in  the  special  work  of  treating 
diseases  of  the  nose  and  throat. 

CALVIN  PARDEE  ENGLE.  One  of  the 
most  prominent  manufacturing  plants  in  Luzerne- 
county,  Pennsylvania,  is  that  of  Stephen  D.  En- 
gle, watch  manufacturer:  It  has  been  established, 
many  years  and  in  its  various  departments  the 
making  of  a  watch  can  be  observed  from  start  to- 
finish.  Stephen  D.  Engle  has  lived  in  Hazleton 
for  many  years,  and  is  well  known  as  a  business 
man  of  reliability  and  integrity.  He  married 
Martha  A.  Grenawalt.  who  was  born  in  Hazle- 
ton, Pennsylvania. 

Calvin  Pardee  Engle,  son  of  Stephen  D.  and. 
Martha  A.  (Grenawalt)  Engle,  was  born  in 
Hazleton,  Pennsylvania,  June  20,  1869.  He  was. 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Hazleton,  and 
later  entered  his  father's  employ  as  an  apprentice 
to  the  watch-making  trade,  serving  three  years. 
He  then  entered  the  manufacturing  and  repairing- 
department,  also  in  his  father's  factory,  and  re- 
mained there  until  1893,  when  he  removed  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He  started  in  busi- 
ness with  Frank  Clark  and  they  conducted  the 
business  under  the  firm  name  of  Clark  and  En- 
gle, at  26  South  Main  street.     They  succeeded' 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWAXXA    YALLEYS. 


469 


In  building  up  an  extensive  and  lucrative  busi- 
ness, which  they  carried  on  until  Xovember  I, 
1905,  when  they  removed  to  larger  and  more  com- 
modious quarters  at  Xo.  5  South  Main  street, 
their  present  location.  Their  business  is  thor- 
oughly equipped  in  every  respect  and  they  are 
able  to  handle  orders  of  any  size  in  their  line  of 
business.  Mr.  Engle  affiliates  with  the  Republi- 
can party  as  far  as  the  nation  is  concerned,  but  in 
local  politics  he  prefers  to  vote  as  the  needs  of 
the  moment  and  the  character  of  the  candidates 
for  office  may  dictate.  He  is  a  Presbyterian,  and 
a  member  of  the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, Landmark  Lodge,  Xo.  442,  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania :  Shekinah  Chapter,  Xo.  182, 
Wilkes-Barre ;  Dieu  Le  Yeut  Commandery,  Xo. 
45  ;  and  Irem  Temple. 

Mr.  Engle  married.  September  15,  1903, 
Katharine  E.  McGown,  born  in  Humboldt.  Lu- 
-zerne  county.  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  James 
E.  and  Sue  S.  McGown.  James  E.  McGown 
came  to  America  during  the  Civil  war,  entered 
the  Union  army  and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war,  when  he  was  mustered  out.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Calvin  Pardee  Engle  are  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren :  Martha  Louise,  born  December  2.-,  1904, 
at  "Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania :  John,  born  Jan- 
uary 27,  1906,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

CHARLES  E.  MACKIX.  born  December 
12,  1865,  son  of  Edward  and  Man-  J.  (  Dowling) 
Mackin.  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  has  spent  his  entire  life,  was  educated  in  public 
schools.  St.  Mary's  Parochial  School  and  Wyom- 
ing Seminary.  He  began  work  as  bookkeeper 
and  manager  in  his  father's  store  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  1882,  and  continued  in  that  capacity  until 
1887,  when  Charles  E.  and  his  brother  Dennis 
A.  became  proprietors  of  the  entire  business  and 
has  continued  as  such  up  to  date  (1906)  with 
Charles  E.  as  manager.  Charles  E.  Mackin  is  a 
Roman  Catholic  in  religion,  and  a  Democrat  in 
politics.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Columbus  in  Wilkes-Barre  since  its  organiza- 
tion about  1898,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Ancient  Order  cf  Hibernians,  the  St.  Aloysius, 
and  several  other  orders.  , 

Charles  E.  Mackin  married.  September  2, 
1891,  Mary  J.  Mundy,  born  February  27.  1867, 
daughter  of  John  and  Susan  ( Moore)  Mundy, 
formerly  of  Ireland,  later  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  their  children  are:  Edward,  born 
July  5,  1892,  attends  school :  John,  born  July  10, 
1893.  attends  school:  Mary,  born  April  11,  1905. 
Mrs.  Mackin  was  educated  at  St.  Mary's  Par- 
ochial school  and  Wyoming  Seminary,  and  taught 


at  the  East  End  grammar  school  in  Wilkes-Barre 
for  four  years.  She  was  one  of  a  family  of  ten 
children,  namely :  Mary  J.,  James,  Thomas,  John, 
Katherine,  Susan,  Cornelius,  Edward,  Sara,  and 
Leo  Mundy.  John  Mundy  (father)  emigrated 
from  Ireland  about  1863  and  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  married  and  where 
all  his  children  were  born.  He  has  been  one  of 
the  most  respected  citizens  of  that  city. 

BURTON  COURTRIGHT,  deceased,  born 
March  14,  1814,  in  Plains  township,  was  a  son  of 
Henry  Courtright,  who  was  born  in  1766  and  who 
was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Plains,  where  he 
owned  a  large  tract  of  coal  land  before  that  arti- 
cle of  commerce  was  discovered  and  which  he 
disposed  of  prior  to  that  time.  He  removed  from 
Plains  to  Exeter,  where  he  bought  another  farm 
on  which  he  remained  fifteen  years,  after  which 
he  removed  to  Franklin,  where  he  bought  another 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  acres,  some  of 
which  he  improved.  He  was  a  man  of  force  and 
influence,  of  sterling  qualities,  honest  and  indus- 
trious to  a  fault,  never  aspired  to  office,  yet  bore 
his  share  of  responsibility.  Henry  Courtright  mar- 
ried Rachel  Gore,  and  had  nine  children,  seven  of. 
whom  lived  to  maturity.  They  had  :  Mary  P. : 
Cvnthia,  married  Ariel  Rogers :  Louisa,  married' 
Arthur  Smith  :  Katherine  H,  married  John  Chap- 
man Snow,  of  whom  see  sketch  elsewhere  in  this 
work :  Houghton,  married  Sara  Ann  Jones ; 
Frances,  married  George  Cone ;  Sara  Myers ; 
Burton,  of  whom  later :  Henry,  died  young. 
Henry  Courtright,  the  father,  died  March  27, 
1864,  aged  ninety-eight  years.  Burton  Court- 
right,  second  son  of  Henry  and  Rachel  (Gore) 
Courtright,  resided  with  his  father,  and  in  1847 
moved  with  him  to  Franklin,  Pennsylvania,  and 
after  his  father's  death  took  charge  of  and  fell 
heir  to  the  property,  which  he  caused  to  improve 
under  his  magic  touch  as  long  as  he  lived.  He 
was  not  one  to  court  favors,  yet  he  always  re- 
ceived them.  He  had  great  influence  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  and  held  most  of  the  township 
offices.  He  married,  December  19,  1838,  Lucy 
Ann,  born  October  13,  1818.  at  Wyoming,  daugh- 
ter of  Theophilus  and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Earned, 
also  of  Wyoming.  Burton  and  Lucy  Ann  had 
children,  namely  :  1  Mary  Camella,  married  S.  D. 
Lewis,  and  died  August  3,  1886,  leaving  five 
children :  Oscar  C.  Frances  E.,  Everett,  Alice  and 
Blanche,  now  residing  in  Illinois,  near  Odell.  2. 
Adelaide  C,  died  August  23,  1904,  at  Orange, 
Luzerne  county,  and  was  buried  in  E^ton  cem- 
etery. 3.  Oscar  Larned,  married  Sophia  Step- 
hens, and  had  two  children:    Laura  A.,  married 


470 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Lester  Hough,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and 
Everett  P.,  married  Effie  Anderson,  also  of  New- 
ark, New  Jersey.  4.  Seymour,  born  in  Exeter 
township,  July  29,  1845,  ar,d  is  now  residing  on 
the  old  homestead  at  Orange,  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania.  He  has  held  many  of  the  town- 
ship offices,  which  he  filled  with  credit  to  himself 
and  his  fellow  citizens.  Politically  he  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat. He  married  Hattie  E.  Heft,  and  had  one 
daughter, Alice  Louisa,  married  Robert  Eaton, 
of  Orange;  in  1895,  and  died  in  1899.  Mrs. 
Hattie  E.  (Heft)  Courtright  died  May  21.  1889, 
and  Seymour  Courtright  married  (second)  Emily 
Phoenix,  of  Noxen,  Luzerne  county,  and  had 
three  children  :  Mona  Laura,  Marian  Dougherty, 
and  Lucy  Ann.  5.  Everett,  married  Elizabeth 
Posten,  and  had  one  son,  Archie  B.  6.  Alice 
Gore,  resides  at  Orange,  Luzerne  county.  7. 
Frank,  married  Ida  Posten,  and  had  two  children  : 
Burton  A.  and  Nina  M.  Frank  died  April  22, 
1897,  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  buried  in  Han- 
over Green  cemetery.  Dr.  Burton  A.,  his  son, 
a  practicing  dentist  in  Wilkes-Barre,  married, 
April  15,  1902,  Marie  Damon,  daughter  of  Mur- 
ray and  Ellen  (Brandow)  Damon,  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania.  Burton  Courtright,  the 
father  of  these  children,  died  in  1888,  in  his 
seventy-fourth  year,  and  Mrs.  Lucy  Ann 
(Larned)  Courtright,  his  wife  ,died  December 
23,  1903,  at  Orange ;  both  are  buried  in  Eaton 
cemetery,  at  Orange,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. (See  Courtright  Family  elsewhere  in  this 
work). 

JOSHUA  SHAY  LEWIS,  of  West  Pittston, 
a  retired  clergyman,  is  a  descendant  in  the  eighth 
generation  of  the  celebrated  family  of  this  name, 
early  members  of  which  resided  in  Rhode  Island, 
Connecticut  and  New  York  during  the  period 
when  this  territory  was  still  an  almost  complete 
wilderness. 

(I)  John  Lewis,  the  founder  of  the  family 
in  this  country,  came  from  East  Greenwich,  Eng- 
land, in  the  vear  1630.  He  bought  six  hundred 
acres  of  land  from  the  Indians  near  Misquamicut, 
now  called  Westerly,  Rhode  Island.  He  was  a 
signer  of  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  and  one  of 
the  five  deputies  who  established  the  Rhode  Island 
colony,  March  22,  1661.  He  was  admitted  a 
freeman  October  28,  1668.  Tradition  has  it  that 
John  Lewis  was  well  versed  in  the  Indian  dialect, 
and  that  he  was  elected  captain  of  a  company  for 
protection  against  the  Indians,  and  was  a  famous 
and  brave  Indian  fighter.  The  name  of  his  wife 
is  not  known,  but  she  came  to  America  against 
the  wishes  of  her  parents  to  meet  John  Lewis,  who 


had  the  reputation  of  being  a  "wild  blade."  When, 
the  boat  on  which  she  embarked  neared  the  land, 
John  Lewis  waded  into  the  surf,  clasped  her  in- 
his  arms  and  carried  her  to  the  shore.  They 
were  married  and  were  the  parents  of  seven  sons 
and  one  daughter  as  mentioned  below :  Jona- 
than, born  1658,  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  Sep- 
tember 17,  1679;  John,  of  whom  later;  Daniel; 
James  ;  David  ;  Israel ;  Samuel ;  and  Dorcas. 

(II)  John  Lewis,  second  child  and  son  of 
John  Lewis  (I),  the  founder  of  the  family,  was 
born  in  1660,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  May 
3,  1681.  In  1701  he  received  a  tract  of  land  as 
a  reward  for  gallant  services  in  the  Narragansett 
war,  thus  making  all  the  members  of  the  family 
eligible  to  the  societies  of  the  colonial  wars.  He 
was  the  representative  to  Newport  from  1704  to 
1710.  He  married  and  had  children  as  follows : 
Joseph,  of  whom  later,  Sarah,  Mary,  Anna,  Abi- 
gail, John,  William  and  Jerusha. 

(III)  Joseph  Lewis,  eldest  child  and  son  of 
John  Lewis  (II),  was  born  in  1683.  He  married 
Mary  Wilcox,  and  had  nine  children : :  Jerusha, 
Joseph,  of  whom  later;  Amos,  Esther,  Anna, 
Thankful,  Abraham,  Hannah,  and  Abel. 

(IV)  Joseph  Lewis,  second  child  and  eldest 
son  of  Joseph  Lewis  (III)  and  his  wife,  Alary 
Wilcox,  was  born  in  1709.  He  married  Mary 
Lewis,  a  cousin,  and  they  had  eight  children : 
Elizabeth,  David,  Joseph,  Oliver,  of  whom  later; 
Esther,  Jesse,  Mary,  and  Polly. 

(V)  Captain  Oliver  Lewis,  fourth  child  and 
third  son  of  Joseph  Lewis  (IV)  and  his  wife, 
Mary  Lewis,  was  born  in  Westerly,  Rhode  Is- 
land, 1738,  and  here  married,  February  10,  1766, 
Ruhamah  Lewis,  his  cousin,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  eight  children :  Rozzel,  Thankful, 
Elias,  Oliver,  of  whom  further;  Simeon,  Ichabod, 
Jabez,  and  Molly.  Captain  Lewis  and  his  wife 
are  buried  in  Westerly,  Rhode  Island. 

(VI)  Oliver  Lewis,  fourth  child  of  CaptairL 
Oliver  Lewis  (V)  and  Ruhamah  Lewis,  his  wife, 
was  born  in  Westerly,  Rhode  Island,  Mav  1,. 
1772.  Both  his  parents  and  his  four  grandpar- 
ents were  direct  descendants  of  John  Lewis,  the 
founder  of  this  family  in  America.  Oliver 
Lewis  resided  some  years  in  his  native  town  and 
there  married  Eunice  Chapman,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  fourteen  children  :  Oliver,  a  black- 
smith by  trade,  but  was  better  known  as  the 
weeping  prophet.  He  travelled  on  horseback 
throughout  the  Wyoming  Valley,  and  as  a  result 
of  his  labors  hundreds  of  men  were  converted ; 
Levi  Chapman,  of  whom  later ;  John,  Simeon. 
William,  Nathan,  Robert,  Joseph,  George,  Mary, 
Betsy,  Ruhamah,  Lucinda,  and  Sally  Ann.     The 


■   J^H^^t- 


<sL-t?L 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


47i 


family  removed  to  Orange  county.  New  York, 
where  death  claimed  his  loving  wife  and  help- 
mate. Subsequently  he  removed  to  Exeter  town- 
ship, six  miles  above  West  Pittston.  Pennsyl- 
vania. Here  Oliver  Lewis  and  his  children  re- 
sided, and  here  he  died. 

(VII)  Levi  Chapman  Lewis,  second  son  and 
child  of  Oliver  Lewis  (VI)  and  his  wife,  Eunice 
Chapman,  was  born  April,  1798,  in  Connecticut. 
He  was  reared  in  Orange  county,  New  York, 
where  his  mother  died.  He  removed  to  Sussex 
county,  New  Jersey,  where  he  learned  the  trade 
of  carpenter,  and  after  completing  his  apprentice- 
ship came  to  Exeter  township,  about  the  year 
1828,  accompanied  by  his  two  brothers,  walking 
the  entire  distance.  He  was  an  expert  carpenter, 
and  there  built  a  mill  for  Mr.  Sutton,  from  whom 
he  purchased  land  consisting  of  four  hundred  and 
fifty  acres,  and  with  his  brothers  was  engaged  in 
building  mills,  large  buildings,  etc.,  in  the  dis- 
trict. He  was  always  in  the  lead  in  the  advance- 
ment of  all  enterprises  which  tended  toward  the 
improvement  and  upbuilding  of  the  locality  in 
which  he  resided.  During  the  earlier  years  of 
his  life  he  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  later  chang- 
ing his  allegiance  to  the  Republic  party.  Dur- 
ing his  residence  in  Sussex  county.  New  Jersey, 
Levi  C.  Lewis  married  Hannah  Shay,  born  in 
that  county  daughter  of  Ephraim  Shay,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  nine  children :  Thomas, 
Joshua  Shay,  of  whom  later;  Salmon,  married, 
and  resides  on  a  part  of  the  old  homestead ;  Levi 
Vincent,  married,  and  resides  on  a  part  of  the  old 
homestead ;  Giles,  married,  resides  on  a  part  of 
the  old  homestead ;  George,  Rnhamah,  Evelyn, 
and  Amanda.  After  settling  in  Exeter  township 
Mr.  Lewis  went  back  to  Sussex  county,  New 
Jersey,  for  his  family,  and  upon  his  return  set- 
tled on  the  farm,  above  mentioned,  and  there  con- 
tinued to  reside.  He  died  in  Exeter,  Pennsyl- 
vania, aged  eighty-three  years,  and  his  wife  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Church., 

(VIII)  Joshua  Shay  Lewis,  son  of  Levi 
Chapman  Lewis  (VII)  and  his  wife,  Hannah 
Shay,  was  born  in  Sussex  county,  New  Jersey, 
January  18,  1829.  When  two  years  of  age  his 
parents  removed  to  Exeter  township,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  six  miles  from  where  West 
Pittston  is  now  located.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  district,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty  years  entered  the  Wyoming  Seminary  in 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  remaining  there  three 
years.  He  first  began  work  on  his  father's  farm, 
continuing  there  until  he  entered  the  seminarv, 
and  taking  up  the  same  occupation  afterward,  his 


father,  two  brothers  and  himself  clearing  up  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  of  their  farm  land. 
During  his  boyhood  he  sold  grain  at  what  is  now 
Scranton,  when  there  was  no  town  where  Pittston 
now  stands  and  no  bridge  across  the  Susque- 
hanna river  at  this  point.  When  twenty-four 
years  old  he  began  preaching,  his  inspiration  to 
become  a  clergyman  coming  to  him  when  he  was 
a  little  child.  It  was  from  hearing  Rev.  C.  W. 
Giddings  asking  God's  blessing  for  each  indiv- 
idual member  of  his  father's  family,  ending  with 
himself,  and  the  events  of  that  day  were  vividly 
impressed  upon  his  memory.  Although  devot- 
ing considerable  time  to  preaching  Air.  Lewis 
continued  his  fanning  operations,  enlarging  his 
possessions  at  different  times,  being  the  owner  of 
seventeen  different  pieces  of  land  at  different 
times  in  the  vicinity,  all  of  which  he  has  since 
disposed  of. 

The  first  sermon  preached  by  Mr.  Lewis  was 
in  the  Mt.  Zion  Church,  near  his  father's  home, 
which  was  built  by  his  father,  who  also  gave  the 
ground  on  which  it  was  erected.  His  second  ser- 
mon was  preached  at  Carverton,  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  same  district,  and  one  of  the  churches  in 
the  Lehman  charge  of  the  Wyoming  Conference, 
where  he  remained  one  year.  He  then  preached 
two  vears  at  Stoddardsville,  Pennsylvania.  The 
following  two  years  he  preached  at  Hyde  Park, 
on  the  Lackawanna  and  Hyde  Park  charge,  in  a 
school-house  where  the  city  of  Scranton  now 
stands,  and  through  his  efforts  the  land  on  which 
the  school-house  stood  was  purchased  and  on  this 
plat  the  Simpson  Street  Church  was  afterward 
built,  which  edifice  is  still  standing  in  Scranton. 
Since  then  Mr.  Lewis  has  had  nine  different 
charges  along  the  Susquehanna  river  at  various 
times,  meeting  with  signal  success  at  Factory- 
ville  and  Messhoppen,  Pennsylvania,  each  of 
which  charges  he  held  three  years.  At  Factory- 
ville  he  had  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  con- 
versions in  one  year,  holding  a  wonderful  revival 
which  brought  about  the  building  of  a  new 
church.  Mr.  Lewis  also  preached  at  Plainsville 
and  Forty  Fort,  Pennsylvania,  which  were  also 
very  pleasant  charges,  and  where  his  influence 
for  good  was  widely  felt.  He  was  present  and 
assisted  at  the  dedication  of  the  Messhoppen 
Methodist  Church,  December,  1905.  He  was  ac- 
tively engaged  in  the  ministry  up  to  a  short  time 
ago,  being  now  ( 1905)  in  his  seventy-sixth  year, 
is  one  of  the  oldest  living  clergymen  in  the  con- 
ference, of  which  he  has  always  been  a  very  ac- 
tive member,  and  still  continues  to  preach  at  op- 
portune occasions.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
Methodist   Conference  in    1S55,   and   has   conse- 


47^ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


quently  held  membership  in  the  same  for  fifty- 
one  years.  He  has  been  president  of  the  Dim- 
mock  Camp  Meeting  Association,  serving  in  that 
capacity  for  twenty-seven  years,  and  was  again 
elected  in  1905  for  another  year.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  a  staunch  Republican  in  politics. 

Mr.  Lewis  married,  April  26,  1857,  Mary  L. 
Shove,  daughter  of  David  Shove,  of  Connecticut, 
later  of  Susquehanna  county,  Pennsylvania.  His 
death  occurred  in  Broome  county,  New  York. 
Mary  L.  (Shove)  Lewis  was  a  student  at  Wyom- 
ing Seminary,  where  Mr.  Lewis  met  her.  She 
died  at  her  home  in  West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania, 
March  8,  1903.  Six  children  were  born  to  them  : 
Frank  Wesley,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years ; 
George  N.,  of  whom  later ;  Charles  G,  proprietor 
of  a  grocery  store  in  West  Pittston ;  he  married 
Harriet  Barber,  and  they  have  two  children : 
Robert  and  Marian  ;  Edith,  wife  of  John  J.  Booth, 
who  is  engaged  in  the  meat  business  in  Pittston, 
and  their  family  consists  of  three  children:  Mar- 
jorie,  Murray,  and  John  W.,  Jr. ;  Jay  Simpson, 
engaged  in  the  meat  business  in  West  Pittston ; 
he  married  Mamie  Pierce ;  Annie  L.,  wife  of 
James  C.  Law,  treasurer  of  the  Chicago  Subway 
Company,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  one  child, 
now  deceased.     They  reside  in  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Having  accumulated  a  competence  during  his 
very  busy  and  active  life,  Mr.  Lewis  is  now,  in 
his  declining  years,  reaping  his  reward  of  a  life 
well  spent,  spending  his  winters  in  West  Pittston 
and  his  summers  on  the  old  homestead  near  where 
he  was  reared,  amid  the  scenes  of  his  childhood, 
surrounded  by  his  relations,  children  and  grand- 
children. , 

(IX)  George  Nelson  Lewis,  eldest  son  and 
child  of  Joshua  Shay  (VIII)  and  his  wife,  Mary 
Louise  Shove,  was  born  at  Northmoreland, 
Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  6,  1862. 
He  had  the  advantage  of  an  excellent  education, 
being  a  graduate  of  the  Wyoming  Seminary  in 
1882,  and  then  attending  the  Syracuse  Univer- 
sity for  one  year.  He  then  went  to  Dakota  for  a 
time,  as  his  health  was  impaired.  He  has  a  not- 
able record  for  the  winning  of  prizes  and  medals 
for  athletic  performances,  and  some  of  the  rec- 
ords made  by  Mr.  Lewis  remained  unchallenged 
for  years.  He  was  the  winner  of  four  cups,  fif- 
teen medals,  and  many  other  prizes.  He  made  a 
record  at  Syracuse  of  one  hundred  yards  in  ten 
and  one-quarter  seconds ;  his  record  in  high 
jumping  was  five  feet,  eight  inches;  broad  jump, 
twenty-one  feet  and  three  inches ;  hop-step  and 
jump,  forty-one  feet  and  nine  inches;  pole  vault, 
ten  feet  and  two  inches ;  four  hundred  and  forty 


yard  run,  fifty-one  seconds ;  and  many  more  on  a 
par  with  these.  Mr.  Lewis  is  a  member  of  the 
West  Pittston  Hose  Company,  and  was  the  or- 
ganizer of  the  West  Pittston  Hose  Racing  Team, 
which  won  the  championship  of  the  United  States 
at  Coney  Island,  against  twenty-six  companies, 
and  was  undefeated.  He  has  had  charge  of  a 
retail  meat  business  in  West  Pittston  for  twenty- 
one  years.  Although  Mr.  Lewis  has  never  de- 
voted much  time  to  politics,  he  is  a  staunch  ad- 
herent of  the  Republican  party,  and  has  been  the 
treasurer  of  the  borough  for  two  terms.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Exeter  Club.  He  is  a  man  of 
great  force  of  character  and  energy,  and  is  ready 
to  take  the  initiative  in  any  movement  which  will 
tend  to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  whether 
social  or  commercial. 

Mr.  Lewis  married,  July  30,  1884,  Emma 
Edith  Barber,  of  Forty  Fort.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  four  children,  as  follows :  Burt  B.,  who 
is  studying  law  at  Dickinson  College ;  Byron  J., 
senior  in  the  high  school  at  West  Pittston ;  Hilda 
and  Elmer  F. 

IRA  D.  SHAVER,  deceased,  born  Tune 
1,  1832,  in  Dallas  township,  was  a  son  of  Will- 
iam and  Rachael  (Robbins)  Shaver,  both  na- 
tives of  Knowlton  township,  Sussex  county, 
New  Jersey. 

William  Shaver  (father)  was  born  in 
Knowlton  township  June  13,  1794,  and  came 
to  Dallas  with  his  father,  Philip,  and  his 
brother  John  P.  and  settled  in  what  is  now 
known  as  Shavertown.  (See  sketch  of  Shaver 
family  elsewhere  in  this  work.)  William  fol- 
lowed farming  and  the  undertaking  business 
all  his  life,  and  was  justice  of  the  peace  for 
ten  years  in  Dallas  township.  He  was  very 
active  in  church  circles  and  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Church.  He  married  Rachael  Rob- 
bins,  February  8,  1816,  and  had  children:  1. 
Mary,  born  December  20,  1816,  married  Da- 
vid Frantz.  2.  Charles,  born  July  19,  1818, 
married  Jane  Jones.  3.  Lucinda.  born  Jan- 
uary 9,  1820,  died  young.  4.  Elsie,  born 
March  1,  1822,  died  young.  5.  Philip,  born 
January  10,  1824,  married  Arminda  Irvin. 
6.  Philinda,  born  August  10,  1825,  married 
John  Low.  7.  Asa,  born  January  17,  1827. 
drafted  and  died  in  the  armv,  war  with  the 
south.  8.  Betsv  Ann,  born  October  23,  1828, 
married  John  Pursel.  9.  Andrew  Jackson, 
born  August  30,  1830,  married  Clarissa  Dev- 
enport ;  Andrew  was  also  a  soldier  in  the  war 
with  the  south.  10.  Ira  D.,  mentioned  here- 
after.    11.     Jerusha,  born   September  28,    1835, 


~HE    WYOMING    AXD    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


473 


died  young.  12.  Olive  Ann,  born  September 
10.  1837,  married  Charles  Parrish.  13.  Ol- 
iver, born  May  12,  1839.  married  Mrs.  Sara 
(Beisher)  Blakesley.  14.  William  Pern-, 
born  January  26,  1845. 

William  Shaver's  wife  died  June  22,  1847, 
and  he  married  (second)  Mrs.  Anna  (Nulton) 
Honeywell.  January  22,  1849.  and  had :  Han- 
nah Acca,  born  December  6,  1849.  and  Rachael 
Ann.  born  July  12,  1851,  married  Samuel  Ross. 
William  Shaver  died  in  Dallas.  September 
22,  1852,  and  was  buried  in  Shavertown  cem- 
etery. 

Ira  D.  Shaver  spent  almost  his  entire  life 
in  Dallas,  where  he  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools.  At  first  he  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade  and  later  followed  wagon  making,  after 
which  he  entered  the  mercantile  business 
(1856)  as  proprietor  of  a  general  store  in  his 
native  town,  continuing  as  such  all  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  served  as  treasurer  of 
Dallas  township  for  several  vears  previous 
"to  the  organization  of  the  Dallas  borough.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  first  council  and  served 
as  such  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  ap- 
pointed postmaster  during  President  Cleve- 
land's first  administration,  and  served  twelve 
years.  He  was  instrumental  in  establishing 
the  Dallas  high  school  and  took  the  contract 
for  the  erection  of  the  high  school  building. 
He  was  a  member  of  Oneida  Lodge,  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  George  M. 
Dallas  Loda:e,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 
He  attended  the  Methodist  Church,  and  was 
a  Democrat  in  politics. 

Ira  D.  Shaver  married,  at  Lehman.  Lu- 
zerne county,  January  3,  1856,  Phoebe  Frantz, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Frantz,  of  Carverton,  Lu- 
zerne count}-,  Pennsylvania,  and  had  seven 
children,  namely:  1.  Clara,  born  October 
18,  1856,  married  Charles  H.  Cook,  and  had 
Helen ;  Ira  and  Claude :  reside  at  Dallas.  2. 
William,  born  February  28,  1858,  died  No- 
vember 28,  1859.  3.  Wellington,  born  Sep- 
tember 8,  1859,  died  March  15,  i860.  4.  Cora, 
born  May  5,  1863,  married,  September  12, 
1883,  Frank  L.  Snyder  a  farmer  in  Dallas, 
born  August  4,  1861.  and  had  one  daughter, 
Grace,  born  April  21,  1885.  Frank  L.  Snyder 
died  November  15,  1884,  and  Cora  married 
(second),  April  8,  1890,  Chester  White,  of 
Dallas,  and  had  one  son.  Herman  C,  born 
September  28,  1893 ;  resides  at  Dallas.  5.  Al- 
"lie  E.,  born  August  28,  1864,  married  F.  F. 
Morris  and  had  Carrie,  Charles,  Russell,  Ira 
rand    Frantz,    deceased ;    reside    at    Dallas.      6. 


Stella  V.,  born  March  16,  1866,  married  Wal- 
ter Harter  and  had  Harry  and  Frank ;  reside 
at  Trucksville.  7.  Stanley  W.,  born  June 
16,  1869,  married  Lulu  Mathers  and  had  Har- 
old, Helen  and  Marian ;  reside  at  Harvey's 
Lake.  Ira  D.  Shaver  died  October  22,  1898, 
in  Dallas,  and  his  wife,  Phoebe,  died  in  the 
same  place  October  14,  1902 ;  both  are  buried 
in  Woodlawn  cemeterv. 


JOHN  CHAPMAN  SNOW,  deceased, 
born  about  1807,  in  Paxton,  Massachusetts, 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (Chapman)  Snow,  came 
to  the  Wyoming  valley  with  his  uncle,  Isaac 
Chapman,  when  he  (John)  was  about  nine 
years  of  age,  and  remained  in  the  valley  for 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools,  and  shortly  after  com- 
pleting his  studies  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  hats,  which  business  he  continued 
throughout  his  active  career  and  succeeded 
very  well.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania militia  and  was  captain  of  the  color 
guard  of  the  regiment.  In  politics  he  was 
an  old-time  Democrat.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Mr.  Snow  married  Katherine  H.  Court- 
right,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Rachel  (Gore) 
Courtright  (of  whom  see  sketch  elsewhere  in 
this  work)  and  had  four  children:  1.  Mary 
Elizabeth,     deceased.  2.     Joseph  Chapman, 

resides  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  is  the  father 
of  three  children :  Ella,  residing  near  Albany, 
New  York :  Maud  and  Burton  Courtright,  who 
reside  in  Chicago.  3.  Louisa  F.,  married 
John  F.  Ouin,  who  followed  the  life  in- 
surance business  in  Toronto,  where  he  died 
in  1889  and  was  buried  there.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  a  New  York  cavalry  regiment  during 
the  war  with  the  south  and  served  with  dis- 
tinction throughout  the  entire  period.  He 
was  very  patriotic :  he  was  offered  a  captaincy, 
but  declined,  as  he  desired  to  remain  with  his 
own  company,  in  which  he  held  the  rank  of 
sergeant-major.  Mr.  Ouin  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  Fraternity  of  Toronto, 
Canada.  His  widow,  Louisa  F.  (Snow) 
Ouin.  resides  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 
4.  Katherine  H.,  resides  in  Wilkes-Barre 
with  her  sister.  John  Chapman  Snow  died 
May  14,  1847,  at  the  early  age  of  forty  years, 
lamented  by  all.  His  widow,  Katherine  H. 
(Courtright)  Snow  died  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
June,  1851,  aged  forty-four  years,  and  her  re- 
mains were  interred  in  Orange  cemetery. 


474 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


CHARLES  LUTHER  WILDE,  of  Hazle- 
ton,  was  born  November  10,  1861,  in  Blythe 
township,  Schuylkill  county,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Elizabeth  ( Beck)  Wilde.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Hazleton  and 
graduated  from  the  high  school  in  that  place 
in  1879.  He  was  employed  from  1877  to  1879, 
during  evenings  and  Saturdays,  by  Bond  & 
Engle ;  from  1879  to  1881  by  Lauderbach  & 
Company;  from  1881  to  1884  by  E.  J.  Engle; 
in  1885  by  S.  W.  Hill;  in  1886-87-88  by 
Rohrheimer  &  Company;  from  1889  to  1898 
was  manager  of  a  grocery  store  for  George 
R.  Clark ;  and  from  1898  to  the  present  time 
has  been  a  manufacturer  of  ladies'  Swiss 
ribbed  vests.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Hazle- 
ton Improvement  Company ;  president  of 
Memorial  Park  Association,  Post  No.  20,  G. 
A.  R. ;  member  of  the  board  of  managers  of 
Hazleton  cemetery ;  member  of  F.  and  A.  M., 
K.  T.  and  J.  O.  A.  M.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  has  never  held  public  office,  but  has 
repeatedly  held  positions  of  honor  in  party 
service. 

Mr.  Wilde  married,  June  1,  1892,  Eliza- 
beth Jane  Brown,  daughter  of  Peter  and 
Elizabeth  (Turner)  Brown,  and  sister  of 
John  T.,  Robert  T.,  William  H,  Margaret 
Alice,  Arthur  P.,  and  Bessie  M.  Brown.  Ar- 
thur P.  Brown  married  Helen  Barber.  Peter 
Brown  (father)  was  a  son  of  John  and  Mar- 
garet Brown,  and  Elizabeth  (Turner)  Brown 
(mother)  was  a  daughter  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Fellows)  Turner.  Charles  L.  and  Eliza- 
beth Jane  (Brown)  Wilde  had  children :  In- 
fant daughter,  born  February  11,  1897,  and 
Jane  Elizabeth,  born  February  22,  1905. 

JAMES  G.  LAING,  one  of  the  oldest 
practicing  physicians  of  Dallas,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Argyle, 
Washington  county,  New  York,  March  18, 
1834,  son  of  the  Rev.  James  and  Mary  (Gard- 
ner) Laing,  of  Andes,  Delaware  county,  New 
York,  both  natives  of  Scotland,  where  the 
Rev.  James  Laing  was  educated  and  gradu- 
ated at  the  Glasgow  University,  coming  to 
America  with  his  wife  and  family  and  first 
settling  in  Argyle,  New  York,  where  his  son, 
Dr.  James  G  Laing,  was  born. 

Rev.  James  Laing  first  began  life  as  a 
workman  in  his  father's  factory  in  Scotland, 
where  he  manufactured  cloth.  James  serving 
in  the  capacity  of  weaver.  Later  he  became 
a  Presbyterian  minister  of  the  old  school  in 
Scotland,    and    continued    his    labors    in     the 


same  church  in  the  United  States,  first  in 
Argyle  and  later  in  Andes,  Delaware  county, 
where  he  was  in  charge  of  one  church  for 
about  thirty  years,  and  in  which  city  he  died 
suddenly  about  the  year  1854.  He  was  a  Whig 
in  politics.  John  Laing,  a  brother  of  Rev. 
James  Laing,  went  to  Buenos  Ayres,  Argen- 
tine Republic,  and  is  reputed  to  have  made  a 
fortune  there.  Rev.  James  and  Mary  (Gard- 
ner) Laing  were  the  parents  of  eight  children  : 
Jrnnes  G,  of  whom  later;  John,  deceased, 
w<ns  a  merchant;  he  married  a  Miss  Gladstone. 
Robert,  a  farmer,  resides  on  the  old  home- 
stead in  Andes,  New  York  with  his  brother 
William.  William,  a  farmer,  resides  on  the 
old  homestead ;  he  married  a  Miss  Armstrong, 
who  bore  him  three  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Charles,  deceased,  resided  on  the  old  home- 
stead. George  died  young.  Mary  E.,  married 
Dr.  J.  L.  Leal,  deceased,  and  had  three  chil- 
dren, one  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  one  died 
after  attaining  his  majority,  and  one  son  is 
now  a  practicing  physician  in  Paterson,  New 
Jersey.  Anna,  resides  at  Paterson,  New  Jer- 
sey, with  her  sister  Mary. 

James  G.  Laing  spent  his  early  days  in 
Argyle,  New  York,  where  he  attended  the 
public  schools,  going  with  his  father  to  An- 
des, Delaware  county,  New  York,  where  he 
completed  his  education,  graduating  at  the 
Collegiate  Institute  there.  He  then  took  up 
the  study  of  medicine  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Dr.  J.  L.  Leal,  at  that  time  practicing  in  An- 
des, and  continued  studying  under  him  until 
he  graduated  in  1858.  In  that  year  he  began 
practicing  his  profession  in  Andes  and  con- 
tinued for  about  two  years,  when  he  went  to 
Binghampton,  New  York,  and  practiced  there 
about  two  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
time  he  was  compelled  to  give  up  his  prac- 
tice there  on  account  of  ill  health.  He  then 
came  to  Pennsylvania,  settling  in  Ashley,  and 
after  practicing  there  about  one  and  a  half 
years  was  taken  sick,  and  on  the  advice  of 
Dr.  Crawford  and  other  physicians  abandoned 
his  practice  entirely  for  about  one  year.  Aft- 
er regaining  his  health  he  engaged  in  prac- 
tice in  Dallas,  Pennsylvania,  and  has  contin- 
ued there  up  to  date  (1906),  having  a  large 
and  lucrative  practice.  Formerly  Dr.  Laing 
practiced  surgery  to  a  large  extent,  but  now 
confines  himself  principally  to  general  medi- 
cine. He  served  as  coroner  of  Delaware 
county,  New  York,  for  three  years,  as  school 
director  in  the  borough  of  Dallas  for  three- 
years,  and  has  been  re-elected  to  the  same  of— 


■---  a 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


475- 


fice  for  a  similar  period  of  time.  He  formerly 
held  membership  in  the  Delaware  County 
(New  York)  Medical  Society,  Broom  County 
(New  York)  Medical  Society,  and  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Andes,  New 
York,  for  several  years.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican.  In  1856,  when  .twenty-two  years 
of  age,  Dr.  Laing  was  appointed  surgeon  of 
the  Twenty-seventh  Regiment,  New  York 
National  Guards,  receiving  the  appointment 
from  Governor  Morgan,  of  New  York,  and  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Civil  war,  1861, 
was  appointed  examining  surgeon  for  the 
state  and  held  this  position  about  four  years. 
His  duty  was  to  examine  men  under  draft, 
and  during  his  incumbency  of  office  examined 
over  three  thousand  men. 

Dr.  Laing  married,  September  4,  1861, 
Charlotte  Lee  Morris,  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry 
and  Caroline  (Smith)  Morris,  of  Cuddyback- 
ville,  Orange  county,  New  York,  and  had 
three  children  :  Henry  Morris,  born  June  29, 
1862,  followed  in  his  father's  footsteps  and 
has  practiced  medicine  in  Dallas  for  about 
twenty  years ;  he  married  Harriet  Wheeler, 
of  Liberty  Falls,  New  York.  Robert  Gard- 
ner, born  February  14,  1868,  resides  in  Dal- 
las with  his  parents.  George  Willis,  born 
February  4,  1870,  died  July  6,  1870,  in 
Downesville,  New  York,  and  was  buried  in 
Andes,  Delaware  county,  New  York. 

CONRAD  LEE,  general  dealer  in  lumber, 
proprietor  of  the  Wyoming  planing  mill,  and 
otherwise  largely  interested  in  the  business  affairs 
at  Wilkes-Barre  and  elsewhere,  was  born  in  Han- 
over township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania, 
November  3,  1842,  a  son  of  Stephen  and  Jane 
(Lines)  Lee. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  James  Lee,  and  his 
maternal  grandparents,  Conrad  and  Mary  (Fair- 
child)  Lines,  were  pioneer  settlers  in  Newport 
and  Hanover  townships,  Luzerne  county.  Con- 
rad Lines,  born  July  26,  1789,  passed  all  his  mar- 
ried life  of  about  fifty-three  years  in  Newport 
township.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and 
accumulated  a  valuable  tract  of  coal  land  of  over 
two  hundred  acres.  He  reared  a  family  of  six 
children. 

Stephen  Lee  and  Jane  Lines  were  married 
February  10,  1834,  and  removed  to  Delaware 
county,  Ohio,  where  Mr.  Lee  cleared  and  im- 
proved a  farm,  at  times  also  working  at  his  trade 
of  plasterer.  After  a  residence  there  of  six 
years  he  returned  to  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 


vania,   locating  in   Wright   township,   where   he 
erected  a  saw  mill  and  engaged  in  lumbering  and. 
farming.     After   a   period    of   twenty-two   years 
he  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  purchased  the 
planing  mill   at    Canal   and    North    streets.     He 
died  in  that  city  June    12,   1874,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-two  years.  His  widow  died  September  25,. 
1 88 1,  at  her  home  on  North  street.     Stephen  and 
Jane  (Lines)  Lee  had  seven  children  :  Conrad,  of 
whom  later;  John  R.,  of  whom  later;  Mary,  who- 
at  her  death  devised  all  her  property  (some  $25,- 
■000)  to  her  nephews  and  nieces,  died  at  the  old:' 
homestead;  Priscilla,  married  M.  S.  Roberts,  of 
Askam,  Hanover  township,  and  had  seven  chil- 
dren ;  Amanda,  married  Edward  Lutse,  now  re- 
tired, of  Clarks  Summit,  and  had  three  children.. 
Conrad    Lee,    eldest    child    of    Stephen    and 
Jane  (Lines)  Lee,  was  reared  in  his  native  county, 
and   completed   his    education    at   the   Wyoming 
Seminary,   Kingston.     In  his  early  manhood  he 
taught  school  for  several  terms  in  the  home  neigh- 
borhood, and  on  attaining  his  majority  went  to 
Rome  Corners,  Delaware  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
taught   school   one   term.      The    following   three 
years  he  was  yard  foreman  in  the  lumber  depart- 
ment of  John  L.  Gill  &  Company,  at  Columbus, 
Ohio.     Returning   to   Luzerne   county,   Pennsyl- 
vania, he  gave  some  time  to  dealing  in  govern- 
ment mules  and  western  cattle,  disposing  of  them 
in  the  principal  markets  throughout  the  country.. 
In  1865,  when  but  twenty-three  years  of  age,  he- 
was    appointed    outside    superintendent    of    the- 
Avondale  coal  mines,  a  position  which  he  held  for- 
twenty-one  years,  marked  with  peculiar  experi- 
ences.    Shortly  after  his  appointment  a  sudden  - 
freshet  threatened  the  sweeping  away  and  entire 
loss  of  the  timber   for  the  erection  of  the  coal" 
brakers  which  had  been  floated  to  a  point  just  be- 
low   Plymouth.     Mr.   Lee,   with   the   aid    of  his 
men,  lashed  the  timbers  to  trees  and  in  the  morn- 
ing, discovering  that  a  continued  rising  of  water 
had  brought  it  to  a  convenient  height,  cut  his 
lashings  and  floated  his  timbers  over  fields  and" 
fences  to  the  exact  spot  where  they  were  needed. 
The  owner,  John  C.  Phelps,  coming  to  the  river 
bank  in  the  morning,  and  unaware  of  what  had 
occurred,    seeing  no   trace   of  the  -timber,   gave 
them  up  for  lost,  and  considered  himself  thous- 
ands of  dollars  out  of  pocket.     When  the  water 
had    subsided    sufficiently   for   him   to   cross   the 
stream  he  found  his  property  on  the  spot  to  which 
it  had  been  conveyed  by  Mr.  Lee,  to  whom  he- 
expressed    his    gratitude    and    admiration,    and 
thenceforward  he  reposed  unbounded  confidence 
in  one  who  had  served  so  faithfully  and  saga- 


476 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


ciously.  During  the  Molly  Maguire  difficulties 
Mr.  Lee  was  regarded  with  hatred  by  the  mur- 
derous band,  and  his  footsteps  were  dogged  on 
various  occasions,  but  he  fortunately  escaped  un- 
hurt. While  in  charge  of  the  mines  the  first 
great  mining  disaster  in  the  coal  region  occurred, 
September  6,  1869,  in  which  one  hundred  and 
eight  men  lost  their  lives.  This  accident  was  the 
direct- cause  of  the  passage  of  the  law  known  as 
the  "mine  ventilation  law,"  which  makes  it  obliga- 
tory to  have  two  openings  to  every  mine. 

In  his  younger  days  at  home  Mr.  Lee  had  be- 
come thoroughly  familiar  with  the  lumbering 
business  through  his  association  with  his  father  in 
the  mill  in  Wright  township,  and  after  the  death 
of  the  latter,  in  1874,  young  Conrad  became  in- 
terested in  the  Wyoming  planing  mill  and  lumber 
business  at  Wilkes-Barre,  with  which  his  father 
had  been  connected,  and  also  a  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  Avondale.  Since  1886  he  has  been  the 
sole  proprietor  of  the  planing  mill  and  lumber 
business,  which  he  has  brought  to  large  dimen- 
sions. Mr.  Lee  is  also  president  of  the  George  F. 
Lee  Coal  Company ;  the  Forty  Fort  Land  Com- 
pany ;  and  a  stockholder  in  the  Wyoming  Valley 
Trust  Company.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  lumber  firm  of  Scouton.  Lee  & 
Company,  of  Parsons,  Pennsylvania.  He  is  a 
large  owner  of  and  dealer  in  real  estate  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  is  enterprising  and  public-  spirited,  takes 
an  active  interest  in  community  affairs,  exerting 
himself  to  further  the  advancement  of  the  varied 
interests  of  the  citv  and  county.  He  is  an  active 
member  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  board  of  trade ;  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  in  poli- 
tics is  a  Republican.  In  all  his  relations  he  is  re- 
garded with  entire  confidence  for  his  unassail- 
able integrity,  while  his  personal  qualities  make 
him  a  prime  favorite  in  whatever  circle  he  moves. 
Air.  Lee  married,  July  26,  1868,  Agnes  Weir, 
daughter  of  Martin  and  Jane  (Govan)  Weir,  of 
Hazelton,  and  natives  of  Renfrewshire,  Scotland. 
Of  this  marriage  were  four  children  :  1.  George, 
born  in  Avondale,  September  23.  1870.  He  is 
the  principal  owner  of  a  lumber  yard  at  Parsons 
and  another  at  Hanover,  and  of  stores  at  the  last 
named  place  and  Avondale.  He  is  the  sole  man- 
ager of  the  George  F.  Lee  Coal  Company,  two 
miles  below  Plymouth.  He  married,  October  10, 
1893,  Phebe  English,  of  Jersey  City.  They  re- 
side in  Dorranceton,  and  have  three  children : 
John,  Phebe  and  Abbie.  2.  Margaret  Weir, 
born,  1872,  at  Avondale.  She  married,  Septem- 
ber 3,  1903,  Rev.  John  Henry  Palmer,  of  Elmira, 
New  York,  who  has  .charge  of  the  parish  of  Hollis 


on  Long  Island.  They  have  one  child,  Mildred. 
born  September  6,  1904.  3.  Jean,  born  Feb- 
ruary 3,  1876,  at  Avondale,  married  Frank  E. 
Donnelly,  a  lawyer  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania, 
and  has  one  child,  Lee  Donnelly.  4.  William 
S.,  born  February  24,  1880,  at  Plymouth.  He 
was  educated  at  the  high  school  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  is  now  the  financial  manager  of  his  father's 
business. 

John  R.  Lee,  second  child  of  Stephen  and 
Jane  (Lines)  Lee,  was  born  November  17,  1848. 
He.  was  a  wholesale  grocer,  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Hart,  Lee  &  Company,  of  Market  street, 
Wilkes-Barre,  also  vice-president  and  a  director 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Plymouth ;  a 
director  in  the  People's  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre; 
and  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Water  Company.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  city  council  for  three  years, 
and  an  active  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  and  was  affiliated  with  the  Masonic  lodge 
of  Wrilkes-Barre.  He  was  twice  married.  His 
first  wife  was  Emily  Pell,  a  member  of  an  old 
family  of  Luzerne  county.  His  second  wife  was 
Ellen  Hutchinson,  who  is  yet  living  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  They  had  two  sons :  Clarence  R.  and 
Henry  L.,  members  of  the  firm  of  Hart,  Lee  & 
Company  ;  and  a  daughter  Emily. 

H.  E.  H. 

ABRAHAM  VAN  CAMPEN,  a  prominent 
and  influential  citizen  of  Dorranceton,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  for  manv  years  inti- 
mately connected  with  its  business  interests, 
whose  death  was  deeply  regretted  by  the  resi- 
dents of  that  town,  was  a  representative  of  a  fam- 
ily which  had  been  settled  in  the  Lnited  States 
generations  previously. 

(I)  Andrew  Van  Campen  the  first  of  the 
name  of  whom  we  have  any  diflnite  record,  and 
the  grandfather  of  Abraham  A^an  Campen,  re- 
sided on  the  old  homestead  at  Pahaquary.  New 
lersev.  where  he  spent  his  life  and  died.  He 
married  Anna  Michael,  and  among  their,  children 
was  a  son,  Moses. 

(II)  Moses  Van  Campen.  son  of  Andrew 
(I)  and  Anna  (Michael)  Van  Campen,  was  born 
on  the  homestead  at  Pahaquary,  New  Jersey, 
January  12,  1823.  He  was  engaged  in  the  meat 
business  for  many  years,  first  in  Pahaquary,  New 
Tersey,  and  later  in  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  to  which 
place  he  had  removed.  He  was  industrious  and 
thrifty,  and  enjoyed  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
his  fellow  citizens  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  Wilkes-Barre.  Pennsylvania.  October  26,  1885, 
and  he  was  buried  in  Forty  Fort  cemeterv. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA     VALLEYS. 


477" 


Moses  Van  Campen  married  Margaret  Wal- 
ters, born  January  I,  1828,  now  residing  in  Forty 
Fort.  They  had  six  children,  two  of  whom  died 
in  infancy ;  and  those  who  attained  maturity  are : 

1.  Alary,  deceased,  married  Jefferson  R.  Worman, 
now  deceased,  formerly  of  Miners'  Mills,  and 
they  had  three  children :  Bessie,  .May  E.,  and 
Ira  F.  2.  Abraham,  of  whom  later.  3.  Frank- 
lin Pierce,  married  (first)  Elizabeth  Smith,  de- 
ceased; married  (second)  Alice  Rustan,  and  had 
two  children :  Aileen  and  Charles.  He  resides  at 
Forty  Fort.  4.  Thomas  Taylor  Shoemaker,  de- 
ceased, married  Man,-  Widger,  and  had  two  chil- 
dren :  Moses  and  Howell.  His  widow  married 
(second)  a  Mr.  McDaniels,  of  Shickshinny. 

(Ill)  Abraham  Van  Campen,  second  child 
and  eldest  son  of  the  surviving  children  of 
Moses  (2)  and  Margaret  (Walters)  Van  Cam- 
pen,  was  born  in  Pahaquary,  New  Jersey,  March 

2,  1851.  He  was  educated  in  the  private  schools 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  in  the  Wyoming  Seminary. 
He  commenced  his  business  career  by  accepting 
a  position  as  clerk  in  the  general  grocery  store 
of  a  Mr.  Stoddard,  in  Wi-lkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  retained  this  for  two  years.  He  then 
entered  his  father's  business  and  continued  with 
him  for  about  eight  years.  At  the  end  of  this 
period  he  established  himself  in  the  trade  of 
painting  and  paperhanging,  and  followed  this 
occupation  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  its  vicinity.  Mr.  Van  Campen  was  a 
man  of  energy  and  force  of  character,  alive  to 
the  needs  of  the  time  in  which  he  lived,  progres- 
sive, and  ready  to  adopt  any  new  method  of  whose 
benefit  he  felt  convinced.  His  political  affiliations 
were  Republican,  and  he  took  a  lively  interest  in 
all  public  affairs.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  for  many  years,  and  his 
widow  and  family  are  still  members  of  the  same 
body.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Patriotic  Order 
Sons  of  America  for  about  twenty-three  years  in 
Plains,  Forty  Fort  and  Luzerne.  He  was  the 
first  district  president  of  that  order,  and  delegate 
to  the  state  encampment  six  or  seven  times.  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  for  about  four 
years.  His  death  occurred  at  his  home  in  Dor- 
ranceton, February  15,  1892,  and  he  was  buried 
in  Forty  Fort. 

Abraham  Van  Campen  married,  January  22, 
1873,  in  Parsons,  Pennsylvania,-  Mary  Elizabeth 
Shiffer,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  daughter  of  James 
and  Mary  (Rymer)  Shiffer.  James  Shiffer,  the 
father  of  Mrs.  Abraham  Van  Campen,  was  born 
January  11,  1823,  and  died  at  the  residence  of 
his  daughter,  in  Dorranceton,  February  16,  1897. 


He  was  the  son  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Frey). 
Shiffer,  of  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  and  resided  in. 
Plains,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  gardener  by 
occupation  and  was  also  in  the  employ  of  the 
Laurel  Run  Coal  Company.  Mrs.  Mary  (Rymer) 
Shiffer,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Abraham  Van. 
Campen,  was  born  February  1,  1828,  died  at. 
Forty  Fort,  April  28,  1881,  and  is  buried  there. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Michael  and  Mary 
(Laubach)  Rymer,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  whose- 
grandparents  came  from  Holland  and  resided  in. 
Parsons,  Pennsylvania. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Abraham  Van 
Campen  are  as  follows:  1.  Veola  May,  born  Oc- 
tober 12,  1873,  resides  at  home  in  Dorranceton.. 
2.  Otis  Byron,  September  10,  1875,  resides  in. 
Westmoor,  Pennsylvania ;  he  married  Barbara 
Petch,  and  has  one  child,  Edith  Leila.  3.  Emma 
Vertie,  December  4,  1877,  resides  in  Gordon,. 
Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania,  married  John 
F.  Lewis  and  has  one  child,  John  F.  4.  George - 
Welles,  March  2,  1887,  resides  at  home.  5.  Edith 
Leila,  July  1,  1889,  resides  at  home. 

GURDIN  PERRIN,  deceased,  a  descend-- 
ant  in  the  eighth  generation  of  John  Perrin, 
the  founder  of  this  branch  of  the  family,  was, 
born  in  Northmoreland  township,  on  the  old 
home  farm,  August  18,  1828.  The  line  from. 
John  Perrin  (1)  was  John  (2),  John  (3),  John 
(4),  Timothy  (5),  Timothy  (6),  Calvin  (7), 
Gurdin  (8).    (See  Perrin  family.) 

Gurdin  Perrin  spent  his  early  days  on  the 
old  homestead,  attending  the  common  schools 
in  winter  and  working  on  the  farm  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  Later  he  taught  school, 
and  after  abandoning  this  vocation  worked  on 
a  farm  on  his  own  account  until   1857,  when 
he    removed    into    the    valley,     locating    near  - 
Pittston,   Jenkins    township,    and    engaged    in 
the  grocery  business,  which  proved  highly  re- 
munerative.     After   conducting  the   same   for* 
a  period  of  almost  five  years  he  removed  to 
Yatesville,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  conducted 
a  general  store.     When  the   Civil   war  broke 
out,    his    patriotic    sentiments    prompted    him 
to  enlist  his  services  in  defense  of  the  Union,  . 
but  he  was  deterred  from  participation  there- 
in owing  to  impaired  health.     Mr.  Perrin  was 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  in  which 
he  served  as  class  leader,  steward,  and  on  the 
official    board.     He    was    a    stanch    adherent    of  ' 
the  principles  of  Republicanism,  and  cast  his 
first   presidential   vote    for   John     Charles     Fre-  - 
mont.     He  was  a  man  very  well  thought  of" 
in  the  community  in  which  he  lived,  and  was  -. 


47S 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


noted  for  his  honesty,  integrity  and  upright- 
ness of  character. 

Mr.  Perrin  married,  December  16,  1847, 
Fanny  Jane  Lewis,  born  in  Orange,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  August  8,  1829,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Oliver  and  Cynthia  (Smith)  Lewis, 
who  resided  in  Orange  county,  New  York. 
He  was  known  as  "the  weeping  prophet." 
(see  Lewis  family  elsewhere  in  this  work). 
Four  children  were  the  issue  of  this  marriage : 
1.  Arminda,  born  September  24,  1848,  died 
December  26,  1864.  2.  Morgan  Lewis,  (9) 
born  May  5,  1850,  married  Anna  L.  Searle, 
.and  had  children:  Ralph  E.,  deceased;  Jesse, 
Ella  S.,  and  Mary  N. ;  the  family  reside  in 
West  Pittston.  3.  Mattie  J.,  born  June  21, 
1858,  married  Eugene  Bonstein,  formerly  of 
West  Pittston,  but  now  residing  in  Shick- 
shinny,  and  had  seven  children,  three  of 
whom  are  living:  Lawrence  Gurdin,  Edward 
Blaine,  now  studying  music  at  Leipsic,  Ger- 
many, and  Robert  John  Bonstein.  4.  Emily 
A.,  born  June  3,  1862  in  Pittston,  resides  at 
home.  Gurdin  Perrin  died  December  24,  1866, 
aged  thirty-eight  years,  and  was  buried  in 
Northmoreland  cemetery.  He  leaves  to  his  fam- 
ily the  priceless  heritage  of  an  untarnished  name 
and  reputation. 

REV.  JOSEPH  DAWIDOWSKI.  One 
■of  the  leaders  of  the  Independent  Polish 
National  church  in  Plymouth  is  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Dawidowski,  a  son  of  John  and 
Frances  Dawidowski,  of  German  Poland.  The 
family  consisted  of  eight  children,  three  sons 
and  five  daughters,  all  of  whom,  with  one  excep- 
tion, have  remained  in  their  native  land.  The 
death  of  the  father  occurred  in  1891. 

Joseph  Dawidowski,  son  of  John  and  Frances 
Dawidowski,  was  born  November  5,  1877,  in  Ger- 
man Poland,  and  was  educated  in  Roman  Catho- 
lic seminaries  in  his  native  land.  Later  he  en- 
tered a  Roman  Catholic  college  in  Rome,  from 
which  he  graduated,  and  in  1890  was  ordained  to 
the  priesthood.  The  same  year  he  emigrated  to 
the  United  States,  and  was  sent  to  Detroit,  Michi- 
gan, where  he  was  appointed  professor  of  Latin 
in  the  Roman  Catholic  Polish  seminary.  He  re- 
mained in  this  position  until  1901,  when  he  de- 
cided to  join  the  Independent  movement.  He  was 
given  charge  of  the  church  at  Priceburg,  where 
he  remained  until  1004,  when  he  was  transferred 
to  St.  Mary's  Polish  National  church  at  Plym- 
outh. 

This  church  was  organized  at  the  time  of  the 


founding  of  the  Polish  National  church,  in  1897, 
and  the  following  year  a  church  edifice  and  parish 
house  were  erected.  The  membership  has  in- 
creased'rapidly;  and  at  the  present  time  includes 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  families  and  two 
hundred  single  members.  Among  this  number 
are  to  be  found  many  of  the  leading  business  men 
of  the  borough.  The  parochial  school  numbers 
eighty-five  .pupils,  a  noteworthy  fact  when  it  is 
remembered  that  children  over  ten  years  of  age 
attend  the  public  schools.  Rev.  Dawidowski  is 
loved  and  respected  by  his  parishioners,  and  his 
pastoral  labors  are  reaping  their  reward  in  the 
growing  enlightenment  and  increasingly  higher 
standards  of  living  which  prevail  among  his 
people.  He  is  also  working  hard  to  abolish  the 
celibacy  among  the  priests  of  the  Polish  Inde- 
pendent church  in  this  country,  and  is  also  trying 
hard  to  introduce  the  Holy  Bible  and  especially 
the  New  Testament  into  his  church,  and  to  leave 
out  the  remainder  of  the  Roman  ceremonies.  All 
of  the  services  are  now  conducted  in  the  Polish 
tongue.  They  were  formerly  conducted  in  Latin 
and  very  few  of  the  Polish  congregation  could 
understand  it,  and  they  were  very  much  over- 
joyed when  they  heard  the  services  in  their  na- 
tive tongue. 

Rev.  Joseph  Dawidowski  married  in  1905, 
and  his  lovely  wife  is  a  great  help  to  him  in  his 
religious  reformation  work. 

DILLEY  FAMILY.  Richard  Dilley  (or 
Dilly,  as  the  name  was  often  spelled)  was  a  na- 
tive of  New  Jersey.  There  were  New  Jersey  Dil- 
leys  in  the  Revolutionary  war — John  Dilley  and 
Joseph  Dilley,  who  were  privates  in  the  Morris 
county  regiment,  and  Ephraim  Dilley,  who  was 
also  a  private.  There  is  nothing  of  record  to 
directly  connect  these  revolutionary  Dilleys  with 
Richard  Dilley,  but  they  doubtless  were  of  the 
same  family.  Richard  Dilley  removed  from  New 
Jersey  to  the  Wyoming  Valley  and  settled  in  what 
is  now  Hanover  township,  Luzerne  county,  soon 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  and  in  1784  removed 
to  the  river  road  at  Buttonwood,  where  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  died  in  Hanover 
in  1799.  His  wife's  name  is  not  mentioned  in 
family  records,  and  cannot  now  be  recalled.  They 
had  ten  children,  all  born  in  New  Jersey,  namely : 
Richard,  died  1840:  married  Pollv  Voke ;  Susan- 
nah ;  Adam ;  Jerusha,  married  Edward  Inman ; 
Prudence,  married  Edward  Edgerton  ;  Jonathan, 
married  Mary  Magdalene  Lueder.  Dayton,  died 
Richards ;  John  F. ;  Ruth,  married  Joel  Burritt ; 
Nancv,  married  Nathan  Wade. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


479 


Richard  Dilley,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  in 
New  Jersey,  and  came  with  his  father's  family  to 
Hanover  township.  He  lived  at  Buttonwood. 
He  married  Polly  Yoke.  They  had  children, 
namely:  James,  barn  1792,  died  1862;  married 
Margaret  Campbell.  Jesse,  born  1794,  died  1852; 
married  Mary  Magdalene  Lueder.  Dayton,  died 
about  1855 ;  married  Lorinda  Marcy.  Susan, 
born  1798,  died  1879,  unmarried.  Sally  married 
John  Dolph.  Amor,  married  a  Quithel.  Jerusha. 
Jesse  Dilley,  second  son  and  child  of  Richard 
Dilley  and  Polly  Voke,  was  born  in  Hanover 
township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  Febru- 
ary 17,  1794,  and  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1852.  His  occupation  was  that  of 
butcher  and  meat  dealer.  His  wife,  Mary  Mag- 
dalene Lueder,  born  November  15,  1801,  died 
March  24,  1878,  was  a  daughter  of  Christian 
Lueder,  who  came  from  Northampton  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  the  Wyoming  Val- 
ley among  the  early  settlers.  They  had  children, 
namely : 

Sylvester,  born  January  29,    1823,   died  De- 
cember 24,   1892 ;  married  Mary  Ann  Barkman. 
Aiming,    born    December    15,    1824;   married 
Eliza  Houpt,  and  lives  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

Lyman,  born  April  20,  1827,  died  April  27, 
1847;  killed  at  Cerro  Gordo,  Mexico,  during  the 
Mexican  war. 

Urbane,  born  September  9,  1829,  died  De- 
cember 3,  1901 ;  married  Lydia  Ann  Webber. 

Charlotte,  born  February  24,  1831,  married 
Charles  Lathrop,  and  lives  at  Carbondale,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Butler,  born  June  24,  1834,  married,  January 
i,  1863,  Ellen  Pettebone. 

Friedland,  born  February  27,  1836,  died  Feb- 
ruary, 1862. 

Emory,  born  August  22,  1840,  died  as  an 
infant. 

Monroe,  born  August  21,  1842,  married  Jo- 
anna Marks.  He  died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Mary,  born  August  29,  1845,  married  Edwin 
H.  Jones.  Lives  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 
Sylvester  Dilley,  eldest  son  and  child  of  Jesse 
Dilley  and  Mary  Magdalene  Lueder,  was  born  in 
Hanover  township,  January  29,  1823,  and  on 
January  I,  1846,  married  Mary  Ann  Barkman, 
daughter  of  William  Barkman  and  Mary  Ann 
Preston.  Sylvester  Dilley  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  but,  like  his  father  and  brothers,  engaged 
in  the  meat  business  and  carried  on  a  market  for 
some  years  in  Wilkes-Barre.  He  also  dealt  in 
-cattle  and  was  perhaps  more  widely  known  as 


a  cattle  dealer  dealer  than  otherwise.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  was  active  manager  for  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Coal  and  Iron  Company  of  its  farm 
in  Wilkes-Barre  city  and  township,  superintend- 
ing the  agricultural  operations  of  that  farm, 
which  then  consisted  of  some  six  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  coal  lands.  A  large  portion  of  this 
land  has  since  then  been  covered  with  dwellings. 
The  remainder  now  belongs  to  the  Lehigh  and 
Wilkes-Barre  Coal  Company.  He  died  Decem- 
ber 24,  1892.  Mary  Ann  Dilley,  his  wife,  died 
December  8,  1905.  The  children  of  Sylvester 
Dilley  and  Mary  Ann  Barkman  were : 

Delphine,  born  November  17,  1846,  died  Au- 
gust 11,  1847. 

Emory  L,  born  March  13,  1849,  died  March 
15,  1850. 

Clara  J.,  born  March  24,  185 1,  married  Wil- 
liam, son  of  John  and  Catherine  Rickard,  of 
Cornwall,  England.  He  was  born  November  14, 
1844.  They  had  children : :  Walter  U.,  born 
March  23,  1869.  Stella,  born  January  12,  1871  ; 
married  Clement  Bossart,  of  Ashley,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Emma,  born  December  5,  1872,  married 
Albert  Swank,  and  now  deceased.  William,  born 
December  15,  1877,  married  Agnes  Kline.  Fred, 
born  September,  1881.  Eva,  born  April  6,  1883. 
Eddie,  born  April  6,  1883,  died  July  30,  1883. 
Bessie,  born  January  10,  1887. 

Emma  Augusta,  born  May  25,  1854,  married 
Methusla  Stone,  who  came  to  Wilkes-Barre  from 
England,  and  had  Etta,  born  March    17,    1875; 
married  William  Creter.    Myrtle,   born  January 
29,  1887,  died  June  6,  1887. 
Lucv  E.,  born  July  1,  1857. 
Ida  M.,  born  May  6,  i860. 
Henry  E.,  born  March  20,  1863. 
Jesse  E.,  born  December  27,  1866,  died  No- 
vember 1,  1868. 

Oscar  H,  born  January  14,  1869;  married 
Sara  S.  Johnson. 

Oscar  H.  Dilley,  youngest  son  and  child  of 
Sylvester  Dilley  and  Mary  Ann  Barkman,  was 
born  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  Wilkes-Barre  public  schools  and  at 
the  Wilkes-Barre  Business  College.  On  July  1, 
1891,  he  accepted  a  clerkship  in  the  office  of 
Frank  W.  Larned,  Esq.,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and 
later  read  law  under  Mr.  Larned's  preceptorship. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1895,  and  until 
July,  1904,  was  connected  with  Mr.  Larned's 
office.  Since  that  time  he  has  conducted  his  pro- 
fession alone.  He  has  been  for  many  years  an 
active  member  of  the  Junior  Order  United  Amer- 
ican Mechanics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Franklin 


48o 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Club.     On   May  21,    1903,   he  married   Sara   S. 
Johnson,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Catherine  John- 
son, of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.     They  have 
one  child,  Robert  F.  Dilley,  born  May  17,  1904. 
Butler  Dilley,  sixth  child,  fifth  son,  of  Jesse 
Dilley  and  Hannah  K.  Luecler,  was  born  in  Han- 
over   township,    Luzerne    county,    Pennsylvania, 
and  has  spent  nearly  his  whole  life  in  business 
pursuits,  except  during  his  services  in  the  United 
States  army  before  and  throughout  the  war  of 
1861-1865,    and    his    subsequent    service    in    the 
government  printing  office  in  Washington,  D.  C. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and 
afterward,  working  with  his  father,  he  took  up 
the  latter's  occupation  and  became  a  butcher  and 
meat  dealer,  a  cattle  buyer,  who  at  one  time  was 
as  well  acquainted  throughout  the  townships  of 
Luzerne  county  as  any  man  within  that  jurisdic- 
tion.   After  his  return  from  army  life  he  resumed 
his    former    occupation,    and    was    butcher    and 
drover  until  1868,  when  he  was  appointed  proof 
reader  in  the  government  printing  office  in  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia,  remaining  there  be- 
tween six  and  seven  years.     He  then  returned  to 
\V ilkes-Barre ;  later  removed  to  Forty  Fort,  and 
thence  to  Kingston,  where  he  has  since  resided, 
enjoying  the  comforts  of  life.     In  Kingston  he 
has  taken  an  earnest  interest  in  local  politics,  al- 
ways on  the  Republican  side.     He  was  burgess 
of  the  borough  six  years,  supervisor  of  Kingston 
township  one  term,  and  at  present  is  a  policeman 
and  constable  of  Lake  township.     He  is  promi- 
nently  identified   with   the    work   of   the    Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  and  has  contributed  sev- 
eral interesting  and  valuable  articles  upon  sub- 
jects relating  to  the  late  civil  war.     He  is  histo- 
rian of  Conyngham  Post,  No.  97,  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic.     Butler  Dilley  married,  January  I, 
1863,  Ellen  Pettebone,  daughter  of  Oliver  Pette- 
bone  and  Mary  Bowman  Pettebone.     The  chil- 
dren of  Butler  Dilley  and  Ellen  Pettebone  are : 
Friedland,  born  January  20,  1864,  died  March 
13,  1893;  married  Minnie  Holbrook,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Philip  Holbrook,  and  had  Butler  Friedland 
Dilley,  born  August  26,  1886 ;  and  Helen  Dilley, 
born  January,  1888.  Mary  Evelena,  born  June  24, 
1867,  died  March  27,   1868.  Edwin  Jones,  born 
June  24,   1867,  died  April  3,  1868.  Bertie  Dyer, 
born  December  27,  1870,  died  January  26,  1872. 
A  son,  born  November  7,  1872,  died  November 
21,  1872.    Herbert,  born  January  26,  1874,  died 
August  22,  1874.  H.  E.  H. 

JUSTUS  EMORY  ALTMILLER.  The 
family  of  which  Justus  E.  Altmiller,  of  Hazleton, 
Pennsylvania,    is    a    worthy    representative,    was 


founded  in  this  country  by  his  grandfather,  John 
Altmiller,  a  native  of  Hessen,  Germany.    He  was 
a  musician  of  note,  and  connected  with  a  band 
in  the  German  army,  and  after  his  emigration  to 
the  United  States  in  1863  he  followed  that  pro- 
fession in  addition  to  engaging  in  the  coal  busi- 
ness.     He    married    in    Lauterhausen,    Hessen, 
Germany,  Christina  Reinmiller,  who  bore  him  the 
following  children  :     Justus,   a   sketch   of   whom 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  work;  John,  deceased, 
married   Elizabeth    Gicking,   and    they   were   the 
parents    of    four    children ;    Charles,    mentioned 
hereinafter;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  George  Craig,  of 
Hazleton,  Pennsylvania ;  Margaret,  died  in  Ger- 
man}- ;  and  twins,  who  died  in  German}-  in  early 
life.     John  Altmiller  died  at  the  residence  of  his 
son   Charles,   in   Hazleton,   April   2,    1886,   aged 
sixty-nine  years,  and  was  buried  in  Vine  Street 
cemetery.    His  wife,  Christina  (Reinmiller)  Alt- 
miller, died  about  the  year  1849  'n  Lauterhausen, 
German}-,  and  her  remains  were  interred  there. 
Charles   Altmiller,    father  of   Justus    E.   Alt- 
miller, was  born  August  25,  1843,  in  Lauterhau- 
sen,  Hessen,    Germany,   where   he   resided   until 
fourteen  years  of  age,  when  he  emigrated  to  the 
new  world,  locating  in  Hazleton,  Pennsylvania, 
and  the  following  year  (1858)  entered  the  mines 
of  A.   Pardee   &  Company.     He   continued  this 
occupation  until  1861,  when  he  enlisted  as' a  mu- 
sician   in   the    Eleventh   Regiment   Pennsylvania 
Infantry,  and  was  present  at  the  battles  of  Cedar 
Mountain,   Rappahannock,   Tunifer   Gap,  second 
Bull  Run,  and  other  important  engagements.    He 
received  his  discharge  in  August,   1862.     For  a 
short  time  he  was  employed  on  the  railroad,  and 
the   year   following  his   discharge   re-enlisted  at 
Camden,  New  Jersev,  as  bugler  in  Company  M, 
Third  New  Jersey  Cavalry,  and  in  that  capacity 
was  present  at  the  first  battle  of  the  Wilderness, 
Wilson's  raid  in  the  rear  of  General  Lee's  army, 
during  which  all  the  railroads  were  torn  up ;  Five 
Forks  and  Appomattox,  being  present  at  the  sur- 
render of  General  Lee  to  General  Grant.    He  re- 
ceived his  second  discharge  from  the  service  of 
the  United  States  service  at  Washoigton,  D.  C, 
August  1.  1865.  He  again  secured  employment  on 
the  railroad,  and  continued  in  that  line  of  work 
until  1886,  when  he  gave  his  attention  to  the  sta- 
tionery and  wall  paper  business  in  Hazleton,  in 
which  he  is  still  engaged.  In  addition  to  this  he 
has  served  in  the  capacity  of  secretary  and  agent 
for  the  Luzerne  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company 
for  seven  years.    The  esteem  in  which  he  is  held 
bv  the  citizens  of  Hazleton  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  he  served  as  assessor  from  1889  to  1892, 
city  treasurer  from   1892  to   1895,  and  assessor 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


481 


from  1898  to  the  present  time  (1906).  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Hazleton  Liberty  Band 
since  1859  (forty-seven  years)  ;  and  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  since  1869,  being  a  char- 
ter member  of  Lodge  No.  107  of  that  order.  He 
holds  membership  in  Christ  Lutheran  Church, 
and  served  as  deacon  from  1889  to  1893.  His 
political  affiliations  are  with  the  Democratic  party, 
whose  principles  he  has  advocated  since  attaining 
his  majority. 

Charles  Altmiller  married,  August  12,  1866, 
Christina  Baitter,  a  native  of  Lauterhausen,  Ger- 
many, and  their  children  were:  1.  John  C,  born 
May  5,  1869,  a  musician  and  mail  carrier  in  Haz- 
leton, Pennsylvania ;  married  Anna  Fey,  and  they 
had :  Ruth,  Ethel  and  Helen,  deceased,  and  Flor- 
ence and  Carl  living.  2.  Justus  Emory,  see  for- 
ward. 3.  Katherine  J.,  born  June  25,  1873,  mar- 
ried John  F.  Wetterau,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  one  son,  Paul.  4.  Emma,  born  April  18, 
1875,  graduated  from  high  school  in  1892,  and 
taught  school  seven  years  in  Hazleton ;  she  mar- 
ried Herbert  Philip,  of  Hazleton,  and  they  have 
one  son,  Leon.  5.  Charles  F.,  born  July  4,  1877, 
married  Martha  Moyer ;  he  is  a  physician,  a  spe- 
cialist on.  diseases  of  the  stomach.  They  reside  in 
Bloomsburg.  6.  William,  born  1879,  died  1882. 
7.  Adele,  born  September  19,  1883,  a  graduate  of 
high  school,  1900,  and  Bloomsburg  Normal, 
1901,  and  now  teaching  in  Hazleton.  8.  Mag- 
delene,  born  September  28,  1886,  a  graduate  of 
Hazleton  high  school,  1904,  and  Hazleton  Busi- 
ness College,  1905.  9.  Hilda,  born  March  2, 
1 89 1,  a  student  of  the  city  school. 

Justus  Emory  Altmiller  was  born  at  Hazle- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  May  28,  1871.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  city  and  graduated 
from  the  high  school  in  May,  1888.  He  then 
entered  the  Lehigh  Valley  Engineering  Corps  at 
Hazleton  under  T.  S.  McNair;  and  continued 
until  April,  1894.  He  then  became  assistant  en- 
gineer to  Mr.  McNair  in  the  employ  of  the  Union 
Improvement  Company,  Highland  Coal  Com- 
pany, Cranberry  Improvement  Company,  and 
Black  Creek  Improvement  Company.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  McNair,  which  occurred  July  29, 
1901,  Mr.  Altmiller  succeeded  as  acting  engineer, 
and  April  1,  1902,  became  chief  engineer,  and 
has  since  continued  in  this  position  for  the  above 
named  companies,  also  for  the  Diamond  Coal 
Land  Company.  Prior  to  his  connection  with 
these  companies  he  served  as  transitman  on  the 
Lehigh  Valley  Corps,  and  ran  the  first  line  of 
the  Jeddo  drainage  tunnel  from  Ebervale  mines 
to  Butler  valley,  a  distance  of  three  miles.  He 
31 


has  been  a  member  of  Hazleton  Liberty  Band 
since  1883,  and  has  acted  as  leader  since  1891. 
He  was  for  some  years  a  member  of  the  Junior 
Order  of  United  American  Mechanics.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat. 

Mr.  Altmiller  married,  January  8,  1896,  Etta 
H.  Drissell,  born  August  25,  1872,  only  child  of 
Henry  and  Cecelia  (Miller)  Drissell,  of  Lehigh - 
ton,  Pennsylvania.  Henry  Drissell  was  early  left 
an  orphan  and  dependent  upon  his  own  exertions 
to  earn  a  livelihood.  He  learned  the  trade  of 
tailoring  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  later  went 
west  and  herded  cattle  in  Texas  and  other  points 
of  the  western  section  of  the  United  States.  He 
later  settled  in  Lehighton,  Pennsylvania,  and 
there  followed  farming  and  cattle  dealing,  in 
which  pursuits  he  was  highly  successful.  Four 
children  were  the  issue  of  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Altmiller,  namely :  Charles  Henry, 
born  March  15,  1898;  Thelma  Drissell,  born 
September  18,  1899 ;  Grace  Mildred,  born  June 
20,  1902 ;  Charles  William,  born  June  9,  1905. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Altmiller  are  members  of  Christ 
Lutheran  Church  of  Hazleton.  They  are  highly 
respected  in  the  community  in  which  they  reside, 
and  in  all  the  affairs  of  life  have  borne  an  active 
and  honorable  part,  fulfilling  their  duties  and  ob- 
ligations to  the  best  of  their  ability. 

WILLIS  HERMAN  MILLER,  of  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania,  who  is  in  the  employ  of  the  Amer- 
ican Radiator  Company,  of  Chicago,  was  born  at 
Archibald,  Lackawanna  county,  Pennsylvania,. 
May  14,  1869,  the  son  of  Herman  C.  and  Anna 
(M'cLeod)   Miller. 

Herman  C.  Miller,  the  father  of  Willis  H. 
Miller,  was  born  in  Leipzig,  Germany,  January 
26,  1838,  and  is  a  son  of  August  C,  born  in-. 
Leipzig,  Germany,  December  28,  1805,  died  in 
Archibald,  Pennsylvania,  April  9,  1878,  and 
Johanna  Caroline  (Mauer)  Miller,  born  in  Gera, 
Germany,  December  21,  1814,  died  in  Archbald, 
Pennsylvania,  May  16,  1900.  He  came  to  this 
country  in  1848  and  settled  in  Archbald,  Penn- 
sylvania, with  the  family.  He  learned  the  busi- 
ness of  cabinetmaker  and  undertaker,  with  his 
father  and  remained  until  Abraham  Lincoln 
called  for  300,000  men  to  preserve  the  union  of 
states,  when  he  enlisted  in  Captain  Lewis  S. 
Water's  company  for  three  years  or  during  the 
war,  September  9,  1861,  being  transferred  to 
Company  H,  Fifty-second  Regiment,  Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteer  Infantry  at  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, with  ex-Governor  Henry  M.  Hoyt  as. 
colonel.     He  was  promoted  to  corporal  and  pre- 


48: 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


sented  with  ..a  medal  from  General  Henry  M. 
Naglee  for  bravery  and  conspicuous  service,  at 
the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  Virginia,  May  31,  1862. 
After  the  war  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
coffins  and  caskets  at  Jermyn,  Pennsylvania,  and 
continued  in  this  business  until  1884,  when  he 
moved  to  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  engaged 
in  the  furniture  and  undertaking  business  until 
1898,  when  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  con- 
gressional Library  at  Washington,  D.  C,  which 
position  he  still  holds. 

Annie. C.  (McLeod)  Miller,  mother  of  Willis 
H.  Miller,  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
February  16,  1845,  's  a  daughter  of  Captain 
Erauder  (born  at  Stornoway,  Scotland,  Septem- 
ber 13,  1806,  died  February  4,  1883,  at  Carbon- 
dale,  Pennsylvania)  and  Sarah  Jones  McLeod 
(born  February  13,  1813,  in  Brecon,  Wales,  died 
August  13,  1878,  at  Carbondale,  Pennsylvania). 
Captain  McLeod.  was  a  seafaring  man,  being  cap- 
tain of  the  sailing  vessel  "Jane"  for  the  Cunard 
line.  He  sailed  twice  around  the  world.  In 
1840  he  accepted  a  position  with  the  Delaware 
and  Hudson  Canal  Company,  at  Carbondale, 
Pennsylvania,  and  continued  in  that  capacity  to 
within  a  few  years  of  his  death.  Herman  C. 
and  Annie  (McLeod)  Miller  had  five  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living:  Albert  E.,  residing  at 
Kingston.  Pennsylvania ;  Willis  H,  of  whom 
later,  and  Alexander  McLeod  engaged  with  a 
surveying  corps  on  the  Panama  canal. 

Willis  H.  Miller  spent  his  early  days  in  the 
vicinity  of  his  birth  and  attended  the  common 
schools.  Since  1884  he  has  resided  at  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania.  Here  he  attended  the  Business 
College,  connected  with  Wyoming  Seminary,  and 
then  entered  the  employ  of  B.  G.  Carpenter  and 
Co.,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  continued  up  to 
1895.  In  the  autumn  of 'that  year  he  started  in 
the  plumbing  business  in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
continuing  until  the  fall  of  1902,  when,  in  the 
month  of  November,  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
United  States  Heater  Company  of  Detroit,  Mich- 
igan, as  their  traveling  salesman.     He  continued 

.at  this  until  January  15,  1906,  when  he  was  em- 
ployed bv  the  American  Radiator  Company,  of 
Chicago,  in  the  same  line  of  work,  and  still  holds 
such  position.  Mr.  Miller  is  connected  with  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  being  a  member  of  Kingston 
Lodge,  No.  395,  Shekinah  Chapter,  No.  182,  and 
No.  45  Dieu  Le  Yeut  Commandery  of  Knights 
Templar,  of  Wilkes-Barre,   Pennsylvania.     Also 

.  a  member  of  Irem  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S. 
Politically  he  is  a  Republican,  and  in  his  church 
relations  is  a  Methodist,  as  is  his  wife. 

Mr.  Miller  married,  June  14,   1894,  in  Dor- 


ranceton,  Pennsylvania,  to  Harriet  Minerva, 
daughter  of  Noah  and  Jane  (Renard)  Pettibone, 
born  January  4,  1869.  (See  sketch  of  this  fam- 
ily elsewhere  in  this  work.)  Mr.  and  Airs.  Miller 
had  children :  Robert  McLeod,  born  June  27, 
1895  ;  Russell  B.,  born  July  27,  1900,  died  No- 
vember 12,  1900,  buried  in  Forty  Fort  ceme- 
tery. Mrs.  Miller  is  one  of  five  children,  namely : 
Erastus  Hill,  now  at  Jefferson  Medical  College ; 
Harriet  Minerva,  Benjamin  Noah,  Cora  Jane, 
now  Mrs.  Shortz;  Bertha  M.,  deceased. 

REV.  MICHAEL  SZEDVIDIS.  This  well- 
known  clergyman  of  Pittston,  who  is  pastor  of 
Saint  Casimir's  Church  (Lithuanian)  is  a  native 
of  Russia,  and  was  born  in  the  province  of  Lith- 
uania, October  22,  1869.  His  parents,  Mathew 
and  Rosa  (Paulowski)  Szedvidis,  were  natives 
of  that  province,  and  his  father,  born  in  1830, 
was  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  connection 
with  farming,  from  both  of  which  he  realized 
good  financial  results.  His  mother  was  born  in 
1835,  daughter  of  John  and  Anna  Paulowski. 
Mathew  Szedvidis  died  in  September.  1898.  Both 
of  the  above  named  families  are  prominent  in  the 
community  in  which  they  reside,  and  not  a  few 
of  them  have  occupied  honorable  positions  in 
various  walks  in  life.  Mathew  and  Rosa  Szed- 
vidis reared  a  family  of  nine  children,  namely: 
Anthony,  Michael,  Barbara,  Anastacia,  Mar- 
garet, Mary,  Joseph,  Mathias  and  Frank.  All 
are  residing  in  Russia  except  Michael,  the  prin- 
cipal subject  of  this  sketch;  and  Frank,  born  in 
1 88 1.  now  a  medical  student  in  Valparaiso,  In- 
diana. 

Michael  Szedvidis  acquired  his  preliminary 
education  in  Russia,  being  for  some  time  a  stu- 
dent in  St.  Petersburg.  Coming  to  the  L/nited 
States  in  1891  he  became  a  theological  student 
in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  after  his  ordination 
to  the  priesthood  in  1894,  he  was  assigned  to  the 
pastorate  of  a  church  in  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  remained  three  months.  He  was  then 
appointed  to  the  Holy  Trinity  Church,  Wilkes- 
Barre,  where  he  resided  for  two  years,  at  the  ex- 
piration of  which  time  he  was  given  charge  of  St. 
Casimir's  Church,  Pittston,  and  has  ever  since  ap- 
plied himself  diligently  to  pastoral  work  in  that 
city.  St.  Casimir's  Church,  which  is  a  prom- 
inent landmark  in  Pittston,  occupying  a  sightly 
position  upon  an  eminence  overlooking  the  sur- 
rounding country,  is  in  a  most  flourishing  con- 
dition, having  a  membership  of  over  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  souls.  In  addition  to  its  re- 
ligious work  it  has  connected  with  it  a  largely  at- 
tended school,  which  in  the  near  future  will  oc- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


483 


'cupy  a  new  and  commodious  building,  especially 
■designed  and  fully  equipped  for  educational  pur- 
poses. The  present  prosperity  of  the  parish  and 
its  parochial  school  is  mainly  due  to  the  untiring 
energy  and  perseverance  of  its  pastor,  the  bene- 
ficial results  of  which  labor  has  made  him  ex- 
ceedingly popular  with  his  parishioners.  Mr. 
Szedvidis  is  a  member  of  numerous  religious 
and  other  organizations,  including  St.  Casimir's 
St.  Josephine's,  St.  George's,  (Military),  St. 
Peter's  and  Paul's  St.  Anthony's,  St.  Joseph's 
■2d,  and  St.  Celia's  societies  and  other  bodies. 

JOSEPH  LANGFORD,  prison  commis- 
sioner of  Luzerne  county,  and  actively  identified 
•with  numerous  industrial  and  financial  interests 
in  Pittston  and  vicinity,  is  a  native  of  England, 
"born  at  Timsbury,  Somersetshire.  March  5,  1838, 
second  of  the  nine  children  of  John  Langford, 
"by  his  second  marriage.  John  Langford  married 
(first)  Elizabeth  Neuth,  by  whom  he  had  eight 
-children  one  of  whom  Harriet,  born  Feb.  5,  1828, 
came  to  America,  settling  in  West  Pittston,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  she  now  resides.  She  married 
John  Lintern.  John  Langford  married  (second) 
December  15,  1835,  Elizabeth  Escott.  He  was  a 
"boss  in  the  Kunniger  coal  mines  in  Timsbury, 
England.  He  was  a  man  of  high  character,  and 
for  about  forty  years  was  a  class  leader  in  the 
Wesleyan  Methodist  church  there.  He  died  Sep- 
tember, 1856.  Elizabeth  (Escott)  Langford  died 
April  25,  1886. 

Joseph  Langford  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  in  his  native  village,  and  came  to 
America  when  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  settling 
in  Pittston.  He  labored  in  the  coal  mines  for 
about  six  months,  when  he  had  an  arm  broken  in 
an  accident,  after  which  he  followed  shoemaking 
for  five  years  and  then  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Dupont  Powder  Company,  delivering  powder  to 
the  mines,  driving  a  team  for  about  fifteen  years, 
when  he  became  superintendent  of  delivery,  which 
position  he  has  held  to  the  present  time,  his  con- 
nection with  the  company  now  covering  the  long 
period  of  forty-three  years.  He  is  president  of 
the  Water  Street  Bridge  Company ;  a  director  in 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Pittston,  the  Pittston 
Electric  Illuminating  Company,  the  Pittston  Ice 
Company,  and  the  Hazleton  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany ;  and  a  stockholder  in  the  Peoples'  Bank  in 
Erie,  Pennsylvania,  the  Reliance  Slate  Company 
of  Slatington,  Pennsylvania,  the  Water  Com- 
pany of  Vosburg,  Pennsylvania  and  the  Scranton 
Anthracite  Coal  Company  of  Spadra,  Arkansas. 
He  has  rendered  efficient  service  in  nearly  all  the 


principal  borough  offices,  such  as  burgess,  as  a 
member  of  the  school  board  for  six  years,  and 
chief  of  police  and  member  of  the  council  for 
several  years.  He  is  at  present  serving  as  prison 
commissioner  of  Luzerne  county,  appointed  in 
1902.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Pittston,  and  chairman  of  its  board  of  trustees. 
He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 
He  is  past  master  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  No.  233, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Pittston,  and  a 
member  of  the  chapter  and  commander}-  in  the 
same  place,  and  is  also  a  member  of  Irem  Tem- 
ple, Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine ;  Keystone 
Lodge,  No.  4,  Sons  of  St.  George,  Pittston,  in 
which  he  is  a  past  officer ;  and  Pittston  lodge, 
Royal  Arcanum.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Ex- 
eter Country  Club  of  West  Pittston. 

Mr.  Langford  married,  January  1,  1867,  Mary 
Arabella  Wells,  born  November  29,  1845,  near 
LeRaysville,  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
daughter  of  George  Washington  and  Lucy  Ring 
(Ayer)  Wells,  both  of  Revolutionary  stock.  Lieu- 
tenant James  Wells,  great-great-grandfather  of 
George  Washington  Wells,  fought  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  was  a  victim  of  the  Wyoming  massacre. 
George  Washington  Wells,  born  in  Bradford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  a  farmer  near  LeRaysville, 
was  one  of  five  children — Charles ;  George  W., 
born  December,  1870,  deceased;  Homer;  Lewis, 
born  to  Loomis  and  Arabella  (Keeler)  Wells,  of 
Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania,  whose  ancestors 
came  from  Massachusetts.  Loomis  Wells  was 
a  son  of  Amasa  Wells.  Lucy  Ring  (Ayer)  Wells, 
wife  of  George  W.  Wells,  was  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  (George)  Ayer,  from  Vermont,  whose 
family  consisted  of  seven  children :  John,  George, 
Elbridge,  Lucy  Ring,  Mary,  Martha  and  Warren. 
George  W.  and  Lucy  Ring  (Ayer),  Wells  had 
four  children:  1.  Sara  Albertine,  born  January 
14,  1840,  married  John  Wesley  Lewis,  deceased ; 
married  (second)  Horton  Taylor;  resides  in  Le- 
Raysville, Pennsylvania.  2.  Mary  Arabella,  wife 
of  Joseph  Langford.  3-4  Burton  Loomis  and  Ben- 
ton Elbridge,  twins,  born  July  30,  1859 ;  the 
former  married  Jessie  M.  Pratt,  issue,  George 
Burton,  resides  in  West  Pittston.  The  latter 
married  Martha  Owens,  issue,  Gladys,  resides 
in  New  York.  The  children  of  Joseph  and  Mary 
A.  (Wells)  Langford  were:  John  Wells,  born 
February  2,  1868,  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
months;  George  Escott,  born  December  21,  1871, 
teller  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Pittston,  re- 
sides at  home  ;  Robert  Wesley,  born  February  17, 
1877,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Chicago  En- 


4§4 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


gineering  and  Construction  Company,  resides  in 
Chicago,  Illinois ;  Clara  Mary,  born  June  24, 
1880,  resides  at  home. 

WILLIAM  JAMES  M.  TURNER,  general 
inside  foreman  for  the  Alden  Coal  Company,  at 
Alden  Station,  Pennsylvania,  which  responsible 
position  he  fills  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  man- 
agement and  men,  is  a  native  of  Somersetshire, 
England,  born  January  12,  1850.  He  is  a  son  of 
George  and  Elizabeth  (Hill)  Turner,  both  na- 
tives of  the  same  locality,  the  former  named  hav- 
ing been  a  son  of  George  and  Leah  ( Maggs) 
Turner,  and  the  latter  a  daughter  of  Isaac  and 
Mary  (Flower)  Hill.  Isaac  and  Mary  (Flower) 
Hill  were  also  the  parents  of  two  daughters — 
Amy  and  Sarah — who  married  two  brothers  by 
the  name  of  Mark  and  John  Gould,  and  resided 
in  England,  and  a  son  James  who  went  to  India 
as  a  soldier  and  afterward  landed  in  Melbourne, 
Australia.  George  and  Leah  (Maggs)  Turner 
were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  namely  :  Mark, 
a  blacksmith ;  Gilbert,  who  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  and  whose  death  occurred  in  Pittsburg, 
Pennsylvania ;  Marshall,  a  gardener ;  James,  Al- 
fred, a  stonemason :  George,  Jane  and  Sarah. 

George  Turner  (father)  devoted  his  attention 
to  the  butcher  and  milling  business  in  his  native 
land,  England,  and  continued  the  same  for  sev- 
eral years.  He  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  (Hill) 
Turner,  were  the  parents  of  six  children,  as  fol- 
lows :  Sarah,  born  in  Somersetshire,  England, 
married  Henry  Brown,  now  deceased,  and  resides 
in  Nanticoke,  Pennsylvania.  Louise,  married  a 
Mr.  Gardner,  of  Somersetshire,  and  resides  in 
Nanticoke,  Pennsylvania.  William  James  Maggs, 
mentioned  at  length  hereinafter.  Melinda,  mar- 
ried Leonidas  Millington,  now  deceased,  and  re- 
shides  in  Nanticoke,  Pennsylvania.  Gilbert,  mar- 
ried (first)  a  Miss  Smith;  (second)  Mrs.  E. 
Jefres,  a  widow,  before  marriage  a  Miss  Glyd- 
don ;  (third)  Mrs.  John  Arnot,  a  widow ;  he 
resides  in  Nanticoke,  Pennsylvania.  George 
married  in  Paulton,  England,  and  now  resides 
there ;  he  was  formerly  employed  with  the  Sus- 
quehanna Coal  Company  at  Nanticoke,  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  a  short  time. 

William  J.  M.  Turner  resided  in  his  native 
town,  Somersetshire,  England,  until  eleven  years 
of  age,  at  times  working  in  a  brickyard,  as  mortar 
boy  with  a  stonemason,  and  engaged  in  selling 
newspapers.  He  then  took  up  his '  residence  in 
Wales,  leaving  his  parents  in  England,  and  be- 
gan work  in  the  mines,  continuing  the  same  for  a 
period  of  eight  years.  In  1870,  having  decided 
that  the  opportunities  for  advancement  in  busi- 


ness were  greater  in  the  new  than  in  the  old! 
world,  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  locat- 
ing at  Oak  Hill,  near  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,, 
where  he  worked  as  a  laborer  in  the  mines  and 
later  as  a  miner.  He  then  came  to  Nanticoke,. 
Pennsylvania,  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna Coal  Company  as  miner  with  his  fath- 
er-in-law, then  on  his  own  account  in  the  breast 
and  later  on  in  the  gangways.  In  1878  he  took 
a  trip  to  England,  remaining  three  months,  and 
upon  his  return  to  his  adopted  country  again  took 
up  mining  in  the  Susquehanna  Coal  Company 
and  followed  the  same  until  September,  1879,. 
when  he  accepted  a  position  as  mine  foreman 
under  George  T.  Morgan  with  the  same  com- 
pany, filling  the  same  until  1892,  when  he  was 
promoted  to  inside  superintendent,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  for  about  five  years.  In  order  to  re- 
cuperate from  this  strenuous  toil  he  took  a  vaca- 
tion for  eight  months,  and  at  the  expiration  of; 
this  period  of  time  was  offered  and  accepted  the 
position  of  general  inside  foreman  for  the  Alden 
Coal  Company,  at  Alden  Station,  Pennsylvania,, 
in  which  capacity  he  is  now  (1905)  serving.  The 
Alden  Companies  mines  were  first  opened  about 
1882,  and  at  present  consist  of  two  shafts — No.. 
1,  five  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet  and  No.  2, 
six  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  deep — and  one  out- 
side drift.  Their  output  is  about  fifteen  hundred" 
tons  daily,  and  everything  is  progressing  very 
favorably  under  the  careful  supervision  of  Mr. 
Turner.  s 

Mr.  Turner  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Nanticoke 
National  Bank.  He  served  as  councilman  for 
one  term  at  Nanticoke,  having  been  elected  on  the- 
Republican  ticket,  but  he  casts  his  vote  for  the 
candidate  who  in  his  opinion  is  best  suited  for 
office,  irrespective  of  party  principles.  He  is  a 
member  of  Knights  of  Pythias,  No.  439,  Nanti- 
coke, having  belonged  to  the  same  for  about  thirty- 
years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  following  or- 
ders :  Foresters  of  Nanticoke,  Fraternal  Guar- 
dians of  Nanticoke,  Legion  of  Honor  of  Nanti-- 
coke,  Sons  of  St.  George  of  Nanticoke,  American 
Protestants  of  America,  Workmen's  Benevolent 
Association  of  Oak  Hill  and  Nanticoke,  Knights, 
of  Labor  and  various  other  Union  organizations. 

Mr.  Turner  married,  August  1,  1872,  Eliza- 
beth Millington,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Eliza- 
beth (Jewett)  Millington,  whose  family  con- 
sisted of  four  other  children,  namely :  Thomas, 
Lee,  Mary  and  Richard  Millington.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Turner  adopted  William  Watkins  (now 
Turner),  son  of  John  Watkins,  who  was  killed 
while  working  under  Mr.  Turner  in  Nanticoke. 
William    (Watkins)    Turner   married    Gertrude 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


485 


Stair,  who  bore  him  one  child,  and  they  reside  in 
Alden.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Turner  also  took  and 
raised  a  child  by  the  name  of  Rachel  Krouse,  then 
aged  five  years.  She  is  now  the  wife  of  James 
M.  Walters,  has  a  family  of  five  living  children, 
and  resides  in  Xanticoke.  They  also  educated 
Bessie  and  Moses  Millington  and  Garfield  Par- 
sons, and  these  facts  are  ample  evidence  of  their 
generosity  and  kindness  of  heart. 

JOHN  KASPER,  a  sucessful  business  man 
of  West  Pittston,  was  born  in  Claris  Canton, 
Switzerland,  December  25.  1828,  son  of  Hans 
and  Ursula  (Rudy)  Kasper,  natives  of  Switzer- 
land, whose  family  consisted  of  the  following 
named  children :  John,  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch,  Barbara,  married  Philip  Thomas,  a  Prus- 
sian by  birth  and  a  tanner  by  trade ;  they  resided 
:at  Skinners  Eddy,  and  later  at  Beverly,  West 
Virginia,  where  Mrs.  Thomas  died.  Louise,  mar- 
ried Albert  Ryerson,  of  Xew  York.  Andrew, 
drowned  in  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal,  at 
Hawley,  Pennsylvania,  1844,  aged  ten  years. 
Bartholomew,  died  in  Laceyville,  aged  twenty- 
one  years.  Mary  Ann,  died  in  Williamsburg, 
Pennsylvania,  aged  thirty  years.  Hans  Kasper 
(father)  was  a  son  of  Hans  Kasper,  also  of 
Switzerland.  He  followed  the  occupation  of 
miner  in  his  native  country,  but  after  his  emi- 
gration to  the  United  States  was  employed  as  an 
ore  dresser,  work  which  required  a  large  amount 
of  skill.  He  died  in  Xew  York  city,  1840,  his 
death  resulting  from  injuries  received  on  board 
the  vessel  while  on  his  way  to  this  country.  His 
wife,  Ursula  (Rudy)  Kasper.  was  a  daughter  of 
Hans  and  Barbara  Rudy,  of  Glaris  Canton, 
Switzerland.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Kasper  she 
became  the  wife  of  Henry  Waldt,  of  Williams- 
burg, now  a  part  of  Brooklyn,  Xew  York,  and 
bore  him  two  children,  namely  :  Henry,  a  musi- 
cian, died  in  Williamsburg,  1870,  aged  twenty- 
three  years ;  and  William,  a  clerk  in  a  mercantile 
establishment,  resides  in  the  section  of  Brooklvn 
formerly  known  as  Williamsburg. 

John  Kasper  attended  the  parochial  schools  in 
Switzerland,  thereby  gaining  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  German  language.  His  first  occu- 
pation was  the  driving  of  goats  to  the  Alps,  be- 
ginning this  work  at  the  early  age  of  nine  years, 
and  when  eleven  years  old  acompanied  his  pa- 
rents to  the  United  States,  landing  in  XTew  York 
city,  and  settling  in  Wertzboro,  Sullivan  county, 
Xew  York,  his  father  being  then  in  poor  health, 
the  result  of  the  accident  on  board  the  vessel,  as 
aforementioned.  The  family  remained  in  Wertz- 
ioro  but  a  short  period  of  time,  and  after  sev- 


eral changes  finally  settled  in  Honesdale,  Penn- 
sylvania, John  in  the  meantime  having  performed 
general  work  for  smelters.  In  1842  he  began 
boating  on  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  canal,  from 
Honesdale,  Pennsylvania,  to  Rondout,  Xew  York, 
the  round  trip  requiring  about  ten  days,  and  con- 
tinued the  same  up  to  1850.  From  that  year  up 
to  1853  he  served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  trade 
of  boat  building,  after  which  he  went  to  Hawley, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  worked  as  journeyman 
at  his  trade,  and  in  the  fall  of  1853  located  in  the 
city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  followed  the  same 
line  of  trade  in  partnership  with  Thomas  M.  Rog- 
ers. This  connection  continued  until  1855,  m 
which  vear  Mr.  Kasper  went  to  Pittston,  Penn- 
sylvania, began  building  boats  for  Abram  Price, 
and  continued  until  1858.  From  that  year  until 
1869,  when  the  canal  was  discontinued,  he  gave 
his  attention  to  several  different  occupations,  the 
principal  ones  being  boat  building  and  house  car- 
pentering, also  served  a  short  term  with  the  vol- 
unteer militia  (minute  men).  In  the  latter  named 
year  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Butler  Coal 
Company,  as  car  builder  and  repairer,  and 
served  in  that  capacity  until  1882.  On  April  ir 
of  that  year  he  purchased  the  stock  and  interest 
of  A.  L.  Stanton,  a  butcher  and  meat  dealer,  lo- 
cated at  the  foot  of  Exeter  street,  West  Pitts- 
ton, and  there  conducted  a  lucrative  business  for 
fifteen  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time, 
1897,  he  built  his  present  place  of  business  at  Xo. 
400  Exeter  street,  and  has  continued  along  the 
same  line  of  trade  up  to  the  present  time  (1906). 
He  numbers  among  his  patrons  many  of  the  best 
families  resident  in  that  section  of  the  town.  Mr. 
Kasper  is  a  staunch  adherent  of  the  principles  of 
the  Republican  party,  to  whom  he  has  given  his 
allegiance  since  attaining  his  majority. 

Mr.  Kasper  married,  March  10,  1857,  Fran- 
ces Roger  Randall,  daughter  of  Jacob  Rogers, 
and  adopted  daughter  of  John  Randall,  of  Wy- 
oming, Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania.  Seven 
children  were  born  to  them,  namely:  1.  Silas, 
died  in  Wyoming  at  the  age  of  nine  months, 
buried  in  the  cemetery  at  Forty  Fort.  2.  Wesley, 
died  at  the  age  of  two  weeks,  buried  in  the  West 
Pittston  cemetery.  3.  Frank,  died  in  Buffalo,  Xew 
York,  February  19,  1896,  aged  thirty-five  years, 
was  buried  from  the  residence  of  his  parents  at 
14  Exeter  street,  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  men- 
tioned hereafter.  4.  John  R..  married  Xellie  Hull ; 
he  is  employed  by 'the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad 
Company  at  Sayre,  Pennsylvania.  5.  Joseph  W., 
engaged  in  business  with  his  father,  and  resides 
in  West  Pittston  ;  he  married  Minnie  Dodd,  and 
they  have  two   children:  Helen  and   Harold.   6. 


486 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Carrie  M.,  married  Ed.  John  Crowell,  agent  of 
the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company,  at  Erie, 
Pennsylvania,  a  promoter  of  various  enterprises, 
and  for  eleven  years  served  as  secretary  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  They  are 
the  parents  of  two  children,  Frances  and  Char- 
lotte. 7.  Harry  S.,  died  in  Pittston,  1873,  aged 
eight  months,  buried  in  West  Pittston  cemetery. 
Mr.  Kasper  and  his  family  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  West  Pittston.  The 
family  are  held  in  high  esteem  in  the  community. 
Mrs.  Frances  Rogers  (Randall)  Kasper  is  a 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Frances  (Thorp)  Rogers, 
the  former  born  January  1,  1778,  near  Pittsburg, 
a  veteran  of  the  war  of  1812,  in  which  he  lost  a 
brother,  and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Lun- 
dy's  Lane,  He  was  a  son  of  a  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier. Jacob  Rogers  died  September  8,  1889,  aged 
one  hundred  and  twelve  years  in  Oakland  Mills, 
Iowa,  and  at  his  death  was  the  oldest  man  in  the 
United  States.  He  was  a  Methodist,  a  Mason  for 
ninety  years,  loved  and  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him.  Mrs.  Frances  (Thorpe)  Rogers,  was  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  Thorpe,  and  was  born  in 
Warren  county.  New  Jersey,  where  she  died 
aged  forty-five  years.  She  was  a  consistent  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church. 

The  following  article  appeared  in  the  Evening 
News  of  Buffalo,  New  York,  February  20,  1896: 
"After  a  long  battle  with  a  complication  of  dis- 
eases, only  one  of  which  would  long  ago  have 
vanquished  a  weaker  man,  Frank  R.  Kasper,  son 
of  John  and  Frances  Roger  (Randall)  Kasper, 
night' agent  of  the  United  Press  and  the  New 
York  State  Associated  Press,  died  at  the  General 
Hospital  yesterday  afternoon  shortly  after  six 
o'clock.  It  was  on  the  night  of  December  23d 
that  Mr.  Kasper  was  taken  with  a  severe  cold 
while  going  on  an  errand  of  mercy  for  a  friend. 
Since  that  time  at  the  hospital  his  lot  has  been 
one  of  suffering  and  pain,  but  under  the  heavy 
burden  of  disease  he  was  characteristically  hope- 
ful to  the  end.  The  cold  developed  into  acute 
pneumonia  and  pleurisy,  which  in  turn  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  attack  of  prurient  pericarditis.  From 
the  very  start  his  was  a  serious  case,  but  his  many 
friends,  seeing  the  man  bear  up  so  bravely  under 
the  complications,  hoped  for  his  life  until  last 
Sunday.  Then,  already  weakened  by  weeks  of 
struggle,  Mr.  Kasper  sank  and  yesterday  the  end 
came.  His  parents  and  his  wife,  who  was  Miss 
Flora  Sauerwine,  of  this  city,  survive  him.'' 

Frank  R.  Kasper  was  born  in  Pittston,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1858.  He  took  early  to  telegraphy 
and  adopted  it  as  a  profession  in  early  man- 
hood.    Since  that  time  he  had  worked  in  many 


large  cities,  as  his  skill  and  personality  were 
widely  known.  He  came  to  Buffalo  in  1881,  but 
left  for  the  west  shortly  after.  He  returned  to- 
this  city  in  1886  and  had  charge  of  the  telegraph 
service  for  the  News  for  four  years.  Since  1886 
he  has  lived  in  Buffalo.  Mr.  Kasper  was  a  man 
who  made  friends  wherever  he  went,  and  in  the 
man}-  cities  where  he  lived  there  are  many  people 
today  who  are  sorrowing  for  the  untimely  end  of 
a  man  who  won  their  esteem  and  admiration.  His 
character  and 'personality  were  magnetic  in  their 
power  to  attract  friends  and  what  is  more  keep 
them  when  won.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  in  all  the 
country  Frank  R.  Kasper  had  none  but  well  wish- 
ers. His  brave  struggle  against  the  overwhelm- 
ing odds  of  pain  and  suffering  at  the  hospitaL 
were  characteristic  of  the  man.  Strong  in  ad- 
versity, uncomplaining  in  trouble,  his  nature  was. 
one  that  will  stand  for  years  as  the  type  of  an 
indomitable  spirit.  As  a  news  gatherer,  he  was 
sure  and  reliable ;  as  a  telegrapher,  his  skill  was- 
wonderful.  In  him  the  press  service  has  lost  a 
valuable  and  trustworthy  servant. 

Mr.  Kasper  was  a  member  of  the  Buffalo- 
Press  Club  and  this  afternoon  at  four  o'clock 
there  will  be  a  meeting  of  that  body  to  take  ac- 
tion on  his  death.  Mrs:  Kasper  is  today  the  re- 
cipient of  many  telegrams  of  sympathy,  for  there 
is  no -one  who  knew  Frank  R.  Kasper  but  feel 
his  loss  today.  His  body  will  be  taken  to  Pitts- 
ton for  burial." 

TOWNEND  FAMILY.  The  extensive  mer- 
cantile business  carried  on  by  representatives  of 
this  family  in  Wyoming  was  established  more 
than  forty-seven  years  ago  by  John  Townend. 
father  of  the  present  proprietors,  who  was  born  in- 
Lancashire,  England,  January  12,  1809,  and  came 
from  a  well-to-do  family  of  Manchester.  John 
Townend's  father,  also  named  John,  was  born  in 
Manchester,  March  7,  1785.  He  was  educated 
for  the  legal  profession,  which  he  practiced  in 
his  native  city,  and  his  death  occurred  at  the  age 
of  fifty-five  years  on  the  island  of  Trinidad,  West 
Indies,  whither  he  went  to  adjust  some  lawr  bus- 
iness for  an  uncle.  He  married  Hannah  Bow- 
man, born  July  3.  1787,  and  was  a  life-long  resi- 
dent of  Manchester.  She  became  the  mother  of 
four  children  :  Mercy,  Hannah,  William  and  John. 

John  Townend,  son  of  John  and  Hannah 
(Bowman)  Townend  was  educated  in  Manches- 
ter, England,  where  he  began  at  an  early  age  to 
learn  the  shoe  business.  In  1840  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  and  opened  a  large  shoe  store  in 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  where  he  carried  on  busi- 
ness for  nine  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which 


dfr(amJ{,  R 


KASPER 


1L 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


487 


time  he  removed  to  Stroudsburg,  Monroe  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  for  the  ensuing  twelve  years 
conducted  a  profitable  business  in  that  place. 
About  1857  he  came  to  Wyoming,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  established  the  extensive  general  mer- 
cantile business  which  is  now  conducted  by  his 
sons,  resided  there  for  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
which  terminated  May  29,  1891.  John  Townend 
married  Ann  Cowan,  who  was  born  in  Manches- 
ter, November  7,  1810,  daughter  of  Christopher 
and  Martha  (Henderson)  Cowan,  the  former  a 
well  known  lawyer  of  that  city  in  his  day.  Mrs. 
Ann  (Cowan)  Townend  died  in  Wyoming  Au- 
gust 29,  1877.  She  was  the  mother  of  eight  chil- 
dren:  1.  William,  born  Manchester,  April  7,  1837. 
2.  John,  born  Manchester,  September  3,  1839, 
died  in  infancy.  3.  James  (deceased),  born  New 
York  city,  August  30,  1840.  4.  George  Ferguson, 
born  Brooklyn,  New  York,  December  29,  1842. 

5.  Christopher,  born  Stroudsburg,  April  18,  1846. 

6.  Samuel,   born    Stroudsburg,   April    18,    1849. 

7.  Hugh  Carey,  born  Cunkeltown,  Pennsylvania, 
August  29,  1852.  8.  Martha  Alice,  born  Tan- 
nersville,  Monroe  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  12, 
1854.    Six  of  them  are  now  living : 

1.  William  Townend.  married  Mary  Pocknell, 
born  in  Philadelphia,  February  3,  1843,  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Frame)  Pocknell, 
who,  in  addition  to  Mary,  were  the  parents  of 
William,  now  of  Wyoming ;  Minnie,  wife  of  I. 
W.  Glatts,  also  of  Wyoming;  and  Elizabeth  (de- 
ceased), marred  S.  J.  Poland,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 
William  and  Mary  (Pocknell)  Townend  had 
eight  children  :  Charles,  born  October  24,  1863, 
married  Lulu  Sparling,  daughter  of  Dr.  Sparling, 
of  Kingston,  see  sketch  on  another  page ;  Mercy, 
born  May  11,  1865,  married  George  Schuerman, 
of  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  who  died  leaving  three 
children — William,  Alfred  and  James ;  George 
F.,  born  November  18,  1867,  cued  February  15, 
1870 ;  Christopher,  born  August  8,  1870,  married 
Cadulah  Starmer,  of  Dallas,  this  state,  and  re- 
sides in  Wyoming,  having  two  children — Eugene 
and  Charles ;  Ruth,  born  August  6,  1873,  died 
January  18,  1880;  John,  born  March  9,  1879  re- 
siding at  home;  Fanny,  born  July  5,  1882,  mar- 
ried Edward  Ike,  of  Wyoming,  and  has  one  son, 
Roger  Sherman  Ike ;  and  Blanche,  who  died  in 
infancy. 

2.  George  Ferguson  Townend,  married 
Sarah  Goodwin,  and  has  an  adopted  daughter, 
Mabel,  born  May  29,  188 1. 

3.  Christopher  Townend,  married  Mary  Col- 
man,  who  died  leaving;  one  daughter,  Gretta, 
now  a  student  in  the  Mercy  Hospital,  Wilkes- 
Barre,   Pennsvlvania. 


4.  Samuel  Townend,  in  the  real  estate  bus- 
iness ;  married  Fannie  Sharp  Meyers,  daughter 
of  the  late  Lawrence  Meyers,  (see  sketch  on  an- 
other page),  and  they  reside  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
having  three  children — Ernest  S.,  Mae  and 
Helen  F. 

5.  Hugh  Carey  Townend,  who  is  the  special 
subject  of  this  sketch,  married  Maranda  Smith, 
born  in  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  John 
and  Sarah  (Garris)  Smith.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Town- 
end  have  one  son,  Howard,  born  September  4, 
1882. 

6.  Martha  Alice  Townend,  married  Septem- 
ber 16,  1885,  Morris  Shafer,  born  in  Carverton, 
Pennsylvania,  February  4,  1857.  They  have  one- 
daughter,  Myrtle  Shafer,  born  March   n,  1890. 

The  business,  which  is  now  conducted  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Townend  family  and  is  lo- 
cated directly  in  the  heart  of  the  beautiful  Wy- 
oming valley,  has  greatly  expanded  since  its  es- 
tablishment by  the  elder  John  Townend,  1857, 
and  at  the  present  time  includes  two  separate 
stores,  one  of  which  is  devoted  to  general  mer- 
chandise, and  the  other  consists  of  a  first  class 
furniture  and  undertaker's  establishment. 

HARRY  PETTEBONE  STREATER,  a 
well  known  and  highly  respected  citizen  of  Dor- 
ranceton,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  now  liv- 
ing retired  from  active  business  life,  traces  his 
descent  back  to  the  old  settlers  of  Pennsylvania. 

(I)  Dr.  Charles  Streater,  grandfather  of 
Harrv  Pettebone  Streater,  was  born  in  England, 
emigrated  to  America,  and  settled  in  Hanover 
township.  He  owned  a  large  farm  at  Hanover, 
which  he  sold  before  -coal  was  discovered.  He 
practiced  medicine  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  conducted  a  drug  store  in  the  same 
city.  He  married,  in  England,  Bessie  Lane,  who 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  with  him,  and 
among  their  children  was  a  son,  William.  Dr. 
Streator  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  October  10,  1863, 
aged  eighty-two. 

(II)  William  Streater,  son  of  Dr.  Charles 
(1)  and  Bessie  (Lane)  Streater,  was  a  merchant 
early  in  his  business  career,  and  then  turned  his 
attention  to  contracting  for  railroad  work.  This 
line  he  followed  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 
He  constructed  a  tunnel  on  a  railroad  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  then  lived  for  a  time  in  Texas,  where 
he  died  some  time  during  1874.  He  married,  Oc- 
tober 15,  1844,  Martha  Pettebone,  who  is  also  de- 
ceased. She  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  (Sharps)  Pettebone.  Her  maternal 
grandfather,  John  Sharps,  of  Wvoming,  Penn- 
sylvania, was  a  farmer  in  the  valley  and  at  one 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


time  managed  the  old  Pringle  farm,  and  later  an- 
other farm  in  Wyoming.  Her  father,  Henry 
Pettebone,  was  the  son  of  Oliver  Pettebone,  who 
was  a  farmer  and  landowner  in  the  Wyoming 
valley  owning  from  the  river  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain.  (See  Pettebone  sketch).  Henry  Pet- 
tebone served  in  the  legislature  about  the  year 
1845-46,  and  was  at  one  time  associate  judge  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  general  ticket  agent  for  the  Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna  &  Western  Railroad,  and  sta- 
tioned in  Kingston,  Pennsylvania.  Among  the 
children  of  William  and  Martha  (Pettebone) 
Streater  was  Harry  Pettebone  Streater,  of  whom 
later. 

(Ill)  Harry  Pettebone  Streater,  son  of  Will- 
iam (2)  and  Martha  (Pettebone)  Streater,  was 
born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  November 
30,  1852.  His  early  years  were  spent  in  North- 
umberland and  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  public  schools,  and  when  quite 
young,  he  evinced  an  extraordinary  desire  for  a 
seafaring  life.  He  became  a  sailor  and  followed 
this  calling  for  about  six  years,  cruising  along 
the  southern  and  eastern  coast  of  the  United 
States.  He  then  went  to  Ohio  and  took  up  farm- 
ing for  a  time,  putting  this  aside  in  order  to  learn 
the  trade  of  coopering,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  continued  at  this  for  some  time,  com- 
ing then  to  Wilkes-Barre  and  entering  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Jersey  Central  Railroad,  as  trainman, 
a  position  which  he  held  for  several  years.  He 
then  again  took  up  farming,  this  time  at  Dor- 
ranceton, Pennsylvania,  and  at  the  end  of  five 
years  retired  from  active  business  life.  Mr. 
Streater  is  a  man  who  has  made  many  friends. 
He  has  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  world  in  the 
course  of  his  wanderings,  and  has  a  pleasant 
manner  of  relating  his  adventures  which  always 
gains  for  him  an  interested  audience.  Although 
taking  interest  in  the  public  affairs  of  his  town, 
he  has  never  felt  any  inclination  to  hold  office. 

He  married,,  February  6,  1878,  Annie  M. 
Pettebone,  born  April  7,  1861,  daughter  of 
Stephen  H.  and  Lucinda  (Pettebone)  Pettebone. 
Stephen  H.  Pettebone  is  of  the  sixth  generation 
of  the  Pettebone  family,  which  was  of  French 
Huguenot  extraction,  was  the  fourth  son  of  Noah 
and  Sarah  (Sharps)  Pettebone.  (See  Pettebone 
sketch).  He  was  born  in  Kingston  township 
(now  Dorranceton)  and  was  reared  on  the  fam- 
ily homestead.  He  commenced  his  education  in 
the  public  schools  and  pursued  an  advanced 
course  of  study  at  the  Wyoming  Seminary.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-six  years  he  rented  a  farm  and 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  for  some  years. 


He  then  removed  to  Orangeville,  Columbia 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  for 
five  years,  going  thence  to  Kingston  township 
(now  Forty  Fort),  where  he  lived  for  seventeen 
years,  finally  settling  permanently  at  Dorrance- 
ton, occupying  a  part  of  the  old  homestead,  where 
he  died  October  4,  1905.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat,  and  always  took  an  active  interest  in 
the  public  affairs  of  the  community.  He  mar- 
ried, January  24,  1854.  Lucinda  C.  Pettebone, 
born  April  6,  1832,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Elea- 
nor ( Gay )  Pettebone,  whose  ancestor  was  the 
same  as  his  own.  She  was  the  youngest  of 
twelve  children,  as  follows :  Sarah  Ann,  Oliver, 
Samuel  T.,  Elizabeth,  Jane,  Ebenezer  G,  Ben- 
jamin D.,  Fisher,  Mary,  Esther  M.,  George  T., 
and  Lucinda  C.  Stephen  H.  and  Lucinda  C. 
(Pettebone)  Pettebone  had  children:  William  T., 
John  B.,  Margaret  E.,  Mary  E.,  Annie  M.,  who 
married  Harry  P.  Streater,  as  previously  men- 
tioned: Edgar  R.,  and  Jacob  S.  (See  Pettebone 
sketch).  The  children  of  Harrv  Pettebone  and 
Annie  M.  (Pettebone)  Pettebone  are:  1.  Clara, 
born  March  21,  1879,  died  October  11,  1879,  bur- 
ied in  Forty  Fort  cemetery.  2.  Edna,  June  13, 
1881,  married  Frederick  Pettebone,  and  had:  Or- 
ville,  deceased :  Marian  and  Leah.  Resides  in 
Forty  Fort.  3.  Elsie,  October  22,  1884,  married 
April  23,  1905,  Horace  G.  Crawford,  resides  in 
Pleasantville,  New  York.  4.  Ray,  October  14, 
1887,  died  in  1902,  buried  in  Forty  Fort  ceme- 
tery. 5.  Carle,  September  30,  1889,  resides  on 
a  farm  in  Luzerne  county.  6.  Charlotte,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1891,  lives  at  home  in  Dorranceton.  7. 
Gertrude,  July  12,  1893,  died  March  9,  1894.  8. 
Milton  B.,  March  21,  1895,  resides  in  Dorrance- 
ton. 

ALVA  TOMPKINS,  of  West  Pittston,  was 
born  in  Pittston  township,  now  within  the  city 
limits,  May  20,  1827,  son  of  William  and  Hannah 
(Van  Fleet)  Tompkins,  and  grandson  of  Joseph 
and  Hannah  (Osborne')  Tompkins.  Four  of  the 
Tompkins  name  came  to  America,  one  about 
1666:  Micah  located  in  Newark,  New  Jersey; 
Nathaniel  in  Rhode  Island ;  John  in  Concord, 
Massachusetts :  and  Ralph  in  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts. The  best  known  of  the  name  was  Daniel 
D.  Tompkins,  ex-governor  of  New  York,  and 
vice-president  of  the  United  States  during  the 
two  terms  of  President  Tames  Monroe.  Hast- 
ings, the  State  Historian  of  New  York,  says : 
"The  trite  old  saying,  'Republics  are  ungrateful,' 
was  never  better  illustrated  than  in  the  cases  of 
the  two  men  who.  at  critical  war  periods  in  our 
history,  raised  by  their  personal  endorsement,  and 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


489 


by  their  personal  effort,  large  sums  of  money  for 
the  national  government,  when  the  nation  was 
unable  to  negotiate  a  loan  on  its  own  credit — in 
the  end  only  to  find  themselves  bankrupt  and 
ruined — Robert  Morris,  patriot  of  the  first  war 
with  Great  -Britain,  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  patriot 
of  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain." 

Joseph  Tompkins,  grandfather  of  Alva  Tomp- 
kins, a  miller  by  trade  and  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Pittston,  had  worked  in  one  of  the  Hollenback 
mills    on    Mill    creek,    near    Wilkes-Barre,    and 
lived  near  Laflin,  Pittston  township,  at  what  was 
then  called  White  Oak  Hollow,  where  he  bought 
land    in    1794.      His    wife,    Hannah    (Osborne) 
Tompkins,  born  in  Connecticut,  died  at  the  home 
of  her  son,  William  Tompkins,  in  Pittston,  about 
1831-32,  aged  about  ninety  years.     She  was  his 
second  wife.     William  Tompkins,  father  of  Alva 
Tompkins,  was  born  July  10,  1788  or  1789.     He 
resided  in  White  Oak  Hollow  for  many  years,  re- 
moving to  Pittston  before  1820,  where  he  spent 
the  later  years  of  his  life,  and  died  August  5, 
1876.    His  home  was  on  South  Main  street,  now 
( 1906)    nearly   opposite    Nafus    street.      At    the 
forks  of  the  road,  near  his  home,  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  city,  for  many  years  he  had  a  saw- 
mill, the  only  one  in  this   vicinity.      It   was  not 
operated  after  the  early   50s.     A'  wrought  iron 
crank  used  in  this  mill  had  been  in  the  old  Sutton 
mill  on   Sutton's    (now   Coray's)    creek  when  it 
was  burned  by  the  British  and  Indians  in   1778. 
This    iron    was    probably    brought    from    Rhode 
Island;  it  was  given  to  the  Historical  Society  at 
Wilkes-Barre.     There  was  a  mill-pond  fed  by  a 
•stream  called  Tompkins  creek ;  the  pool  has  been 
filled  up  for  many  years  and  the  small  stream  is 
now  mainly  sulphur  water  pumped  from  the  No. 
4  mine  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Companv.  Will- 
iam Tompkins  was  deeply  interested  in  the  edu- 
cation of  the  young  and  did  what  he  could  to 
make   good    schools   possible   during   the   period 
when  advantages  in   Pittston  were  meager.     In 
the  politics  of  his  period  he  was  keenly  interested, 
beine  a  Whig  and  later  a  Republican. 

William  Tompkins  married  Hannah  Van 
Fleet,  born  August  9,  1800,  died  May  18,  1830, 
of  Pittston.  daughter  of  Abraham  and  Sarah 
(Brown)  Van  Fleet,  who  came  to  the  Wyoming 
Valley  from  Orange  county,  New  York,  in  1786. 
He  was  a  Revolutionary  pensioner.  The  Van 
Fleet  family  came  originally  from  Holland  about 
1662-63,  and  the  name  was  then  spelled  Van 
Vleit  and  Vander  Vleit.  The  four  children  of 
William  and  Hannah  (Van  Fleet)  Tompkins 
were:  Sarah  Van  Fleet,  educated  at  Franklin 
Academy,  Susquehanna  county,  Pennsylvania,  a 


member  of  the  first  faculty  of  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary, Kingston,  who  married  Horace  P.  Messen- 
ger; she  died  in  West  Pittston.  James  Harvey, 
died  November,  1898,  in  West  Pittston  ;  he  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Dawson  Tracy,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
daughter  of  Sidney  and  Elizabeth  (Sinton) 
Tracy.  George,  died  in  Pittston,  1846,  aged 
twenty-one  years,  unmarried.  Alva,  now  living 
in  West  Pittston.  William  Tompkins  married 
(second)  Ann  Miller,  of  Parsons,  and  (third) 
Mrs.  Knight,  but  there  was  no  issue  to  either  of 
these  marriages.  , 

Alva   Tompkins,   who  has   spent  all   his   life 
in  Pittston  and  is  now  one  of  the  oldest  residents, 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  the  neighborhood 
and    Wyoming    Seminary.      He    worked    in    his 
father's  saw-mill  and  assisted  in  the  labors  of  the 
farm.    About  185 1  he  embarked  in  the  coal  bus- 
iness,  which  he   followed  for  thirty-four  years. 
He  had  the  second  coal  breaker  in  Pittston.  Coal 
was  mined,  and  lump  coal  shipped  for  eight  or 
nine  years  before  the  breaker  was  built.    Most  of 
the  coal  sent  to  market  before  1861  went  by  boat 
on  the  North  Branch  canal  to  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, Port  Deposit,  Haver  de  Grace  and  Bal- 
timore, Maryland,  and  intermediate  points.  Leb- 
anon,  Pennsylvania,  was  reached  by  a  crosscut 
canal,  running  from  Middletown  on  the  Susque- 
hanna river  to  Reading,  that  had  been  widened 
so    boats    from    the    North    Branch    could    pass 
through.    A  railroad  from  Wrightsville,  opposite 
Columbia,  carried  the  coal  to  York,  Pennsylvania. 
In  the  60s  he  had  as  partners  J.  Langdon,  of  El- 
mira,  New  York,  and  M.  C.  and  H.  S.  Mercur,  of 
Towanda,  Pennsylvania.     The  breaker  was  built 
by  Stephen  Clark,  of  Plainsville,  the  machinery 
made  and  put  in  by  Jackson  &  Woodin,  of  Ber- 
wick.    The  Lehigh   Valley   Railroad  track  that 
runs  through  the   streets   of  Pittston   was  built 
from  the  Lackawanna    &   Bloomsburg  junction 
to  the  Tompkins  breaker  by  the  Lackawanna  & 
Bloomsburg  Railroad  Company.     Transportation 
was  a  serious  problem  for  the  pioneer  coal  opera- 
tors.     This    shipper    furnished    some    boats    and 
most  of   the   railroad   cars   for  his   early  trade. 
Many  of  the  cars  were  built  by  Jackson  &  Wood- 
in ;  it  was  their  first  order  for  coal  cars.     This 
establishment  was  the  nucleus  of  the  present  plant 
of  the  American   Car  &  Foundry  Company,  at 
Berwick,  Pennsylvania.     For  three  years  in  the 
60s,  in  addition  to  the  Tompkins  mine,  Mercur  & 
Company  operated  the  twin  shaft  in  Upper  Pitts- 
ton.    In  1863  Mr.  Tompkins  had  the  Sweatland 
mine  of  Plymouth.     Later  the  Eagle  shaft  prop- 
erty adjoining  this  land  was  leased  and  the  coal 
prepared   for  market  in  the  Tompkins  breaker. 


490 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


He  established  coal  yards  in  Elmira,  Auburn, 
Geneva,  Rochester,  and  Buffalo,  New  York,  and 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

He  was  a  school  director  in  Pittston,  a  trus- 
tee of  the  West  Pittston  Seminary  that  later  sold 
its  building  for  the  public  high  school,  and,  be- 
ginning late  in  the  60s,  for  many  years  sustained 
a  private  school  in  South  Pittston  presided  over 
by  ladies  trained  in  some  of  the  best  educational 
institutions  of  the  day.  Since  his  retirement 
from  the  coal  industry  he  has  been  interested  in 
agricultural  pursuits,  this  being  his  main  busi- 
ness and  recreation  at  the  present  time  (1906). 
He  was  one  of  the  prominent  business  men  of  the 
town,  was  director  in  the  First  National  Bank, 
and  the  Water  Street  Bridge  Company,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  for  several  years.  He  has 
always  been  interested  in  the  work  of  the  church. 
Since  joining  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in 
1858  he  has  served  as  trustee  for  some  years  and 
been  connected  with  the  Sunday  school  as  sup- 
erintendent or  teacher  most  of  that  time ;  he  is 
still  a  regular  attendant.  His  political  affiliations 
are  with  the  Republican  party.  He  held  mem- 
bership in  the  Order  of  Good  Templars,  having 
served  as  one  of  its  first  officers  in  Pittston. 

Alva  Tompkins  married,  June  14,  1854, 
Dorothy  Calista  Stark,  born  in  Lemon  township, 
Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of 
William  and  Ruth  (Clary)  Stark.  William  Stark 
had  a  land  grant  for  service  in  the  war  of  1812; 
he  was  a  farmer  and  lumberman  in  his  early 
days,  and  spent  most  of  his  life  in  Lemon  town- 
ship. He  was  a  son  of  Nathan  and  Dorcas 
(Dixon)  Stark,  of  Tunkhannock  Creek,  a  few 
miles  above  the  town  of  Tunkhannock.  Dorcas 
Dixon  was  the  daughter  of  John  and  Hannah 
(Marshall)  Dixon  or  Dickson,  of  Connecticut. 
Ruth  Clary,  wife  of  William  Stark,  was  born  in 
New  Hampshire.  She  was  the  daughter  of  John 
and  Dorothy  (Fletcher)  Clary,  who  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Peter  and  Ruth  (Adams)  Fletcher,  and 
she  in  turn  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Doro- 
othy  (Merriam)  Adams,  of  Concord,  Massachu- 
setts. (  See  Stark  Genealogy  which  appears  else- 
where in  this  work).  Alva  Tompkins  and  his 
wife  have  seven  children:  1.  Adelaide  Ruth.  2. 
William  Stark,  engaged  in  insurance  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  3.  Edwin  Webster,  engaged  in  real  estate, 
married  Anna  Frost,  of  Cobleskill,  New  York, 
and  has  one  child,  Edwin  Frost  Tompkins ;  they 
reside  in  Cobleskill,  New  York.  Anna  (Frost) 
Tompkins  is  a  daughter  of  James  and  Evaline 
(Burnap)  Frost,  and  granddaughter  of  Isaac  S. 
and  Phebe  (Hoag)  Frost,  who  were  among  the 
first  settlers  of  Frosts  Corners,  now  Charleston 


Four  Corners,  Montgomery  county,  New  York- 
4.  Lewis  Alva,  married  Ruth  Conyngham  But- 
ler, of  Port  Gibson,  Mississippi,  daughter  of  Lord 
John  and  Kate  (Humphreys)  Butler,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Rev.  Zebulon  Butler  (see  Woodward 
family),  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children  : 
John  Butler  and  Lewis  Alva,  Jr.  Lewis  Alva, 
Sr.,  is  the  auditor  of  the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal 
Company ;  the  family  reside  in  East  Orange,  New 
Jersey.  5.  Mary  Fletcher,  resides  at  home.  6. 
Harry  Clay,  engaged  in  the  insurance  business, 
resides  at  home.  7.  Martha  Dorothy,  teacher  of 
music  in  Trenton,  New  Jersey. 

JOHN  DORRANCE  COLVIN.  In  1820- 
Philip  Colvin,  with  his  wife  Sarah  and  sons 
Joseph  and  Cyrus,  and  daughters  Polly,  Mercy 
and  Anna,  with  her  husband,  Elemuel  Stone, 
from  Rhode  Island,  traveling  with  ox  teams,, 
and  bringing  their  household  goods  with  them, 
settled  in  Abington  township,  Luzerne  (now 
Lackawanna)  county,  Pennsylvania.  Philip 
Colvin,  with  his  son  Cyrus,  settled  on  a  farm 
in  the  western  part  of  the  township,  near  Fac- 
toryville.  Joseph  settled  near  the  east  part  of 
the  township.  Elemuel  Stone  and  his  wife 
Anna  settled  on  a  farm  near  the  south  center 
of  the  township.  Polly  married  Thomas  Smith,, 
and  settled  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town- 
ship. Mercy  married  James  Nichols  and  set- 
tled in  the  Benton  township.  Cyrus  Colvin 
married,  1821,  Phoebe  Northrup,  whose  par- 
ents had  emigrated  from  Rhode  Island  a  few 
years  previously.  To  Cyrus  Colvin  and  his 
first  wife  were  born  four  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters :  Artless  L,  Augustus,  Deborah  N.,  Phil- 
ip, George  Perry,  and  John  Dorrance.  Mrs. 
Colvin  died  December  24,  1835.  Philip  Col- 
vin, senior,  died  in  1832,  aged  seventy-eight 
years.  Sarah,  his  wife,  died  in  1844,  aged 
eighty-three  years.  Cyrus  Colvin  died  in  1879, 
aged  eighty-one  years.  After  the  death  of 
his  first  wife  he  married  Maria  Dean,  daugh- 
ter of  James  Dean,  one  of  the  early  settlers 
from  Rhode  Island.  The  second  wife  died  in 
1876,  aged  seventy-two  years.  By  his  second: 
marriage  two  sons  were  born :  Cyrus  D.  and 
Albert  Colvin.  All  the  children  of  Cyrus  Col- 
vin lived  at  home  until  1850,  when  Artless. 
L.  (1)  went  to  Archbald,  Pennsylvania,  where 
she  married  J.  W.  Sheerer,  an  engineer.  They 
have  one  son  who  is  married  and  lives  in 
Cedar  Rapids.  Iowa,  and  a  daughter,  Phoebe, 
who  married  Dr.  J.  Hayes,  and  is  also  living- 
in   Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa.     Augustus   (2),  mar- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


491 


ried  Miss  Caprell,  reared  a  large  family  and 
is  still  living  on  a  farm  in  Factorj-ville,  Lacka- 
wanna county.  Deborah  X.  (3),  married 
Emanuel  Dersheimer,  who  died  in  1881.  They 
had  six  children,  three  boys  and  three  girls, 
of  whom  Edmond  is  still  living  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Falls  township,  Wyoming 
county,  Pennsylvania ;  C.  O.  is  a  lawyer ; 
George  is  an  insurance  agent  in  Tunkhannock  ; 
Pennsylvania ;  Bessie  married  J.  P.  Carter,  a 
druggist,  and  resides  at  Syracuse,  New  York ; 
Sadie  married  Jerome  Lillibridge  and  resides 
at  Blakely,  Pennsylvania.  Philip  (4)  went  to 
California  in  1859,  and  is  now  living  on  a  ranch 
near  Pueblo,  Colorado,  where  since  1873  he 
divides  his  time  between  raising  stock  and 
prospecting.  George  Perry  (5)  was  an  engi- 
neer on  the  Mississippi  river  steamers,  also 
in  Texas,  Mexico  and  Brazil.  He  now  resides 
in  Factoryville,  Pennsylvania,  being  para- 
lyzed from  the  effects  of  a  wound  received  at 
Cedar  Creek,  Virginia.  October  19,  1864.. 

John  Dorrance  Colvin  (6),  born  June  25, 
1835,  died  March  15,  1901,  left  home  about 
1854  and  remained  away  until  about  1859, 
when  he  returned  home  and  there  sojourned 
until  the  breaking  out  at  the  Civil  war  in  1861. 
John  Dorrance  Colvin  enlisted  July  2,  1861, 
in  Company  G,  Fifty-second  Regiment  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers,  and  was  later  mustered 
into  Company  G,  (Captain  J.  P.  S.  Gobin, 
now  General  Goben,  of  Lebanon,  Pennsyl- 
vania), Forty-seventh  Regiment  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  September  13,  1861,  for  three 
years.  In  December, 1861,  he  was  transferred 
to  the  United  States  Signal  Corps,  assigned 
to  General  Brennen's  brigade,  and  was  sent 
to  Key  West,  Florida,  to  assist  in  the  capture 
of  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi, near  Xew  Orleans.  After  the  cap- 
ture of  New  Orleans,  the  brigade  was  sent  to 
Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  to  take  part  in  the 
operations  against  the  city  of  Charleston. 
Here  he  was  detached  from  the  land  forces, 
and  for  several  months  was  on  board  the 
"Wabash",  Admiral  Dupont's  flagship,  for  the 
purpose  of  communicating  bv  signals  with 
the  army,  and  instructing  the  midshipmen  and 
quartermasters  of  the  navy  in  the  use  of  the 
army  signals.  He  was  placed  on  board  the 
'"Ericsson"  when  she  accompanied  the  fleet 
to  Charleston  loaded  with  topedoes  for  the 
purpose  of  removing  the  obstructions  near 
Fort  Sumter — obstructions  that  prevented  the 
fleet  from  entering  the  harbor.     He  was  after- 


wards assigned  to  duty  on  board  the  steamer- 
"Powhattan,"  Captain  Green,  flagship  of  the 
wooden  fleet.  He  was  also  for  a  time  on  duty 
on  the  gunboat  "Housatonic."  and  was  one  of 
the  signalmen  on  the  ironclad  fleet,  April  Jr 
1863,  when  Admiral  Dalghren  made  the  at- 
tacks on  Fort  Sumter  and  Moultrie  and  the 
batteries  protecting  the  channel  to  Charles- 
ton harbor.  He  afterward  took  an  active  part 
in  the  capture  of  the  batteries  on  the  lower- 
end  of  Morris  Island,  in  the  charges  on  Fort 
Wagner  in  July,  1863,  and  was  on  Morris  Is- 
land during  the  seiges  of  Forts  Wagner,  Sum- 
ter, and  other  batteries  on  Cummings  Point- 
He  was  made  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  signals 
on  the  night  of  July  3,  1864.  When  General 
Hoyt,  of  the  Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
unteers, with  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty- 
seventh  Xew  York  Volunteers,  was  repulsed" 
at  Fort  Johnson,  James  Island,  South  Caro- 
lina, the  Fifty-second  Regiment  having  their 
colonel  (Hoyt)  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
officers  and  men  captured,  Sergeant  Colvin 
lost  two  of  his  signalmen  by  capture,  both  oF 
whom  afterward  died  in  Andersonville  prison. 
In  April,  1864,  by  order  of  General  Foster, 
Captain  Clum,  chief  signal  officer  of  the  coast 
division,  detailed  Sergeant  Colvin  to  endeavor- 
to  decipher  the  rebel  signal  code.  He  was  on 
this  secret  service  until  the  fall  of  Charleston, 
February  18,  1865,  and  succeeded  in  decipher- 
ing six  of  their  straight  alphabetical  code  and' 
their  fifteen  changeable  or  disk  codes.  It  was 
supposed  to  be  impossible  to  decipher  the  lat- 
ter, as  no  two  messages  needed  to  be  sent  from 
the  same  key  letter.  By  this  work  he  gained' 
much  valuable  information,  and  gave  General 
Foster  such  reliable  information  as  to  the 
movements  of  the  enemy,  when  General  Terry 
with  his  division  was  operating  with  the  enemy 
on  James  Island  in  the  summer  of  1864,  that 
the  general  recommended  him  for  a  commis- 
sion. On  February  14,  1865,  Sergeant  Colvin 
was  commissioned  a  lieutenant  in  the  United 
States  Signal  Corps.  He  also  received  a  con- 
gratulatory letter  from  Colonel  Xichodemus,. 
of  the  Signal  Bureau  at  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia,  relative  to  his  fitness  for  that 
branch  of  the  service  and  the  valuable  infor- 
mation received  through  him.  General  Shem- 
melfennig,  commanding  a  brigade  in  the  coast 
division,  wrote  him  a  letter  highly  extolling- 
his  zeal  and  his  success  in  his  branch  of  ser- 
vice. Mr.  Colvin  was  always  desirous  of  pub- 
licly acknowledging  his  thanks  and  apprecia— 


-492 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


tion  of  the  assistance  rendered  him  by  such 
men  as  George  H.  Stone,  William  S.  Marsden, 
Sergeants  Eddy  and  Quick  of  the  corps,  to- 
gether with  the  men  assigned  to  him  from  the 
Fifty-second  Pennsylvania  and  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-seventh  New  York  regiments, 
and  the  value  their  help  was  to  him  in  de- 
ciphering codes  and  intercepting  rebel  dis- 
patches from  all  points  along  the  Confederate 
lines.  He  was  mustered  out. of  service  in  Sep- 
tember, 1865,  after  four  years  of  active  cam- 
paign life.  It  is  .a  remarkable  fact  that  when 
Lieutenant  Colvin  entered  the  service  he  was 
sickly,  and  it  was  on  this  account  that  his 
friends  were  opposed  to  his  enlisting,  but  the 
■active  service  seemed  to  agree  with  him,  for 
there  was  not  a  day  in  over  four  years  that 
he  was  not  able  to  be  in  the  saddle,  and  to 
attend  to  his  duties  either  in  the  navy  or  in  the 
field.  In  fact,  he  reported  to  the  morning  sick 
call  only  twice  during  his  entire  service,  and 
was  absent  from  active  duty  only  thirty  days, 
and  that  was  on  a  veteran  furlough. 

July  7,  1879,  Captain  John  D.  Colvin,  Cap- 
tain Wilt,  Captain  T.  C.  Parker,  Captain  Ben- 
nett, Captain  Rush,  Captain  Harvey,  Captain 
McGinley,  Captain  Wenner  with  a  number  of 
other  line  officers,  were  instrumental  in  or- 
ganizing the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  Regiment, 
and  did  all  in  their  power  to  assist  the  field 
and  staff  officers  to  make  efficient  soldiers  out 
of  the  "raw  material,"  and  the  people  of  Lu- 
zerne county  should  be  proud  that  they  had 
men  of  military  genius  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  one  of  the  finest  volunteer  organizations  in 
the  state.  Company  E,  of  Parsons,  organized 
by  Captain  J.  D.  Colvin,  is  yet  in  existence. 
and  stands  second  to  none  in  the  regiment. 
The- captain  was  seven  years  an  officer  in  the 
Ninth  Regiment. 

After  his  discharge  from  the  service  in 
1865,  Captain  Colvin  was  connected  with  the 
work  on  the  central  branch  of  the  Pacific  Rail- 
road, from  Atchison,  Kansas,  to  Fort  Kear- 
ney, and  went  across  the  Missouri  river  on  the 
ferry  from  Winthrop,  Missouri,  to  Atchison 
with  the  first  locomotive  that  was  placed  on 
the  road.  In  1867  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  employed  for  five  and  a  half  years  in 
the  coal  department  of  the  Delaware  and  Hud- 
son Coal  Company,  when  he  accepted  a  posi- 
tion with  the  Lehigh  Valley  Coal  Company. 
In  1885  his  sight  was  affected  by  cataracts. 
In  1890  he  resigned  his  position  with  the  Le- 


high Valley  Coal  Company,  after  seventeen 
years  of  continuous  service. 

Air.  Colvin  was  married  in  1867  to  Olive 
S.  Reichardt,  born  April  21,  1845,  m  Provi- 
dence (now  a  part  of  Scranton )  Pennsylvania, 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Catharine  (Ackerley) 
Reichardt.  Henry  Reichardt  died  September 
4,  1854,  and  his  wife  Catherine  died  in  1845. 
The  family  were  among  the  early,  pioneers 
that  came  from  Germany  and  settled  near 
Easton,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Reichardt's 
mother,  Catharine  Ackerly,  came  from  New 
York  state  with  her  parents  and  settled  in 
Abingdon  in  1828.  She  died  in  May,  1898, 
having  had  children :  Margaret,  James,  Olive 
S.,  Norman,  Isaac,  and  Frank.  Mr.  and  Airs. 
John  Dorrance  Colvin  had  children:  1.  Har- 
ry, born  July  14,  1871.  married  July  10,  1891, 
Harriet  Hardwell,  was  assistant  postmaster  at 
Parsons,  Pennsylvania,  died  May  29,  1900. 
2.  Anna,  born  March  14,  1875.  m  Parsons, 
and  was  a  teacher  there  at  the  early  age  of 
sixteen;  she  married  June  20,  1904,  Rev  E. 
A.  Loux,  of  the  Plymouth  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  now  resides  in  Plymouth.  3. 
J.  Frederick,  born  September  3,  1877,  in  Par- 
sons, married  October,  1901,  Jennie  Blanchard, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  is  a  bookkeeper  in  the 
Peoples'  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

4.  Alice,  born  September  20,  1881,  in  Par- 
sons,   now    attending     Syracuse     LTniversity. 

5.  Lena  May  born  October  5,  1885,  and  is 
at  home ;  she  graduated  from  Wyoming  Semi- 
ary. 

After  his  marriage  John  D.  Colvin  settled 
at  Olyphant,  Pennsylvania.  From  there  he 
moved  to  Carbondale,  and  in  1870  took  up  his 
residence  at  Parsons.  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, of  which  borough  he  was  postmaster. 
In  1876  he  took  an  active  part  in  getting  the 
district  chartered  as  a  borough,  and  was  twice 
elected  its  burgess.  He  served  as  school  direc- 
tor for  twelve  years,  and  the  fine  school  prop- 
erty of  the  borough  has  been  largely  acauired 
through  the  exertions  of  Air.  Colvin,  Calvin 
Parsons,  John  Alderson,  Jason  P.  Davis,  Pat- 
rick Cox,  and  William  Smurl,  who  took  the 
first  steps  toward  buying  the  lots  and  erect- 
ing the  commodious  school  building  in   1877. 

WILLIAM  CLOUGH  ALLAN,  a  promi- 
nent dealer  in  investment  securities,  and  a 
man  well  known  and  highly  regarded  in  the 
financial    circles    of    AVilkes-Barre,     Pennsvl- 


ClAsl\/ 


e-  cull 


OL/la^/ 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


493; 


vania,  of  which  city  he  is  a  citizen,  is  of  Eng- 
lish birth,  but  has  made  the  United  States  his 
home  since  1887,  having  become  a  naturalized' 
citizen  in  1892. 

•John  Allan,  father  of  William  Clough  Al- 
lan, was  born  in  the  town  of  Sleights,  York- 
shire, England,  December  21,  1836.  He  was 
educated  in  England  and  apprenticed  to  the 
trade  of  blacksmith,  which  was  the  calling  pur- 
sued by  his  father  and  grandfather.  He  fol- 
lowed this  for  a  number  of  years  in  England, 
and  then  came  to  America,  locating  at  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  has  since  re- 
sided. He  and  his  entire  family  are  members 
of  St.  Stephen"s  Episcopal  Church  in  Wilkes- 
Barre.  John  Allan  is  now  living  retired.  He 
married  Dorothy  Clough,  who  was  born  at 
Alnwick,  in  Northumberland,  on  the  borders 
of  England  and  Scotland,  and  was  a  repre- 
sentative of  an  old  English  family.  She  died 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  December  14,  1902.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Allan  became  the  parents  of  the  follow- 
ing named  children:  1.  William  Clough,  of 
whom  later ;  2.  Annie,  married  William 
Greaves,  and  had  two  children — Hilda  and 
Helen —  and  who  resides  in  Wilkes-Barre ; 
3.  Frank,  who  lives  in  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia ;     4.     Frederick,  who  resides  in  Mexico. 

William  Clough  Allan,  eldest  child  of  John 
and  Dorothy  (Clough)  Allan,  was  born  in 
Brotton,  Yorkshire,  England,  May  6,  1866. 
He  spent  his  early  years  in  his  native  town, 
receiving  a  good  education  in  the  common 
schools  of  that  place.  He  then  entered  the 
employ  of  the  North  Eastern  Railway  Com- 
pany of  England,  and  remained  with  it  a  num- 
ber of  years.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
America  offered  a  better  field  in  which  to 
achieve  success,  and  in  April,  1887,  came  to  the 
LTnited  States.  He  became  connected  with 
the  Sheldon  Axle  Works  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  retained  this  position  for  a  period  of  two 
years.  He  then  accepted  a  clerical  position 
with  Charles  Parrish  (See  Parrish  family), 
acting  as  his  private  secretary  for  seven  years. 
During  that  period  he  was  also  secretary 
and  paymaster  of  the  Annora  Coal  Company, 
secretary,  treasurer  and  paymaster  of  the 
Newport  Coal  Company,  and  secretary  of  the 
West  End  Coal  Company.  Subsequently  (in 
1896)  he  established  himself  in  his  present 
business,  which  he  has  conducted  with  un- 
varied success  up  to  this  time.  In  1904  he 
became  interested  in  the  subject  of  purifying 
water  by  electricity.     He  organized  a  company 


to  exploit  this  matter  (working  under  the. 
Leon  Dion  patents),  and  in  all  probability  it. 
will  be  a  successful  venture.  Mr.  Allan  is  a 
man  of  great  determination  and  keen  business, 
insight.  He  considers  an  undertaking  well 
before  embarking  in  it,  but  when  once  the. 
matter  has  been  commenced,  he  feels  bound  to 
carry  it  to  a  profitable  ending.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Episcopal  church.  He  has  been 
associated  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  for  a. 
number  of  years,  being  a  past  master  of  Lodge 
No.  61,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Wilkes- 
Barre.  He  was  master  of  this  lodge  at  the 
time  of  the  celebration  of  its  centennial,  in 
1894.  He  is  a  past  high  priest  of  Shekinah 
Royal  Arch  Chapter,  No.  182,  a  sir  knight  of 
Dieu  Le  Veut  Commandery,  No.  45,  Knights. 
Templar,  an  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish 
Rite  Mason  (32  degree),  and  a  noble  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine.  He  has  held  office  in  all  these 
bodies. 

He  married,  August  5,  1896,  Karoline 
Louise  Kiihner,  of  Kaiserslautern,  in  Bavaria, 
Germany,  who  traces  her  pedigree  back  four 
hundred  years.  They  have  one  child,  Mar- 
garet Kiihner,  born  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, June  29,  1899. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  BROWN,  a 
well  known  citizen  of  West  Pittston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  for  many  years  a  ticket  agent  for  the 
Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  a  position  which  he  held 
until  the  time  of  his  death,  was  the  son  of  James 
and  Lydia  (Killmer)  Brown,  the  former  a  native 
of  Scott  Valley,  Pennsylvania ;  the  latter  a  native 
of  New  York  state. 

George  Washington  Brown  was  born  in 
Dutchess  county,  New  York,  April  13,  1843.  He 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  and 
was  always  earnest  and  thorough  in  whatever  he 
undertook.  When  but  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
went  west  and  obtained  a  position  as  a  clerk  in  a 
store  in  Illinois.  Here  he  remained  for  several 
years,  but  resigned  this  position  in  1865  in  order 
to  enlist  in  the  army.  He  became  a  member  of 
the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-seventh  Regiment, 
Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry,  February  4,  1865,  and 
served  with  great  bravery  until  mustered  out  in 
1866.  On  February  18,  1865,  he  was  appointed 
sergeant,  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  served  un- 
der Captain  James  H.  Reynolds.  He  went  with 
his  regiment  to  Georgia,  where  they  were  called 
upon  to  do  duty  at  a  number  of  different  places 
in  that  state.  They  finally  reached  Savannah,  and 
here  they  remained  until  January  20,  1866,  when 


494 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


-.they  were  ordered  to  Springfield,  Illinois,  and 
there  mustered  out  February,  1866.  During  his 
period  of  service  he  was  often  commended  for  his 
faithful  attention  to  his  duties,  and  his  bravery 
was  undoubted.  He  did  his  utmost  to  make  field 
.service  bearable  for  his  companions,  even  at  the 
expense  of  personal  discomfort.  After  being 
mustered  out,  he  resumed  his  work  as  a  clerk  in 
Illinois,  but  soon  after  resigned  his  position  and 
returned  to  Pittston,  where  he  made  his  home 
with  his  sisters,  and  followed  the  trade  of  a  car- 
penter for  a  few  years.  This  he  gave  up  in  order 
to  accept  a  position  as  detective  in  the  employ  of 
the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad.  He  was  also  ap- 
pointed ticket  agent  for  the  same  company,  and 
this  latter  position  he  held  to  the  mutual  sat- 
isfaction of  the  company  and  himself  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  May  3,  1899.  Mr. 
Brown  was  a  man  whose  pleasing  personal- 
ity, affable  demeanor  and  unfailing  courtesy 
won  him  a  host  of  friends,  and  his  death  was 
..sincerely  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him.  He 
was  a  stanch  Republican,  although  he  never 
found  time  to  devote  himself  actively  to  the 
public  affairs  of  the  time.  In  religion  he  was 
an  Episcopalian,  while  his  wife  is  a  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Brpwn  was 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  of  the  United  Order  of  Ameri- 
can Mechanics. 

Mr.  Brown  married,  September  19,  1871, 
Mary  Elizabeth  Brenton,  born  October  19, 
1849,  in  Tunkhannock,  Pennsylvania,  daugh- 
ter of  Frank  and  Fannie  Brenton,  both  natives 
-of  England.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brenton  emigrated 
to  America  and  settled  in  Tunkhannock,  Wyo- 
ming county,  Pennsylvania,  where  their  two 
•children  were  born.  The  first  was  Mary  Eliz- 
abeth, who  married  George  Washington 
Brown.  The  second  was  Frank  H.,  born  Au- 
gust 17,  1851.  Frank  had  a  limited  education 
and  then  obtained  work  as  a  clerk  in  a  store 
for  a  time.  He  then  followed  the  occupation 
-of  glazier  for  about  a  year,  giving  this  up  in 
favor  of  a  position  with  the  Adams  Express 
Company,  a  position  which  he  held  for ,  ten 
years.  He  was  then  employed  as  billing  clerk 
by  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  remaining  with 
them  for  eleven  years,  and  was  then  a  travel- 
ing salesman  for  fifteen  years.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  of  Malta ;  of  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  of  the  Im- 
-proved  Order  of  Red  Men.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
George  Washington  Brown  were  the  parents 
-of  five  children,  as  follows:  1.  Willis  Henry, 
"born  June  28,  1872,  who  is  a  salesman  for  W. 


L.  Righter  Coal  Company,  of  New  York, 
wholesale  dealers  in  coal,  and  resides  in 
Brooklyn,  New  York.  He  married  Jean- 
nette  E.  Evans,  January  26,  1897,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Isabelle  Jeannette.  2.  Eva 
Grace,  born  August  23,  1874,  married,  June 
5,  1905,  William  Tyler  Hall,  of  Hall  &  Parker, 
merchants  at  Waverly,  Pennsylvania.  3.  Rich- 
ard Brenton,  born  December  14,  1876.  He  is 
a  bookkeeper  for  the  Temple  Iron  Company, 
at  Mount  Lookout  breaker,  West  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  resides.  He  married 
Mary  Elizabeth  Evans,  January  1,  1903,  and 
has  one  son,  Brenton  Olin,  born  December  24, 
1904.  4.  Norman  Ray  (twin),  born  May  28, 
1881,  is  bookkeeper  for  the  Temple  Iron  Com- 
pany, at  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  and  resides 
at  West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania.  5.  Helen 
May  (twin),  born  May  28,  1881,  resides  at 
West  Pittston. 

FREDERICK  BENHAM  MYERS,  de- 
ceased, who  was  a  lifelong  resident  of  the  Wyo- 
ming valley,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  June  10, 
1845,  m  Kingston,  Luzerne  county,  son  of 
Madison  F.  and  Harriet  (Myers)  Myers,  natives 
of  Frederick  county  Maryland,  and  Kingston 
township,  Pennsylvania,  respectively,  and 
grandson  of  Michael  Myers,  of  Frederick 
county,  Maryland,  who  was  one  of  four  broth- 
ers— Lawrence,  Philip,  William  and  Michael 
— who  emigrated  to  this  country  at  an  early 
date.  , 

Madison  F.  Myers  (father)  came  to  the 
Wyoming  valley,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled 
on  the  old  homestead  in  which  Frederick  Ben- 
ham  Myers  lived,  located  in  Kingston  near 
the  present  Kingston  depot.  The  patent  for 
the  homestead  was  issued  May  20,  1805,  and 
the  farm  represented  here  has  never  been  out 
of  the  possession  of  the  Myers  family  since. 
Madison  F.  Myers  cultivated  and  improved 
thi's  property,  making  it  one  of  the  highly  pro- 
ductive farms  of  the  locality,  and  resided 
thereon  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Au- 
gust 2,  1859.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Harriet  Myers,  bore  him  the  following 
chlidren  who  lived  to  reach  maturity:  Mi- 
randa, deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  Charles 
Steele,  of  Pittston,  later  removing  to  Fall 
City,  Richardson  county,  Nebraska.  Philip 
Thomas,  deceased,  was  a  resident  of  King- 
ston. Martha  A.,  married  Archibald  J. 
Weaver,  now  deceased,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  four  children  who  lived  to  maturity; 
they  resided  in  Fall  City,  Nebraska,  and  Mr. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


495 


Weaver  served  as  district  attorney  of  that  city- 
two  terms,  and  also  as  judge  and  congressman 
for  the  district.  Frederick  Benham,  of  whom 
further  mention  is  made.  William  P.,  mar- 
ried Helen  McCarty  and  have  three  children, 
reside  in  Fall  City,  Nebraska.  .  Mrs.  Madison 
F.  Myers,  died  December  5,  1889,  at  the  age 
■of  eighty  years. 

Frederick  Benham  Myers  acquired  a  lib- 
eral education,  having  been  a  student  in  the 
public  schools  of  Kingston,  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary, Kingston,  and  Cazenovia  Seminary, 
New  York.  He  always  followed  farming  and 
gardening,  commencing  this  line  of  work  when 
in  his  'teens  and  having  charge  of  the  farm 
before  he  was  of  age,  after  the  death  of  his 
father,  and*  working  during  vacations  while 
-pursuing  his  studies.  Later  his  operations 
were  conducted  near  Dallas,  where  he  had  a 
large  truck  farm,  and  in  Westmoor,  near  Kings- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  where  he  had  a  large  garden 
farm,  the  largest  in  that  vicinity.  The  truck 
farm  is  on  a  portion  of  the  old  homestead,  and 
another  part  is  now  being  cut  up  into  build- 
ing lots  and  sold,  and  constitutes  the  Myers 
annex  to  Edwardsville.  Through  his  ability 
and  the  exercise  of  energy  and  unconquera- 
ble determination  he  made  a  success  of  this 
enterprise,  and  also  gained  a  reputation  as  a 
-progressive  and  practical  agriculturalist.  He 
bore  a  full  share  in  the  promotion  of  com- 
munity interests,  and  was  chosen  to  serve  as 
-director  in  the  Commonwealth  Telephone 
Company  of  Scranton,  and  in  the  Centremor- 
land  Telephone  Company,  in  both  of  which 
Tie  discharged  his  duties  with  credit  and  ef- 
ficiency. Prior  to  the  Civil  war,  about  1859 
or  i860,  he  was  a  member  of  the  First  Fire 
Company  of  Kingston.  Mr.  Myers  was  a  Pro- 
hibitionist in  principle,  a  Republican  in  na- 
tional politics,  but  in  local  affairs  cast  his  vote 
tor  the  man  who  in  his  opinion  was  the  best 
■qualified  for  the  office. 

Mr.  Myers  married  Naomi  A.  Mott,  daugh- 
ter of  James  and  Mary  Ann  (Barber)  Mott, 
■of  Lackawanna  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
their  children  are  as  follows:  1.  Frederick 
Madison,  born  September  1,  1870,  educated 
,  at  Wyoming  Seminary,  and  now  an  architect 
and  contractor.  He  married  Anna  Dudley, 
and  resides  in  Westmoor,  near  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania.  2.  Mary  Mott,  born  Septem- 
ber 10,  1872,  educated  at  Wyoming,  resides 
in  Kingston  with  her  mother.  3.  Lawrence 
"Winfield,    born    December    25,     1875,    died    at 


Peckville,  June  29,  1876,  buried  at  Blakely 
borough,  Pennsylvania.  4.  Harriet  E.,  born 
November  17,  1878,  graduated  from  the  Wyo- 
ming Seminary,  and  then  attended  the 
Bloomsburg  State  Normal  School,  from  which 
she  also  graduated.  She  married,  May  15, 
1900,  Henry  McComber,  of  Binghamton,  New 
York,  a  farmer  and  gardener,  and  they  have 
one  daughter,  Naomi  Myers,  born  May  19, 
19°3-  5-  Philip  Thomas,  born  October  31, 
1880,  graduated  from  Wyoming  Seminary, 
and  then  entered  Cornell  College  in  order  to 
study  civil  engineering,  but  an  attack  of 
typhoid  fever  and  the  failing  health  of  his 
father  caused  him  to  give  up  this  idea,  and 
he  now  lives  at  home,  acting  as  general  man- 
ager of  his  father's  estate,  and  has  taken 
charge  of  the  truck  farms.  6.  Laura  Naomi, 
born  February  28,  1885,  a  student  at  Syracuse 
University,  where  she  has  won  a  public  schol- 
arship. 7.  Jessie  Minerva,  born  July  28, 
1889,  resides  in  Kingston  and  attends  the 
Wyoming  Seminary.  The  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Kingston,  in  which  body  Mr.  Myers  was  a 
member  of  the  official  board  and  formerly  a 
most  active  worker.  Frederick  Benham 
Myers  died  January  16,  1906,  at  noon.  The 
interment  was  in  the  old  Myers  plot  at  Forty 
Fort.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife  and  six 
children. 

EDWARD  STERLING  LOOP,  for  many 
years  actively  identified  with  the  Wyoming 
State  Bank  and  its  successor,  the  Wyoming 
National  Bank,  was  born  in  Elmira,  New 
York,  February  11,  1823,  a  son  of  Peter  P. 
and  Eliza  Irene  (Ross)  Loop,  and  grandson 
•of  Peter  Loop,  Jr.,  one  of  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  Susquehanna  Company,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1786. 

Peter  P.  Loop  (father)  was  also  a  native 
of  Elmira,  Chemung  county,  New  York,  born 
in  1793-  He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Eliza 
Irene  Ross,  born  August  25,  1799,  daughter  of 
the  late  Gen.  William  Ross,  in  1820.  Their 
children  were:  William  Ross,  born  1821, 
served  in  the  Mexican  and  Civil  wars,  died 
at  Elmira,  New  York,  1887.  John  Miller,  a 
lawyer,  a  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania; Edward  Sterling,  a  twin  of  John  Miller: 
De  Witt  Clinton,  who  became  a  minister  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church ;  Sarah  Eliza, 
married  Sidney  B.  Roby,  of  Rochester,  New 
York ;  he  died  May  28,   1897.     Their  children 


496 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


are:  I.  Margaret  B.,  married  Wendell  Cur- 
tis, proprietor  of  the  Rochester  (New  York) 
Union  Advertiser.  2.  Sidney  £.,  graduate  of 
Yale,  1888.  3.  William  Sterling,  graduate 
of  Yale,  1890.  4.  Dr.  Joseph,  graduate  of 
■Yale,  1893;  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons of  New  York  City,  1896;  married  Alice 
iviontgomery  Rogers,  daughter  of  Clinton  and 
Fanny  (Rochester)  Rogers.  They  reside  in 
Rochester,  New  York.  5.  Cathnne  G.,  mar- 
ried W.  T.  Dorrance,  graduate  of  Brown  Col- 
lege, 1893 ;  civil  engineer,  Boston  Technical 
School.  They  reside  in  Flushing,  New  Jersey. 
Peter  P.  Loop  died  at  Belvidere,  Illinois,  in 
1854.  He  was  survived'  by  his  wife,  who  re- 
sided for  many  years  thereafter  in  Rochester, 
New  York,  and  her  death  occurred  at  the 
age  of  ninety-three  years.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Gen.  William  Ross,  father  of  Mrs.  Peter 
P.  Loop,  was  born  in  New  London,  Connecti- 
cut, March  29,  1761,  a  son  of  Jeremiah  and 
Ann  (Paine)  Ross,  who  were  married  Octo- 
ber 31,  1744,  grandson  of  Joseph  and  Sarah 
(Utley)  Ross,  and  great-grandson  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  Ross,  descendants  of  an  English 
ancestry.  General  Ross  emigrated  to  Wyo- 
ming about  1775,  and  the  day  previous  to  the 
"massacre"  was  with  the  army  in  its  march 
to  Exeter  and  would  have  been  in  the  battle 
had  not  his  older  brothers — Jeremiah  and 
Perrin — both  of  whom  were  butchered  in  the 
massacre,  July  3,  1778,  needed  his  arms.  Hav- 
ing a  natural  taste  and  aptitude  for  military 
affairs,  General  Ross  rose  by  gradual  grada- 
tions from  major  to  brigade  inspector  and 
general  in  the  militia.  He  was  rewarded  by 
the  supreme  executive  council  of  Pennsylva- 
nia with  a  sword,  which  is  now  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Edward  Sterling  Loop,  bearing  the 
following  inscription  :  "Captain  William  Ross  : 
The  Supreme  Executive  Council  present  this 
mark  of  their  approbation  acquired  by  your 
firmness  in  support  of  the  laws  of  the  com- 
monwealth on  the  4th  of-  July,  1788.  Charles 
Biddle,  Sec'y-"  This  was  given  to  him  for 
his  rescue  of  Timothy  Pickering,  who  was 
sent  to  the  Wyoming  valley  to  pacify  and  heal 
up  the  local  strife.  General  Ross  served  in 
the  capacity  of  magistrate  for  two  decades, 
and  also  represented  the  district  composed 
of  Luzerne  and  Northumberland  counties  in 
the  senate  of  the  state.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Perkins,  born  November  3,  1768,  daugh- 
ter of  Samuel  Sterling  and  Elizabeth  Perkins. 


Their  deaths  occurred,  respectively,  August 
9,  1842,  and  May  16,  1816.  (For  a  more  de- 
tailed account  of  the  life  of  General  Ross  see 
Ross  Family  sketch,  which  appears  elsewhere 
in   this   work.) 

Edward  S.  Loop  attended  the  common 
schools  of  Wilkes-rJarre,  Pennsylvania,  until 
1840,  when  he  went  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
where  he  found  employment  in  a  retail  dry 
goods  store,  in  which  he  remained  three  years. 
In  1844  he  -returned  east,  locating  in  New 
York  City,  where  he  resided  for  about  ten 
years,  during  which  time  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  bookkeeper  in  the  dry  goods  house 
of  Warner  Loop  &  Company.  In  1853  he  lo- 
cated in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  has  since  continuously  resided.  The  first 
year  of  his  residence  there  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Wyoming  State  Bank  (now  the 
Wyoming  National  Bank)  in  the  capacity  of 
teller.  His  service  was  marked  by  ability  and 
fidelity  and  shortly  afterward  he  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  position  of  cashier,  in  which  he 
proved  himself  even  more  useful,  and  his  con- 
nection with  the  institution  only  ceased  with 
his  retirement  by  resignation  after  a  service 
of  more  than  twenty-one  years.  It  is  not 
too  much  to  sayr  that  during  this  long  period,, 
which  covered  the  real  development  of  the 
bank  as  a  financial  institution  of  first  impor- 
tance in  the  Wyoming  Valley.  Mr.  Loop  was 
a  prime  factor  and  made  for  himself  an  ex- 
cellent reputation  as  a  financier  of  unusual 
sagacity,  besides  developing  great  ability  for 
detecting  counterfeit  money. 

Mr.  Loop  married,  December  28,  1852, 
Miss  Cornelia  B.  French,  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Lydia  (Wadhams)  French,  of  Plymouth. 
Her  death  occurred  June  25,  1856.  She  left 
one  child,  a  daughter,  Estelle,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Major  Charles  F.  Larrabee,  of  Wash- 
ington, who  has  been  connected  with  the  land 
division  of  the  Indian  affairs  for  more  than  a. 
quarter  of  a  century,  and  on  January  3,  1905, 
received  the  appointment  of  assistant  com- 
missioner of  Indian  affairs  at  Washington,. 
District  of  Columbia.  Major  Larabee  and 
his  wife  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Sterling 
Loop  Larrabee.  On  July  1,  1858,  Mr.  Loop 
married  Miss  Harriet  A.  Lauder,  daughter  of 
T.  D.  Lauder,  of  New  York  City.  She  was 
a  native  of  Newburg,  New  York,  died  Janu- 
ary 18,  1904,  and  her  remains  were  interred 
in  the  Hollenback  cemetery,  this  being  the 
second   interment   there.      She  was   a   woman 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


497 


of  lovely  attributes  and  abounded  in  good 
works.  She  was  a  devoted  and  consistent 
Christian,  a  lifelong  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  was  a  teacher  in  Sunday 
school  from  her  fourteenth  year.  She  was  for 
many  years  at  the  head  of  the  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  her  loving  interest  and  constant 
care  for  its  interests  made  it  a  most  efficient 
agency  for  good. 

Mr.  Loop  is  one  of  the  oldest  residents  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  he  having  erected  his  present 
residence  in  1864.  He  remembers  distinctly 
when  what  is  now  Main  street  was  nothing 
but  farming  land,  with  deer  roaming  about 
at  will,  and  even  the  most  sanguine  never 
dreamed  of  its  present  size  and  importance. 
He  is  held  in  honor  by  his  fellow-citizens  for 
the  usefulness  of  his  long  and  busy  life,  and 
for  those  traits  of  character  which  mark  the 
ideal  neighbor  and  gentleman. 

CHARLES  HENRY  CHAMBERLIN.  The 
Chamberlin  family,  represented  in  the  present 
generation  by  Charles  Henry  Charberlin,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  staff  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Times,  who 
in  point  of  active  service  may  be  placed  among  the 
veteran  newspaper  men  of  this  locality,  was 
founded  in  this  country  by  Henry  Chamberlin,  a 
native  of  England,  who  came  to  New  England 
with  his  family  in  1638,  in  the  ship  "Diligent," 
which  sailed  from  Ipswich,  in  Suffolk,  and  landed 
at  Boston  (or  Charlestown),  August  10,  1638. 
He  was  with  the  company  led  by  the  Rev.  Robert 
Peck,  comprised  largely  of  people  from  the 
county  of  Norfolk,  and  there  it  would  seem  must 
we  look  for  his  ancestry.  At  the  time  of  his  ar- 
rival in  New  England,  Henry  Chamberlin  appears, 
from  recent  research,  to  have  been  considerably 
older  than  had  been  supposed.  His  daughter, 
Susan  (or  Susannah),  who  married  Joseph  Car- 
ter, of  Charlestown,  was,  according  to  her  own 
deposition,  born  about  1616,  and  his  mother, 
called  the  "widow  Christian  Chamberlin,"  died  at 
Hingham,  April  19,  1659,  aged  eighty-one  years. 
This  shows  her  to  have  been  born  about  1578, 
and  if  she  were  his  own  mother,  then  he  was 
probably  the  eldest  son,  and  born  not  far  from 
1598. 

Undoubtedly  Henry  Chamberlin  emigrated 
with  his  family  from  East  Anglia.  About  1665 
he  removed  to  the  adjoining  town  of  Hull,  Mas- 
sachusetts, during  the  last  years  of  his  life  lived 
with  his  son  William,  and  he  died  at  Hull,  July 
15  ,1674,  leaving  a  wife,  Jane,  and  several  chil- 

32 


dren.  He  left  descendants  who  resided  in  Hing- 
ham, Hull,  Charlestown,  Boston,  Scituate,  Pem- 
broke and  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts ;  New- 
port, Rhode  Island ;  and  Colchester,  Connecticut. 
The  line  of  descent  is  traced  through  Henry 
Chamberlin,  the  progenitor  and  immigrant,  to 
William  Chamberlin,  his  son,  who  was  born  in 
England,  married,  had  nine  children,  and  died 
October  22,  1678,  at  Hull,  Massachusetts.  Joseph, 
son  of  William  Chamberlin,  was  born  at  Hull, 
Massachusetts,  1665 ;  married,  June  8,  1688, 
Mercy  Dickinson,  born  1668,  died  1735,  and  they 
had  eight  children.  Joseph  Chamberlin,  Jr.,  son 
of  Joseph  and  Mercy  (Dickinson)  Chamberlin, 
resided  in  Colchester,  Connecticut ;  he  married 
Lydia  Smith,  of  Hull,  Massachusetts,  December 
26,  1720,  and  they  had  nine  children.  Job,  son  of 
Joseph  and  Lydia  (Smith)  Chamberlin,  born  at 
Colchester,  Connecticut,  February  8,  1725  or 
1726;  married,  April  27,  1758,  Diadema  Dun- 
ham ;  their  children  were :  Aaron,  born  January 
19,  1758;  Louisa,  Timothy,  Jairus,  Diadema,  Sy- 
bil, and  Job,  Jr. 

Aaron  Chamberlin,  eldest  son  of  Job  and  Dia- 
dema (Dunham)  Chamberlin,  was  born  at  Col- 
chester, Connecticut,  January  19,  1758,  died  Au- 
gust 25,  1825.  He  removed  to  Delaware  county. 
New  York.  On  October  6,  18 19,  he  was  granted 
a  pension  of  $96  per  annum  for  services  as  a 
private  of  the  Connecticut  line,  and  was  enrolled 
as  a  pensioner  January  14,  1820.  His  military 
record  is  as  follows:  May  21,  1777,  enlisted  as. 
private  in  Captain  Daniel  Allen's  company  of. 
Third  Connecticut  Regiment,  commanded  by  Col- 
onel Samuel  Wyllys,  for  three  years,  and  was  dis- 
charged May  21,  1780.  The  Third  Regiment. 
was  recruited  mainly  in  Hartford  county,  and  the 
rendezvous  was  at  Middletown.  During  the  sum- 
mer of  1778  it  encamped  at  White  Plains  with 
General  Washington's  main  army,  and  in  1778-79 
wintered  at  Redding.  During  the  operations  in 
1779  the  regiment  served  in  General  Heath's  wing 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson ;  wintered  in 
1779-80  at  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  serving  on 
outpost ;  and  in  1780  was  with  the  main  army  on 
the  Hudson.  September  15,  1780,  Aaron  Cham- 
berlin enlisted  as  private  in  Fourth  Connecticut 
Regiment,  and  was  discharged  December  14, 
1780.  In  this  regiment  he  served  as  lieutenant 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  John  Durkee,  the 
adjutant  of  the  regiment  having  been  Libbens 
Loomis,  of  Colchester.  After  assisting  in  repel- 
ling the  enemy  at  Danbury,  Connecticut,  April  26 
and  27,  1777,  the  Fourth  Regiment  went  into 
camp    at    Peekskill,   May,    1777.     The   regiment 


498 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


served  under  General  Putnam  along  the  Hudson 
until  January,  1778,  when  it  joined  a  brigade  and 
took  a  position  at  West  Point.  In  1780  the  reg- 
iment also  served  with  the  main  army  on  both 
sides  of  the  Hudson. 

Aaron  Chamberlin  settled  in  Franklin,  New 
York,  in  1789,  and  the  military  records  of  that 
state  show  that  he  served  in  the  militia  from  1792 
to  1807,  lastly  as  brigadier-general  of  the  brigade 
of  militia  for  the  county  of  Delaware,  to  which 
position  he  was  appointed  by  the  governor  in 
1805,  and  resigned  in  1807.  He  married,  April 
12,  1787,  Wealthy  Root,  born  October  21,  1769, 
died  January  2,  1842.  Their  children  were : 
Catherine,  born  Deeember  20,  1787,  died  Sep- 
tember 12,  1822 ;  Aaron,  Jr.,  September  12,  1789, 
died  April  9,  1867 ;  Wealthy.  February  27,  1792, 
died  August  25,  1827 ;  Elizabeth,  January  5, 
1794,  died  January  15,  1794;  Isabel,  November 
4.  1795,  died  February  14,  1796;  Chauncey,  De- 
cember 21,  1796,  died  July  9,  1815  ;  Mary,  March 
6,  1799,  died  September  14,  1863;  Julius,  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1801,  died  September  3,  1856;  Deborah, 
February  4,  1803 ;  William  Eaton,  September  6, 
1805,  died  April  9,  1839;  Susan  Emily,  August 
23,  1807 ;  Sarah  Emeline,  October  20,  1809 ; 
Sophia.  June  30,  181 1,  died  July  3,  181 1  ;  and 
Julia  Ann,  July  30,  1814,  died  September  11, 
1899. 

Aaron  Chamberlin,  Jr.,  eldest  son  of  Aaron 
and  Wealthy  (Root)  Chamberlin,  was  born  at 
Franklin,  Delaware  county,  New  York,  Septem- 
ber 12.  1789.  died  at  Nunda,  Livingston  county, 
New  York,  April  9,  1867.  He  married,  Novem- 
ber 5,  1813,  Ella  Chandler,  born  at  Amenia,  New 
York,  January  5,  1794,  and  died  October  5,  1842. 
She  bore  him  five  children :  Jane,  born  March  10, 
1815,  died  July  1,  1890;  George  Swift,  born  Jan- 
uary 15,  1817,  mentioned  hereinafter;  Charles  E., 
born  March  9,  1818,  died  May  8,  1897;  Chauncey, 
born  January  7.  1820,  died  November  8,  1876 ; 
and  Alary  F..  born  September  3,  1821,  died  April 
25-  1859. 

George  Swift  Chamberlin,  eldest  son  of  Aaron 
and  Ella  (Chandler)  Chamberlin,  was  born  at 
Franklin,  Delaware  count}',  New  York,  January 
15,  181 7,  died  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  April 
14,  1897. 

On  his  mother's  side,  Charles  Henry  Cham- 
berlin is  descended  from  Nicholas  Baker,  who 
was  born  in  England,  1610 ;  graduated  from  St. 
John's  College,  Cambridge,  England,  1631-32; 
received  degree  of  A.  B.  1631-32,  and  of  A.  M. 
in  1635.  With  his  brother  Nathaniel  he  came 
from  England  between  163 1   and   1635  all(l  set> 


tied  at  Hingham  (or  Hull),  Massachusetts  ;  he  re- 
moved to  Scituate,  and  in  1660  was  ordained 
third  minister  of  the  first  church  of  that  place.  In 
a  note  beginning  at  the  bottom  of  page  277,  "His- 
tory of  Cape  Cod,"'  or  "The  Annals  of  Barn- 
stable,"' the  following  concerning  Nicholas  Baker 
appears :  "At  Scituate  he  was  successful  in  al- 
laying a  long  feud  that  had  existed,  and  his  min- 
istry has  been  much  commended.  Cotton  Mather 
calls  him  'honest  Nicholas  Baker,  of  Scituate,' 
and  says  'he  "was  so  good  logician  that  he  could 
offer  to  God  a  reasonable  service,  so  good  arith- 
metician that  he  could  wisely  number  his  days, 
and  so  good  orator  that  he  persuaded  himself  to 
be  a  Christian.' "  In  the  "Records  of  Colony  of 
Massachusetts  Bay,"  vol.  1,  pp.  174-227.  Nich- 
olas Baker  appears  in  the  list  of  deputies  to  the 
general  court  for  1636-1638,  and  (vol.  3,  p.  83), 
November  4,  1646,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  hear  small  causes  in  Hingham. 
He  died  at  Scituate,  August  22,  1678,  leaving  a 
large  estate,  lying  chiefly  in  Massachusetts  col- 
ony. His  first  wife,  who  was  probably  mother  of 
his  six  children,  died  in  1661. 

Samuel,  eldest  child  of  Nicholas  Baker,  was 
admitted  freeman,  Hull,  Massachusetts,  1677,  and 
an  inhabitant  of  Barnstable,  Massachusetts,  1687. 
He  married  Fear,  daughter  of  Isaac  Robinson ; 
four  children.  John,  son  of  Samuel  and  Fear 
(Robinson)  Baker,  married  Anna  Annable,  Octo- 
ber 14,  1696.  She  was  born  March  24,  1675, 
and  died  March  21,  1732.  They  had  nine  chil- 
dren. Samuel,  fourth  child  of  John  and  Anna 
(Annable)  Baker,  born  September  7,  1706;  mar- 
ried Prudence  Jenkins,  May  30,  1732 ;  removed 
to  the  township  of  Windham,  Connecticut,  be- 
tween 1743  and  1746.  They  had  nine  children. 
Samuel,  Jr.,  fourth  child  of  Samuel  and  Pru- 
dence (Jenkins)  Baker,  was  born  at  Barnstable, 
Massachusetts,  September  30,  1740:  married 
Lydia  Smith,  December  8,  1763,  at  Windham, 
Connecticut.  Ephraim,  born  December  3,  1766, 
was  second  of  the  four  sons  of  Samuel,  Jr..  and 
Lydia  (Smith)  Baker.  He  married  Phebe  Ed- 
gerton  Abbott,  and  their  children  were  Charles, 
Samuel,  Abbott  and  Henry.  Samuel  Abbott,  son 
of  Ephraim  and  Phebe  Edgerton  (Abbott)  Baker, 
was  born  at  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  February  22, 
1793,  died  Catskill,  New  York,  February  17,  1855. 
He  married  Julia  A.  Chandler,  of  Amenia,  New 
York,  at  Catskill,  New  York,  February  18,  1815. 
She  was  born  October  28, 1792,  and  died  April  26, 
1826.  Their  children  were:  Ephraim,  born  April 
19,  1816,  died  January  1,  1879;  Frances,  born 
February  16,  1818,  died  August  27,  1819;  Henry, 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


499 


horn  March  30,  1820,  died  February,  1896;  and 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Samuel  Abbott  and 
Julia  (Chandler)  Baker,  was  born  at  Cats- 
kill,  New  York,  January  19,  1823,  and  died 
at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  February  12, 
1887.  On  May  25,  1843,  sne  was  married  to 
George  Swift  Chamberlin,  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren: Samuel  Baker,  born  January  3,  1845,  died 
January  2,  1903  ;  and  Charles  Henrv,  born  April 
9,  .1848. 

Charles  Henry  Chamberlin,  second  son  of 
George  Swift  and  Elizabeth  (Baker)  Chamber- 
lin, was  born  at  Catskill,  Greene  county.  New 
York,  April  9,  1848.  In  1854,  when  he  was  six 
years  of  age,  his  parents  removed  to-  Schoharie, 
New  York,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools 
and  Schoharie  Academy.  At  the  age  of  fourteen 
he  entered  the  office  of  the  Patriot  to  learn  the 
trade  of  printer,  the  paper  then  having  as  pro- 
prietor and  editor  Peter  Mix,  father  of  Colonel 
Simon  H.  Mix,  who  commanded  the  Fifty-second 
New  York  Volunteer  Cavalry,  and  was  killed  at 
Petersburg,  Virginia,  in  1862.  Later  Mr.  Cham- 
berlin was  employed  in  the  office  of  the  Repub- 
lican, remaining  there  until  1869,  the  year  of  his 
majority,  when  he  came  to  Pittston,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  July,  1876,  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Luzerne  Leader,  which  was 
removed  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  February,  1877.  Mr. 
Chamberlin  remained  with  the  Leader  until  April, 
1903,  a  period  of  twenty-seven  years,  and  during 
that  time  served  as  foreman,  city  editor,  telegraph 
editor,  associate  editor  and  editorial  writer.  On 
April  6,  1903,  the  Daily  Enterprise  was  estab- 
lished at  Berwick,  Pennsylvania,  with  Mr.  Cham- 
berlin as  editor.  He  served  in  that  capacity  for 
nearly  a  year,  and  was  then  with  the  Leader  again 
until  November,  1904,  since  which  time  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Times,  performing  the  duties  of  proof  reader  and 
other  services.  With  thorough  training,  true 
journalistic  instinct,  and  broad  knowledge  of  af- 
fairs in  the  various  departments  of  the  world's 
progress,  Mr.  Chamberlin  is  respected  by  his  pro- 
fessional associates,  and  the  publications  with 
which  he  has  been  connected  have  been  the  ex- 
ponents of  the  highest  interests  of  the  community. 
He  is  a  man  of  generous  endowments  of  mind,  of 
an  agreeable  personality,  and  possesses  a  keen 
literary  talent;  is  noted  for  his  graceful  style  of 
writing  and  pleasing  versification,  and  by  his  in- 
tegrity and  social  qualities  has  gathered  around 
him  a  host  of  friends.  He  is  a  past  master  of 
Landmark  Lodge,  No.  442,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons ;  a  member  of  Columbia  Council,  No.  43, 


Junior  Order  of  Lnited  American  Mechanics  ;  the 
Pennsylvania  State  Editorial  Association,  and  the 
Chamberlin  Association  of  North  America.  Air. 
Chamberlin  married,  September  12,  1878,  Mary 
Almira  Adaline  Howell,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  J. 
M.  Howell,  of  Green  Ridge,  Scranton,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  on  April  1,  1880,  removed  to  Kings- 
ton, where  he  has  since  resided.  To  Charles 
Henry  and  Alary  Almira  Adaline  (Howell) 
Chamberlin  three  children  have  been  born. 

i.  Claude  Howell,  born  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  19,  1879,  died  at  Kingston,  Penn- 
sylvania, May  30,  1897.  He  attended  the  Kings- 
ton public  schools  and  was  a  member  of  the  class 
of  1897  of  the  high  school  and  president  of  the 
literary  society.  He  entered  the  commercial  de- 
partment of  Wyoming  Seminary  in  spring  of 
1897,  and  was  a  student  there  at  time  of  death. 
He  was  an  ardent  student  of  music,  a  member 
of  the  Forty  Fort  Cornet  Band,  and  developed 
marked  ability  as  both  composer  and  player.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Kingston  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

2.  Earl  Tom  Chamberlin,  born  at  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania,  June  28,  1881.  He  attended  the 
public  school  and  graduated  from  the  high 
school,  class  of  1897.  He  entered  Wyoming 
Seminary,  where  he  was  active  in  literary  work, 
debate,  etc. ;  served  two  terms  as  president  of  the 
Amphictyon  Literary  Society ;  was  literary  editor 
of  the  Seminary  Opinator,  and  president  of  the 
Seminary  Guitar  and  Banjo  Club.  While  attend- 
ing high  school  he  won  the  prize  (ten  dollars  in 
gold)  offered  by  the  Rev.  H.  E.  Hayden,  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Society  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  for 
the  best  composition  on  "Pennsylvania  in  the  Rev- 
olution." In  December,  1902,  he  entered  the 
Young  Stenographic  School.  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  and  in  February  following  accepted  a  posi- 
tion in  the  New  York  office  of  the  American  Tin 
Plate  Company.  He  was  later  with  the  Equit- 
able Life  Assurance  Society  (home  office),  the 
Interborough  Rapid  Transit  Company,  and  the 
law  firm  of  Alexander  &  Colby.  In  the  spring  of 
1905  he  accepted  a  position  as  official  stenogra- 
pher for  the  T.  A.  Gillespie  Construction  Com- 
pany, at  Pittsburg,  and  removed  to  that  city.  On 
August  10,  1904.  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
May  Crystal,  daughter  of  James  Addison  and 
Eunice  Adelia  (Craft)  Myers,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania.  He  is  enthusiastic  in  church  work, 
and  during  his  employment  in  New  York  lived 
in  Brooklyn,  and  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Hanson  Place  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
Sunday  school. 


500 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


3.  Roy  Bullarcl  Chamberlin,  born  at  Kings- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  October  1,  1887.  He  attended 
the  public  school  and  graduated  from  the  high 
school,  class  of  1903.  He  entered  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary in  September,  1903,  graduating  with  honors 
in  college  preparatory  course  June  14,  1905.  He 
was  active  in  literary  and  oratorical  work,  music 
and  athletics ;  was  president  of  the  Amphictyon 
Society;  news  editor  of  "The  Seminary  Opin- 
ator ;"  captain  of  the  'varsity  basket  ball  team, 
season  of  1904-05 ;  won  George  F.  Nesbitt  ora- 
torical prize,  February  22,  1905,  and  second  prize 
Eastern  -  Interscholastic  Oratorical  Association 
Contest  at  Pennington  (New  Jersey)  Seminary, 
May  12,  1905.  He  entered  Wesleyan  University, 
Middletown,  Connecticut,  September,  1905,  and 
won  the  Ayres  freshman  prize  in  college  prepar- 
atory examinations.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Kingston  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Levi  Howell,  great-grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Charles  Henry  Chamberlin,  born  in  Connecticut, 
May  10,  1785,  died  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  Jan- 
uary 25,  1867,  was  a  blacksmith,  and  later  in  life 
engaged  in  farming.  He  was  in  the  war  of  1812. 
He  married  Mary  Miller,  born  in  Sullivan  county, 
New  York,  November  17,  1789,  died  at  Wall- 
pock,  New  Jersey,  April  29,  1840.  Their  chil- 
dren :  Ha,  born  January  18,  1809,  died  Somerville, 
New  Jersey,  May  3,  i860;  Mary  Ann,  born  June 
4,  181 1,  died  December  21,  1878;  William,  born 
January  19,  1815,  died  April  4,  1822;  Robert 
Shaw,  born  July  30,  1818,  died  January  20,  1875  ; 
Thomas  W.,  born  April  19,  1820,  died  May  28, 
1838 ;  Sarah  Elizabeth,  born  May  19,  1822,  still 
living  at  Chillicothe,  Ohio ;  James  Monroe,  born 
September  29,  1824;  and  Christiana,  born  July 
27,  1827. 

James  Monroe,  seventh  child  of  Levi  and 
Mary  (Miller)  Howell,  was  born  September  29, 
1824,  on  a  farm  between  Finchville  and  Howell, 
Orange  county,  New  York.  He  studied  for  the 
ministry  and  completed  his  education  at  Owego 
Academy,  Owego,  New  York,  but  owing  to  a 
throat  affection  was  obliged  to  retire  early  from 
this  calling.  February  27,  185 1,  he  married  Ada- 
line  Dorcas  Smith,  born  July  23,  1823,  died  Oc- 
tober 9,  1875.  Their  children  are:  Mary  Almira 
Adaline,  aforementioned  as  the  wife  of  Charles 
Henry  Chamberlin ;  and  Sara  Almina  Adelaide, 
born  January  9,  1855,  wife  of  David  R.  Nicol,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  a  conductor  on  the  Delaware  & 
Hudson  Railroad,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one 
daughter,  Adda  Margaret,  born  September  19, 
1887.  Rev.  James  Monroe  Howell  married  (sec- 
ond)  October  15,   1879,  Elizabeth   S.  Brown,  of 


Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  who  died  June  9,  1905. 

On  her  mother's  side  Airs.  Charles  rienry 
Chamberlin  is  of  German  descent,  John  Smith,. 
her  great-grandfather,  having  been  born  at  Heid- 
elberg, 1709.  The  family  has  no  record  of  his 
coming  to  this  country,  but  it  is  known  that  he 
was  living  at  Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania,  1797, 
and  removed  1799  to  Tioga  county,  New  \ork,. 
where  he  died  in  1850.  rle  married  Sallie  Til- 
bury, born  in  Holland  1778,  died  in  1813.  Their 
children  were  Richard,  John  and  Henry. 

■  John,  second  son  of  John  and  Sallie  (Tilbury) 
Smith,  was  born  at  Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
July  8,  1797,  and  died  at  Nichols,  New  York, 
May  31,  1888.  On  June  12,  1814,  he  married 
Almira  Granger,  born  in  Connecticut,  February 
27,  1798,  died  at  Nichols,  New  York,  October  17, 
1858,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Sallie  (Roach) 
Granger,  natives  of  Connecticut.  The  former 
died  at  Nichols,  New  York,  and  the  latter  in 
Michigan.  To  John  and  Almira  (Granger) 
Smith  twelve  children  were  born :  Lucinda,  Cor- 
nelia, Fanny,  George,  Adaline,  Dorcas,  Charles, 
Emily,  John,  Almira,  Joseph,  Sarah  A.,  and  Har- 
vey. Of  these  four  are  living:  John,  Joseph  and.. 
Sarah  A.,  at  Owego,  New  York;  and  Almira  at 
Hammondsport,  New  York. 

Adaline  Dorcas,  daughter  of  John  and  Almira 
(Granger)  Smith,  was  born  at  Nichols,  New 
York,  July  23,  1823,  and  died  at  Green  Ridge, 
Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  October  9,  1875.  On 
January  27,  1852,  she  married  Rev.  James  M. 
Howell.  Their  children  are:  Mary  Almira  Ada- 
line  and  Sara  Almina  Adelaide. 

Mary  Almira  Adaline,  daughter  of  James  M.. 
and  Adaline  Dorcas  (Smith)  Howell,  was  born 
at  Peppercotton  Plains,  near  Branchville,  Sussex 
county,  New  Jersey,  December  21,  1853.  Her- 
father  then  traveled  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
original  New  Jersey  conference.  She  removed 
with  her  parents  to  Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1856,  and  attended  the  Young  Ladies'  Seminary 
and  later  the  Academy.  In  1865  the  family  re- 
moved to  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  where  she  en-- 
tered  the  public  schools,  finishing  in  the  high 
school  in  1872.  She  taught  in  the  public  schools 
for  six  years,  having  had  special  preparation  for 
the  profession,  and  September  12,  1878,  was  mar- 
ried to  Charles  Henry  Chamberlin,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  became  a  resident  of  that  city.  She 
joined  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  when  six- 
teen years  of  age,  and  has  since  been  active  in 
Sunday  school,  missionary  society  and  various 
lines  of  church  work.  In  September,  1886.  she 
became    a    member    of    the    Woman's    Christian 


^^^^J>£^4^/^^tA^ 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


501 


Temperance  Union,  of  Kingston,  to  which  place 
the  family  had  removed  in  1880,  was  elected  pres- 
ident of  the  organization  that  year,  and  re-elected 
each  year  for  thirteen  successive  terms.  She  also 
served  as  recording  secretary  of  the  Luzerne 
County  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union 
September  13,  1900-1905.  Mrs.  Chamberlin  has 
devoted  much  of  her  time  since  thirteen  years  of 
age  to  the  study  of  art,  having  been  under  teach- 
ers who  received  their  instruction  in  the  studios 
of  Xew  York,  Boston  and  Paris.  She  has  made 
a  specialty  of  oil  and  water  color  work  and  china 
decorating,  and  has  been  awarded  manv  prizes 
upon  her  exhibits. 

RICHARD  PALMER.  Among  the  prom- 
inent and  highly  successful  business  men  of  the 
Wyoming  valley,  perhaps  no  one  is  better  known 
or  has  attained  to  a  higher  degree  of  success  than 
Richard  Palmer,  who  was  born  in  England,  three 
miles  west  of  Doulting.  January  30,  1830,  a  son 
of  William  and  Jane  (Hoar)  Palmer.  His  father 
W  illiam  Palmer,  was  born  at  Waterlip,  England, 
1800.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  emi- 
grated to  Wales,  1837,  "to  America  185 1,  re- 
mained until  1853,  then  returned  to  Wales,  re- 
moved back  1875,  then  came  again  to  America 
and  located  in  Shenandoah,  Schuylkill  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  died  the  same  year.  He 
married  Jane  Hoar,  who  was  born  in  Evercritch, 
England,  in  1810,  died  July  22,  1897,  in  Shenan- 
doah, and  the  following  named  children  were  born 
to  them:  1.  Richard,  mentioned  hereafter;  2. 
Eliza  :  3.  John,  died  in  infancy  ;  4.  Marv  Ann, 
born  1840,  married  John  Fudge,  deceased  in  1861, 
and  the  one  child  born  to  them  died  in  infancy ; 
5.  John,  died  in  infancy  ;  6.  Charles,  born  1839, 
married  in  1862,  Marv  Williams  ~esides  at  Tam- 
aqua :  he  is  a  Republican,  and  was  elected  rep- 
resentative of  Schuylkill  county  in  1893:  7. 
Martha,  born  1842,  wife  of  William  Coles  of 
Irwin.     They  have  a  large  family. 

Richard  Palmer  received  his  early  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place,  and  on 
leaving  the  school-room  obtained  employment  in 
the  mines  where  he  worked  until  he  was  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  when  he  married  and  sailed 
for  this  country,  landing  at  Philadelphia  April 
17,  1854.  From  there  he  removed  to  Danville, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  engaged  with  Peter  and 
Michael  Grover,  iron  ore  manufacturers.  He 
was  in  the  employ  of  this  firm  about  seven  months 
"and  then  removed  to  Minersville,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  became  associated  with  the  firm  of 
Manuel  Bast  &  Company,  in  the  coal  mining  bus- 


iness. Here  he  remained  until  1856,  when  he  went 
to  Ashland,  where  he  was  for  a  year  in  the  em- 
ploy of  L.  P.  Brooks.  In  1857  he  removed  to 
Locustdale,  where  he  was  engaged  for  ten  years, 
two  of  which  he  was  mine  foreman.  From  Lo- 
custdale he  removed  to  Shenandoah.  Two  vears 
later  Mr.  Palmer  went  to  William  Penn,  Schuyl- 
kill county,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  there  engaged 
from  1873  to  1897  as  mine  superintendent  for  A. 
C.  Brooks  &  Company,  acquitting  the  duties  of 
that  responsible  position  with  credit  to  himself 
and  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  employers.  In  1897 
Mr.  Palmer  removed  to  Parsons,  Luzerne  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  where  he  has  erected  several 
fine  residences.  He  is  now  living  retired.  Polit- 
ically Mr.  Palmer  is  a  staunch  Republican,  and 
strongly  advocates  the  principles  of  that  party. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Locust  Mountain  Lodge, 
No.  538,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
is  a  regular  attendant  of  the  Parsons  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

Richard  Palmer  was  united  in  marriage  Au- 
gust 9,  1854,  to  Margaret  Watkins,  daughter  of 
John  and  Mary  (Williams)  Watkins,  and  the 
following  named  children  were  born  to  them : 
1.  Jane,  who  died  in  infancy ;  2.  Mary  Ann, 
born  in  1856,  married  Thomas  Reed,  and  they 
have  the  following  children  :  Matthew,  fireman  on 
the  Pennsylvania  &  Reading  Railroad ;  William, 
a  bookkeeper  of  Philadelphia,  who  married  a 
Miss  Mover,  of  Hazleton,  Pennsylvania ;  Essie, 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  ;  John,  freight  agent 
of  the  Pennsylvania  &  Reading  Railroad  at  Shen- 
andoah, Pennsylvania ;  and  Leroy,  employed  by 
the  Reading  Coal  Company.  The  family  reside 
at  William  Penn,  Schuylkill  county.  Pennsylvnia, 
3.  Mary  Jane,  born  in  1858.  died  in  infancy.  4. 
Martha,  born  in  June,  1862,  married  Philip 
Boyer.  of  No.  22  Washington  street,  Wilkes- 
Barre, Pennsylvania.  5.  May  Jane,  died  in  infan- 
cy. 6.  William,  mentioned  hereinafter.  7.  Sallie, 
born  in  1866.  is  a  graduate  of  Bloomsburg  Nor- 
mal School,  and  considered  one  of  the  best  school 
teachers  in  the  Wyoming  Valley.  8.  Jane,  born 
in  1868.  9.  Ida,  born  October  1,  1872.  10. 
Cora,  born  October,   1874.  died  in  infancy. 

William  Palmer,  sixth  child  and  only  son  of 
Richard  and  Margaret  (Watkins)  Palmer,  was 
born  in  Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania.  June 
26,  1864.  At  the  age  of  eleven  years  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  William  Penn  Coal  Company, 
and  continued  with  them  about  twelve  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  was  promoted  to  telegraph 
operator,  and  later  to  bookkeeper.  He  then  re- 
moved to   Carlisle.   Pennsylvania,  where  he  be- 


502 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


came  chief  clerk  of  the  Carlisle  Manufacturing 
Company.  After  some  time  Mr.  Palmer  severed 
his  connection  with  this  firm  to  take  the  position 
of  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Brooklyn,  Bath 
&  West  End  Railroad,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
John  P.  Heindell  being  general  superintendent. 
Later  he  was  associated  with  the  American  Car 
and  Equipment  Company  of  New  York,  where 
he  remained  till  1892  when  he  became  traveling 
representative  of  the  American  Tile  Works,  of 
Boston,  Massachusetts.  He  continued  with  this 
concern  until  1899,  when  he  resigned  to  become 
sales  agent  for  S.  F.  Bowser  &  Company,  of 
Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  remaining  there  one  and 
a  half  years.  Mr.  Palmer  then  became  traveling 
representative  for  the  Benedick  &  Burnham  Brass 
&  Copper  Company,  of  Waterbury,  Connecticut, 
one  of  the  constituent  companies  of  the  Ameri- 
can Brass  Company.  He  was  an  industrious, 
energetic  salesman,  controlled  almost  the  .entire 
trade  in  his  territory,  and  held  that  position  till 
his  death.  Mr.  Palmer  was  a  member  of  Aurora 
Grata  Lodge,  No.  756,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, Constellation  Chapter,  No.  209,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  and  Clinton  Commandery,  Knight 
Templars,  all  of  Brooklyn,  New  York.  In  1902 
Mr.  Palmer  was  demitted  to  Evanston  Lodges, 
of  Evanston,  Illinois.  He  was  married  in  1888 
to  Kate  E.  Maize,  of  Philadelphia,  and  their 
children  were :  Richard,  born  1890,  and  Howard 
born  1894. 

December  30,  1903,  William  Palmer  and  his 
family  lost  their  lives  in  the  Iroquois  Theatre  dis- 
aster in  Chicago,  Illinois.  Of  the  hundreds  of  sad 
deaths  which  occurred  in  that  accident,  none  were 
more  lamentable  than  those  of  Mr.  Palmer  and 
his  family,  They  had  a  large  circle  of  friends 
who  heard  the  sad  news  with  the  deepest  regret. 
This  was  a  severe  blow  to  his  family  and  particu- 
larly to  his  aged  father  and  mother.  The  only 
son  of  ten  children  born,  and  the  only  grandson 
to  carry  the  Palmer  name.  William  Palmer  was 
rapidly  making  his  mark,  and  bidding  fair  to 
become  a  potent  factor  in  the  business  world.  His 
oldest  son,  although  only  thirteen  years  of  age, 
was  member  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, and  popular  with  all  his  young  friends. 
They  were  a  family  to  be  proud  of,  and  in  an 
hour  all  perished  by  the  awful  engulfing  flames. 
Sad  indeed  beyond  description  was  this  awful 
event. 

JOHN  K.  TORBERT,  for  many  years  ac- 
tively identified  with  business  interests  in  the 
city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
born  in  White  Haven,  Luzerne  county,  Septem- 


ber 20,  1 841,  and  is  a  representative  of  an  old 
and  honored  family  of  that  region.  His  parents 
were  Washington  and  Elizabeth  (Reiser J  Tor- 
bert.  The  father  was  born  in  Bucks  county, 
Pennsylvania,  August  15,  1808,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  common  schools  of  that  county.  He- 
located  permanently  in  White  Haven,  Luzerne 
county,  beginning  in  the  employ  of  the  Lehigh 
Coal  and  Navigation  Company.  He  subsequent- 
ly went  into  business  for  himself,  was  a  contrac- 
tor and  millright  by  trade,  contracted  to  saw 
large  amounts  of  lumber,  and  also  had  charge  of" 
a  planing  mill  at  White  Haven.  He  was  a  Meth- 
odist in  religion,  and  a  staunch  Republican  in 
politics.  December  20,  1834,  he  married  Eliza- 
beth Keiser,  who  was  born  February  gt  181 5,  and' 
died  February  22,  1888,  long  surviving  her  hus- 
band, who  died  April  24,  1869.  Their  children 
were:  1.  Sarah  Jane,  born  March  31,  1836,  in- 
White  Haven,  now  deceased ;  she  was  the  first 
child  born  in  that  town.  2.  George  Washington, 
born  December  21,  1837.  He  was  educated  at 
White  Haven  and  Wyoming  Seminary,  then  took 
a  position  with  a  large  lumber  concern  on  the- 
headwaters  of  the  Lehigh,  and  rapidly  gained, 
promotion,  serving  as  clerk,  then  timekeeper,  and 
later  superintendent  and  general  manager.  On. 
May  7,  1864,  he  enlisted  and  was  made  corporal 
of  Company  H,  One  Hundred  and  Eighty-sev- 
enth Pennsylvania  Regiment.  In  the  awful  car- 
nage before  Petersburg,  June  18,  1864,  a  little 
over  a  month  after  his  enlistment,  he  was  mortally 
wounded  and  died  in  hospital  in  Philadelphia,  Au- 
gust 11,  only  nine  weeks  from  the  day  of  his  en- 
listment. He  married  Clara  Scott,  of  Golds- 
boro,  and  they  had  Jennie,  who  married  Frank 
Blakeslee,  of  Blakeslee,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Tor- 
bert  died  some  years  after  her  husband.  3.  Olive 
Ann,  born  May  9,  1839,  married  J.  C.  Downing, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  4.  John  Keiser 
See  forward.  5.  Mary  Elizabeth  born  July 
1,  1843,  married  Jacob  Peters,  of  Allentown, 
Pennsylvania.  6.  Frances  Mendenhall,  born  No- 
vember 11,  1845,  married  Captain  James  Bow- 
man ;  See  sketch  in  this  work.  7.  Charlotte  Re- 
becca, born  January  25,  1848,  married  William 
Stark,  of  Tunkhannock.  8.  Hannah  Adelia,  born 
December  21,  1849,  married  a  Mr.  Montelius,  of 
Mount  Carmel,  Pennsylvania.  9.  Margaret  Sta- 
ples, born  March  22,  1852,  married  Fred.  Hein- 
bach,  of  White  Haven.  10.  Eleanor  Currans, 
born  December  12,  1856,  married  Edward  Burns, 
of  Catasaqua.  11.  Isabel  Fowler,  born  Novem- 
ber 16,  1859,  married  John  Shelmer,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

John  Keiser  Torbert,  fourth  child  and  second 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


503 


son  of  Washington  and  Elizabeth  (Reiser)  Tor- 
bert, was  educated  in  the  common  schools  in  his 
native  village,  Columbus  Academy,  and  Wyom- 
ing Seminary.  He  was  just  preparing  to  enter 
upon  an  active  career  when,  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen, the  civil  war  broke  out,  and  his  fervent 
patriotism  moved  him  to  devote  his  services  to  his 
country,  and  he  served  with  courage  and  fidelity 
during  the  entire  struggle.  He  enlisted  under 
the  first  three  year  call  of  President  Lincoln, 
June  13,  1861,  for  a  term  of  three  years,  and  was 
mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  at 
Camp  Wayne,  near  West  Chester,  Pennsylvania, 
on  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  as  a  private  in 
Captain  LeGrand  B.  Speese's  Company  F, 
Thirty-sixth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer 
Infantry,  known  as  the  Seventh  Regiment  Penn- 
sylvania Reserves,  Colonel  Elisha  B.  Harvey  com- 
manding. The  regiment  was  soon  well  drilled, 
and  on  July  21,  fully  armed  and  equipped,  it 
went  into  camp  at  Meridian  Hill,  where  it  re- 
mained until  August  2,  when  it  marched  to 
Tennallytown  then  the  rendezvous  for  the  Penn- 
svlvania  Reserves.  While  here  the  muskets  were 
exchanged  for  the  Springfield  rifle,  and  particular 
attention  was  given  to  skirmish  drill  and  target 
practice.  The  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Sec- 
ond Brigade,  Third  Division,  First  Corps,  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  serving  under  General  McDow- 
ell, Hooker,  and  Reynolds.  In  March,  1864,  the 
First  Corps  was  discontinued,  and  the  regiment 
was  transferred  to  the  Fifth  Corps,  same  army, 
under  Generals  Porter,  Butterfield,  Meade,  and 
Warren.  The  divisions  to  which  the  regiment 
was  attached  was  better  known  as  the  famous 
Pennsylvania  Reserve  Division,  and  during  its 
service  participated  in  the  following  historic,  en- 
gagements :  Great  Falls,  Drainesville,  the  Seven 
Days  Fight,  including  Mechanicsville,  Gaines' 
Mills,  White  Oak  Swamp,  Glendale,  and  Malvern 
Hill ;  the  second  Bull  Run  (or  Manassas),  South 
Moutain,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  the  Wilder- 
ness, and  a  number  of  minor  engagements  and 
skirmishes.  At  the  Wilderness  almost  the  entire 
regiment  was  captured,  which  terminated  its  ac- 
tive career.  At  Gaines'  Mills,  June  27,  1862, 
John  K.  Torbert  was  wounded  in  the  right 
forearm,  captured,  and  was  imprisoned  at  Castle 
Thunder,  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  for  twenty- 
eight  days,  when  he  was  paroled  and  re- 
joined his  regiment  at  Fredericksburg.  He 
was  again  captured  at  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  May  5,  1864,  a  little  more 
than  a  month  before  his  term  of  service 
would  have  expired,  and  was  confined  in  the  hor- 
rible prison  pens  at  Andersonville,  Georgia,  and 


Florence,  South  Carolina,  and  was  finally  paroled 
February  24,  1865,  and  taken  to  a  parole  camp  at 
Annapolis,  Maryland,  then  to  a  Baltimore  hos- 
pital, became  dangerously  ill,  was  at  once  taken 
home  by  his  family  physician  on  a  furlough  and 
restored  to  comparatively  good  health  within  a 
year.  He  participated  in  the  engagements  at 
Great  Falls,  Drainesville,  Mechanicsville,  Gaines' 
Mills,  Fredericksburg,  and  the  Wilderness,  at  all 
times  rendering  faithful  and  meritorious  service, 
and  received  an  honorable  discharge  at  Phila- 
delphia, May  8,  1865,  a  month  after  the  end  of 
the  war  and  the  disbandment  of  the  rebel  armies 
and  about  eleventh  months  after  his  term  of  ser- 
vice had  expired.  The  foregoing  excellent  mili- 
tary record  is  condensed  from  a  work  published 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  by  the  Interstate  Publish- 
ing Company.  While  confined  to  a  chronological 
statement  of  service  and  without  the  amplification 
which  would  serve  to  make  a  thrilling  narrative 
of  a  military  service,  the  reader  who  is  at  all  fam- 
iliar with  even  the  general  history  of  the  civil 
war  period,  cannot  but  discern  from  the  space  of 
time  covered  and  the  names  of  the  historic  en- 
gagements in  which  Mr.  Torbert  participated, 
that  his  career  was  conspicuously  gallant  and  hon- 
orable. In  such  a  record  of  patriotic  service  he 
leaves  to  his  children  a  priceless  legacy — one 
which  will  grow  brighter  as  the  years  pass  by, 
and  it  is  the  inspiration  from  such  examples  that 
will  serve  to  give  to  the  country  in  succeeding 
days  of  need  the  service  of  men  who  will  acquit 
themselves  the  better  for  what  was  done  by  the 
heroes  of  the  civil  war  period. 

After  leaving  the  army  Mr.  Torbert  went  to 
Alexandria,  Virginia,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
produce  business,  but  after  a  year,  impaired 
health  due  to  the  miseries  of  prison  life  obliged 
him  to  abandon  his  enterprise,  and  he  returned  to 
White  Haven,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  established 
a  produce,'  fruit  and  variety  business  which  he 
conducted  with  success  for  a  period  of  sixteen 
years.  For  twelve  years  of  this  time  he  occupied 
the  position  of  postmaster,  and  discharged  his 
duties  with  the  same  scrupulous  fidelity  as  char- 
acterized him  during  his  army  service.  In  1881, 
he  entered  the  wholesale  grocery  business  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Welles, 
Torbert  and  Company,  and  continued  with  the 
same  for  two  years,  when  he  sold  his  interest  to 
his  partner,  J.  C.  Welles,  and  went  to  Interlaken, 
Seneca  county.  New  York.  He  there  engaged  in 
a  wholesale  produce  business,  shipping  his  pro- 
ducts to  the  coal  fields  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1888 
he  removed  his  family  from  White  Haven  to  In- 
terlaken.     In    1896  he   transferred   his   business 


5°4 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


there  to  his  son  George,  and  removed  with  his 
family  to  Wilkes-Barre,  giving  his  attention  to 
marketing  the  fruit  and  produce  from  the  Seneca 
county  establishment.  During  his  entire  busi- 
ness career  he  has  been  known  for  his  active  en- 
terprises, and  sterling  integrity  of  character. 

Mr.  Torbert  is  prominent  in  Grand  Army  cir- 
cles and  in  other  military  organizations.  He  was 
a  charter  member  of  D.  J.  Taylor  Post  No.  113, 
G.  A.  R.  Department  of  Pennsylvania,  in  which 
for  several  terms  he  held  the  positions  of  quarter- 
master, adjutant,  chaplain  and  commander,  and 
is  now  connected  with  Conyngham  Post  No.  97, 
of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Prisoners  of  War  Association,  and  of  the  Soldiers' 
and  Sailors'  Historical  and  Benevolent  Society, 
incorporated  in  190 1,  under  the  laws  of  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.  He  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the 
Central  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Mr.  Torbert  married,  first,  September  24, 
1868,  Miss  J.  Augusta  Benscoter,  at  Town  Line, 
Luzerne  county,  daughter  of  Warren  Benscoter. 
She  died  October  20,  1876,  having  borne  to  her 
husband  two  children,  George  C.  and  Guy  Leon 
Torbert.  Mr.  Torbert  married,  at  White  Haven, 
July  26,  1881,  Miss  Anna  M.  Pursell,  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Anna  (Tranger)   Pursell. 

1.  George  C,  eldest  son  of  John  K.  Torbert, 
born  at  White  Haven,  September  15,  1869,  was 
educated  in  the  common  schools  of  White  Haven; 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  graduated  at  Wyoming  Semi- 
nary, in  the  Commercial  College.  He  is  now  in 
charge  of  the  business  established  by  his  father 
at  Interlaken.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  a 
Methodist  in  religion,  and  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic brotherhood.  At  Interlaken,  June  30,  1891, 
he  married  Myra  Covert,  daughter  of  Enoch  and 
Mary  Covert.  To  George  C.  and  Myra  (Covert) 
Torbert  were  born  two  children  :  Hazel  A.,  April 
25,  1895;  and  John  Guy,  May  21/1898. 

2.  Guy  Leon,  youngest  son  of  John  K.  Tor- 
bert, born  September  5,  1874,  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  White  Haven,  Ithaca,  New 
York,  and  at  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  young  man  of  splendid 
business  abilities,  and  commanded  a  large  and  im- 
portant trade  as  traveling  salesman  for  the  firm 
of  James  Bowman  and  Son,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He 
was  of  sterling  moral  worth,  and  an  exemplary 
Christian,  took  a  deep  and  intelligent  interest  in 
religious  work,  and  was  a  recognized  leader  of 
the  young.  He  was  a  member  of  the  First  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  president  of  the  Epworth 
League  connected  therewith,  and  one  of  the  most 
active  members  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 


sociation. His  instincts  and  tastes  were  lofty,  he 
was  unusually  well  informed ;  and  he  possessed 
oratorical  powers  of  a  high  order,  and  was  a 
graceful  and  persuasive  speaker  before  the  var- 
ious bodies  in  which  he  held  membership.  He 
passed  to  his  eternal  reward  February  9,  1896,  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-one  years,  when  just 
fairly  entered  upon  a  career  unusually  promising 
of  honor  and  usefulness,  to  the  deep  sorrow  not 
alone  of  his  own  kinsfolk,  but  of  a  large  circle  of 
admiring  friends  who  held  him  in  genuine  affec- 
tion for  his  nobility  of  character  and  for  the  large 
usefulness  of  which  his  virtues  and  abilities  gave 
promise. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  GEIDNER,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  was  born  in  Allentown,  Penn- 
sylvania, March  27,  1848,  a  son  of  Charles 
Louis  and  Mary  Ann  (Gudkunst)  Geidner, 
and  grandson  of  Timothy  and  Elizabeth 
(Kemerer)   Geidner. 

Timothy  Geidner  (grandfather)  was  born 
November  7,  1793,  in  Upper  Milford,  Lehigh 
county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of  Ludwig  Geid- 
ner, of  same  locality.  He  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  farming,  in  which  he  was  very  suc- 
cessful, and  succeeded  in  clearing  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  birthplace. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth 
Kemerer,  a  native  of  Salisbury  township, 
Pennsylvania,  bore  him  children :  Samuel, 
Charles,  Thomas,  William,  James,  John, 
Mary  and  Eliza. 

Charles  Louis  Geidner  (father)  was  born 
in  Salisbury  township,  Pennsylvania,  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1822.  He  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon "schools,  and  at  an  early  age  served  an 
apprenticeship  at  the  trade  of  cigar  maker. 
For  a  period  of  twelve  years  he  served  as 
weigh-master  in  the  Lehigh  Crane  Iron  Com- 
pany, at  Catasauqua,  Pennsylvania,  and  from 
that  year  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  July 
1,  1874,  aged  fifty-two  years,  was  employed 
at  his  trade.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Gud- 
kunst, and  they  were  the  parents  of  eleven 
children :  James,  born  November,  1838,  in 
Allentown,  married  Susanna  Christman,  of 
Long  Swamp  township.  Berks  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, who  died  about  1898 ;  Evan  Charles, 
born  in  vYllentown,  October,  1840,  died  Sep- 
tember 25,  1871  ;  Catherine  Amanda,  born 
Ma.y  7,  1846,  in  Allentown,  became  the  wife 
of  John  Nagle,  of  Lehigh  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, now  deceased:  Mrs.. Nagle  resides  in 
Allentown;  William  Henry,  born  March  27, 
1848,   mentioned   hereinafter;    Elizabeth,   born 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


505 


1850,  died  1854;  Daniel,  born  1852,  died  in 
infancy ;  Louisa  Matilda,  born  in  Allentown, 
1855,  died  1900;  she  was  the  wife  of  Levan 
Troxall,  who  was  born  in  Whitehall,  Lehigh 
county ;  Emma  Jane,  born  1858,  became  the 
wife  of  James  Wieand,  of  Allentown,  in  which 
city  they  reside;  Anna  Sybella,  born  in  Al- 
lentown, i860,  became  the  wife  of  Lewis 
Schoedler,  of  Hamburg,  Berks  county,  Penn- 
sylvania; they  reside  in  Allentown;  Ellen, 
born  1862,  died  1889;  she  was  the  wife  of 
Charles  Tuttle,  of  Allentown,  Pennsylvania. 
William  Henry  Geidner  was  educated  in 
the  common  and  high  schools  of  Allentown, 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  went  to  work  for  the 
Lehigh  Register  to  learn  the  trade  of  printer. 
He  remained  there  one  year,  and  then  accom- 
panied his  parents  upon  their  removal  into 
the  country,  remaining  with  them  two  years, 
at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  returned 
to  the  same  office  and  was  employed  there 
up  to  1868,  when  he  accepted  a  position  with 
the  Gazette  of  Mauch  Chunk,  Pennsylvania, 
remaining  there   until   July    1,    1874,   the   day 

-of  his  father's  death.  July  7,  1874,  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Hazard  Manufacturing 
Company,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  as  a  wire  drawer 
in  the  drawing  department,  working  at  that 
until    1882,  when  he  was   appointed  assistant 

'to  W.  H.  Reichard,  superintendent  of  the  wire 
drawing  department  of  this  company.  (A 
personal  sketch  of  W.  H.  Reichard,  with  a 
full  history  of  this  business,  will  be  found 
elsewhere    in    this    work).      Mr.    Geidner    has 

"been  in  the  employ  of  this  company  ever  since, 
a  period  of  thirty-one  years,  which  fact  at- 
tests to  his  faithful  and  conscientious  per- 
formance of  duties  assigned  to  him.  He  is 
a  staunch  Republican  in  politics,   aiding  to  the 

'best  of  his  ability  the  interests  of  that  party. 
He  is  a  member  of  Nesquehoning  Lodge,  No. 
193,  K.  P.,  of  Mauch  Chunk,  passed  all 
the  chairs,  and  was  recording  secretary  three 
years  and  financial  secretary  for  a  similar  pe- 
riod of  time.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Camp 
No.  118,  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of  America,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  in  which  he  has  passed  all  the 
chairs. 

Mr.  Geidner  married,  September  26,  1871, 
Katherine  Reichard  (See  Reichard  Family), 
and   four   children    are   the   issue :     Marv   Re- 

Tbecca,  born  July  8,  1872,  wife  of  Elmer  j.  Op- 

dinger,  of  Wilkes-Barre;  Hattie  Elmira.  born 
October  3,   1873,  wife  of  Harry  F.   Miller,  of 

"Wilkes-Barre,   and    mother    of    three    children : 


Wayne,  Marion  and  Dorothy  Miller ;  Morris 
Reichard,  born  January  24,  1879,  began  his 
education  in  the  common  and  high  schools  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  then  took  up  the  study  of  dent- 
istry and  entered  the  Baltimore  College  of 
Dental  Surgery,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1903.  He  at  once  began  practice  in  the 
office  of  Dr.  Saunders,  in  Scranton,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  remained  one  year,  after 
which  he  opened  an  office  in  that  city,  and  has 
been  very  successful  in  the  conduct  of  the 
same;  Louise  Emily,  born  March  5,  1887,  re- 
sides at  home.  The  family  are  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

REUBEN  B.  CUTLER,  deceased.  Reu- 
ben B.  Cutler,  who  died  April  1,  1905,  was  the 
organizer  and  director  of  the  People's  Savings 
Bank  of  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of 
that  city's  oldest  merchants,  best-known  and 
most  highly  repected  citizens.  He  traced  his 
ancestry  back  to  some  of  the  oldest  of  the 
New  England  families. 

(I)  Reuben  Cutler,  father  of  Reuben  B. 
Cutler,  was  a  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  was  prominently  identified  with 
many  public  improvements  in  that  section  of 
Pennsylvania.  When  the  Pennsylvania  Coal 
Company  was  building  its  gravity  railroad 
Mr.  Cutler  had  charge  of  a  construction  gang 
in  connection  with  that  undertaking. 

(II)  Reuben  B.  Cutler,  son  of  Reuben 
Cutler  (1),  was  born  in  Whitney's  Point,  New 
York,  March  n,  1824.  His  education  was 
commenced  i-n  Whitney's  Point,  New  York, 
and  completed  in  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents  in  his  boyhood  days. 
He  lived  in  Wilkes-Barre  until  he  had  at- 
tained his  majority,  when  he  went  to  Hones- 
dale,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  learned  the  trade 
of  cabinet-making.  Having  mastered  this 
trade,  Mr.  Cutler,  in  1848,  traveled  from 
Honesdale  to  Carbondale  by  the  old  gravity 
railroad,  and  from  this  point  proceeded  by 
stasre  to  Pittston.  His  permanent  residence 
in  Pittston  dated  from  this  time.  He  formed 
a  business  partnership  with  Abram  Haas,  who 
had  been  his  dearest  friend  in  Honesdale,  and 
they  opened  a  cabinet  shop  on  Kennedy  street, 
in  a  little  buildina:  on  the  lower  side  of  the 
lot  now  occupied  by  William  Drury's  double 
house,  under  the  firm  name  of  Haas  &  Cutler. 
Later  they  bought  a  lot  with  a  fifty-foot  front- 
age on  the  easterly  side  of  North  Main  street 


506 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


for  nine  hundred  dollars,  and  erected  a  two- 
story  building  for  use  as  a  store  and  a  dwell- 
ing. It  was  the  first  building  in  this  section 
of  North  Main  street,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Johnson  cottage,  which  is  now  in  the  rear 
of  the  McElhenny  drug  store.  The  building 
erected  by  Haas  &  Cutler  is  directly  opposite 
the  Gazette  office,  and  is  now  owned  (1906) 
by  A.  B.  Brown  and  occupied  by  W.  E.  Sharp 
as  a  market.  In  1850-1  the  Cutler  brick  resi- 
dence was  erected  on  the  lot  adjoining  this 
building.  The  business  of  Mr.  Cutler  grad- 
ually changed  from  that  of  cabinet-maker, 
when  he  made  furniture  with  his  own  hands, 
which  he  sold  to  that  of  a  dealer  in  furniture, 
which  business  he  conducted  for  many  years, 
and  in  connection  with  which  he  later  en- 
gaged in  the  undertaking  business.  For  these 
latter  ventures  he  had  erected,  on  the  west 
side  of  Main  street,  directly  opposite  his  resi- 
dence, a  three-story  brick  building.  About 
1887  Mr.  Cutler  sold  out  his  stock  of  furni- 
ture and  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  undet- 
taking  business  to  his  son,  Charles  H.  Cutler. 
Then  he  entered  into  a  partnership  with  his 
son-in-law,  E.  T.  Phinney,  and  opened  a  dry 
goods  store  in  the  building  in  which  he  had 
previously  conducted  his  furniture  business. 
Although  Mr.  Cutler  was  by  this  time  well 
advanced  in  years,  he  was  able  to  attend  to 
his  business  with  the  greatest  regularity  until 
within  a  week  before  his  death.  He  was  a 
very  successful,  enterprising  business  man, 
and  was  fortunate  in  being:  able  to  amass  a 
considerable  fortune,  all  of  which  he  left  to 
his  widow.  He  was  public  spirited  and  ever 
ready  to  lend  his  assistance  to  anv  measure 
that  held  promise  for  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. He  served  one  term  on  the  Pitts- 
ton  borough  school  board,  having  been  appointed 
by  the  court  at  a  time  when  it  was  found  nec- 
essary to  remove  the  old  board.  His  asso- 
ciates on  the  board  were:  Thomas  Maloney, 
Thomas  Manean,  Jacob  W.  Evans,  Patrick 
Battle  and  William  Law.  He  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  People's  Savings  Bank  of 
Pittston,  and  a  director  for  manv  years. 
Through  his  entire  life  he  was  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Pittston.  and  of  which  he  was  for  manv  years 
an  officer,  and  superintendent  of  the  Sundav 
school  for  about  fortv  years,  until  failmo- 
health  oblig-ed  him  to  resisrn  this  position.  His 
earnest  religious  spirit  was  shown  in  his  every 


day  life,  as  instanced  by  the  fact  that  during 
the  time  of  his  apprenticeship  in  Honesdale,. 
when  he  was  receiving  but  twenty-five  dollars 
and  his  board  as  compensation  for  a  year's 
labor,  he  contributed  his  entire  salary  to  the 
Baptist  Church.  He  always  attributed  his- 
success  in  life  to  this  fact,  that  he  gave  his 
first  year's  wages  to  the  service  of  the  Master. 
Mr.  Cutler  was  a  man  whose  charm  of  man- 
ner few  could  resist ;  he  had  many  friends, 
among  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  the  lowly 
as  well  as  those  high  in  position.  All  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  socially  as  well  as 
in  business  circles,  appreciated  his  genial, 
kindly  nature  and  sterling  worth.  Mr.  Cut- 
ler's health  became  impaired  about  four  years 
previous  to  his  death,  and  in  1903  he  had  the 
misfortune  to  sprain  one  of  his  legs,  which 
still  further  undermined  his  health.  A  con- 
gestive chill  with  which  he  was  attacked 
about  a  week  before  his  demise  rapidly  devel- 
oped into  pneumonia,  which  ended  fatally 
April  1,  1905. 

Mr.  Cutler  was  twice  married.  First  to- 
Sarah  Phillips,  of  Kingston,  who  died  two 
years  after.  They  had  one  child,  Charles  H. 
Cutler,  a  prominent  undertaker  of  Pittston. 
Pennsylvania,  who  married  Lois  Merrill  Grif- 
fith. (See  Griffith  Family.)  Mr.  Reuben  B. 
Cutler  married  (second),  in  1855,  Amanda 
Beisel,  of  Conyngham  valley,  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  who  survives  her  husband.  By 
this  second  marriage  there  were  five  children : 
Reuben  B.  and  Harry  L.,  deceased ;  three  liv- 
ing, all  in  Pittston,  as  follows:  Mrs.  Lillie 
Phinney,  Amanda  J.,  and  Florence  Cutler.  A 
brother  of  Mr.  Cutler,  Stewart  H.,  is  still  liv- 
ing at  Scranton,   Pennsylvania. 

DENNIS  A.  MACKIN,  superintendent  of" 
the  Central  Poor  Alms  House,  at  Retreat,  was 
born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  July  22, 
1869.  the  son  of  Edward  and  Alary  (Dowling) 
Mackin,  and  grandson  of  Dennis  Mackin.  a 
native  of  Ireland.  He  married  Miss  Kate 
Hoffman,  of  Dutch  (Holland)  extraction, 
whose  people  were  among  the  pioneer  settlers 
of  Wyoming  valley.  Among  their  children 
was  a  son,  Edward. 

Edward  Mackin,  father  of  Dennis  A. 
Mackin,  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsyl- 
vania, February  27,  1840.  He  is  a  prominent 
coal  operator,  having  been  identified  with  the- 
Delaware  &  Hudson  Company  for  a  period' 
of  fiftv-three   years,   forty  vears   of  that  time- 


I.   E.   LaBARRE 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


507- 


acting  as  superintendent.  He  was  for  thirty 
years  school  director  in  the  city  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  also  served  nine  years  on  the  city 
council.  He  was  a  staunch"  Democrat,  and 
worked  earnestly  and  untiringly  toward  ad- 
vancing the  interests  of  that  organization.  He- 
now  (1906)  resides  in  the  city  of  his  birth, 
Wilkes-Barre,  retired  from  active  business 
life.  (See  sketch  elsewhere).)  He  married  Miss 
Alary  Dowling,  a  native  of  Luzerne  county, 
and  of  their  children  five  are  living:  Charles 
E.,  Dennis  A..  Dr.  Thomas  H,  Mrs.  Sarah 
Moore  and  Florence. 

Dennis  A.  Mackin,  son  of  Edward  and 
Mary  ( Dowling)  Mackin,  was  reared  and  ed- 
ucated in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
place.  He  subsequently  entered  the  Wyo- 
ming Seminary,  spending  two  and  a  half 
years  there,  being  a  graduate  of  the  commer- 
cial department  of  that  institution.  The  first 
eight  years  after  leaving  the  schoolroom,  Air. 
Mackin  was  employed  by  his  father,  who  was 
then  superintendent  of  the  Delaware  and  Hud- 
son Coal  Company.  He  next  became  inter- 
ested in  the  general  merchandise  business  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  in  which  busi- 
ness he  still  retains  his  interest.  The  busi- 
ness was  begun  in  18(53,  an<I  proved  very  suc- 
cessful from  the  start,  owing  to  the  good  man- 
agement and  good  business  methods  that  have 
always  characterized  Mr.  Mackin's  work. 

In  1891  Mr.  Mackin  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Alary  Hannon,  the  daughter  of 
John  and  Anna  W.  Hannon,  of  Columbia 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Airs.  Alackin"s  pater- 
nal grandfather,  Lawrence  Hannon,  was  a  coal 
operator  of  Schuylkill  county,  and  a  man  of 
considerable  means.  Her  maternal  grand- 
mother was  Alary  Butler.  Airs.  Alackin's 
father,  John  P.  Hannon,  was  a  native  of 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  and  a  man  of  education 
and  refinement.  He  was  principal  of  Cun- 
ningham township  schools  for  eighteen  years, 
and  was  also  engaged  at  one  time  in  mercan- 
tile pursuits.  He  is  now  deceased.  His  wid- 
ow, Anna  W.,  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  is  still 
living.  Their  family  consisted  of  Theobald, 
Alary,  Anastasia,  Elizabeth,  and  Lawrence, 
four  of  whom  reside  in  Wyoming  valley.  The 
children  born  to  Air.  and  Airs.  Dennis  A. 
Mackin  are :  Kathryn,  Paul,  John  P.,  Charles 
and  Alary. 

February,  1900.  nine  years  after  his  mar- 
riage, Air.  Mackin  and  his  wife  took  positions 
in  Central  Poor  District  Alms  House,  at  Re- 


treat, Pennsylvania,  as  superintendent  and: 
matron,  which  position  they  still  retain 
(1906).  There  are  two  hundred  and  fifty-two 
inmates  in  the  institution,  one  hundred  and 
eighty-six  men,  fifty-three  women  and  thirteen 
children,  and  Air.  and  Airs.  Alackin  are  well 
qualified  to  look  after  their  interests,  being 
kind  and  humane  in  their  attention  and  treat- 
ment. 

ISAAC  EVERETT  LaBARRE,  deceased,, 
who  for  a  period  of  four  decades  was  a  famil- 
iar figure  on  the  streets  of  Pittston  and  West 
Pittston,  where  he  was  universally  regarded 
as  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  and  rare  busi- 
ness qualifications,  was  born  in  Laceyville, 
Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania.  June  4.  1843, 
a  son  of  Isaac  I.  and  Alary  Ann  (Everett) 
LaBarre,  whose  family  consisted  of  five  chil- 
dren, as  follows :  Henry  A.,  of  Laceyville, 
Pennsylvania:  Alary  F.,  who  became  the  wife 
of  George  Kennard,  now  deceased ;  John  D., 
who  died  in  1872 ;  Hannah  J.,  a  resident  of" 
Laceyville,  Pennsylvania,  and  Isaac  Everett. 
Isaac  I.  LaBarre  was  born  in  New  Jersey,. 
April  22,  1815,  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  learned  the  trade  of  tanner,  which  he 
followed  throughout  the  active  years  of  his 
life,  removed  to  Laceyville,  Pennsylvania,  at 
an  early  age,  and  resided  there  for  the  remain- 
der of  his  days,  passing  away  in  the  year  1862. 
Alary  Ann  (Everett)  LaBarre  (mother)  was- 
born  in  New  Jersey,  December  10,  1807,  edu- 
cated in  the -common  schools  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  faithfully  performed  the  duties  of 
wife  and  mother.     She  died  1899. 

The  boyhood  days  of  Isaac  Everett  La- 
Barre were  spent  in  his  native  town,  and  his- 
education  was  acquired  in  the  schools  thereof. 
Before  he  had  reached  the  age  of  eighteen- 
years  the  call  for  troops  had  gone  forth  to 
defend  the  Union,  and  he  was  among  those 
who  responded  to  the  same,  thus  showing  his 
patriotism  and  love  of  country.  For  fourteen 
months  he  served  as  a  member  of  Company 
P,  One  Hundred  and  Seventh  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  with  distinction, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  of  time 
received  an  honorable  discharge.  Upon  his 
return  to  Laceyville  he  was  engaged  for  a 
short  time  on  the  engineering  corps  engaged 
in  laying  out  the  Lehigh  Valley  Railroad, 
which  was  being  built  through  that  territory 
to  Buffalo,  New  York.  He  then  took  up  his 
residence   in    Pittston,    Pennsylvania,    and   for: 


5oS 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


a  few  years  thereafter  was  employed  as  clerk 
:in  the  general  store  of  Law  &  MacMillan.  He 
resigned  from  this  position  in  order  to  become 
a  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Adams  Express 
•Company,  under  his  uncle,  the  late  Isaac  Ev- 
erett, who  was  the  agent  for  that  company  at 
that  place  for  many  years.  Later  he  engaged 
in  the  commission  business  with  the  late  John 
H.  Brown  as  a  partner,  and  for  several  years 
served  in  the  capacity  of  local  sales  agent  for 
the  Butler  Coal  Company's  products.  In  the 
business  circles  of  his  adopted  city  he  gained 
a  most  excellent  reputation,  and  this  was 
borne  out  by  his  sterling  qualities,  firm  prin- 
ciples, and  straightforward  method  of  conduct- 
ing his  affairs.  Ever  anxious  to  advance  the 
interests  of  the  community  in  which  he  re- 
sided, he  took  an  active  part  in  enterprises 
which  promised  success  in  that  direction, 
while  at  the  same  time  he  was  not  neglectful 
■of  his  personal  affairs.  Mr.  LaBarre  was 
greatly  interested  in  the  Masonic  order  and 
had  attained  a  high  position  in  its  ranks.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  following  Masonic  organ- 
izations :  Valley  Lodge,  of  Pittston ;  Pittston 
Chapter,  No.  242,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Tem- 
-ple  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of  Tunk- 
bannock :  Irem  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Or- 
-der  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.  He  had  taken  the  thirty-second  de- 
gree in  Masonry.  About  the  year  1889  Mr. 
LaBarre  negotiated  the  sale  of  the  horse  car 
line  through  Pittston  to  the  traction  company. 
Shortly  after  his  removal  to  West  Pittston 
Mr.  LaBarre  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary 
E.  Grier,  who  was  one  of  three  children  born 
to  the  late  Thomas  E.  Grier,  the  others  being 
as  follows :  William  E.,  an  employee  in  the 
knitting  mill  in  West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Blanche,  who  became  the  wife  of  C.  C. 
Conrad,  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  Three 
children  were  the  issue  of  this  union :  T.  Grier, 
born  December  27,  1873,  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  is  now  conducting  a  print- 
ing 'business  in  West  Pittston ;  he  married 
Bessie  E.  Hoover,  and  they  have  one  child, 
Helen  Elizabeth ;  Mary  Everett,  born  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1877,  educated  in  the  common  and 
high  schools,  and  is  now  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Hoover,  a  carpenter ;  Frances  Louise,  born 
March  10,  1882.  Isaac  Everett  LaBarre 
passed  away  at  the  family  home,  No.  11  Dela- 
ware avenue.  West  Pittston,  June  1,  1905. 
"The  funeral  services  were  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  Georsre  Kirkland,  and  the  interment  was 
in  West  Pittston  cemeterv. 


WILLIAM  GLASSELL  EXO,  insurance 
agent  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  July  16,  1852  son  of  Jos- 
iah  William  and  Louisa  Brown  (Glassellj 
Eno.  He  is  of  New  England  ancestry  on  the 
paternal  side,  while  those  on  the  maternal 
side  resided  in  Virginia.  James  Ennew,  Enno, 
Enos,  or  Eno,  as  the  name  is  variously  spelled  in 
the  early  New  England  records,  and  of  whom  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  lineal  descendant  in  the 
seventh  generation,  came  from  England  and  in 
1646  located  in 'Windsor,  Connecticut,  where  his 
death  occurred  June  11,  1682.  He  was  not  a 
non-comformist  but  worshipped  according  to  the 
ritual  of  the  established  church,  and  in  1664,  he, 
with  others,  petitioned  the  General  Court,  at 
Hartford,  "for  the  right  to  receive  the  privileges 
of  the  church  (of  England)  in  the  administra- 
tion of  her  ordinances  for  themselves  and  their 
children,"  which  was  denied.  He  was  promi- 
nent among  the  early  settlers  of  Windsor,  having 
been  chosen  by  the  town  as  one  of  its  agents  to 
negotiate  the  purchase  of  land  from  the  Indians, 
and  he  received  for  this  service,  jointly  with  his 
associates  a  tract  of  land  known  as  Tilton  Marsh, 
lying  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Simsbury 
Mountain.  He  was  married  three  times.  First, 
in  1648  to  Hannah  Bidwell,  whose  father,  Rich- 
ard, came  from  Devonshire,  England,  in  1634  to 
Windsor,  where  he  died  in  1647,  and  she  died 
there  in  1679 ;  second,  in  1658  to  Elizabeth  Hol- 
combe  (died  in  1679),  widow  of  Thomas  Hol- 
combe,  who  arrived  in  Dorchester,  Massachusetts, 
from  England,  in  1634,  and  went  to  Windsor  the 
following  year ;  third,  in  1680  to  Hester  Eggles- 
ton,  widow  of  James,  of  Windsor,  the  latter  a  son 
of  Bagot  Eggleston,  who  was  born  in  England  in 
1590,  arrived  in  Massachusetts  in  1630.  and  in 
1635  went  to  Windsor,  where  he  died  in  1674. 
James  was  the  father  of  three  children,  all  of  his 
first  union.  Sarah,  born  in  June,  1649,  died  in 
April,  1732.  She  married,  first,  in  1667.  Benajah 
Holcombe,  born  in  1644,  son  °f  Thomas  (1630) 
and  who  died  in  1736;  second,  Samuel  Phelps, 
who  'was  born  in  1652,  grandson  of  William 
Phelps  (1630).  James  was  born.  November  2. 
1651,  and  died  July  16,  1714.  John,  born  De- 
cember .2,  1654,  married  in  168 1  to  Mary  Dibble 
or  Dibol.  whose  birth  took  place  December  24. 
1664.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and 
granddaughter  of  Thomas  Dibol  (of  Dorchester, 
1615L  who  died  at  Windsor  in  1681.  Thomas 
Dibol  was  an  ancestor  of  Rutherford  B.  Hayes, 
nineteenth  president  of  the  United  States. 

James    (2)     Eno     (James)    who    settled    in 
Simsbury,   Connecticut,    was   born  November  2, 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


509 


1657,  died  July  16th,  1714.  He  married  Abigail 
Bissell,  born  July  6,  1661,  died  March,  1728; 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Abigail  (Holcombe)  Bis- 
sell, the  former  of  whom  was  a  son  of  John  Bis- 
sell, who  was  born  in  Somersetshire,  England,  in 
1 59 1,  and  came  to  New  England  in  1628.  The 
children  of  James  (2)  and  Abigail  Eno  were: 
James,  Ann,  William,  Abigail,  Alary,  John,  Sam- 
uel, Susannah,  and  David.  James  (3)  Eno,  the 
oldest  son,  married  for  his  first  wife  Mary  Grant, 
daughter  of  Matthew  Grant,  of  Windsor,  and  was 
of  the  line  of  Samuel  Grant,  an  ancestor  of  Gen- 
eral Ulysses  Grant. 

David  (3)  Eno  (James  2,  James  1),  was  born 
in  Simsbury,  August  12,  1702;  married,  October 
20,  1723,  Mary  Gillet,  who  was  born  February 
29,  1702-3,  daughter  of  Nathan  (3)  Gillet,  the 
latter  a  grandson  of  Nathan  ( 1 ) ,  who  came  from 
England  to  Connecticut  in  1634.  She  died  in 
Simsbury,  November  23,  1760.  The  children  of 
David  (3)  and  Mary  Eno  were:  David,  Roger, 
Mercy  and  Jonathan,  all  of  whom  were  born  in 
Simsbury.  Their  son  Roger,  (born  in  1729), 
who  spelled  his  name  Enos,  entered  the  Colonial 
military  service  at  an  early  age,  attaining  the  rank 
of  major-general,  and  served  in  numerous 
campaigns,  including  the  siege  of  Havana  and 
the  French  war.  He  was  associated  with  Gen- 
eral Arnold  on  the  latter  s  memorable  expedition 
through  the  wilderness  to  Quebec,  but  was  forced 
by  lack  of  provisions  to  return  with  his  command 
by  direction  of  his  commander  in  order  to  avoid 
starvation.  Tried  by  court-martial  for  the  alleged 
offense  of  returning  without  orders,  he  was 
promptly  acquitted  with  honor.  Major-General 
Roger  Enos  married  Jerusha,  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Esther  (Moore)  Hayden,  of  Windsor,  and  a 
descendant  in  the  fifth  generation  of  William 
Hayden  (See  Hayden  Family),  who  came  from 
England  in  1630. 

Captain  Jonathan  (4)  Enos,  (David,  3, 
James,  2,  James,  1),  was  born  at  Simsbury  in 
1739  and  resided  there  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred December  5,  1813.  He  was  married  Jan- 
uary 7,  1764,  to  Mary  Hart,  of  Berlin,  Connecti- 
cut, born  December  26,  1744,  daughter  of  Elijah 
and  Abigail  (Goodrich)  Hart,  of  New  Britain, 
Connecticut,  and  of  the  fifth  '  generation  from 
Stephen  Hart,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
1630.  Alary  died  October,  1834,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety  years.  Captain  Jonathan  (4)  and 
Alary  Eno  had  a  familv  of  nine  children,  namely : 
Alary,  Rhoda,  Jonathan,  Lucretia,  Elizabeth, 
Cynthia,  Salmon,  Chauncey  and  Abigail. 
Salmon    Eno,    who    represented     Simsbury    in 


the    Connecticut    Assembly    in     1834,    married. 
Alary      Richards,      daughter      of  ,  Amos      and. 
Lydia      (Lewis)      Richards.     His     son,     Amos. 
Richards    Eno,    who    became    the    senior    part- 
ner of  the  firm  of  Eno  and  Phelps,  a  prominent 
New  York  mercantile  house,  married  Lucy  Jane,., 
daughter    of    Hon.    Elisha    and    Lucy    (Smith) 
Phelps.     Hon.   Elisha  Phelps  was  a  member  of 
Congress  from  Connecticut  from   1819  to  1829, 
and  his  son,  Colonel  Jonathan  Smith  Phelps,  was- 
a  member  of  the  national  house  of  representatives 
from    Alissouri    from    1844    to    1861.       Abigail 
Eno,  born  February  28,  1785,  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain Jonathan,  married  John  Viets,  son  of  Dr_ 
Alexander  Yiets,  a  German  physician  who  went 
from  New  York  to  Simsbury  in  1730,  and  was 
an  ancestor  of  Rt.  Rev.  Alexander  Viets   Gris- 
wold,  D.  D.,  Protestant  Episcopal  bishop  of  the 
diocese    of   Afassachusetts   in    181 1,   and   chosen, 
chancellor  of  Brown  University  in  1812. 

Chauncey  (5)  Eno  (Jonathan,  4,  David,  3, 
James,  2,  James,  1),  grandfather  of  William  G. 
Eno,  was  born  in  Simsbury,  December  19,  1782. 
He  was  a  prosperous  and  a  prominent  resident, 
of  Simsbury,  representing  that  town  in  the  Con- 
necticut Assembly  in  1834.  His  death  occurred 
January  15,  1845.  On  November  4th,  1807,  he 
married  Amrilla  Case,  who  was  born  in  Canton, 
Connecticut,  February  12,  1778-79,  daughter  of 
Fithian  and  Amrilla  (Humphrey)  Case,  and  a. 
descendant  in  the  sixth  generation  of  Joseph 
Case,  of  Windsor,  1640.  Amrilla  (Case)  Eno 
died  August  22,  i860.  Chauncey  and  Amrilla  Eno 
were  the  parents  of  five  children,  namely :  Elizur 
Hart,  born  November  7,  1809,  died  January  16,., 
1883:  Cordelia,  born  June  3,  1812;  Chaun- 
cey Evelyn,  born  December  27,  1815  ;  Jennette 
Amrilla,  born  May  8,  1818,  died  February  13, 
1889 ;  and  Josiah  William  born  February  23,  1820. . 
(See  below).  Elizur  married  Sarah  Elizabeth 
Tuller  and  had  three  children :  Chauncey  H, 
Fanny  A.,  and  Watson  E.  Cordelia  married 
Watson  Wilcox,  and  became  the  mother  of  Addie 
E.  and  Louis  W.  Wilcox.  Chauncey  Evelyn  Eno 
.married  for  his  first  wife,  Harriet  Goodwin,  and 
for  his  second  wife,  Alaria  Bacon.  The  children 
of  his  first  wife  are  Harriet  A.  and  Lewis  G. 
Those  of  his  second  wife  are  Richard  B.  and' 
Alary  C.  Jennette  Amrilla  Eno  married  Rufus 
Tuller  and  was  the  mother  of  Nellie  V.,  Fannie 
A.,  who  died  May  10,  1871  ;  and  Chauncey 
Evelyn  Tuller. 

Josiah  (6)  Wrilliam  Eno  (Chauncey,  5.  Jona- 
than, 4,  David,  3,  James,  2,  James,  1)  was  born  • 
in    Simsbury,    Connecticut,    February    23,    1820. . 


.-5io 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


When  a  young  man  he  came  to  the  Wyoming 
Valley,  locating  in  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  mercantile  business,  and  his  long  and 
honorable  business  career  was  attended  with  ex- 
cellent financial  results.  He  was  closely  identified 
with  some  of  the  extensive  coal  interests  of  this 
section,  and  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  citi- 
zens of  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  having  estab- 
lished his  residence  there  in  1855. 

In  addition  to  being  one  of  the  original  incor- 
porators of  that  borough  he  took  an  active  part  in 
its  local  public  affairs,  serving  as  auditor  in  1866; 
-as  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  years  1867,  1872, 
1877  and  1882 ;  and  was  burgess  of  the  borough 
in  1870-71-73-74.  From  1856  to  the  time  af  his 
death  he  was  a  trustee  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
•Church.  On  January  23,  1851,  he  married 
Louisa  Brown  (5)  Glassell,  who  was  born  in 
Tortliolwald,  Madison  county,  Virginia,  October 
14,  1816,  daughter  of  John  (4)  and  Louise  Rich- 
ards (Brown)  Glassell.  Through  Andrew  (3) 
and  Robert  (2)  she  is  descended  from  John  Glas- 
sell, of  Scotland,  1620.  Josiah  W.  and 
Louisa  Brown  (Glassell)  Eno  have  two  children, 
namely:  William  Glassel  Eno,  the  principal  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  and  Jeannette,  who  was  born 
in  Plymouth,  June  22,  1857,  and  married  Jan- 
uary 24,  1883,  Palmer  Campbell,  of  Hoboken, 
New  Jersey,  son  of  W.  P.  and  Caroline  E.  S. 
(Beers)  Campbell,  of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

William  Glassell  Eno  was  educated  in  the  pri- 
vate schools  at  Plymouth  and  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  then  at  Business  College  at  Tren- 
ton, New  Jersey.  After  his  return  home  he  was 
employed  as  shipping  clerk  at  coal  mine  at  Ply- 
mouth from  1869  to  1 87 1,  and  from  that  date  until 
1874  as  chief  clerk  at  the  iron  works  in  Cumber- 
land county,  Pennsylvania.  He  then  entered  the 
insurance  business  at  Plymouth  in  1874,  and  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  July,  1876,  became  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Biddle  &  Eno  and  has  been 
interested  in  a  number  of  business  enterprises  in 
Wilkes-Barre. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Lodge  Ply- 
mouth, No.  342,  and  of  the  higher  degrees  in- 
cluding Dieu  le  Veut  Commandery ;  also  member 
-of    Bloomsburg    Consistory    A.    and    A.    S.    R. 
Masons,     thirty-second     degree ;    Lulu     Temple 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  of  Lodge  No. 
109,  B.  P.  O.  E.  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 
William  Glassell  Eno,  married  June  12,  1889, 
Miss  Marion  Borden,  daughter  of  Albert  Field 
and  Annie  (Royer)  Borden,  of  Pottstown,  Penn- 
■sylvania.     Her  grandparents  were  James  Wins- 
" low  and  Nancy  (Hewing)  Borden,  of  Dartmouth, 


Massachusetts,  and  she  is  a  descendant  in  the 
sixth  generation  from  John  (1)  Borden,  who  was 
born  in  England  in  1607,  and  immigrated  to  New 
England  in  1635,  arriving  May  5,  of  that  year. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eno  have  two  children :  Josiah 
William,  born  February  26,  1890,  in  Plymouth, 
Pennsylvania;  Jean,  born  June  29,  1892,  in  Ply- 
mouth, Pennsylvania.  (Abridged  from  Rev.  H. 
E.  Hayden's  "Virginia  Genealogies,"  p.  26-9 ;  and 
Stiles'  "History  of  Connecticut,"  i,  239-248. 

SHAVER  FAMILY.  Philip  Shaver  was 
born  and  spent  his  boyhood  in  the  valley  of  the 
Danube  river,  near  Vienna,  Austria.  It  was  a 
cardinal  principle  with  him  that  a  man  was  not 
really  running  into  debt  when  he  bought  and 
owed  for  real  estate  at  a  reasonable  price.  He 
settled  in  Dallas,  Pennsylvania,  and  built  his 
house — a  log  house — on  the  hill  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  south  of  the  cross  roads  near  the  resi- 
dence of  the  late  James  Shaver,  on  land  after- 
ward occupied  by  Asa  Shaver,  now  deceased. 
Philip  Shaver  was  generous  and  public-spirited 
to  a  marked  degree  for  the  time  and  place.  He 
gave  land  for  the  public  burying  ground,  on  the 
hill  near  the  pine  grove  just  south  of  Dallas  vill- 
age, on  the  road  to  Huntsville,  and  also  gave 
land  for  the  Shaver  burying  ground,  and  for  the 
first  school  house  in  Dallas  township. 

The  exact  date  when  the  Shavers  first  set- 
tled in  Dallas  cannot  be  accurately  determined. 
They  were  Germans,  and  most  of  them  came 
from  the  vicinity  of  Newton,  New  Jersey.  The 
named  is  spelled  Shaver,  or  Shafer,  or  Shaffer. 
Adam  Shaver,  Peter  .Shaver  and  Frederick 
Shaver  were  residents  of  Kingston  township  as 
early  as  1796.  Adam  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade, 
but  in  1806  started  and  for  several  years  after- 
ward operated  an  old  mill  in  Mill  Hollow,  now 
"  Luzerne  borough.  About  1812-13  Philip  Shaver 
and  his  sons  John  P.  and  William  became  owners 
of  large  tracts  of  land  in  Dallas  and  Kingston 
townships,  and  built  up  what  is  still  known  as 
Shavertown.  John  P.  Shaver,  son  of  Philip, 
was  a  farmer  and  lumberman  and  operated  a  saw 
mill.  He  was  a  man  of  energy,  possessing  many 
of  his  father's  traits.  Indeed,  from  the  time 
Philip  Shaver  came  into  the  region,  now  more 
than  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  both  he 
and  his  descendants  have  been  noted  for  thrift, 
enterprise,  and  public  spirit ;  and  in  each  suc- 
ceeding generation  lumbering  and  saw  milling 
seems  to  have  been  among  the  pursuits  of  his 
descendants. 

John  P.  Shaver  married  Sarah  Montanve.  a 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


5" 


native  of  Luzerne  county,  and  had  a  family  of 
.seven  sons  and  one  daughter.  Joseph  Shaver, 
•one  of  the  sons,  married  (first)  jane  Allen,  who 
bore  him  six  sons :  F.  A.  Shaver,  Joseph  C. 
.Shaver,  Isaac  N.  Shaver,  W.  H.  Shaver,  Elmer 
B.  Shaver,  and  Ralph  A.  Shaver.  He  married 
(second)  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Snyder,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Bartron,  and  of  this  union  there  were 
six  children,  three  of  whom  are  now  living :  Scott 
L.  Shaver,  Maggie  R.  Shaver,  and  John  B. 
.Shaver.     Mr.  Shaver  died  February  20,  1900. 

Isaac  N.  Shaver,  son  of  Joseph  and  Jane 
G.  (Allen)  Shaver,  was  born  in  Dallas,  Septem- 
ber 15,  1845,  and  was  brought  up  to  farm  work, 
lumbering  and  operating  a  saw  mill.  Before  he 
was  of  full  age  he  began  work  with  his  father 
in  the  saw  mill,  was  associated  with  him  in  later 
years,  and  eventually  succeeded  to  the  business 
upon  his  father"s  death.  He  worked  hard,  and 
not  in  vain,  and  now  is  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances, enjoying  in  addition  to  the  fruits  of  his 
labors  the  respect  of  his  fellow  townsmen.  He 
is  a  well-informed,  and  a  good,  straight-forward 
business  man,  having  been  practically  self-edu- 
cated ;  and  he  has  added  to  his  store  of  learning 
by  observation  of  and  contact  with  men  in  his 
extensive  travels  both  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  for 
many  years  has  been  township  auditor,  and  also 
.auditor  of  the  borough.  In  religious  preference 
he  is  a  Methodist.  Mr.  Shaver  married,  April 
21,  1901,  Estella  J.  Fell,  daughter  of  George  W. 
and  Mary  (Hornet)  Fell,  and  a  descendant  of 
the  seventh  generation  of  Joseph  Fell,  of  Long- 
lands,  parish  of  Lddale,  Cumberland,  England, 
the  American  ancestor  of  one  of  the  best  families 
of  the  Friends,  or  Quakers.  (See  Fell  family 
elsewhere  in  this  work). 

George  W.  Fell  enlisted  in  August,  1863,  in 
the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-first  Pennsylvania 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was  in  actual  service 
until  Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox.  Virginia,  in 
1865.     He  lives  in  Harvard,  Nebraska. 

JACOB  SPEICHER.  Among  the  well- 
known  mechanical  engineers  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley  must  be  numbered  Jacob  Speicher,  of  Par- 
sons, Pennsylvania.  Mr.  Speicher  is  a  son  of 
George  Speicher,  who  was  born  in  Germany,  in 
1816,  and  married  Ann  Mary  Backen,  a  native 
•of  the  same  country.  They  were  the  parents  of 
the  following  children,  all  of  whom  were  born  in 
Germany:  1.  Peter,  who  was  born  about  1843, 
lives  at  Jermyn,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania, 
married  and  has  five  children,  and  is  an  engineer 


for  the  D.  &  H.  Coal  Company  at  Jermyn.  2. 
Matthias,  who  was  born  about  1845,  lives  near 
Archbald,  Pennsylvania,  married  Frances  Willz, 
and  has  ten  children.  Matthias  was  formerly 
master  mechanic  at  Carbondale  for  the  D.  &  H. 
Coal  Company  and  is  now  engineer  for  the 
same  company.  3.  Barbara,  who  was  born  in 
1847,  married  John  Ferguson,  of  Olyphant,  near 
Scranton,  and  has  eight  children.  John  was  for- 
merly a  store  keeper,  then  later  lived  retired,  and 
died  about  1898  and  was  buried  in  Olyphant 
cemetery.  4.  Margaret,  who  was  born  in  1849, 
married  Peter  Miller,  of  Archbald,  and  has  seven 
children.  Peter  is  an  engineer  for  the  D.  &  H. 
Coal  Company.  5.  Jacob,  mentioned  at  length 
hereinafter.  6.  Nicholas,  who  was  born  in  1853, 
married  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  had  one  child, 
Michola  ;  died  in  1888,  in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  7. 
Joseph,  who  was  born  in  1855,  lives  in  Kankakee, 
Illinois,  married  Barbara  Schubert,  deceased,  and 
has  two  children.  Joseph  is  an  undertaker  and 
furniture  dealer.  8.  John,  born  in  1857,  is  in 
business  with  Joseph  in  Kankakee,  Illinois. 

Mr.  Speicher,  the  father  of  the  family,  died  in 
his  native  land,  aged  seventv-five  vears.  July, 
1891.  Mrs.  Ann  Mary  (Backen)  Speicher 'died 
in  Archbald,  Pennsylvania,  in  1893,  aged  seventy- 
five  years. 

Jacob  Speicher,  son  of  George  and  Ann  Mary 
(Backen)  Speicher,  was  born  September  19th, 
1851,  in  Sarlouis,  Germany,  and  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  village.  At  the  age  of 
thirteen  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled 
in  Archbald, ,  near  Scranton.  At  sixteen  he  en- 
tered the  machine  shops  of  the  Delaware  &  Hud- 
son Railroad  Company,  and  after  completing  his 
apprenticeship  was  advanced  step  by  step  to  the 
position  of  assistant  to  the  master  mechanic.  He 
was  then  but  twenty  years  old,  and  the  fact  that 
he  has  ever  since  retained  his  position  is  the 
highest  encomium  which  can  be  pronounced  upon 
him.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Macca- 
bees. 

Mr.  Speicher  married,  March  24th,  1874, 
Catherine  Lauer,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  the 
following  childlren:  1.  George,  who  was  born 
October  12th,  1876,  lives  at  Archbald,  and  is  an 
engineer  on  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Railroad. 
2.  Alfred,  who  was  born  October  11,  1878,  is  a 
plumber  in  Parsons,  and  married  Louise  Chis- 
ler.  3.  Albert,  who  was  born  October  i'8th, 
1880,  and  is  a  machinist,  serving  under  his  father. 
4.  Edmund,  who  was  born  November  22nd, 
1882,  and  is  a  machinist  in  the  Valley  shops  in 
Wilkes-Barre.     5.     Leo,  who  was  born  October 


5I2 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


1 2th,  1884,  and  is  station  agent  at  Parsons.  6. 
Regina,  who  was  born  October  22nd,  1886.  7. 
Jacob,  who  was  born  April  21st,  1889.  8.  Marie, 
who  was  born  October  13th,  1891,  and  is  now  at- 
tending school. 

Mrs.  Speicher  is  a  daughter  of  Matthew  and 
Katherine  (Kugler)  Lauer,  who  spent  their  en- 
tire lives  in  Germany.  They  had  a  family  of  ten 
children,  five  of  whom  are  still  living :  1.  Eliza- 
beth, born  in  Sarlouis,  who  married  John  Miller, 
of  Paris,  New  Jersey.  2.  Anna,  who  was  born 
in  Metz,  Germany,  became  the  wife  of  Carl  Oust, 
and  lives  in  Germany.  3.  Maria,  who  was  born 
in  Metz,  Germany,  married  there,  and  also  re- 
sides there.  4.  Harry,  who  was  born  in  Metz, 
Germany,  married  Louise  Arch,  and  lives  in 
Paris,  New  Jersey.  5.  Catherine,  who  was  born 
April  20th,  1852,  and  became  the  wife  of  Jacob 
Speicher,  as  mentioned  above. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  LEACH,  born 
at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  February  22,  1824, 
is  a  direct  descendant  of  Lawrence  Leach,  the 
Puritan  progenitor  of  the  family  in  America,  who 
came  over,  with  Rev.  Francis  Higginson  in  the 
fleet  which  sailed  from  England  in  the  spring  of 
1629,  arriving  in  Salem  harbor,  June  29  of  that 
year.  In  a  letter  dated  at  Gravesend,  England, 
April  17,  1629,  Governor  Matthew  Craddock, 
then  at  the  head  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Cc, 
wrote  to  Captain  John  Endicott,  the  New  Eng- 
land governor  of  the  colony,  as  follows :  "We 
desire  you  to  take  notice  of  one  Lawrence  Leach, 
whom  we  have  found  a  careful  and  painful  man, 
and  we  doubt  not  he  will  continue  his  diligence. 
Let  him  have  deserving  respect." 

Lawrence  Leach  settled  on  a  plantation  at 
Royal  Side,  in  Salem,  and  lived  there  until  the 
time  of  his  death,  in  1662,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years.  He  held  many  important  offices,  and 
by  his  public  and  private  life  justified  the  con- 
fidence placed  in  him  by  Governor  Craddock.  He 
was  survived  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  and  the  fol- 
lowing children :  Robert,  who  became  one  of  the 
founders  of  Manchester,  Massachusetts ;  Richard 
and  John,  who  lived  and  died  at '  Salem ;  Giles, 
born  in  Salem,  1632,  moved  to  Weymouth,  and 
thence  to  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts,  being  one 
of  the  fifty-six  proprietors  of  that  old  colony 
town ;  James,  who  settled  in  New  Hampshire ; 
Samuel,  at  Marblehead,  Massachusetts;  an  only 
daughter,  Rachel,  and  another  son,  Clement,  who 
is  supposed  to  have  remained  in  England. 

George  W.  Leach's  line  of  descent  is  as  fol- 
lows:   Lawrence  and  Elizabeth  Leach,  Giles  and 


Anne  (Noaks)  Leach,  Benjamin  and  Hepzibah 
(Washburne)  Leach,  Joseph  and  Anne  (Harris) 
Leach,  Benjamin  and  Mary  (Keith)  Leach, 
Isaiah  and  Eliza  (Kelly)  Leach,  George  W. 
Leach. 

Through  Hepzibah  Washburne,  wife  of 
Benjamin  Leach,  the  line  is  traced  to  the  May- 
flower Pilgrims,  she  being  the  granddaughter  of 
John  Winslow  (brother  of  Governor  Edward 
Winslow)  and  Mary  Chilton,  said  to  have  been 
the  first  white  woman  to  set  foot  upon  New  Eng- 
land soil.  Hepzibah  Washburne  was  also  a 
great-great-granddaughter  of  Frances  Cook,  an- 
other Mayflower  Pilgrim. 

Mary  Keith,  grandmother  of  George  W. 
Leach,  was  the  great-granddaughter  of  Rev. 
James  Keith,  the  first  minister  of  Bridgewater, 
Massachusetts,  who  preached  fifty-six  years  from 
the  same  pulpit.  The  poet,  William  Cullen  Bry- 
ant, was  very  proud  of  his  descent  from  this 
famous  preacher. 

On  the  maternal  side  Mr.  Leach  is  a  great- 
grandson  of  Captain  James  Wigton,  one  of  the 
first  victims  of  the  Wyoming  Massacre,  and  the 
descent  is  as  follows :  Captain  James  Wigton 
and  Elizabeth  (Shannon)  Wigton,  Isabella  Wig- 
ton and  John  Kelly,  Eliza  Kelly  and  Isaiah 
Leach,  George  W.  Leach. 

Captain  Wigton  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent, 
and  came  into  the  Wyoming  Valley  from  Bucks 
county.  He  was  a  man  of  character  and  intel- 
lect, and  sometime  prior  to  his  joining  the  Con- 
tinental army  had  purchased  from  Colonel  Dur- 
kee,  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  six  acres 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  the  major  portion  of  division  34, 
as  certified  by  the  state  to  his  widow,  Elizabeth 
Wigton.  He  was  also  the  owner  of  six  acres 
lying  between  South  Ross  River  and  Franklin 
streets. 

Shortly  before  the  massacre  he  was  a  captain, 
unattached,  with  Washington,  at  Valley  Forge. 
He,  with  a  few  others,  got  leave  to  return  to  the 
valley  to  aid  in  the  defense,  and  arrived  on  the 
scene  after  the  line  of  battle  had  been  formed.  As 
Rufus  Bennett,  one  of  the  survivors  of  the  mas- 
sacre, often  related  the  story :  "Just  before  the 
advance  was  ordered  some  one,  looking  back,  dis- 
covered him  coming  up  the  road  and  shouted, 
"Why  there  comes  Wigton !" — and  they  called 
out:  "Fall  in  here,  Wigton!  fall  in  here!"  He 
was  among  the  first  to  perish  at  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  His  wife  and  two  daughters  escaped 
down  the  river  to  Fort  Augusta.  Later  Mrs. 
Wigton  returned  to  the  Valley  with  one  daugh- 
ter, who  was  a  sicklv  child,  and  married  one  ot 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


513 


Sullivan's  soldiers  named  Gridley.  The  other 
daughter,  Isabella,  went  to  Bucks  county  and 
there  married  John  Kelly,  a  member  of  one  of  the 
Protestant-Irish  families  that  had  emigrated  to 
Pennsylvania.  Their  first  child,  Eliza  Kelly,  the 
mother  of  Mr.  Leach,  was  born  near  Doylestown, 
in  1799.  Another  daughter,  Mary,  was  born  in 
Canada  whither  they,  with  many  others,  had 
emigrated  to  escape  the  threatened  famine  re- 
sulting from  the  ravages  of  the  "Hessian  Fly." 
John  Kelly  died  in  Canada,  and  his  widow  mar- 
ried one  George  Morris  by  whom  she  had  two 
children.  The  home  of  the  Morrises  was  destroy- 
ed by  the  American  forces  during  the  war  of 
18 12.  On  the  death  of  Isabella  Wigton  (Kelly) 
Morris,  George  Morris  married  again,  and  the 
relatives  in  Bucks  county  became  anxious  that 
the  children,  Eliza  and  Mary  Kelly,  should  return 
to  Pennsylvania.  Accordingly,  an  uncle  of  the 
girls  went  to  Canada  and  succeeded,  after  many 
vicissitudes  in  bringing  them  away.  The  journey 
was,  at  that  early  day,  full  of  interest  and  ex- 
citement. Leaving  Buffalo,  then  consisting  of  a 
few  log  houses,  they  journeyed,  by  horseback  to 
Newtown,  now  Elmira.  Here  they  sold  their 
horses  and  purchasing  a  skiff  floated  down  the 
river  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  they  stopped,  and 
sold  a  lot  and  partially  constructed  a  building, 
for  fifty  dollars.  From  Wilkes-Barre  the  three 
travelers  went  by  boat  to  Harrisburg,  where  the 
girls  found  a  home  with  William  Musgrave,  Jr., 
their  uncle,  who  was  a  son  of  William  Musgrave ; 
at  that  time  and  until  his  death  state  librarian.  It 
was  here  that  Eliza  Kelly  met  and  married  in 
1821,  Isaiah  Leach,  father  of  George  W.  Leach. 

Isaiah  Leach,  was  born  in  Bridgewater,  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1786,  and  left  there  in  1800,  finally 
settling  in  Harrisburg.  He  was  a  school  teacher 
and  a  teacher  of  music  as  well,  possessing  "a 
fine  musical  talent."  He  devoted  his  life  to  teach- 
ing. He  was  a  Universalist  in  religion.  Al- 
though an  ardent  Whig,  he  never  interested  him- 
self in  active  politics  and  never  held  public  office. 

The  children  of  Isaiah  Leach  and  Eliza  Kelly 
were  seven  in  number,  five  of  whom  were  living 
at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1837.  A  few  weeks 
after  his  death  the  widow  with  her  five  children 
left  for  Wilkes-Barre,  where  lay  the  estate  of  her 
grandfather,  Captain  Wigton,  and  to  one-fourth 
of  which  she  was  the  legal  heir.  Here  she  lived 
until  her  death,  in  1878,  a  woman  whose  nobility 
of  character,  gentle  disposition  and  kind  heart 
have  become  a  sacred  memory.  One  old  lady  has 
often  said  of  her :  "I  never  heard  grandmother 
Leach  say  a  single  unkind  word  of  any  living  per- 
son in  all  the  years  I  knew  her."  The  family  ar- 
33 


rived  in  Wilkes-Barre  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
1837,  coming  by  packet  as  far  as  Nanticoke  and 
from  there  to  their  destination  in  a  Concord 
coach  driven  by  John  Rainow.  They  stopped  at 
the  Black  Horse  Hotel,  kept  by  Archippus  Par- 
rish,  for  two  days,  until  they  could  find  a  home, 
and  then  moved  into  a  house  owned  by  Joseph 
Slocum,  corner  of  North  Main  and  North  streets, 
where  they  lived  for  eleven  years. 

George  W.  Leach,  the  eldest  of  the  boys,  was 
at  this  time  thirteen  years,  and  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  help  provide  for  the  young  family. 
For  the  first  year  he  was  mainly  employed  by  J. 
J.  Dennis  and  attended  school  during  the  winter. 
Following  this  he  started  to  learn  the  carpenter's, 
trade  with  Washington  Oliver,  but  was  not  ro- 
bust enough  to  keep  at  it.  Not  to  be  daunted  he 
went  to  Adam  Behee  with  an  idea  of  taking  up 
blacksmithing.  Mr.  Behee  soon  convinced  him 
that  this  work  was  beyond  his  strength,  and  he 
went  to  Marcus  B.  Hammer  to,  become  a  cabinet 
maker  remaining  with  him  four  years.  Owing  to 
an  accident  he  was  unable  to  do  cabinet  work  and 
spent  most  of  the  time  at  finishing.  Following 
this  he  went  into  C.  B.  Fisher's  store,  and  April 
1,  1846,  started  for  Pottsville,  where  he  remained 
two  years  as  a  painter,  at  which  he  had  become 
proficient  while  working  in  Hammer's  shop.  The 
sign  writer  for  Bowen  &  Malloy,  of  Pottsville,. 
noticing  the  lettering  on  Mr.  Leach's  trunk,  ad- 
vised him  to  quit  house  painting  and  become  a  let— 
terer.  Years  afterward  (1875)  a  prominent  sign- 
writer  and  decorator  of  Philadelphia  said  to  the- 
writer:  "I  would  like  to  know  Mr.  Leach  for 
his  roman  lettering  is  the  finest  I  have  ever  seen." 

From  Pottsville  a  trip  as  far  west  as  Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin,  without  presenting  any  ad- 
vantageous opening,  was  taken,  and  he  returned 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  immediately  went  into 
the  painting  business,  his  first  job  being  the  Bap- 
tist church.  Sometime  during  the  second  year  as 
a  painter  Mr.  Leach  bought  a  machine  and  the 
patent  therefor  for  making  sash  and  blinds  by 
foot  power.  Foot  power  proving  inadequate, 
horse  power  was  tried,  but  as  it  was  impossible 
to  control  the  speed  it  had  to  be  discarded.  An- 
other and  later  machine  was  purchased,  which 
was  eventually  sold  to  Stetler  and  Easterline.  Mr. 
Leach  was,  however,  the  first  manufacturer  of 
sash  and  blinds  by  machinery  in  Luzerne  county. 
During  this  time  Mr.  Leach  had  kept  up  his  busi- 
ness as  a  painter.  About  185 1  Easterline  and 
Wilson,  who  had  succeeded  William  C.  Gilder- 
sleeve  as  dealer  in  general  merchandise,  made  a 
proposition  to  sell  their  stock  of  wall  paper  ton 
Mr.   Leach,  which  was  accepted,   and  the  wall; 


5H 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


paper  and  painting  business  was  carried  on  from 
that  time  until  his  retirement  in  1901,  terminating 
an  active  and  honorable  mercantile  career  of  over 
fifty  years. 

Mr.  Leach  cast  his  first  vote  for  Henry  Clay, 
and  has  been  a  consistent  Republican  ever  since 
without  any  political  aspirations.  Brought  up  in 
the  faith  of  his  parents,  Universalism,  his  creed 
has  been  one  of  liberality  and  charity  tinctured 
with  enough  Presbyterianism,  an  inheritance  from 
his  Puritan  ancestors,  to  lead  his  children  into 
that  faith.  An  early  and  lifelong  believer  in  tem- 
perance he  was,  as  early  as  1844,  a  member  of 
the  Sons  of  Temperance. 

Mr.  Leach  married,  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, March  31,  1850,  Mary  Van  Loon,  born 
at  Plymouth,  Pennsylvania,  July  6,  1828,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Susannah  (McKeel)  Van 
Loon,  Their  children,  all  born  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
are  as  follows :  Edward  Russell,  died  in  infancy. 
George  W.,  Jr.,  an  artist,  married,  August  24, 
1880,  Mary  J.  Cary,  born  January  17,  1859,  New 
York  city,  died  October  30,  1886,  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania.  Their  children  are :  Bessie  Lin- 
wood,  John  Horton,  Helen  Bradley.  Frank  Van 
Loon,  a  bookkeeper  with  I.  C.  S.  Scranton,  Penn- 
sylvania, married,  June  22,  1881,  Ella  G.  Hand, 
born  July,  1859,  at  Providence,  Pennsylvania, 
died  March  14,  1904,  Elmhurst,  Pennsylvania. 
Their  children  are:  Arthur  Lloyd,  Jessie  Alice, 
Marion  Linwood,  Lois  Starr.  Mary,  a  teacher. 
Jessie  Fremont.  Nellie  Keith,  a  teacher.  Isaiah 
M.,  a  contractor  and  builder.  Stella  Dorrance, 
married,  August  29,  1895,  Albert  H.  Welles,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  at  present  time 
(1906)  principal  of  Scranton  high  school.  Al- 
bert H.  Welles  is  grandson  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
P.  Hunt,  a  sketch  and  portrait  of  whom  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Welles  has 
one  child,  Anna  Hunt  Welles.  Silas,  died  in  in- 
fancy.    Eva  Herbert. 

'  Mr.  Leach  has  two  brothers  living  at  the  pres- 
ent tifne'(I9o6)  :  Oliver,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  born 
September  25,  1827.  Isaiah  Musgrave,  of  Oak- 
land, California,  born  November  5,  1829.  Silas 
Leach,  a  younger  brother,  born  April  16,  1836, 
died  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  Tune  2,  1902. 

H.  E.  H. 

WILLIAM  WHYTE  HALL,  a  promi- 
nent and  public-spirited  citizen  of  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  and  one  who  has  done  much  to 
further  the  interests  and  improvements  in 
that  town,  traces  his  ancestry  back  to  Eng- 
land, being  a  representative  of  the  fifth  gen- 
eration in  this  country. 


(I)  Theodore  Hall,  the  pioneer  ancestor 
of  this  branch  of  the  Hall  family,  came  with 
his  brother,  Jacob  Hall,  at  an  early  age  from 
England  to  America.  It  is  not  definitely- 
known  whether  they  were  accompanied  by 
their  parents  or  not.  They  settled  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
where  Theodore  for  a  number  of  years  con- 
ducted a  grist  mill,  and  later  removed  up  the 
Delaware  river  and  settled  in  Kingwood  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  river,  nearly  opposite 
Blacks  Eddy.  The  mill  owned  and  conduct- 
ed by  Theodore  Hall  was  located  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  river.  In  going  to  and  fro 
between  his  home  and  the  mill  he  was  obliged 
to  cross  this  stream,  which  could  generally 
be  done  with  safety.  One  day,  however,  the 
river  was  swollen  by  a  freshet,  and  as  Theo- 
dore, with  his  son  Samuel,  was  about  to  bring 
back  the  canoe  this  was  upset  near  the  Penn- 
sylvania shore,  and  Theodore  was  drowned. 
Samuel  managed  to  swim  to  the  short.  While 
living  near  Philadelphia  he  became  acquaint- 
ed with  Gertrude  Gooden,  born  near  the  Rari- 
tan  river,  in  Middlesex  county,  New  Jersey, 
in  1710,  whom  he  married  in  1729.  After  the 
death  of  her  husband  Gertrude  (Gooden)  Hall 
married  again  and  was  again  left  a  widow. 
By  this  second  marriage  she  had  no  children. 
She  died  in  1809,  at  the  age  -of  ninety-nine 
years  and  nine  months.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Theo- 
dore Hall  had  nine  children,  who  all  attained 
maturity. 

(II)  Jesse  Hall,  fifth  son  of  Theodore  (1) 
and  Gertrude  (Gooden)  Hall,  was  born  in 
the  year  1752,  and  grew  to  manhood  in  King- 
wood  township,  Hunterdon  county,  New  Jer- 
sey, whither  his  parents  removed  in  1759, 
when  he  was  about  seven  years  old.  He  mar- 
ried, December,  1779,  Elizabeth  Heath,  daugh- 
ter of  Andrew"  and  Magdalena  Heath,  of  Am- 
well  township,  the  former  having  died  during 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Jesse  and  Elizabeth 
Hall  continued  to  live  in  Kingwood  after  their 
marriage,  and  it  was  at  that  place  that  their 
children  were  born,  namely:  1.  Goodwin, 
born  August  12,  1780,  married  Elizabeth  Tern- 
pie,  of  Kingwood,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons 
and  two  daughters.  He  died  in  New  York 
City,  April,  1848,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight 
years,  and  his  wife  died  April  5,  1856.  2.  An- 
drew, December  29,  1781,  died  May  20, 
1832 ;  married  Amelia  Palmer,  of  Vermont, 
who  died  in  December,  1831,  aged  fifty-three 
years.    3.    Jesse,    October    20,    1783.    4.    Sarah, 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


515 


.March  20,  1785  removed  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  in  1828,  married  Edward  Larre, 
•a  native  of  England,  with  whom  she  moved  to 
Burlington,  New  Jersey,  where  he  died  in 
November,  1836,  his  death  being  occasioned 
by  being  thrown  from  a  wagon,  the  horses 
taking  frig'ht  and  running  away.  5.  Heath, 
November  17,  1788,  died  in  New  York  City, 
March  30,  1854;  his  wife,  Katherine  Hall,  died 
'October  1,  1865,  aged  eighty-four  years. 
■■6.  John,  April  25,  1791,  married  Elizabeth 
Sausman,  of  Sussex  county,  and  had  ten  chil- 
dren.   7.    Asa,  of  whom  later. 

(III)  Asa  Hall,  son  of  Jesse  (II)  and  Eliza- 
beth (Heath)  Hall,  was  born  June  30,  1795. 
While  yet  a  lad  he  came  to  New  York  City 
and  learned  the  trade  of  a  hatter  with  his 
brother,  Andrew  Hall,  which  business  he  con- 
tinued for  the  residue  of  his  life.  At  the  time 
-of  his   death,   which   occurred   May  23,    1849, 

Mr.  Hall  was  considered  one  of  the  wealthy 
men  of  his  community,  having  been  extremely 
successful  in  his  business.  He  married,  in 
1818,  Catherine  Sausman,  of  Sussex  county, 
New  Jersey,  sister  of  Elizabeth  Sausman,  wife 
of  his  brother  John,  and  had  ten  sons  and 
three  daughters,  among  whom  was  Asa,  men- 
tioned hereafter. 

(IV)  Asa  Hall,  son  of  Asa  (III)  and 
Catherine  (Sausman)  Hall,  was  born  in  New 
York  City,  1837.  He  married  Fannie  Ford, 
of  Long  Branch,  New  Jersey,  and  they  had 
eight  children :     1.    Arline,  deceased.    2.    Har- 

"riet.  3.  Asa.  4.  William  Whyte,  of  whom 
later.  5.  Louis.  6.  Lillian,  died  in  infancy. 
7.  Alice ;  and  8.  Ethel. 

(V)  William  Whyte  Hall,  second  son  and 
fourth  child  of 'Asa  (IV)  and  Fannie  (Ford) 
Hall,  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  Au- 
gust 4,  1878,  and,  was  named  after  Major 
AVilliam  Edward  Whyte,  of  West  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania. 

Major  William  Edward  Whyte  was  born 
in  Wales,  May  17,  1826,  and  after  receiving  a 
common  school  education,  entered  upon  a  sea- 
faring life.  For  thirteen  years  he  followed 
'the  sea,  making  voyages  to  all  quarters  of  the 
globe  and  gaining  much  useful  and  varied  in- 
formation. In  1855  he  emigrated  to  America 
and  settled  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
"where  he  engaged  in  business.  Later  he  re- 
moved to  West  Pittston,  where  he  resided  un- 
til his  death,  which  occurred  in  1888.  In  1867 
Major  Whyte,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and 
•one  of  her  brothers,   made  an  extended   tour 


of  Europe,  visiting  England,  France,  Scotland, 
Ireland  and  Wales.  Upon  his  return  he  wrote 
a  book,  "O'er  the  Atlantic,"  which  described 
this  trip  in  a  very  interesting  and  entertaining 
manner.  He  also  took  a  great  interest  in 
local  affairs,  and  wrote  a  history  of  Luzerne 
county  in  1876,  which  he  revised  in  1886. 

William  Whyte  Hall  lived  in  Brooklyn 
until  the  age  of  ten  years,  attending  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  that  city  until  the  death  of  Major 
Whyte  in  1888,  when  he  came  to  West  Pitts- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  and  resided  with  the  ma- 
jor's widow,  who  was  his  aunt  (being  the  sis- 
ter of  his  father,  Asa  Hall,)  and  continued  his 
studies  in  the  schools  of  that  borough,  and  at 
Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania. 
Later  he  attended  the  School  of  Law  of  Co- 
lumbia University,  New  York  City.  Upon 
his  admission  to  the  bar  of  Luzerne  county, 
March  17,  1902,  he  began  the  practice  of  law 
in  that  place,  opening  an  office  in  the  city  of 
Pittston,  and  was  admitted  subsequently  to 
the  supreme  court  of  Pennsylvania,  April  11, 
1904.  He  became  associated  in  the  practice 
of  law  with  A.  J.  Barber,  of  Pittston,  and  has 
been  active  in  a  number  of  enterprises.  He, 
together  with  Mr.  Barber,  was  instrumental 
in  building  the  beautiful  new  Broad  Street 
Theater,  in  Pittston,  a  building  of  which  the 
city  had  long  been  in  need.  It  was  also  due 
to  his  efforts  that  the  Union  Savings  &  Trust 
Company  of  Pittston  was  organized,  and  the 
People's  Savings  and  Trust  Company  of  Ha- 
zleton  is  another  organization  furthered  by 
him.  Soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he 
was  elected  as  attorney  for  the  borough  of 
West  Pittston,  his  home  town,  and  rendered 
efficient  service  in  that  capacity.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  and 
vestryman  of  Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  of 
West  Pittston,  with  which  his  wife  is  also 
connected.  He  is  a  member  of  Valley  Lodge, 
No.  499,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Pitts- 
ton. Mr.  Hall  married,  July  6,  1899,  Isabelle 
L.  Miller,  daughter  of  Kennard  Stark  and 
Delna  (Worden)  Miller,  of  Pittston  and  Fac- 
toryville,  respectively,  and  they  had  one  child 
which  died  in  infancy. 

A.  J.  COOPER.  One  of  Duryea's  sub- 
stantial and  respected  citizens,  and  a  man 
whose  skill  and  genius  have  contributed  large- 
ly to  the  production  of  anthracite  coal,  is  A. 
J.  Cooper,  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Hannah  Coop- 
er,   natives    of    England.      Their    family    con- 


5i6 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


sisted  of  three  sons :  A.  J.,  mentioned  here- 
after, and  two  who  died  in  infancy.  After  the 
death  of  the  mother  Mr.  Cooper  and  his  son 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  settled 
at  Pittston,  where  the  father  of  the  family  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits. 

A.  J.  Cooper,  son  of  Joseph  and  Hannah 
Cooper,  was  born  October  14,  1853,  m  Glous- 
tershire,  in  Chipping  Sudbury,  England,  and 
in  1871  accompanied  his  father  to  the  United 
States.  In  Pittston,  where  they  made  their 
home,  he  learned  the  blackskmith's  trade,  at 
which  he  continued  to  work  until  1884.  He 
then  established  himself  in  business  as  a  man- 
ufacturer of  mining  machinery,  and  now  con- 
ducts a  thriving  and  extensive  trade.  The 
superiority  of  his  workmanship  so  commends 
itself  to  the  miners  as  to  cause  a  demand 
throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  Wyoming 
and  Lackawanna  valleys.  In  addition  to  his 
mechanical  genius  Mr.  Cooper's  inherited  ten- 
dency toward  agricultural  pursuits  has  caused 
him  to  feel  a  special  interest  in  one  branch 
thereof,  and  he  maintains  as  a  source  of  both 
profit  and  pleasure  some  of  the  finest  pens 
of  poultry  in  his  section  of  the  valley.  In 
these  pens  can  be  seen  various  strains,  the 
owner's  favorite  being  the  "Exhibition  Barred 
Rock."  These  fowls  command  fancy  prices 
and  are  always  in  demand.  Mr.  Cooper  mar- 
ried, August  2,  1882,  Hattie  E.  Marcy,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Nellie  I., 
born   May   15,   1883. 

Mrs.  Cooper  belongs  to  one  of  the  pioneer 
families  of  the  Wyoming  valley.  Her  great- 
grandfather, Ebenezer  Marcy,  was  born  in 
1741,  in  Connecticut,  and  before  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  made  his  home  in  this,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  regions  of  Pennsylvania.  About 
the  time  of  the  Wyoming  massacre  he  and  his 
wife,  alarmed  by  the  hostility  of  the  Indians, 
decided  to  return  to  their  old  home.  They  had 
gone  but  a  few  days'  journey  eastward  when 
a  girl  baby  was  born  to  them,  who  was  named 
by  the  grateful  parents  Thankful.  By  the 
time  they  were  ready  to  resume  their  journey, 
the  Indians  having  assumed  a  less  hostile  at- 
titude, they  retraced  their  steps  and  again 
took  up  their  abode  in  their  home  in  the  Wyo- 
ming valley.  Two  years  later,  in  1780,  a  son, 
Ebenezer,  was  born.  This  son  was  the  father 
of  Joseph  Marcy,  who  was  born  in  1818,  and 
married  Ellen  D.  Helme.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  a  daughter,  Hattie  E.,  who  became  the 
wife  of  A.  J.  Cooper,  as  mentioned  above.     A 


large  tract  of  land,  including  a  part  of  what 
is  now  Duryea  borough,  was  owned  by  the- 
Marcy  family,  and  it  was  in  honor  of  them  that 
Marcy  township  received  its  name.  The  fam- 
ily has  been  represented  in  many  offices  of 
trust  and  responsibility. 

MOSES  COOLBAUGH,  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  prosperous  citizens  of  Pitts- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  has  had  a  financial  and 
commercial  career  which  is  well  worth  re- 
cording. 

John  V.  Coolbaugh,  father  of  Moses  Cool- 
baugh,  was  a  farmer  and  large  land  owner  on 
the  Delaware  river  near  Easton,  Pennsylva- 
nia. He  was  a  firm  adherent  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  until  the  time  of  the  Civil  war, 
when  he  entered  the  Republican  ranks  and 
remained  in  them  until  he  died.  His  religious, 
faith  was  Presbyterian.  He  married  Mary 
Ellenberger,  daughter  of  Andrew  Ellenberger, 
and  they  had  eleven  children:  1.  Elizabeth, 
married  Charles  Peters,  deceased ;  she  resides, 
in  Bushkill,  Pike  county,  Pennsylvania. 
2.  Andrew  J.,  died  at  Willow  Glenn,  Penn- 
sylvania, on  the  homestead.  3.  Abraham. 
Van  Campen,  died  at  Stroudsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 4.  Sarah,  deceased,  married  Darwin 
Martin,  deceased.  5.  Van  Campen,  died  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  married  Clara 
Kendig,  of  Middletown.  6.  Susan,  married 
Daniel  Peters,  deceased ;  she  resides  in  Phil- 
adelphia. 7.  Cornelia,  single,  resides  in  Bush- 
kill.  8.  Margaret,  married  Luke  W.  Broad- 
head  ;  both  deceased. .  9.  Moses,  of  whom; 
later.  10.  Emma,  married  Rev.  Charles 
Evan  Allen ;  residence  in  Middle  Smithfield, 
Monroe  county,  Pennsylvania.  11.  Tames- 
.  C,  died  1885,  in  Middle  Smithfield,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Moses  Coolbaugh,  fifth  son  and  ninth  child 
of  John  V.  and  Mary  (Ellenberger)  Cool- 
baugh, was  bom  November  12,  1841,  near 
Stroudsburg,  Pennsylvania.  His  early  years, 
were  spent  at  Willow  Glenn,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  public  schools. 
While  still  very  young  he  began  work  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  followed  the  occupation  of" 
a  farmer  for  about  thirty  years.  He  then  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal 
Company  at  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  acting  as. 
superintendent  for  a  period  of  eight  years. 
At  the  end  of  this  time  he  established  himself 
in  business  in  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he   opened   a    large   grocery   store,   which    he 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


517 


•carried  on  with  great  success  for  many  years. 
Having  amassed  a  large  fortune  by  his  va- 
rious business  undertakings,  he  retired  to  pri- 
vate life.  Part  of  his  time  is  spent  in  Pitts- 
ton  and  part  at  Lake  Carey,  where  he  has  a 
beautiful  and  commodious  cottage  on  the 
shores  of  the  lake.  Air.  Coolbaugh  is  an  en- 
thusiastic sportsman  and  spends  a  large  part 
■of  his  time  in  fishing  and  hunting  expeditions. 
In  1903  he  made  a  trip  to  California,  where 
he  spent  more  than  three  months  in  his  fa- 
vorite pastimes.  He.  is  president  of  the  Stark 
Land  Company  of  Moosic,  Pennsylvania,  a 
•company  named  after  its  organizer,  John  M. 
Stark,  father-in-law  of  Air.  Coolbaugh.  Mr. 
Coolbaugh's  political  affiliations  are  Repub- 
lican, and  he  has  been  repeatedly  offered  the 
mayoralty  of  the  town,  but  does  not  care  to 
hold  political  office.  His  religious  belief  is 
that  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Aloses  Coolbaugh  married,  January  1,  1866, 
Hattie  Stark,  born  October  17,  1844,  daugh- 
ter' of  John  M.  and  Sarah  Stark,  died 
'October  14,  1901,  at  the  Lake  Carey  residence, 
and  was  buried  in  Hollenback  cemetery, 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Air.  and  Airs. 
Aloses  Coolbaugh  were  the  parents  of  one 
son,  John  Stark,  born  Alarch  27,  1869,  mar- 
ried Anna  Young,  daughter  of  William  H. 
Young,  of  Pittston.  Airs.  John  Stark  Cool- 
baugh was  one  of  three  children :  Anna,  John 
•and  Jessie. 

WILLIAM  A.  GOULDING,  a  citizen  of 
West  Pittston,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  a  man  well  known  and  highly  respected 
in  the  commercial,  financial  and  social  cir- 
■cles  of  that  town,  is  descended  from  good 
English  stock.  William  Goulding,  father  of 
William  A.  Goulding,  was  born  in  Steventon, 
Berkshire  county,  England,  February  21,  1805, 
and  was  educated  in  that  town.  He  received  an 
excellent  education,  and  was  a  Alethodist 
Protestant  minister  in  England,  spending  his 
■entire  life  in  Steventon,  where  he  died  in  1895, 
and  was  buried  in  Steventon  cemetery.  He 
married,  June  23,  1853,  Elizabeth  Langford, 
born  at  Timmsbury,  England,  September  14, 
1820,  and  died  in  Steventon  in  1902.  (See 
Langford,  elsewhere  in  this  work.)  Airs. 
Goulding  is  also  buried  in  Steventon,  Berk- 
shire, England.  Air.  and  Airs.  William  Gould- 
ing were  the  parents  of  six  children  as  fol- 
lows: 1.  William  Abel,  born  and  died  June 
18,  1854.     2.     Alary  Anna,  born  Alay  8,   1855, 


married  Joseph  Alasters.  3.  Rosa,  born 
April  25,  1857,  married  Bryce  Edwin  Burn- 
ham,  July  17,  1883.  4.  William  Abel,  twin, 
of  whom  hereinafter.  5.  Alina  Elizabeth, 
twin,  born  February  28,  1859,  died  April,  1859. 
6.  Alina  Elizabeth,  born  September  3,  1861, 
married  Robert  Stuart  AlcCrae,  August  7, 
18S3,  and  is  a  poetess  of  renown. 

William  Abel  Goulding,  fourth  child  and 
son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Langford) 
Goulding,  was  born  at  Steventon,  Berkshire, 
England,  February  28,  1859.  He  spent  his 
early  years  in  his  native  town  and  came  to 
America  with  his  uncle,  Joseph  Langford,  at- 
the  age  of  ten  years.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  West  Pittston 
and  the  commercial  department  of  the  Wyo- 
ming Seminary.  His  first  work  in  the  busi- 
ness world  was  for  Joseph  Langford,  in  Pitts- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  in  the  powder  business, 
when  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  He 
continued  in  the  employ  of  Air.  Langford  un- 
til 1888,  having  held  various  positions.  At 
this  time  he  concluded  to  make  a  trip  to  Eu- 
rope, more  especially  to  England,  and  re- 
mained abroad  for  some  time.  Upon  his  re- 
turn he  entered  into  business  relations  with 
Senator  AVilliam  Drury,  who  conducted  an 
extensive  wholesale  and  retail  grocery  and 
shoe  business  in  Pittston.  These  relations 
proved  most  friendly  and  satisfactory  and 
have  continued  up  to  the  present  time  (1906), 
when  Air.  Goulding  holds  the  position  of  chief 
clerk.  Air.  Goulding  is  a  stanch  Republican, 
having  always  affiliated  with  that  party.  His 
religious  views  are  those  of  the  Alethodist 
Episcopal  Church. ,  Air.  Goulding  married,  Sep- 
tember 5,  1893,  Belle  Bland  Field,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Al.  and  Jane  W.  (Bland)  Field. 

Airs.  Jane  Washington  (Bland)  Field, 
mother  of  Airs.  William  Abel  Goulding,  and 
daughter  of  Robert  Bland,  is  descended  from 
old  Pennsylvania  stock.  Three  brothers  of 
the  Bland  family  emigrated  to  America  and 
two  (William  and  Robert)  settled  in  Virginia, 
in  what  is  now  known  as  Bland  county,  and 
are  the  ancestors  of  the  Bland  family  in  Penn- 
sylvania. Judge  H.  Willis  Bland,  of  Reading, 
Pennsylvania,  who  is  a  nephew  of  Airs.  Field, 
is  also  a  descendant  of  this  family.  He  mar- 
ried, first,  Alary  Pierson  ;  and,  second,  Almina 
,  of  Phoenixville,  Pennsylvania.  Rob- 
ert Bland,  born  Alarch  17,  1783,  near  Birds- 
boro,  died  April  18,  1836,  at  Blandon,  and  is 
buried   in   Charles   Evan's   cemeterv   in   Read- 


5i8 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


ing,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  son  of  William 
Bland,  who  was  born  in  Essex  county,  Eng- 
land. Robert  Bland  married,  February  8, 
1813,  Mary  Minker,  born  July  23,  1796,  at 
Glasgow  Forge,  near  Reading,  Pennsylvania, 
and  died  in  i860.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Henry  Minker,  and  bore  her  husband  eleven 
children:  1.  Hannah,  born  November  25, 
1813,  married  Peter  Gift,  October,  1831,  died 
January  16,  1838.  2.  Mary  Ann,  born  March 
29,  1815,  married  (first)  William  Hughes,  who 
died  September  30,  1859,  and  she  married 
(second)  John  Noll.  3.  Henry.  4.  Rachael, 
born  August  20,  1819,  married  Amos  Light- 
foot,  1837.  5.  Harriet,  born  June  12,  1822, 
married  David  Smucker,  May  3,  1848,  and  had 
one  son,  Wilbur;  she  died  November  3,  1850. 
6.  William,  born  December  16,  1824,  died 
December  29,  1894;  married,  December  13, 
1849,  Mary  Ann  Dickinson.  7.  Elizabeth, 
born  November  29,  1830,  died  March  21,  1855. 
8.  Jane  Washington,  born  May  27,  1832,  mar- 
ried Samuel  M.  Field.  9.  Sarah,  born  Au- 
gust 26,  1834.  10.  Edward.  11.  Robert, 
born  February  22,  1836 ;  married  Elizabeth 
Jones,  of  Reading,   Pennsylvania,  deceased. 

Samuel  Miller  Field,  husband  of  Jane 
Washington  (Bland)  Field,  above  mentioned, 
was  the  son  of  Michael  T.  and  Fannie  (Trap- 
pagen)  Field,  and  had  thirteen  sisters  and 
brothers:  1.  Jeremiah.  2.  Richard.  3.  Michael, 
who  was  a  farmer  near  Whitehouse,  New 
Jersey,  until  his  death  in  1872  when  his 
son  Henry  took  charge  of  the  farm ;  Michael's 
wife  died  in  February,  1890.  4.  Depew.  5. 
Jacob.  6.  George  L.  7.  John.  8.  Henry 
T.  9.  David.  10.  Jane,  who  married,  Dr. 
John  Lowe,  of  Milford,  New  Jersey.  11.  Eliza- 
beth, married  William  Cortelio.  12.  Fannie 
Pennyea,  married  William  McCauley.  13. 
Mary  Frances,  died  in  infancy. 

Samuel  Miller  Field  was  born  at  White- 
house,  New  Jersey,  September  4,  1828.  From 
his  early  years  he  was  connected  with  railroad 
interests,  beginning  active  work  on  the  rail- 
roads at  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  He  was  con- 
ductor "for  the  Reading  railroad  and  later  be- 
came Yard  Master  at  Reading,  Pennsylvania, 
for  the  same  company.  In  August,  1859,  he 
was  appointed  train  dispatcher  for  the  Lehigh 
Valley  railroad,  located  at  Lackawanna  and 
Bloomsburg  Junction.  Pittston,  Pennsylvania, 
and  had  charge  of  the  division  from  Wilkes- 
Barre  to  Sayre.  He  was  in  the  employ  of  this 
company   continuously   from    1859  until    1890. 


He  died  March  5,  1890,  at  West  Pittston,  and 
was  buried  in  Charles  Evans'  Cemetery  at 
Reading,  He  was  greatly  respected  in  the 
community  in  which  he  lived,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  West 
Pittston,  and  president  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  Broad  Street  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  at  Pittston.  He  was  a  stockholder  in  the 
People's  bank  of  Pittston  and  a  member  of  the 
East  Pittston  school  board.  His  political  affilia- 
tions were  Republican.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  following  organizations :  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons;  Black  Diamond  Knight  of 
Honor ;  Royal  Arcanum  ;  Knights  of  Pythias. 
Mr.  Field  married  (first)  Elizabeth  Betson,  and 
had  four  sons  and  two  daughters :  1.  Stephen 
M.,  married  Elizabeth  Brandenburg,  and  re- 
sides in  East  Pittston^  Pennsylvania.  2.  Eph- 
raim  D.,  married  Ada  Seward,  and  resides  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  3.  Fannie  Mary, 
married  James  H.  Mosier,  and  is  a  resident  of 
West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania.  4.  Cyrus  W., 
deceased,  married  Maud  Simmond,  resides  in 
Jenny  Lind,  Arkansas.  5.  Elizabeth  D.,  de- 
ceased, married  Charles  Gridley,  of  Waverly,. 
New  York.  6.  George,  died  in  infancy.  Mr. 
Field  married  (second)  Jane  Washington 
Bland,  September  8,  1859,  in  Harrisburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  had  two  children:  1.  Mary 
Jane,  married  Corydon  C.  King,  of  Middle- 
town,  New  York,  resides  at  West  Pittston.  2. 
Belle  Bland,  married  William  Abel  Goulding, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

LOUIS  GEORGE  LUBRECHT,  proprietor  - 
and  manager  of  the  Standard  Publishing  Com- 
pany, of  Hazleton,  is  the  son  of  Louis  Lubrecht 
who  was  born  in  Germany.  Louis  Lubrecht,  af- 
ter coming  from  Hanover,  Germany,  to  America, 
was  bookkeeper  for  the  Tresco  Coal  Company  at 
Tresco,  Pennsylvania,  later  coming  to  Hazleton, 
where  he  established  himself  in  the  grocery  and 
wholesale  liquor  business  on  Wyoming  street.  He 
then  removed  to  East  Broad  street,  between  Pine 
and  Cedar  streets.  He  was  a  Democrat,  and  was 
a  burgess  in  i860  and  1861.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Concordia  Singing  Society.  He  married 
Ernestine  Sandtrock,  also  of  Germany,  and  they 
had  six  children:  1.  Marie  who  lives  at  home; 
2.  Minnie,  also  at  home;  3.  William  C,  married 
Emma  Callaway,  and  had  five  children::  James 
L. :  William  S. ;  Frank  ;  Edward,  died  January  6,. 
1902,  aged  two  years,  buried  in  Vine  street  ceme- 
tery, Hazelton ;  and  Frederick.  Emma  Callaway 
is  the  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Emma   (Harry) 


(S^h^cfrr 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


519 


Callaway,  of  Maryland,  later  of  Hazleton.  Joseph 
Callaway  died  about  1891,  in  Hazleton,  and  is 
buried  in  the  Vine  street  cemetery  ;  4.  Frank,  who 
died  about  1861,  at  the  age  of  two  years,  and  is 
buried  in  the  Vine  street  cemetery;  5.  Louis 
George,  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  6.  Anna  C, 
who  is  a  teacher  in  the  high  school  and  resides 
at  home.  Louis  Lubrecht  the  father  of  these 
children,  died  June,  1864. 

Louis  George  Lubrecht,  son  of  Louis  and 
Ernestine  (Sandtrock)  Lubrecht,  was  born  in 
Hazleton,  Pennsylvania,  May  20,  1862.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  entered  printing  office  of  the  old  Hazle- 
ton Daily  News.  He  remained  there  for  two  years, 
and  then  went  for  a  time  in  the  employ  of  the 
Democrat  and  Plain-Speaker.  In  1885  he  com- 
menced publishing  the  Semi-Weekly  Standard, 
issuing  it  continuously  until  April  1,  1892,  when 
he  began  issuing  the  Daily  Standard,  and  has 
been  engaged  with  that"  publication  ever  since.  In 
addition  to  this  he  does  a  large  amount  of  gen- 
eral publication  work  and  job  printing,  and  con- 
trols a  large  business.  The  Standard  Publishing 
Company  had  its  start  in  Walnut  Hall,  in  West 
Broad  street,  Hazleton,  where  the  business  was 
carried  on  for  two  years,  and  then  removed  to 
the  Amann  block  on  South  Wyoming  street, 
where  it  remained  for  thirteen  years,  when  it  was 
again  moved  to  its  present  location  at  144-146- 
148-150,  or  the  old  Grace  Reformed  Church,  East 
Broad  street,  corner  of  Cedar  street.  Lnder  Mr. 
Lubrecht's  management  the  business  has  pros- 
pered exceedingly,  until  today  the  Standard  Pub- 
lishing Company  stands  aloft  among  its  competi- 
tors in  that  section  of  the  country.  Mr.  Lubrecht 
is  an  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  was 
elected  tax  collector  for  the  borough  in  1889,  and 
served  one  term.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum  since  1887.  His  religion  is  that 
of  the  German  Reformed  Church. 

September  1,  1887,  Mr.  Lubrecht  married 
Louisa  Longshore,  daughter  of  A.  R.  Long- 
shore, who  died  about  1903.  They  had  six  child- 
ren:  1.  Ernestine,  born  February  15,  1889;  2.  Al- 
fred, born  February,  1891,  died  in  infancy;  3. 
Karl  Longshore,  born  December  18,  1892;  4. 
Mary,  deceased,  born  December  7,  1900 ;  5. 
Louise,  born  June  21,  1897;  6.  Katherine,  born 
November  17,  1902. 

JAMES  E.  RODERICK,  chief  of  depart- 
ment of  mines  of  Pennsylvania,  is  among  the 
prominent  men  who  have  had  vast  experience  in 
the  anthracite  coal  regions  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  born  January  14,   1842,  in  Goginan,  Cardi- 


ganshire, South  Wales,  a  son  of  Edward  and 
Eleanor  (Edwards)  Roderick,  and  grandson  on 
the  paternal  side  of  Edward  and  Jane  Roderick, 
of  Penygaru,  Cardiganshire,  and  on  the  mater- 
nal side  of  Evan  and  Elizabeth  (Blackwell)  Ed- 
wards, of  Goginan,  Cardiganshire,  near  Abery- 
stwyth, Wales.  Edward  Roderick  (father)  was 
a  native  of  Wales,  and  died  in  Cardiganshire, 
1855,  aged  sixty-four  years.  His  wife,  also  a 
native  of  Wales,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  aged 
eighty-four  years,  and  her  remains  were  interred 
in  Hollenback  cemetery.  The  children  of  Ed- 
ward and  Eleanor  (Edwards)  Roderick  were: 
Evan,  died  at  his  home  in  Wilkes-Barre,  January, 
1881,  buried  in  Hollenback  cemetery;  John,  died 
in  Wales,  aged  thirty-one  years ;  Edward,  died 
in  Wales,  aged  about  sixty-five  years ;  Richard, 
died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  aged  about  seventy  years, 
and  was  buried  in  Hollenback  cemetery ;  Mary, 
died  in  Wales,  at  the  age  of  two  years;  Mary 
(second),  died  in  Wales,  at  the  age  of  seven 
years;  Mary  (third),  married  Thomas  R.  Jones, 
of  Wilkes-Barre,  in  which  city  she  died  and  was 
buried  in  the  city  cemetery ;  James  E.,  referred 
to  hereafter. 

James  Edward  Roderick  spent  his  early  days 
in  Cardiganshire,  Wales,  and  his  education  was 
acquired  in  the  public  schools  there.  His  father 
dying  when  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  he 
was  early  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  and  he 
took  up  the  practical  duties  of  life  in  South  Wales 
in  the  mining  of  copper,  lead  and  silver,  and  at 
eighteen  years  of  age  he  was  working  alternately 
day  and  night  shifts,  attending  school  days  and 
half-days  as  the  opportunity  offered.  He  thus 
acquired  a  liberal  education,  and  secured  a  diplo- 
ma in  bookkeeping.  In  March.  1864,  he  emigrated 
to  the  United  States,  and  after  a  short  time 
spent  in  New  York  located  in  Scranton,  and  later 
removed  to  Pittston  and  for  three  months  there- 
after was  engaged  as  a  miner's  laborer  in  the 
mines  of  the  Pennsylvania  Coal  Company.  He 
then  took  up  his  residence  in  Wilkes-Barre  and 
engaged  with  the  Lehigh  &  Wilkes-Barre  Coal 
Company,  mining  coal  for  them  until  January  1, 
1866,  when  he  was  given  the  position  of  mine 
foreman  at  the  Empire  shaft.  On  June  1,  1870, 
he  accepted  a  position  as  general  superintendent 
for  A.  J.  Davis  &  Company,  Warrior  Run,  with 
whom  he  remained  until  the  end  of  June,  1881. 
At  that  time,  after  a  competitive  examination,  he 
was  appointed  by  governor  Hoyt  to  the  position 
of  mine  inspector  for  what  was  then  known  as 
the  fourth  anthracite  district  of  Pennsylvania, 
with  headquarters  at  Hazleton,  (now  known  as 
the  eleventh  anthracite  district).     After  serving 


520 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


the  term  of  five  years  he  was  reappointed  after 
another  competitive  examination  by  Governor 
Pattison.  At  the  end  of  the  third  year  of  his 
second  term  he  resigned  to  accept  a  more  lucra- 
tive position  as  general  superintendent  for  Lind- 
erman  &  Skeer,  which  position  he  held  from  May, 
1889,  to  June,  1896.  He  was  in  charge  of  six 
collieries,  employing  in  all  about  fourteen  hun- 
dred men,  and  mining  two  thousand  tons  of  coal 
daily.  June  1,  1896,  Mr.  Roderick  resigned  the 
position  of  general  superintendent  for  Linderman 
&  Skeer  to  become  the  general  manager  for  A. 
S.  Vanwickle's  extensive  coal  business  and  other 
interests.  Mr.  Vanwickle  having  died  in  the 
meantime,  he  resigned  this  position  June  1,  1899, 
to  accept  under  Governor  Stone  the  position  of 
the  then  chief  of  (bureau)  of  mines,  now  depart- 
ment of  mines.  He  was  reappointed  chief  of  the 
department  of  mines  by  Governor  Pennypacker, 
which  position  he  still  holds  (1906.) 

Mr. .  Roderick  is  a  director  of  the  Hazleton 
National  Bank,  which  position  he  has  held  since 
its  organization,  rendering  capable  and  efficient 
service.  He  has  also  been  a  director  of  the  Hazle- 
ton State  Hospital  since  its  inception,  served  as 
president  of  the  board  of  commissioners  that  built 
it,  and  as  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
said  hospital  since  the  death  of  Hon.  Eckley  B. 
Coxe.  Mr.  Roderick  has  been  closely  identified 
with  the  Republican  party,  being  an  earnest  be- 
liever in  its  doctrines.  He  served  as  school  direc- 
tor in  Warrior  Run  borough  from  1872  to  1880, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  select  councilmen  in  the 
city  of  Hazleton,  serving  as  such  one  term.  He 
has  a  large  following  in  the  county,  and  his  in- 
fluence is  of  vast  importance  to  the  party  which 
he  represents.  Since  1872  Mr.  Roderick  has 
been  a  master  Mason,  and  has  been  a  member  of 
Hazelton  Lodge,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  since  its  organization.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Hazleton,  in 
which  his  wife  holds  membership.  He  was  for 
eighteen  years  secretary  of  the  churches  and 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  schools  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  Warrior  Run.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
members  and  an  active  factor  in  the  erection  of 
the  First  Welsh  Presbyterian  Church,  located  at 
Northampton  and  Meade  streets,  Wilkes-Barre, 
was  elected  its  first  secretary  and  served  from 
1864  to  1870.  He  was  also  secretary  of  the 
Warrior  Run  Church  from  1870  to  18S1.  He 
removed  to  Warrior  Run  in  1870  and  the  pres- 
ent church  edifice  was  built  in  1873. 

Mr.  Roderick  married  (first)  Sarah  Davis,  of 
New  York,  December,  1868,  who  bore  him  four 
children:  Eleanor,  born  September  26,  1869,  wife 


cf  David  C.  Jones,  of  D.  C.  Jones  £  Company,  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  Edward  R.,  born  April  20,  1872, 
a  physician  of  Wilkes-Barre,  whose  sketch  fol- 
lows this.  James,  born  January  25,  1874,  a  clerk 
in  the  office  of  the  department  of  mines,  Harris- 
burg.  John,  born  February  27,  1877,  died  at  the 
age  of  ten  years  and  was  buried  in  Hollenback 
cemetery.  The  mother  of  these  children  died 
February,  1881,  and  her  remains  were  buried  in 
Hollenback  cemetery,  Wilkes-Barre.  Mr.  Rode- 
rick married  (second)  Mrs.  Mary  Lloyd,  who 
died  in  September,  1883,  who  was  also  buried  in 
Hollenback  cemetery.  There  were  no  children 
o,f  this  marriage.  Mr.  Roderick  married  (third), 
October  27,  1885,  Mrs.  Maria  (Lawall)  Ulmer, 
of  Hazleton,  who  was  one  of  ten  children,  namely 
Matilda,  deceased,  buried  in  Vine  street  cemetery ; 
she  was  the  wife  of  R.  E.  Drake,  of  Hazleton. 
Ellen,  deceased  wife  of  the  late  M.  D.  Whiston ; 
both  are  buried  in  Forty  Fort  cemetery.  Maria, 
wife  of  said  James  E.  Roderick.  Amanda,  widow 
of  Reuben  Beisel,  of  Hazleton.  (See  Beisel 
sketch)  ;  Mr.  Beisel  was  buried  in  Vine  street 
cemetery,  Hazleton.  Pennsylvania.  Sarena,  de- 
ceased wife  of  L.  A.  Beddoe,  of  Hazleton ;  she 
was  buried  in  Vine  street  cemetery.  Alice,  wife 
of  Parker  Price,  of  Pottsville,  Pennsylvania. 
William,  married  Martha  Powell,  and  resides  in 
Hazleton.  Emma,  wife  of  Richard  Roberts,  of 
Hazleton.  Lilly,  unmarried.  Ida,  wife  of  H.  P. 
Kuntz,  recorder  of  deeds  at  Wilkes-Barre :  they 
reside  in  Hazleton,  Pennsylvnaia.  The  parents 
of  the  above  mentioned  children  were  Thomas  and 
Katherine  (Geiger)  Lawall,  of  Northampton 
county,  Pennsylvania,  the  former  a  son  of  Peter 
and  Alary  (Seipp)  Lawall,  of  Butztown,  North- 
ampton county,  where  Peter  Lawall  conducted  a 
hotel  and  where  both  he  and  his  wife  died,  and 
the  latter  was  a  daughter  of  John  and  Alary 
(Stecker)  Geiger,  of  Butztown.  where  John  Geig- 
er taught  school  for  manv  years.  Thomas  La- 
wall, the  father  of  the  children,  was  the  proprietor 
of  the  Hazleton  House  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
1866.  aged  forty-nine  years.  His  wife  Katherine 
died  1889,  aged  seventv-two  years.  Their  re- 
mains were  interred  in  Vine  street  cemetery,  Haz- 
leton. 

WAYMAN  FERRIS,  until  his  death  a  man 
prominent  in  musical  and  church  circles,  in  both 
of  which  he  was  an  active  worker,  was  a  native 
of  New  York  state,  and  comes  of  a  family  that 
settled  in  this  country  many  years  ago. 

(I)  Eber  Ferris,  father  of  Wayman  Ferris, 
and  son  of  Benjamin  Ferris,  lived  in  Unadilla, 
Otsego  county.  New  York,  and  was    greatly  re- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


521 


spected  there.  He  and  his  sister,  Julia  Ann,  were 
noted  as  historians,  and  he  was  also  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  in  very  prosperous  circumstances. 
He  married  Betsey  Ferris,  who  died  May  4,  1842, 
.and  had  twelve  children:  1.  Zachariah  Benja- 
min; 2.  Zachariah;  3.  Benjamin;  4.  Phoebe 
Maria ;  5.  Alary ;  6.  Julia  Ann ;  7.  Wayman,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch;  8.  Edwin  Fitzgerald,  born 
February  19,  1822,  married  June  7,  1877,  at  Han- 
over, Margaret,  daughter  of  Joseph  Steel ;  9. 
Eliza  Ann;  10.  Peleg ;  11.  Sarah  Ann;  12.  John. 
Eber  Ferris  died  December  21,  1852.  William, 
son  of  Benjamin,  was  a  soldier  in  the  late  re- 
bellion, serving  all  through  the  war,  and  was 
discharged  with  the  rank  of  sergeant. 

(II)  Wayman  Ferris,  fourth  son  and  sev- 
enth child  of  Eber  (I)  and  Betsey  (Ferris)  Fer- 
ris, was  born  near  the  town  of  Unadilla,  Otsego 
county,  New  York,  March  27,  1818.  His  early 
years  were  spent  in  Unadilla,  where  he  was  edu- 
cated, and  became  a  farmer  and  a  stock  and  horse 
dealer.  In  this  business  he  remained  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  He  served  three  months  at  Delhi, 
New  York,  in  the  anti-rent  war,  and  he  was  leader 
of  the  regimental  band  of  the  regiment  that  sub- 
dued the  anti-renters.  He  was  extraordinarily 
gifted  in  music,  a  master  of  several  instruments 
and  a  fine  singer.  At  the  age  of  twenty  eight 
years  he  began  to  teach  music,  and  continued 
this  until  1873.  He  was  the  leader  of  the 
church  choir  and  the  organist  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  In  1870  he  removed  to  Prairie 
City,  Iowa,  where  he  resided  for  three  years,  pur- 
suing his  occupation  as  an  instructor  in  music 
during  this  period.  He  also  spent  some  time  in 
the  manufacture  of  brick.  In  1873  he  returned 
to  Pittston  and  entered  the  lime  business.  He 
was  injured  and  disabled  for  this  in  an  elevator 
accident,  and  then  entered  the  dairy  business, 
which  he  followed  until  1891,  being  very  suc- 
cessful in  his  business  undertakings,  owing  to 
"his  energy  and  determination.  He  was  actively 
interested  and  engaged  in  church  and  Sunday 
school  work,  and  had  charge  of  the  Sunday 
school  and  the  music  of  the  church.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
West  Pittston,  as  is  his  widow  now,  and  was  on 
the  official  board,  a  class  leader  and  an  earnest 
temperance  worker.  In  politics  he  was  a  Re- 
publican. He  married,  August  24,  1841,  Svlvia 
Davis,  born  October  27,  1823,  daughter  of  Peter 
and  Abigail  (Brooks)  Davis.  Peter  Davis,  father 
of  Mrs.  Wayman  Ferris,  was  an  early  settler  in 
Otsegn  county,  New  York.  He  came  thence 
from  Hancock,  New  Hampshire,  with  his  family 
•and  household  goods  in  sleds,  in  company  with 


Ephraim  Smith  and  his  family,  following  a  blazed 
trail,  and  suffering  all  the  hardships  and  fatigues 
of  the  early  settlers,  Otsego  county  being  then 
little  better  than  a  wilderness.  They  found  tem- 
porary shelter  with  a  settler  named  Spaulding, 
while  Peter  cleared  an  acre  of  ground  and 
erected  a  dwelling  for  himself  and  family.  Abi- 
gail (Brooks)  Davis,  mother  of  Mrs.  Way- 
man  Ferris,  was  the  daughter  of  William  and 
Lydia  Deborah  (Parker)  Brooks.  Peter  and 
Abigail  (Brooks)  Davis  had  children  as  follows: 
1.  Cynthia  Lovisa,  married  George  Clark,  of 
Massachusetts.  2.  Lydia  Deborah,  married  George 
Pond,  of  Unadilla.  3.  Mary  Ann,  married  Ed- 
ward E.  Lathrop,  of  Unadilla.  4.  Sylvia,  married 
Wayman  Ferris,  as  previously  stated.  5.  Abigail, 
married  David  E.  Waite,  of  Otego,  Otsego 
county,  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wayman  Fer- 
ris had  one  child :  John  Wayman  Davis,  born 
June  2,  1855,  died  April  23,  1872,  in  his  seven- 
teenth year,  and  is  buried  in  Jasper  cemetery, 
Prairie  City,  Iowa.  Mr.  Ferris  died  in  West 
Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  May  16,  1893. 

MORGAN  FAMILY.  Among  the  families 
of  prominence  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  to-day 
may  justly  be  mentioned  that  of  Morgan.  They 
are  descended  from  a  long  line  of  noted  ancestors 
dating  back  to  our  own  heroes  in  the  pioneer  days 
of  this  country,  and  through  the  kings  of  Great 
Britain,  France,  Germany,  Austria,  Spain  and  to 
Maximus,  the  Roman  emperor ;  to  Peter  the 
Great,  to  William  the  Conqueror,  and  Roderick 
the  Great,  and  to  the  fourth  century,  A.  D.  Among 
the  original  emigrant  ancestors  of  the  Morgan 
family  in  America  was  Mathias  Rittenhouse,  a 
descendant  from  a  long  line  of  kings,  who  came 
from  Amsterdam  to  America;  Edward  Foulke, 
who,  with  his  wife,  was  descended  from  a  line  of 
kings  and  emperors ;  Robert  Cadwallader ;  Cad- 
wallader  Evans;  Edward  Morgan  (also  of  noted 
ancestry)  :  all  of  whom  were  the  followers  of 
William  Penn  and  came  to  this  country  about  the 
year  1680.  They  settled  in  and  near  Philadel- 
phia, and  were  known  as  Quakers.  Some  of 
their  ancestors  also  helped  to  repel  Caesar  be- 
fore the  Christian  era. 

Charles  Morgan,  father  of  the  present  genera- 
tion in  Wilkes-Bar  re,  was  a  son  of  Benjamin  and 
Tacie  (Stroud)  Morgan,  both  of  Montgomery 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Tacie  (Stroud)  Morgan 
was  a  daughter  of  Edward  Stroud,  also  of  Mont- 
gomery county,  and  Hannah  (Foulke)  Stroud, 
of  Mother  Kill,  Delaware.  Benjamin  Morgan 
was  a  son  of  Morgan  Morgan  and  Ann   (Rob- 


52- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


erts)  Morgan,  whose  mother  was  a  daughter  of 
John  Hanks,  the  White  Marsh  yeoman,  from 
whom  Nancy  Hanks,  the  mother  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  was  descended.  Morgan  Morgan  was 
the  son  of  Edward  and  Margaret  (Rittenhouse) 
Morgan,  who  were  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  for  many  years  residents  of  Mont- 
gomery county.  Margaret  (Rittenhouse)  Mor- 
gan's genealogy  is  also  remarkable,  dating  back 
to  kings  and  emperors. 

David  Rittenhouse,  brother  of  Margaret  (Rit- 
tenhouse) Morgan,  was  treasurer  of  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania  for  seventeen  years,  and  was  an  in- 
timate friend  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  said  of 
him  that  he  was  the  greatest  scientific  man  of 
the  age.  He  was  the  inventor  of  the  hair  lines 
used  in  telescopes,  and  was  voted  money  by  the 
United  States  government  to  make  astronomical 
observations  of  the  transit  of  Venus.  These  were 
the  first  correct  astronomical  observations  ever 
made,  the  hair  lines  which  he  invented  enabling 
him  to  accomplish  this.  He  also  constructed  the 
first  correct  miniature  planetary  system  ever 
made.  It  was  presented  to  Princeton  College,  and 
is  no  doubt  still  there.  It  was  injured  during  the 
Revolutionary  war  by  the  British  when  they  oc- 
cupied Princeton,  but  was  afterward  restored. 
He  was  also  a  manufacturer  of  brass  clocks.  The 
first  one  known  to  have  been  made  in  the  United 
States  was  given  by  him  to  his  sister  Margaret 
as  a  wedding  present,  and  still  remains  in  good 
condition  in  the  Morgan  family.  Very  high  pre- 
miums are  offered  for  these  clocks  by  the  Phila- 
delphians.  President  Washington  appointed  him 
the  first  director  of  the  mint,  and  also  to  make 
the  first  munitions  of  war  during  the  Revolution. 
He  succeeded  Benjamin  Franklin  as  president  of 
the  Polytechnic  Institute,  Philadelphia.  He  also 
built  the  first  United  States  mint.  He  made  the 
stamps  for  coming  United  States  money,  and  also 
manufactured  the  scales  that  weighed  the  first 
United  States  coins.  These  scales  are  now  on  ex- 
hibition in  the  United  States  Mint  in  Philadel- 
phia. He  made  the  surveyor's  instruments  that 
established  all  the  lines  of  the  middle  states  and 
some  of  the  eastern  states,  and  that  of  Mason  and 
Dixon's  line,  and  himself  settled  dispute  regard- 
ing the  latter.  He  personally  surveyed  the  har- 
bors around  Philadelphia.  David  Rittenhouse's 
father,  Mathias,  made  the  first  paper  ever  made 
in  the  United  States  in  his  mill  on  the  Wissa- 
hickon. 

Edward  Morgan  was  the  son  of  Daniel  Mor- 
gan, and  Daniel  was  the  son  of  Edward.  The 
first  mentioned  Edward  Morgan  was  a  brother- 


in-law  of  David  Rittenhouse,  and,  like  him,  was. 
a  very  fine  mechanic,  a  manufacturer  of  guns,, 
some  of  which  were  used  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  one  of  which  is  still  owned  in  one  branch 
of  the  Morgan  family,  with  such  fine  shooting 
qualities  that  it  was  eventually  barred  out  of  all 
shooting  matches  in  Montgomery  county.  It  is 
presumed  that  he  was  of  great  service  to  Davi'i 
Rittenhouse  in  building  the  telescope  with  which 
he  took  his  astronomical  observations.  Much  of 
this  information  came  from  Charles  Morgan,  the 
father  of  the  present  generation,  who  remem- 
bered the  visits  of  David  Rittenhouse  and  his 
brother  at  his  father's  home.  The  latter  Edward 
Morgan  was  the  grandfather  of  Daniel  Boone, 
the  pioneer  of  historic  Kentucky  fame,  so  well- 
known  to  all  Americans. 

Charles  Morgan  was  born  in  Whitpain  town- 
ship, Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania,  October 
31,  1814,  and  reared  there  until  twenty  years  of 
age.  He  received  a  limited  education  in  the 
common  schools,  and  served  an  apprenticeship  at 
the  shoemaker's  trade.  From  1834  to  1839  he 
resided  in  Philadelphia,  and  then  came  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  by  railroad  from  Harrisburg  and  from 
Harrisburg  to  Wilkes-Barre  by  canal  packet  boat, 
which  was  the  most  convenient  method  of  travel 
at  that  time.  He  worked  as  a  journeyman  until 
1843,  and  then  embarked  in  the  shoe  business 
with  Mr.  Kline  under  the  firm  name  of  Kline  & 
Morgan,  on  Market  street,  Wilkes-Barre.  All 
goods  came  from  Somerville,  New  Jersey,  the 
railroad  terminus  by  team,  later  by  canal,  and  still 
later  by  railroad.  He  also  founded  the  hardware 
business  in  Wilkes-Barre  known  as  C.  Morgan's - 
Sons,  and  was  connected  with  same  until  he  re- 
tired in  1886.  On  April  22,  1842,  he  married 
Ellen,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Margaret  (Wirt) 
Hann,  of  Huntington  township,  this  county,  and 
had  ten  children,  nine  of  whom  were  reared  to 
maturity. 

1.  Edward   Stroud,    married    Mary   Welles, 
daughter  of  William  S.  Welles,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  had  Grace,  who  married  Dr.  E.  L.  Myers,  of" 
Wilkes-Barre ;  Martha,  who  married  Victor  Dod- 
son,  of  Wilkes-Barre.     Edward  is  now  deceased. 

2.  Tacie  Stroud,  married  Benjamin  O.  Lox- 
lev,  of  Philadelphia,  no  issue.  Tacie  is  now  de- 
ceased. 

3.  Jesse  Taylor,  our  subject,  mentioned  here- 
inafter. 

4.  Anna  Lowery,  married  Dunning  Sturde-- 
vant,  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  no  issue.     Anna  is  now 
deceased. 

5.  William  P.  Miner,  married  Harriet  Win- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


523'- 


ans,  and  ha'd  Anna,  who  married  Stuart  Hills, 
of  Hartford,  Connecticut ;  Ruth  and  Tacie.  They 
reside  in  Wilkes-Barre. 

6.  Charles  Evans,  married  Elizabeth  Wood, 
and  had  Byron  and  Elizabeth.  They  reside  in 
Wilkes-Barre. 

7.  Benjamin  Morgan,  married  Jessie  Lov- 
ett  and  had  Walter  and  Dorothy,  also  of  Wilkes- 
Barre. 

8.  Ellen  H,  married  William  L.  Post,  and 
had   Marian ;  also  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

9.  Mary  E.,  married  William  S.  Goff,  and 
had  Walter  and  Eleanor,  also  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Charles  Morgan  was  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  and  his  family  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  a  past 
high  priest  of  Shekinah  Chapter,  No.- 182,  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In 
politics  he  was  a  Republican.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-seven  years,  and  was  buried 
in  Hoilenback  cemetery  at  Wilkes-Barre. 
Ellen  (Hann)  Morgan  is  living  an  active 
life  and  enjoying  good  health  at  the  age 
of  eighty-two  years.  She  is  a  daughter  of 
Peter  Hann,  of  Huntington,  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  who  came  from  near  Washington, 
New  Jersey,  when  still  a  young  man. 

Jesse  Taylor  Morgan,  born  in  Market  street, 
Wilkes-Barre,  November  28,  1847,  is  a  son  °f 
Charles  and  Ellen  (Hann)  Morgan.  He  spent 
his  early  life  in  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  educated 
in  the  borough  schools  and  Wyoming  Seminary 
of  Kingston.  He  commenced  work  in  his  father's 
store  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  studied  during 
the  hours  when  not  at  work.  At  times  he  fol- 
lowed civil  engineering  and  surveying,  intending 
to  make  this  his  profession  up  to  1869,  when  he 
entered  his  father's  store  as  a  partner.  In  the 
year  1876,  William  P.  Miner  Morgan  bought  out 
the  remaining  interests  of  his  father,  Charles 
Morgan.  J.  T.  and  W.  P.  Morgan  continued  the 
business  of  retail  boots  and  shoes  for  a  few  years, 
working  into  the  wholesale  business,  and  finally 
into  the  manufacturing  of  boots  and  shoes,  their 
plant  being  the  first  of  this  character  ever  started 
in  northeastern  Pennsylvania.  The  business  was 
carried  on  successfully  under  the  name  of  Mor- 
gan Brothers  &  Company,  and  was  finally  sold 
out  to  David  Davis,  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 
J.  T.  and  W.  P.  Morgan  were  later  in  the  real 
estate  business,  having  bought  out  the  race  course 
at  Lee  Park  and  the  farm  of  Washington  Lee, 
comprising  about  six  hundred  building  lots, 
where  the  town  of  Lee  Park  is  now  situated.     J. 


T.  Morgan  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  hosiery ;  first  with 
William  Menzies,  under  the  name  of  Morgan  &.. 
Menzies,  and  later  under  the  name  of  Wilkes- 
Barre  Knitting  Mills  Company,  a  corporation, 
composed  of  Mr.  Morgan  and  other  prominent 
citizens,  located  at  Newtown  and  Lee  Park,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Mr.  Morgan  married  first  Frances  Robbins, 
daughter  of  Elias  Robbins,  and  the  living  issue- 
are :  1.  Elias  Robbins,  a  graduate  of  Lehigh. 
University,  and  a  mechanical  engineer,  now  lo- 
cated at  York,  Pennsylvania.  2.  Mary  Ellen,  a 
graduate  of  Wilson  College,  a  student  of  music 
at  Wilson  College,  Syracuse  University,  and  Ber- 
lin, Germany,  a  teacher  of  music  at  Hudson: 
River  Institute,  Syracuse  Classical  School,  Cali- 
fornia State  Normal  School,  and  Buena  Vista: 
College. 

Mr.  Morgan  married  (second)  Kate  Eulalie- 
Miller,  daughter  of  G  M.  Miller,  of  Wilkes- 
Barre.     With  this  marriage  there  is  no  issue. 

Mr.  Morgan  is  a  Republican  in  politics  gen- 
erally, but  always  stands  for  good  government 
independent  of  party.     He  is  a  member  of  the- 
First    Methodist    Episcopal    Church    of    Wilkes- 
Barre,  with  a  great  deal  of  love  for  the  Society 
of   Friends,   whose   teachings   and   history   havs- 
been  the   foundation   of  his   religious  belief  and 
principles.     He  was  one  of  the  organizers  and 
treasurer  of  the  Consumers'  Gas  Company  from 
its  incipiency  until  its  consolidation  with  the  Gas 
Company    of    Luzerne    county.       He    has    beem 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows for  about  thirty  years.     Mr.  Morgan,  now 
fifty-seven  years  of  age,  is  only  in  his  prime,  re- 
taining   in    a    remarkable     degree    the    health,, 
strength  and  activity  of  his  youth.     Of  an  inven- 
tive turn  of  mind,  he  has  patented  some  machin- 
ery.    He  was  the  originator,  together  with   his 
partner,   Williarn  Menzies,  of  the  singeing  pro- 
cess on  hosiery  for  producing  lisle  finish,  which 
is  now  used  largely  in  this  and  other  countries.- 
He  is  fond  of  fruit  culture,  and  has  succeeded  in- 
originating  some  very  fine  new  varieties. 

NOAH  PETTIBONE,  deceased,  father  of 
Mrs.  Wesley  N.  Johnson,  and  son  of  Oliver  and 
Martha  (Paine)  Pettibone,  (see  sketch),  was 
born  on  the  old  homestead  in  Dorranceton,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  27,  1798,  and  resided  there  all  his 
life. 

Noah  Pettibone  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  the  district,  and  at  an  early  age  helped 
his  father  on  the  farm,  and  for  a  number  of  vears- 


524 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


prior  to  his  father's  death  farmed  for  himself 
■on  a  portion  of  his  father's  land,  and  subsequently 
he  and  his  Uncle  Henry  engaged  in  fanning  por- 
tions of  the  estate.  Noah  Pettibone  followed 
general  farming,  was  a  very  successful  man,  and 
stood  high  in  the  community  of  which  he  was  a 
member.  He  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  the 
school  board.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics. 
He  attended  the  Presbyterian  church  in  what  was 
then  Kingston  township.  .Mr.  Pettibone  was 
twice  married.  His  first  wife,  Sarah  (Sharps) 
Pettibone,  born  January  17,  1800,  bore  him  the 
following  children :  Jacob  Sharps,  born  Septem- 
ber 17,  1821,  died  December  26,  1895  ;  Henry, 
horn  February  8,  1824 ;  John  Sharps,  born  May 
2,  1826;  Stephen  Hill,  born  August  11,  1829,  died 
October  4,  1905 ;  Martha  Ann,  born  April  24, 
1832,  died  January  23,  1884;  George,  born  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1835,  died  October  12,  1836;  Noah, 
~born  August  5,  1838,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mrs.  Sarah  (Sharps) 
Pettibone  died  December  20,  1843,  aged  forty- 
three  years.  Noah  Pettibone  married  (second) 
Margaret  Nice  Speece,  born  November  3,  181 1, 
daughter  of  William  and  Nancy  (Nice)  Speece, 
■and  their  children  were:  Sarah  Elizabeth,  born 
November  13,  1847,  of  whom  later;  Walter 
Speece,  born  December  21,  1852;  and  Harper 
Nice,  born  March  14,  1857.  Noah  Pettibone,  Sr., 
■died  December  11,  1867,  aged  sixty-nine  years, 
■and  his  second  wife,  Margaret  Nice  (Speece) 
Pettibone,  died  June  12,  1882,  aged  seventy-one 
years.  (See  sketch  of  Pettibone  Family  else- 
where in  this  work.)  The  estate  of  Noah  Petti- 
bone has  proved  very  valuable,  being  in  the  heart 
of  the  anthracite  region,  and  all  of  it  proving  to 
be  coal  land.  His  descendants  now  reside  on 
portions  of  the  old  homestead. 

Mrs.  Margaret  Nice  (Speece)  Pettibone  was 
a  daughter  of  William  and  Nancy  (Nice)  Speece, 
■of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  Mr.  Speece 
followed  the  business  of  stonemason,  and  later 
he  followed  the  same  trade  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania.  William  Speece  was  a  son  of  Cas- 
per and  Maudlen  (Leidy)  Speece,  and  Nancy 
(Nice)  Speece  was  a  daughter  of  John  and  Ann 
(Coffin)  Nice.  William  and  Nancy  (Nice) 
Speece  had  children :  John,  born  August  26, 
1805,  married  Lydia  Dodson,  and  died  December 
24,  1865,  aged  sixty  years;  Mary  Ann,  born  Oc- 
tober 4,  1807,  died  August  2,  1836,  aged  twenty- 
eight  years ;  George,  born  September  26,  1809, 
died  September  21,  1832,  aged  twenty-three 
years;  Margaret  Nice,  born  November  3,  181 1, 
aforementioned  as  the  wife  of  Noah  Pettibone, 


died  June  12,  1882,  aged  seventy-one  years ;  Wal- 
ter, born  April  21,  1815,  married -Jane  Snyder; 
Jane  Cotman,  born  January  12,  1816,  married 
John  Primer;  she  died  March  10,  1882,  aged 
sixty-one  years.  Mrs.  Nancy  ( Nice)  Speece  died 
September  24,  1818,  aged  thirty-three  years. 
William  Speece  married  (second)  Mrs.  Martha 
(Barnes)  Egbert,  and  their  children  were:  Eliza- 
beth Yerkes,  born  February  6,  1820,  married  Is- 
rael Shay,  and  she  died  April  11,  1896,  aged  sev- 
enty-six years  "and  two  months;  Samuel  K,  born 
December  3,  1821,  married  Mary  Rydell;  Jesse, 
born  October  6,  1823,  died  June  13,  1855,  aSe(l 
thirty-one  years ;  Major  Le  Grand  B.,  born  De- 
-cember  14,  1825,  married  Sarah  Westfield,  and 
died  March  22,  1885,  aged  sixty  years,  three 
months  and  eight  days.  William  Speece,  died 
September  28,  1827,  aged  fifty  years.  Mrs.  Mar- 
tha (Barnes)  (Egbert)  Speece  died  1866,  aged 
seventy-five  years. 

Sarah  Elizabeth  Pettibone,  daughter  of  Noah 
and  Margaret  Nice  (Speece)  Pettibone,  born 
November  13,  1847,  became  the  wife  of  Wesley 
N.  Johnson,  and  their  children  were :  Jessie 
Louisa,  bom  August  30,  1875,  married  Herbert 
Ransom,  of  Forty  Fort,  now  Dorranceton,  arid 
had  children:  Herbert  Johnson,  born  October 
18,  1899 ;  Frank  Wesley,  born  December  14. 
1900 ;  Elizabeth  Pettibone,  born  May  20,  1902 ; 
Jean  Maudlen,  born  September  29,  1903,  died 
July  11,  1904,  and  was  buried  in  Forty  Port  cem- 
etery ;  and  George  Palmer,  born  November  1 1 , 
1904.  Frank  Erastus,  born  September  5,  1877, 
now  in  Maywood,  Illinois,  engaged  in  the  coal 
business.  Edna  May,  born  May  26,  1879,  died 
November  21,  1883,  aged  four  years,  five  months 
and  twenty-six  days,  and  was  buried  in  Forty 
Fort  cemetery. 

HON.  WILLIAM  REINHARDT.  By 
birth  and  parentage  William  Reinhardt,  of  Haz- 
leton,  is  a  German,  by  citizenship  a  loyal  Ameri- 
can. He  was  born  in  Women,  Germany,  Febru- 
ary 7.  1 85 1. 

His  father,  Henry  Reinhardt,  born  in  1801, 
in  Blangenbach,  Germany,  spent  the  greater  part 
of  his  life  in  Women,  first  as  blacksmith  and  later 
as  farmer.  He  was  the  only  son  of  his  parents, 
and  married  Barbara  Young,  of  Women,  and 
they  had  thirteen  children,  of  whom  William 
Reinhardt  is  the  eleventh.  The  mother  of  this 
large  family  died  in  Women,  1853,  and  the  father 
died  in   1859,  and  both  were  buried  in  Women. 

William  Reinhardt's  parents  dying  when  ho 
was  very  young  he  was  compelled  to  leave  school 


^^^^-2 . 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


52S 


early  and  learn  a  trade,  so  he  went  to  Blangen- 
bach  and  learned  the  blacksmith  trade,  remaining 
there  two  years  and  two  months.  At  the  age  01 
sixteen  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  landed 
in  New  York,  and  proceeded  to  Hazleton,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  began  work  as  a  breaker  boy 
at  Laurel  Hill  for  A.  Pardee  &  Co.  After  serv- 
ing in  this  capacity  two  months,  and  as  fireman 
four  months,  he  worked  as  a  blacksmith  at  Har- 
leigh,  South  Sugar  Loaf,  Stockton  and  Ebervale. 

Subsequently  William  Reinhardt  returned  to 
Hazleton,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  established  the 
Phoenix  carriage  works,  which  he  conducted  until 
May,  1896,  when  he  bought  out  the  Eagle  car- 
riage works,  joining  the  two  carriage  works  to- 
gether under  the  name  of  the  Eagle  carriage 
works,  and  has  ever  since  continued  the  business 
under  this  name. 

From  1896  to  1900  William  Reinhardt  served 
as  school  director,  being  twice  elected  to  the  office, 
and  in  April,  1901,  was  chosen  mayor  of  the  city 
of  Hazleton,  serving  until  1904.  He  is  the  Dem- 
ocratic chairman  of  the  fourth  legislative  district 
of  Pennsylvania.  He  is  connected  with  the  fol- 
lowing fraternal  organizations  :  Hazle  Lodge  No. 
327,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Mountaineer 
Lodge,  No.  107,  Knights  of  Pythias ;  and  the 
Concordia  Singing  Society,  all  of  Hazleton.  He 
and  his  family  are  members  of  Christ's  (Luth- 
eran) Church,  of  Hazleton,  with  the  work  of 
which  they  are  prominently  identified. 

William  Reinhardt  married  December  22, 
1 87 1,  Elizabeth  Bicking,  of  Hazleton,  and  five 
children  were  born  tx>  them,  as  follows :  Anna 
Elizabeth,  born  January  24,  1872,  lives  in  Hazle- 
ton. Dora,  born  April  4,  1875,  died  December 
25,  1880,  at  the  age  of  five  years  and  eight 
months,  and  is  buried  in  Vine  street  cemetery. 
Elizabeth,  born  June  2,  1877,  died  December  22, 
1880,  aged  three  years  and  six  months,  and  is 
buried  in  Vine  Street  cemetery.  Mary  Alice, 
born  May  18,  1880,  wife  of  Samuel  B.  Yeager, 
and  lives  in  Hazleton.  Catherine,  "oorn  Novem- 
ber 13,  1882,  died  June  28,  1884,  aged  one  year 
and  seven  months,  and  is  buried  in  Vine  Street 
cemetery. 

JAMES  BURLINGTON  PIERCE,  residing 
in  West  More,  was  born  July  16,  1828,  on  the 
old  Pierce  homestead  in  Plymouth  township, 
where  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Coal  Company's 
new  No.  5  shaft  is  now  located.  He  is  the  son 
of  John  and  Susan   (Shupp)   Pierce. 

John  Pierce  was  born  February  27,  1792, 
probably  in  the  state  of  Connecticut.    He  was  a 


gunsmith  and  carried  on  this  business  in  connec- 
tion with  farming  on  a  part  of  the  old  Shupp 
homestead  in  Plymouth  township.  He  married 
Susan  Shupp,  born  December  23,  1792,  died. 
November  28,  1861,  daughter  of  Colonel  Phillip 
and  Katherine  Shupp,  of  Northampton  county,. 
Pennsylvania,  who  bequeathed  to  their  daughter 
as  an  inheritance  a  part  of  the  old  homestead. 
Col.  Phillip  Shupp  died  and  his  remains  were- 
probably  interred  in  Shupp's  graveyard,  which 
was  located  at  the  place  now  called  Boston  Hill,. 
Plymouth.  His  wife,  Katherine  Shupp,  died^af 
the  home  of  John  Pierce,  her  son-in-law,  in. 
Plymouth  township,  Luzerne  county,  about  1835,. 
and  was  buried  in  the  above  named  graveyard.  A. 
number  of  the  headstones  in  that  graveyard  had 
been  destroyed,  and  in  order  to  prevent  theirs 
from  suffering  the  same  fate,  Peter  Shupp,  a 
cousin  of  James  B.  Pierce,  moved  several  of  them 
to  his  own  private  lot  in  Shawnee  cemetery,., 
Plymouth.  John  Pierce  and  his  wife,  Susan. 
(Shupp)  Pierce,  spent  their  declining  years  upon 
the  old  homestead  bequeathed  to  them  by  Colonel 
Shupp ;  John  Pierce  died  September  26,  1836,. 
aged  forty-four  years.  Their  children  were  as  I 
follows : 

1.    Charles,  born  July  13,  1813,  moved  to  Illi- 
nois in    1845,  and   died  there   about   1890.     He- 
married    (first)   a  Miss  Goodwin,  and    (second) 
Katherine  Sine,  who  bore  him  nine  children.     2. 
Phillip,  born  September  6,  1816,  died  March  4,. 
1848,  the  same  day  Zachary  Taylor  took  his  seat, 
in  the  presidential  chair.     3.     Everitt,  born  No- 
vember 17,  1818,  married  Mary,  a  widow,  in  Sac- 
ramento City,  California.    4.  John,  born  June  15, 
1820,   resided  in  Brooklyn.     They  had  one  son,, 
who  died  aged  about  four  years,  and  one  daugh- 
ter who  married  and  is  now  a  widow.    Both  John 
and  his  wife  are  dead.     5.   Katherine,  born  April 
25,   1822,  became  the  wife  of  Andrew  Raub,  oF 
Luzerne,  then  living  on  a  farm,  and  moved  to-  ; 
.Dallas  where  he  died  in   1893.     They  were  the 
parents  of  four  sons :    Draper,  who  went  to  Cal- 
ifornia, married,  and  had  one  child,  now   dead. 
He  is  now  residing  in  Orange,  Luzerne  county. 
Phillip,  who  is  now  conducting  the  Dallas  Hotel 
in  Dallas ;  he  married  Emily  Garrahan,  of  Dallas, 
and  has  two  daughters.    Edgar,  married,  and  has 
two  sons  and  one  daughter ;  he  is  in  the  service 
of    the    Lehigh    Valley    Railroad    Company    at 
Wilkes-Barre.     Charles,  unmarried,  who  is  em- 
ployed as  engineer  at  Dallas.    6.   James  Burling- 
ton, mentioned  hereafter.     7.     Mary,  born  March 
5,  1830,  married  Silas  Lazarus,  of  Kingston,  and 
later  they  moved  to  Illinois ;  she  died  li 


S26 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


-Samuel,  born  May  i,  1834,  went  to  Lee  county, 
Illinois,  married  Sarah  Cole,  and  later  moved  to 

'.  Iowa ;  died  in  1889.  9.  Andrew,  born  March 
17,  1837,'  unmarried,  resides  in  California. 

James  Burlington  Pierce  spent  his  early  days 

•  on  the  old  homestead,  and  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools  of  Plymouth  township,  and  also 
at  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  which  he  at- 
tended two  winters,  working  on  the  farm  during 
the  summer  months.  In  1847  ne  began  an  ap- 
prenticeship at  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  oc- 

■  cupation  he  followed  at  various  times  as  a  jour- 
neyman until  1854,  and  he  also  had  charge  of  the 
farm  up  to  the  year  i860.  From  1854  to  Feb- 
ruary, 1865,  he  devoted  the  greater  part  of  his 
time  to  carpentering,  part  of  the  time  taking  con- 
tracts. Mr.  Pierce  was  a  member  of  the  home 
guards  during  the  Civil  war,  went  to  Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania,  was  sworn  in  there  in  1863,  was 
stationed  at  Bridgeport,  Pennsylvania,  for  a  few 
days,  after  which  the  company  was  sent  down  to 

■  Greencastle,  Maryland,  where  they  remained 
about  six  weeks,  when  they  returned  home  and 
were  discharged  from  the  service.  He  then  be- 
came superintendent  for  the  Delaware,  Lacka- 
wanna &  Western  Railway  Company  at  the  Bos- 
ton colliery,  which  position  he  filled  until  1868. 
He  then  was  elected  assessor  for  Plymouth,  and 
continued  as  such  up  to  1876,  at  the  same  time 
serving  as  school  director.  This  office  he  held 
for  nine  consecutive  years,  serving  meanwhile  as 
auditor  of  Plymouth  township  for  about  six 
years.  He  was  also  tax  collector  for  five  or  six 
years  during  the  early  seventies.  In  the  early 
fifties  Mr.  Pierce  was  auditor  of  Plymouth  town- 
ship for  a  term  of  three  years.  In  1864  he  as- 
sisted in  organizing  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Plymouth,  and  is  still   (1905)  serving  as  one  of 

'the  directors. 

After  completing  his  term  as  assessor  (1876) 

/Mr.  Pierce  again  engaged  in  contracting  and  car- 
pentering, which  he  followed  for  three  years 
(1879),  and  in  April  of  that  year  went  to  Colo- 
rado, where  he  had  business  interests,  remaining 
there  all  summer,  leaving  for  California  in  Octo- 
ber, and  returning  to  his  home  in  Plymouth,  De- 
cember 25,  1879.  During  1880  Mr.  Pierce  made 
three  trips  to  Colorado,  and  during  the  latter 
part  of  1880  and  the  early  part  of  1881  completed 

"his  house  on  Church  street,  Plymouth,  moving 
into  the  same  in  1882.  During  1882-83  he 
erected  several  buildings  on  his  own  property  in 
the  township,  and  in  November,  1885,  he  went  to 
West  Virginia,  on  the  Kanawha  river,  about  six- 
teen  miles   above   Charleston,   and   took   charge. 


as  superintendent,  for  the  Cabin  Creek  &  Wil- 
liams Coal  Company,  remaining  there  twenty-two 
months,  Mrs.  Pierce  accompanying  her  husband 
during  his  sojourn  in  this  state.  In  1888  Mr. 
Pierce  built  a  cottage  at  Harvey s  Lake,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  spent  many  of  the  following  summers 
at  this  beautiful  body  of  water.  He  now  lives  at 
his  home  in  West  More,  which  he  built  during  the 
winter  of  1895-96,  removing  thither  from  Church 
street,  Plymouth.  With  his  son  he  owns  about 
fifty  acres,  thirty  acres  of  which  is  under  cultiva- 
tion. A  large  greenhouse  on  the  grounds,  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  long,  sixty-five  feet 
wide,  built  by  his  son  Henry,  who  resides  in  the 
same  house  with  his  father  and  conducts  the 
farm,  devoted  to  vegetables  and  fruit  raising,  is  a 
marvel ;  it  is  erected  on  the  order  of  a  fortress, 
with  concrete  walls,  averaging  ten  feet  in  height 
on  all  sides,  this  being  done  in  order  to  protect 
the  young  plants  inside  from  high  water  and  ice 
which  at  times  causes  a  vast  amount  of  damage 
and  trouble,  when  the  Susquehanna  river  over- 
flows its  bounds.  Mr.  Pierce  has  always  been  a 
Republican,  and  an  active  worker  in  politics.  In 
February,  1865,  he  became  a  member  of  Shaw- 
nee Lodge,  No.  332,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
and  has  continued  as  such  up  to  the  present  time 
(1905),  a  period  of  forty  years. 

Mr.  Pierce  married,  November  28,  1854, 
when  twenty-six  years  of  age,  Leanora  Rem- 
mell,  daughter  of  George  and  Elizabeth  (Gress) 
Remmell,  of  Plymouth  township,  who  then  re- 
sided on  the  Nesbitt  farm.  Their  children  were 
as  follows:  1.  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  September 
9,  1855,  married  Dr.  D.  H.  Lockhard,  of  Ply- 
mouth, Pennsylvania.  2.  John  R.,  born  February 
16,  1857,  died  July  4,  1861.  3.  Frederick  G., 
born  May  11,  1863,  married  Bertha  E.  Kurtz, 
January  4,  1888,  and  had  Russell,  Leonora  Rem- 
mell, Rebecca  and  Lawrence.  They  reside  in 
Fremont,  Nebraska.  4.  Henry  Wells,  born  May 
5,  1870,  resides  in  same  house  with  his  father  and 
conducts  the  large  truck  farm ;  married  Gertrude 
Davis,  daughter  of  James  B.  Davis,  of  Plymouth 
borough,  general  inside  superintendent  for  the 
Plymouth  Coal  Company ;  they  have  one  child, 
Gertrude,  born  February.  1904.  Irvin  S.  and 
Ernest  C.  (twins),  born  November  5,  1873;  i^ie 
former  died  August  31,  1874,  and  the  latter  De- 
cember 23.  1873.  Mrs.  Pierce,  the  mother  of 
these  children,  who  was  a  consistent  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  died  March  9,  1897.  Mr. 
Pierce  married  (second),  December  19,  1900, 
Mrs.  Anna  C.  Coons.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pierce  and 
their   family    are   members    of    the   Presbyterian 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


527 


•church,  Mr.  Pierce  having  been  a  trustee  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  an  active  worker  and  contributor 
to  religious  and  charitable  work. 

ANDREW  CHARLES  OVERPECK,  a  rep- 
resentative citizen  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  born  in 
Summit,  New  Jersey,  November  16,  1875,  a  son 
of  Theodore  Wesley  and  Elizabeth  R.  (Brod- 
hun)  Overpeck,  and  grandson  of  Andrew  Over- 
peck. 

Theodore  W.  Overpeck  ( father)  was  born 
September  21,  1848,  at  Danville,  Pennsylvania. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  enlisted  in  Company 
D,  Eighty-fourth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Vol- 
unteers, as  drummer  boy,  and  served  as  such  until 
the  last  year  of  the  war  when  he  carried  a  gun. 
For  three  years  he  was  a  hardware  merchant  at 
Wilkes-Barre,  conducting  business  under  the 
firm  name  of  Stewart  &  Overpeck,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  this  period  of  time  they  disposed  of 
their  store  and  moved  to  Summit,  New  Jersey, 
where  they  engaged  in  the  same  line  of  trade  for 
a  number  of  years.  Finally  Mr.  Stewart  with- 
drew his  interest  from  the  firm,  and  Mr.  Over- 
peck continued  alone  up  to  the  time  of  his  de- 
cease, in  1885,  a  period  of  eight  years.  He  mar- 
ried, April  23,  1873,  Elizabeth  R.  Brodhun, 
daughter  of  Bonefacius  Henry  and  Elizabeth 
(Bertles)  Brodhun,  and  their  children  are:  Bes- 
sie, born  February  23,  1874,  wife  of  Cyril  G. 
Smith,  manager  of  the  Summit  Automobile  Com- 
pany, Summit,  New  Jersey ;  Andrew  Charles, 
horn  November  16,  1875,  mentioned  hereafter; 
and  Boyd  H.,  born  May  7,  1884,  at  Summit,  New 
Jersey,  spent  his  early  days  in  Wilkes-Barre,  edu- 
cated in  the  public  and  high  schools  of  that  city, 
served  five  years  with  the  Hazard  Manufacturing 
Company,  in  1905  was  identified  with  the  board 
of  trade  and  increased  the  membership  materi- 
ally, and  since  September  1,  1905,  has  been  en- 
gaged in  partnership  with  Stephen  Drum  in  the 
grocery  business  on  South  Main  street,  Wilkes- 
Barre.  He  is  a  member  and  worker  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  secretarv  of  the  Junior 
Sunday  school  and  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  of  Wilkes-Barre.  Bcnefacius  Henry 
Brodhun,  father  of  Airs.  Theodore  W.  Overpeck, 
Is  a  bricklayer  by  trade,  but  is  now  leading  a  re- 
tired life  in  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  his  resi- 
dence being  at  No.  267  South  Alain  street.  The 
following  named  children  were  born  to  Air.  and 
Mrs.  Brodhun :  Elizabeth  R..  wife  of  Theodore 
W.  Overpeck :  John  F.,  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  Lena, 
■deceased ;  William,  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  Harrv,  of 


Wilkes-Barre ;    Charles,   of    Wilkes-Barre ;     and 
Eleanor,  who  resides  at  home. 

The  following  account  of  the  illness  and  death 
of  Theodore  W.  Overpeck  appeared  in  a  local 
paper:  Mr.  Theodore  W.  Overpeck  died  at 
Summit,  New  Jersey,  March  10,  1885.  Mr. 
Overpeck  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Stewart 
&  Overpeck,  hardware  dealers,  who  in  1874  re- 
moved their  business  from  South  Wilkes-Barre 
to  Summit,  New  Jersey.  Both  men  were  of  ro- 
bust constitution,  but  in  a  few  years  after  they 
were  settled  in  their  new  home  Mr.  Stewart  con- 
tracted consumption,  which  resulted  fatally  in  a 
remarkably  short  time.  Mr.  Overpeck  then  as- 
sumed the  full  care  of  the  firm's  business,  which 
had  become  dissolved,  and  to  his  honor  be  it  said 
he  paid  one  hundred  cents  on  every  dollar  of  in- 
debtedness of  the  old  firm,  gaining  for  himself 
an  enviable  reputation  in  the  community  where 
he  lived  and  an  unquestioned  credit  with  business 
firms  with  which  he  dealt.  His  unremitting  ef- 
forts to  establish  a  home  for  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, together  with  a  poisoned  atmosphere  where 
he  labored,  fastened  upon  him  the  dread  disease 
which  had  taken  his  business  associate.  He  had 
long  been  a  consistent  member  of  the  Methodist 
church.  Like  all  victims  of  consumption  he  did 
not  believe  himself  dangerouslv  ill,  and  his  only 
anxiety  was  for  the  temporal  welfare  of  his  fam- 
ily in  case  of  death.  The  burial,  which  took  place 
at  Newark,  New  Jersey,  was  conducted  by  Grand 
Army  Post,  No.  11,  of  that  city.  Mr.  Overpeck 
was  a  drummer  boy  in  the  Union  army,  than 
whom,  his  captain  said  but  a  short  time  ago,  there 
was  no  braver  man  in  his  company.  "The  child 
is  the  father  of  the  man,"  and  the  last  roll  call 
found  him  "Ready." 

Andrew  C.  Overpeck  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  in  1890,  at  the  age 
of  fifteen  years,  entered  the  employ  of  the  Hazard 
Manufacturing  Company  as  office  boy,  and  from 
time  to  time  was  promoted  to  the  positions  of 
shipping  clerk,  confidential  clerk  and  chief  clerk, 
in  which  capacity  he  is  serving  at  the  present 
time,  his  duties  being  confined  to  the  insulating 
department  of  the  works.  His  long  service  with 
the  one  company  is  ample  evidence  of  his  ability, 
thoroughness  and  trustworthiness,  and  as  a  citi- 
zen he  has  always  been  progressive  and  public- 
spirited,  anxious  to  promote  all- plans  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  people.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Cen- 
tral Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  for  eight 
years  has  served  as  secretarv  of  the  Sunday 
school  connected  therewith.     He  is  a  member  of 


528 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  in  the 
work  of  which  he  has  always  taken  an  active  and 
keen  interest,  serving  as  a  member  of  various 
committees.  He  is  trustee  and  treasurer  o' 
Nuangola  Chapel  Association,  secretary  of  the 
Nuangola  Lake  Association,  and  a  director,  sec- 
retary and  treasurer  of  the  North-Beach  Real 
Estate  Company,  New  York.  He  is  actively  and 
prominently  identified  with  the  Masonic  order, 
holding  membership  in  Landmark  Lodge,  No. 
442;  Shekinah  Chapter,  No.  184;  Dieu  Le  Veut 
Commandery,  No.  45 ;  Mt.  Horeb  Council,  No. 
34;  and  Irem  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.  He  is 
a  Republican  in  politics. 

Mr.  Overpeck  married,  June  9,  1900,  Char- 
lotte F.  Weyhenmeyer,  daughter  of  the  late  Jon- 
athan and  Sarah  E.  (Butler)  Weyhenmeyer,  and 
they  have  one  child,  Jane  North,  born  October  28, 
1903. 

Jonathan  Weyhenmeyer,  father  of  Mrs.  Over- 
peck,  was  born  May  14,  1834.  He  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Hazard  Manufacturing  Company 
when  a  boy  of  seventeen  years,  and  for  forty- 
eight  years  his  was  the  master  mind  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  mechanical  equipment  of  the 
wire  rope  department,  meeting  the  demands  of 
its  expanding  business,  serving  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  in  the  capacity  of  foreman.  It  is  a 
noble  record,  not  only  in  the  ability  and  untiring 
faithfulness  shown,  but  in  the  modest,  quiet,  gen- 
tle, home-loving  personality  reflected  in  his  daily 
walk  through  life,  that  drew  men  to  him,  made 
them  loyal  to  him  and  to  the  interests  he  so  well 
served,  that  made  them  strive  for  and  honor  their 
own  homes,  as  he  labored  for  and  loved  his  own. 
The  hum  of  machinery  was  music  to  him,  the 
greater  part  of  which  was  his  own  design.  He 
married,  July  8,  1857,  Sarah  E.  Butler,  born  July 
29,  1841,  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  Their  children 
were:  Joseph  F.,  born  July  2,  1858,  died  May  7, 
1863;  Iona,  born  December  12,  1859,  wife  of 
Harry  B.  Gruver,  foreman  of  the  wire  rope  de- 
partment, Hazard  Manufacturing  Company; 
Helen  G.,  born  November  9,  1861,  died  January 
21,  1889;  Charles  W.,  born  November  10,  1863, 
died  March  12,  1901,  foreman  till  death,  of  wire 
rope  department;  Jonathan  B.,  born  October  17, 
1865,  foreman  in  the  Hazard  Manufacturing 
Company;  Erskine  H.,  born  March  31,  1869,  of 
Scranton ;  Nathan  F.  and  Brinton  L.,  twins,  born 
July  26,  1871,  the  former  died  February  21,  1872, 
and  the  latter  February  2,  1872 ;  Eli,  born  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1873,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  assistant  super- 
intendent of  insulating  department,  Hazard  Man- 
ufacturing Company ;  Charlotte  F.,  born  July  19, 


1875,  wife  of  Andrew  C.  Overpeck;  Leland  S., 
born  August  31,  1878,  died  May  6,  1894;  and 
Elizabeth,  born  February  15,  1881,  wife  of  Ar- 
thur O.  Jones,  of  Wilkes-Barre. 

Jonathan  Weyhenmeyer  died  January  11, 
1899.  Out  of  respect  the  works  of  the  Hazard 
Manufacturing  Company  were  shut  down  on  the 
day  his  remains  were  taken  to  their  final  resting 
place  at  Mauch  Chunk,  the  birth  place  and  home 
for  many  years  of  Mr.  Weyhenmeyer.  James 
Buckley,  Joseph  Gorman  and  David  Connor  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up  appropriate 
resolutions  and  submitted  the  following,  which 
were  unanimously  adopted,  and  a  copy  sent  to 
the  family  of  the  deceased : 

Whereas,  God  in  His  wisdom  has  removed 
from  us  Jonathan  Weyhenmeyer,  our  foreman, 
who  has  been  connected  with  this  company  and 
its  immediate  predecessor  for  forty-eight  years, 
and  brought  to  a  peaceful  end  a  life  of  cheerful, 
faithful  and  unremitting  toil,  strong  in  its 
achievements  and  an  honor  to  the  artisan  class  to 
which  he  belonged. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  employes  of  the  wire 
rope  department  of  the  Hazard  Manufacturing 
Co.,  make  this  public  expression  of  the  deep  sor- 
row and  the  personal  loss  we  feel  in  his  death. 

Resolved,  That  we  respect  and  honor  his 
memory  not  only  for  the  high  abilities  with  which 
he  served  this  company,  the  hallowed  and.  dear 
association  with  his  own  home,  but  for  his  kind- 
ness, justice  and  helpfulness  to  us,  his  men,  for 
his  efforts  that  we,  too,  might  succeed  with  him 
in  obtaining  the  rewards  that  follow  faithful 
service. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  in  his  life  a 
Christian  life,  for  he  quietly  and  unswervingly 
used  the  talents  God  gave  him  to  right  ends,  and 
he  tried  to  do  unto  others  as  he  would  have  them 
do  unto  him,  which  he  interpreted  to  be  the  com- 
mand of  the  Master. 

Resolved,  That  these  resolutions  be  pub- 
lished and  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  family  of  the  late 
Jonathan  Weyhenmeyer.  Committee. 

JOHN  SHARPS,  deceased,  for  many 
years  one  of  the  prominent  and  highly  re- 
spected citizens  of  Wyoming,  was  born  in 
Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  November  28,  182 1, 
son  of  John  Sharps,  of  Wyoming,  and  one  of 
a  large  family  of  children,  namely:  Jacob,  of 
Kingston;  Peter,  of  Exeter;  Margaret,  mar- 
ried Freeman  Breese ;  William ;  Phoebe,  mar- 
ried Williams  Jacobs :  Elizabeth,  married  Noah 
Pettibone ;    Sallie,    married    Henry    Pettibone; 


JOHN  SHARPS 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


529 


Martha,  married  James   Fuller;  and  John,  of 
whom  later. 

John  Sharps  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and  began  work 
on  his  father's  farm,  later  moving  to  Exeter, 
and  in  1854  to  the  old  homestead  in  Wyoming, 
where  he  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his 
life.  The  homestead  was  near  the  Susque- 
hanna river  and  there  John  Sharps  conducted 
a  ferry  and  farm,  and  became  well  and  favor- 
ably known  in  this  section  where  he  spent 
practically  his  whole  life.  He  stood  high  in 
the  community  of  which  he  was  a  member, 
as  a  strictly  honest  and  honorable  man,  at- 
tended the  Presbyterian  church,  and  was  a 
Republican  in  politics.  He  died  at  his  home 
in  Wyoming,  August  22,  1903,  aged  eighty- 
two  years,  after  a  well-spent  life.  John 
Sharps  married,  November  20,  1842,  Kathe- 
rine  B.  Breese,  daughter  of  Lot  Breese,  and 
had  six  children,  namely :  Margaret,  wife  of 
J.  I.  Shoemaker,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  work;  Lot,  born  April  23^ 
1845,  married  Cecilia  Langdon ;  Elizabeth, 
born  March  10,  1847,  married  A.  L.  Ofr; 
James,  born  December  24,  1850,  conducts  the 
ferry;  Annie,  born  December  7,  1852,  married 
Alexander  Watson,  of  New  York ;  Ida,  born 
December  15,  1857,  married  William  La  Bar. 
Mrs.  Katherine  B.  (Breese)  Sharps  died  De- 
cember 4,  1885.  John  Sharps  married  (sec- 
ond), January  18,  1887,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  (Court- 
right)  Breese,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and 
Clarissa  (Williams)  Courtright)  and  a  descen- 
dant of  two  very  old  families  of  this  section. 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  (Courtright)  Breese  Sharps 
was  the  widow  of  Murray  Breese,  by  whom 
she  had  five  children,  namely:  Stella  (Mrs. 
J.  C.  Bell),  Jessie  (Mrs.  H.  P.  Snyder),  James, 
married  Grace  Murray;  Frank  and  Josie,  died 
young.  Murray  Breese,  father  of  these  chil- 
dren, died  1882,  aged  fifty  years. 

The  Courtright  family,  of  which  Mrs.  Mary 
E.  (Courtright)  Breese  Sharps  was  a  member, 
came  from  Holland  to  New  Amsterdam  among 
the  first  emigrants  and  long  before  the  Duke 
of  York  had  conquered  it  from  the  Dutch. 
They  found  their  way  across  the  state  of  New 
York  to  the  Delaware  river,  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Brodheads  creek,  from  whence  Cor- 
nelius Courtright  came  to  this  valley  in  1784 
and  settled  on  what  was  later  known  as  Han- 
cock Farm  Plains,  where  his  son  Benjamin 
was  born.  At  his  new  home  he  soon  made 
his  mark  as  the  representative  man  of  his 
34 


immediate  neighborhood  and  subsequently  one 
of  the  representative  men  of  Luzerne  county, 
which  position  he  held  many  years.  He  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  in  1820-21-23.  Lu- 
zerne county  at  that  time  was  hopelessly  Dem- 
ocratic, but  Mr.  Courtright,  though  a  Whig, 
was  never  defeated.  His  colleagues  during 
these  years  were  Andrew  Beaumont,  Jacob 
Douncheller,  Benjamin  Dorrance  and  Jabez 
Hyde,  Jr.  At  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  he 
was  the  acknowledged  peer  of  the  best  of  them. 
Benjamin  Courtright,  son  of  Cornelius  Court- 
right,  and  father  of  Mrs.  Mary  E.  (Court- 
right)  Breese  Sharps,  was  born  in  Wilkes- 
Barre  township,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, March  17,  1789.  He  spent  his  early  life 
at  home  on  his  father's  farm  up  to  the  time  of 
his  marriage  with  Clarissa  Williams,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Williams,  a  Continental  soldier 
under  General  Washington  during  the  war  of 
the  Revolution.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he 
purchased  a  farm  halfway  between  Pittston 
and  Wilkes-Barre,  where  they  commenced 
housekeeping  and  continued  to  reside  until 
the  death  of  his  wife.  He  then  made  his  resi- 
dence with  his  son,  John  Milton  Courtright, 
in  Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  died  January  22, 
1867,  aged  seyenty-eight  years.  He  was  pres- 
ident of  the  Franklin  Debating  Society  during 
its  existence.  He  was  a  man  of  exalted  nature 
and  incapable  of  a  mean  action.  He  wasj.U^t 
in  his  dealings,  truthful  in  every  declaration, 
faithful  to  every  promise,  and  purity  of  con- 
duct was  habitual  to  him.  Benjamin  and  Clar- 
issa (Williams)  Courtright  had  five  sons  and 
one  daughter:  William  H.,  John  Milton,  who 
was  proprietor  of  the  Courtright  House  in 
Wilkes-Barre ;  Benjamin  Franklin,  James  W., 
Thomas  and  Mary  E. 

SYLVESTER  ENGLE  was  born  at  Briar- 
creek,  Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania,  Oc- 
tober 27,  1826,  and  spent  his  early  days  at 
Seibertsville  and  Conyngham,  Pennsylvania. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  worked  at  plow- 
making  and  at  the  same  time  learned  the  cab- 
inet making  trade.  He  then  learned  the  jew- 
elry trade  with  his  father  and  worked  for  him 
for  some  time  and  then  went  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
where  he  continued  in  the  same  business.- 
Utimately  he  went  to  Hazleton,  in  1850,  where 
he  remained  working  at  his  trade,  and  con- 
tinued to  reside  there  until  his  death  which 
occurred  January  8,  1900.  He  was  paralyzed 
for  about  four  years  before  his  death,  but  re- 


530 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


covered  partially  and  was  able  during  this 
period  to  make  a  cherry  wardrobe  for  each  of 
his  children.  He  had  the  reputation  in  some 
districts  of  being  the  best  watchmaker  in  the 
United  States.  He  was  celebrated  in  his  par- 
ticular line  of  work,  his  goods  being  always  in 
great  demand.  His  business  is  now  conducted 
by  his  son  in  the  same  place,  West  Broad 
street,  Hazleton.  His  political  tendencies  were 
Republican,  but  he  voted  for  the  man  whom 
he  considered  the  best  fitted  for  the  office. 
He(was  frequently  importuned  to  hold  office 
but  steadily  refused  to  do  so,  although  he  was 
once  elected  by  the  Greenback  ticket.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Hazleton,  of  which  'Mrs.  Engle  is 
still    a   member. 

Mr.  Engle  married,  August  26,  1858,  Sarah 
Eleanor  Stealey,  born  in  Beaver  Valley,  April 
15,  1838,  later  residing  in  Whitehaven.  She 
is  a  daughter  of  Frederick  Wilhelm  and 
Ch'ristina  (Able)  Stealey,  and  had  three  chil- 
dren :  Edith,  born  October  26,  1867,  married 
Calvin  Runkle,  and  had  one  child,  Sylvester 
Engle,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  months 
and  is  buried  at  Hazleton.  Ellersley  Wallace, 
born  October  3,  1869,  married  Jennie  (Martin) 
Longshore,  and  had  one  child,  William,  resid- 
ing at  Loyalsock,  Pennsylvania.  Sylvester, 
born  July.  25,  1873,  married  Edith  McDonald, 
of  Laurel  Run,  and  resides  at  Hazleton. 
Frederick  Wilhelm  Stealey  was  a  son  of  Fred- 
erick and  Catharine  (Cooper)  Stealey.  Cath- 
arine (Cooper)  Stealey  was  the  daughter  of 
Peter  Cooper,  of  Germany.  Christina  (Able) 
Stealey  traces  her  descent  through  a  long  line 
of  ancestors.  Some  of  them  were  among  the 
pioneer  settlers  of  America.  Before  they  came 
to  this  part  of  Pennsylvania  they  had  settled 
in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  there 
were  among  them  prominent  physicians  and 
attorneys.  Christina's  mother  lived  for  some 
time  in  Center  county,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Christina  was  one  of  seven  children :  1.  Mary, 
married  Minor  Doddson  ;  they  reside  at  White- 
haven and  are  respectively  eighty  and  eighty- 
four  years  of  age,  and  have  had  five  children : 
Charles,  Emma,  Anna,  Robert,  and  Ella.  2. 
Jane,  widow  of  William  Durling;  she  resides 
at  Miflin,  Pennsylvania,  and  has  had  four  chil- 
dren :  Martin,  Mary,  Lucy,  and  Alice.  3. 
Susan,  married  Conrad  Barkle,  of  Briarcreek, 
who  had  ten  children,  two  of  whom  died  in 
infancy:  Alonzo,  Moses,  Charles,  Minor, 
Frederick,    William,    Frederick    William,    and 


David.  4.  Catharine,  married  William 
Glover,  resides  at  Hazleton,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren :  William,  married  Caroline  Richards, 
of  Asbury  Park,  and  had  three  children :  An- 
na, married  Philip  Engle,  lived  at  Epsy,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  had  two  children :  Alice,  de- 
ceased, and  Bertha,  married  Frederick  Xagle, 
of  South  Wilkes-Barre ;  Frederick,  who  mar- 
ried Kate  Coleman,  resides  near  Berwick  and 
has  three  children :  Mary,  Jesse,  and  Her- 
bert. 5.  Sarah  Eleanor,  wife  of  Sylvester 
Engle.  6.  Ann.  7.  Frederick  Wilhelm,  who 
was  a  contractor  in  Beaver  Valley  at  one  time 
and  also  in  Mauch  Chunk  and  that  vicinity, 
and  came  from  Northumberland  county  where 
his  ancestors  had  been  farmers.  His  politics 
were  Democratic,  and  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Lutheran  church  in  Beaver  Valley. 

VINCENT  BAYARD  SHEEDER,  an  ac- 
tive business  man  of  Wanamie,  Pennsylvania, 
is  a  native  of  the  state,  born  in  Hamburg, 
Berks  county,  November  26,  1857,  a  son  0I 
Benjamin  F.  and  Katherine  (Wagner) Shee- 
def.  The  father  was  a  son  of  Frederick 
and  Mary  Sheeder,  natives  of  Insbrucken, 
Prussia.  Frederick  Sheeder  came  to  America 
in  1793,  settling  in  Chester  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and 
during  the  war  of  1812  served  for  a  short  time 
with  the  militia  stationed  at  Havre  de  Grace, 
Maryland.  He  was  the  father  of  twelve  chil- 
dren. 

Benjamin  F.  Sheeder,  youngest  child  of 
Frederick  and  Mary  Sheeder,  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools  'in  Vincent  township, 
Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  his 
young  manhood  taught  school  in  Hamburg, 
Pennsylvania.  He  afterward  removed  to 
Minersville,  where  he  was  a  merchant,  and 
justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  a  Lutheran  in 
religion,  and  a  Republican  in  politics.  He  was 
a  member  of  Lodge  No.  222,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  and  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  both  of  Minersville.  He  married 
Catherine  Wagner,  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Barbara  (Freelove)  Hoffman,  of  near  Ham- 
burg. Her  father  was  a  boatman,  and  came 
to  his  death  in  the  line  of  his  duty.  He  was  the 
father  of  five  children  :  Tobias,  Mary,  Cath- 
erine (Mrs.  Benjamin  F.  Sheeder),  Lucy  and 
George.  Benjamin  F.  and  Catherine  Sheeder 
were  the  parents  of  two  children — Vincent 
Bayard,  see  forward;  and  Ambrose  I.,  who 
married     Hettie  Fisher,  of  Minersville,  Penn- 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


53i 


•sylvania,  and  they  had  three  children :  Kath- 
erine,  Madeline  and  Bonney. 

Vincent  Bayard  Sheeder  was  educated  in 
Minersville,  completing  his  studies  in  the  high 
school.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  en- 
tered a  wagon  and  coach  factory,  where  he  was 
employed  for  a  year,  when  he  engaged  in  a 
mercantile  business  in  Minersville,  and  was  so 
occupied  until  1886.  In  the  year  1888  he  re- 
moved to  Mahanoy  City,  taking  charge  of 
a  store  at  Buck  Mountain  for  W.  W.  Scott, 
and  which  he  conducted  until  its  closure  in 
1890.  He  then  removed  to  Alden,  Luzerne 
county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  conducted  a 
business  for  some  time.  He  then  purchased 
the  present  store  at  Wanamie,  brought  thither 
the  stock  of  goods  from  the  Alden  store, 
■  and'  consolidated  the  business  under  the  firm 
name  of  Sheeder  &  Scott,  which  has  con- 
tinued successfully  to  the  present  time.  Mr. 
Sheeder  is  also  actively  identified  with  various 
other  business  concerns,  being  a  director  in 
the  Nanticoke  National  Bank,  the  Susque- 
hanna Lumber  Company,  and  Nanticoke  Con- 
struction Company  of  Nanticoke,  and  the 
Pottsville  Development  Company  of  New 
York  City ;  and  a  stockholder  in  the  Glady 
Lumber  Company,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  the 
Union  Condensed  Milk  Company  of  New 
York.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  has 
taken  high  rank  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and 
is  identified  with  Lodge  No.  541,  of  Nanti- 
coke, and  has  taken  the  consistorial  degrees 
of  the  Scottish  Rite  sitting  in  the  valley  of 
Scranton.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Irem 
Temple,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine ;  Lodge 
No.  617,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
of  Mahanoy  City,  (for  seventeen  years  past)  ; 
and  of  Wanamie  Council,  No.  549,  Junior 
'Order  of  United  American  Mechanics. 

Mr.  Sheeder  married,  May  20,  1886,  Mag- 
dalena  G.  Bauer,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Sarah 
(Wertley)  Bauer,  of  Schuylkill  Haven,  Penn- 
sylvania. Of  this  union  were  born  three  chil- 
dren :  Mary  Irene,  October  20,  1887 ;  George 
Vincent,  November  4,  1888 ;  Vincent  Bayard, 
Jr.,  February  3,  1899. 

THOMAS  FORD,  for  many  years  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  commercial,  finan- 
cial and  industrial  interests  of  Pittston,  was 
descended  from  English  stock.  He  was  the 
son  of  William  and  Jane  Ireland  Ford,  was 
born  in  Yorkshire,  England,  August  20,  1826, 
and  died  in  West  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  No- 


vember 25,  1901.  When  he  was  four  years  of 
age  his  parents  emigrated  to  America,  and  set- 
tled in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  educated  in  the 
common  schools.  He  was  connected  with  the 
Dupont  Powder  Company,  and  had  various 
other  business  interests. 

Mr.  Ford  was  a  resident  of  Pittston  for 
seventy-one  years,  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
history  of  Pittston  was  so  complete  and  ac- 
curate that  he  was  frequently  appealed  to  on 
points  of  information.  He  was  an  active,  in- 
dustrious man,  and  soon  became  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  coal  industry,  which  was  yet  in 
its  infancy,  modern  methods  of  mining  being 
yet  unknown.  The  money  making  possibil- 
ities of  this  branch  of  industry  were  patent  to 
his  keen  vision,  and  he  was  very  influential  in  its 
development.  He  was  exceedingly  accurate 
in  all  his  business  dealings,  and  demanded 
similar  conduct  from  those  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  His  personality  was  most 
genial,  and  those  who  had  business  or  social 
relations  with  him  found  him  an  open-hearted 
man  and  a  warm  friend.  He  was  exception- 
ally fortunate  in  his  business  transactions,  and 
had  abundant  means.  This  made  him  the  re- 
cipient of  appeals  of  all  sorts,  all  directed  to 
his  purse,  and  they  were  seldom  refused.  His 
reputation  as  a  noble  citizen  will  endure.  His 
influence  and  business  connections  were  wide, 
and  he  enjoyed  the  implicit  confidence  of  all 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  as  was  evi- 
denced by  his  official  connection  with  numer- 
ous financial  institutions  in  this  locality,  and 
various  railways  and  coal  companies.  From 
1869  till  the  'time  of  his  death  he  was  vice-pres- 
ident of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Pittston, 
and  his  influence  was  always  apparent  in  its 
management. 

Mr.  Ford  married,  September  13,  1853, 
Ellen  Stark,  daughter  of  John  D.  Stark,  born 
December  19,  1830,  died,  February  27,  1904. 
Mrs.  Ford  was  one  of  the  famous  family  of 
Starks,  the  names  of  many  of  whom  appear  on 
the  Wyoming  Battle  Monument.  Mrs. 
Thomas  Ford  was  a  lifelong  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  West  Pittston  church  of  that 
denomination  at  the  time  of  her  death.  She 
was  also  a  member  of  the  Dial  Rock  Chapter, 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 
Thomas  and  Ellen  Stark  Ford  had  one  daugh- 
ter, Jessie,  born  in  Pittston,  Pennsylvania. 
She  married,  October  Q,  1889,  Edward  Scholl 
Smith,  of  Canajoharie,  New  York. 


532 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


REUBEN  BEISEL  was  born  February 
ii,  1839,  iii  Butler  township.  While  quite 
young  he  entered  the  store  of  Mr.  William 
Kisner,  of  Hazleton,  as  clerk,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  the  Civil  war.  When  the  country 
needed  men,  he  immediately  enlisted  in  the 
Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Cavalry, 
known  as  'Anderson  Cavalry,"  in  which  he 
served  until  discharged  on  account  of  ill 
health.  Shortly  after  he  entered  the  com- 
pany store  of  Mr.  Ario  Pardee,  as  clerk.  After 
serving  there  for  several  years,  he  engaged  in 
the  merchantile  business  in  partnership  with 
his  brother  John,  under  the  firm  name  of  J. 
&  R.  Beisel.  After  several  years  of  prosperity, 
he  went  into  business  for  himself  in  the  same 
line.  He  was  very  successful,  and  after  en- 
larging his  business  and  acquiring  a  compe- 
tence, he  sold  out  to  his  nephews  and  retired 
to  lead  a  quieter  and  more  regular  life  at  home. 
He  was  a  member  of  Lodge  No.  327,  F.  and 
A.  M.,  also  Mount  Vernon  Commandery,  No. 
73,  Knights  Templar,  both  of  Hazleton,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Mr.  Beisel  died  February  20"  1897,  and  is 
survived  by  his  wife,  who  was  Mary  Amanda 
Lawall,  of  Hazleton,  Pennsylvania,  (See  Law- 
all  genealogy)  and  two  children — Ada  L.,  a 
member  of  the  George  Taylor  Chapter  of 
Easton,  Pennsylvania,  Daughters  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution,  and  R.  Alvan,  a  civil  and 
mining  engineer  by  profession  and  now  hold- 
ing the  position  of  engineer  for  A.  Pardee  and 
Co.,  being  at  the  head  of  their  corps  of  engi- 
neers. He  has  served  one  term  in  the  city 
council  and  was  elected  in  1906  for  a  second 
term,  his  tenure  of  office  expires  in  1910.  He 
is  a  staunch  Republican  in  politics.  He  has 
taken  an  active  interest  in  Masonry,  and  is  a 
member  of  all  the  bodies,  including  Blue 
Lodge,  Knights  Templar,  and  Irem  Temple, 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  society  of  Sons 
of  the  Revolution. 

JOHN  DENNISTON,  an  old  resident  of  the 
Wyoming  Valley,  and  a  worthy  representative 
of  his  county,  was  born  in  Tamaqua,  Pennsyl- 
vania, January  22,  1835,  a  son  of  John  and  Mary 
(Rothermel)  Denniston.  The  educational  ad- 
vantages enjoyed  by  him  were  obtained  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  upon  the 
completion  of  his  studies  he  turned  his  attention 
to  the  trade  of  carpenter,  which  occupation  he 
followed  with  success  until  the  breaking  out  of 


the  Civil  war,  conducting  his  operations  in  the 
city  of  Scranton,  whither  he  removed  in  1859. 
September  3,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  I, 
Fiftieth  Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 
which  company  was  recruited  in  Luzerne  county,. 
Pennsylvania.  The  regiment  was  organized  Sep- 
tember 25,  1861,  with  Benjamin  C.  Christ  as  col- 
onel,,and  Samuel  F.  Bossard  as  captain  of  Com- 
pany I.  It  proceeded  to  Fortress  Monroe,  whence 
it  embarked  on  its  perilous  voyage  south,  and  dur- 
ing this  journey  encountered  one  of  the  most  ter- 
rible storms  ever  known  on  the  Atlantic  coast. 
They  went  into  camp  at  Port  Royal,  May  29,. 
1862,  and  later  went  to  Pocotaligo,  six  companies 
of  the  regiment  accomplishing  the  dangerous  feat 
of  crossing  a  bridge  on  the  stringers,  the  planks, 
having  been  removed  by  the  enemy.  Mr.  Dennis- 
ton  was  one  of  the  number  who  was  wounded,  a 
bullet  which  lodged  in  his  left  knee  knocking  him 
off  the  bridge  into  the  water.  The  most  impor- 
tant battles  in  which  he  took  an  active  part  were 
South  Mountain,  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
Spottsylvania  Courthouse,  (where  he  was 
wounded  in  the  right  hip),  and  Petersburg,  and 
during  this  period  distinguished  himself  for  his 
valor  and  intrepidity.  On  January  1,  1864,  he  re- 
enlisted  and  was  given  a  veteran's  furlough,  and 
after  its  expiration  he  was  again  in  active  service 
at  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  and  Spottsylvania 
Courthouse.  He  was  promoted  from  private  to. 
sergeant,  then  to  first  sergeant,  and  September 
30,  1864,  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant. 
On  July  4,  1865,  he  participated  with  his  regi- 
ment in  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Na- 
tional Monument  at  Gettysburg,  and  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  service  of  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment at  Washington,  D.  C,  July  30,  1865.  Mr. 
Denniston  took  up  his  residence  in  Luzerne, 
Pennsylvania,  in  December,  1865,  and  again  re- 
sumed work  at  his  trade.  He  is  an  industrious, 
useful  citizen  of  that  borough,  and  is  well 
thought  of  throughout  the  community.  He  is  a 
regular  attendant  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
holding  the  office  of  trustee  in  the  same  body  for 
several  terms,  and  he  also  enjoyed  the  distinction 
of  having  been  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  the 
same. 

Mr.  Denniston  was  married,  October  12,  1869, 
to  Margaret  S.  Hughes,  youngest  daughter  of 
James  and  Hannah  (Swetland)  Hughes.  James 
Hughes  removed  from  Berks  county  to  the  Wy- 
oming valley  in  1810,  and  three  years  later  mar- 
ried Hannah  Swetland ;  their  youngest  daughter, 
Margaret  S.,  aforementioned,  is  the  wife  of  John. 
Denniston.     She  is  a  cultivated,  intelligent  wo- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


533 


man ;  she  was  graduated  from  the  Wyoming 
Seminar}'  in  1855,  and  was  engaged  in  teaching 
school  at  Danville,  Scranton,  and  Luzerne.  The 
first  private  school  in  Luzerne  was  taught  by- 
Mrs.  Denniston  in  her  present  home,  and  the  first 
Presbyterian  church  services  were  also  held  in 
the  same  rooms.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Denniston 
are  the  parents  of  the  following  named  children : 
Anna  Maud ;  Frederic  Warren,  who  graduated 
at  the  Columbian  University,  Washington,  D.  C, 
read  law  with  the  late  Judge  Bennett,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1902,  accepted  a  position  in  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  and  is. a  member  of  the  board  of 
pension  appeals.  He  resides  in  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Bertha,  a  graduate  of  Wyoming  Seminary,  class 
of  1892 ;  and  Stella,  wife  of  C.  F.  Schlingman,  of 
Wilkes-Barre,   Pennsylvania. 

SOLOMON  HARMON,  a  life-long  resident 
of  Salem  township,  his  postoffice  being  Beach 
Haven,  is  a  representative  of  that  class  of  men 
who  follow  agricultural  pursuits  and  whose  lives 
prove  most  uneventful  but  useful.  He  traces  his 
lineage  to  German  ancestors  who  took  an  active 
part  on  the  English  side  during  the  Revolutionary 
war.  The  pioneer  ancestor  was  Conrad  Harmon, 
a  native  of  Germany,  who  belonged  to  the  Hes- 
sians under  the  command  of  the  British.  He  was 
captured  by  the  Colonists,  to  whom  he  became 
friendly,  and  finally  became  a  worthy  citizen  of 
that  new  government  against  which  he  was  hired 
to  fight.  He  settled  in  Schuylkill  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, but  in  1799,  prior  to  his  marriage,  re- 
moved to  Luzerne  county,  locating  in  Salem 
township.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He 
married  Margaret  Houser,  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  their  children  were  as  follows :  John, 
John  A.,  Mary,  Molly,  Margaret,  Mary  E.,  Cath- 
erine, and  Elizabeth. 

John  A.  Harmon,  second  son  of  Conrad  and 
Margaret  (Houser)  Harmon,  was  born  in 
Schuylkill  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1797,  and 
when  two  years  of  age  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Salem  township,  Luzerne  county.  He  was  a 
practical  farmer,  prospered  in  all  his  undertak- 
ings, and  in  clue  course  of  time  became  the  owner 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  acres  of  good 
farming  land.  He  was  a  man  of  good  business 
ability,  in  whom  his  fellow  citizens  placed  im- 
plicit confidence.  He  was  twice  married ;  first 
to  Mrs.  Catherine  Harmon,  nee  Smithers,  widow 
of  his  deceased  brother,  John  Harmon,  and  their 
children  were  :  Henry,  deceased  ;  John,  deceased  ; 
Caroline  ;  Catherine,  deceased  ;  Polly,  deceased  ; 
and  Margaret.  Mrs.  Harmon  had  two  children 
by  her  first  marriage,  namely  :  George  and  Sarah, 


both  deceased.  Mr.  Harmon  married  tor  his  sec- 
ond wife  Sarah  Varner,  of  Salem  township,  born 
1804,  died  1879,  and  to  this  union  there  were  born 
seven  children,  five  of  whom  attained  years  of 
maturity,  namely :  Solomon,  Susan,  Elizabeth, 
deceased ;  Boyann,  and  Sevilla. 

Solomon  Harmon,  son  of  John  A.  and  Sarah 
(Varner)  Harmon,  was  born  in  Salem  township, 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  23,  1832. 
He  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  town- 
ship, and  later  adopted  the  free  and  independent 
career  of  a  farmer.  By  his  superior  knowledge 
and  far-reaching  insight  into  the  scientific  side  of 
agricultural  pursuits  he  became  expert  'along 
these  lines,  and  accumulated  at  one  time  two 
hundred  and  five  acres,  a  portion  of  which  he 
has  disposed  of,  but  at  the  present  time  (1905) 
owns  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  acres  of  ar- 
able farming  land.  He  has  held  the  office  of 
school  director  for  a  number  of  years,  and  also 
overseer  of  the  poor.  Mr,  Harmon  is  a  staunch 
Democrat,  the  principles  of  which  party  he  has 
inherited  from  his  ancestors,  yet  he  is  magnan- 
imous enough  to  honor  a  good  Republican  when 
he  is  in  office,  neglecting  to  use  his  highest  priv- 
ilege against  him  at  election.  This,  indeed,  is 
making  a  great  concession  to  his  opponent,  that 
whereas  he  could  not  vote  for  him  he  would  not 
vote  against  him ;  this  was  the  case  in  1904  when 
Theodore  Roosevelt  was  elected  President  of  the 
United  States. 

In  1853  Mr.  Harmon  married  Anna  M.  Bloss, 
daughter  of  Conrad  and  Elizabeth  Bloss,  and 
ten  children  were  born  to  them,  nine  of  whom 
grew  to  maturity,  namely :  Sarah  E.,  Susan,  de- 
ceased;  Mary  M.,  Sevilla,  John  A.,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Salem  township,  who  married  Cora 
Pollock,  in  1893,  and  their  children  are:  Grace 
A.,  Mary  E.,  Willard  F.,  Hazel  M.,  and  George 
E. ;  Frances  L.,  Amelia  V.,  Anna  R.,  and  Ella 
M.  Harmon.  The  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Har- 
mon and  his  family  was  built  by  Josiah  T.  Beach, 
about  1830,  and  is  perhaps  one  of  the  oldest  frame 
structures  in  Salem  township. 

WILLIAM  A.  NAUGLE.  One  of  the  most 
prominent  landmarks  in  the  village  of  Nesco- 
peck,  is  the  old  Evans  Mill,  which  is  located  in 
close  proximity  to  the  mouth  of  the  Nescopeck 
creek,  a  tributary  of  the  majestic  Susquehanna. 
Erected  about  the  year  1800  by  David  Evans, 
who  operated  it  until  1840,  it  was  inherited  by 
his  son  Benjamin,  who  continued  its  operation 
for  a  period  of  sixty-two  years,  or  until  the  lat- 
ter's  death,  which  occurred  in  1902,  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  it  was  purchased  from  the  Evans 


534 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


estate  by  William  A.  Naugle,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

William  A.  Naugle  was  born  in  Zenith,  Lu- 
zerne county,  Pennsylvania,  March  15,  1858.  His 
parents,  Theodore  and  Sarah  (Keene)  Naugle, 
who  are  still  living,  are  natives  of  Nescopeck 
township,  and  are  now  residing  near  Nurem- 
burg,  Schuylkill  county.  His  father  is  a  retired 
lumberman  and  farmer.  His  grandparents, 
Philip  and  Rosanna  (Dreisburgh)  Naugle,  re- 
sided in  Luzerne  county  for  many  years.  Theo- 
dore and  Sarah  Naugle  have  had  ten  children: 
Rosanna,  deceased  :  Harriet ;  William  A. ;  Ann 
Eliza  ;  Alalinda  ;  Reuben,  deceased  ;  Lizzie,  who 
is  now  Mrs.  Andrews ;  Emma  Katherine ;  Aaron 
F.,  and  Viola. 

With  the  exception  of  about  three  years  res- 
idence in  Luzerne  county,  William  A.  Naugle 
resided  on  the  farm  upon  which  he  was  born 
until  he  was  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  the 
homestead  is  now  in  his  possession.  Since  pur- 
chasing the  Evans  Mill  he  has  developed  the 
propertv  from  a  small  country  grist  mill  into  an 
extensive  manufacturing  establishment  by  erect- 
ing a  mill  for  the' sawing  and  planing  of  lumber, 
and  also  a  cider  mill.  The  entire  establishment 
is  equipped  with  improved  machinery,  including 
a  steam  plant  for  use  in  case  of  a  temporary  sus- 
pension of  the  water-power,  and  the  site  of  the 
old  village  grist-mill  has  been  transformed  into  a 
successful  modern  industrial  enterprise,  which  is 
certainly  a  pleasing  contrast  to  its  slumbering  as- 
pect of  two  years  ago.  As  a  business  man  Mr. 
Naugle  is  rapidly  acquiring  prominence  in  this 
section  of  the  state,  and  the  spirit  of  enterprise  he 
has  already  displayed  is  proving  exceedingly  ben- 
eficial to  this  community.  Politically  he  acts  with 
the  Democratic  party  in  national  issues,  but  on 
local  questions  he  professes  independent  pro- 
clivities. 

Air.  Naugle  married,  September  26,  1889, 
Adaline  Beishline,  daughter  of  Levi  and  Maria 
Beishline,  of  Columbia  county.  Levi  Beishline, 
who  served  with  honor  in  the  Civil  war,  died 
in  1899,  and  his  wife  died  in  1902.  They  were 
the  parents  of  fourteen  children,  of  whom  but 
five  are  living.  Air.  and  Airs.  Naugle  have  had 
ten  children :  Erma  Irene,  deceased ;  Pearl ;  Roy 
L. ;  Ruth  ;  Emery  ;  Letha  Naomi ;  Ida  Alay  ; 
Ralph  Theodore  Naugle ;  Esther. 

STURDEVAXT  FAAIILY.  The  pioneer 
head  of  the  Sturdevant  family  in  the  Wyoming 
region  of  Pennsylvania  was  Samuel  Sturdevant, 
born  in  Connecticut.  August  30,  1741,  and  settled 
at  Black  Walnut,  Pennsylvania,  in  1792.     A  few 


years  afterward  he  built  a  frame  dwelling  house,, 
splitting  the  lumber  from  pine  logs  and  dressing 
it  with  his  own  hands.  He  was  ordained  a  Bap- 
tist preacher,  October  25,  1794,  and  had  charge 
of  the  church  at  Laceyville  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  private  in  the  Sixth  Company,  Fifth  Regi- 
ment, Connecticut  Militia,  1775;  private  in  Cap- 
tain Samuel  Granger's  company,  Second  Regi- 
ment, 1777;  transferred  to  Third  Regiment;  pri- 
vate in  Captain  Phineas  Beardsley*s  company, 
Seventh  Regiment,  1777 ;  Connecticut  line. 

Rev.  Samuel  Sturdevant  was  born  of  Con- 
gregational parents,  who  were  sincere  believers 
in  the  doctrines  of  the  Established  Church  of 
New  England,  but  early  in  life  he  began  to  con- 
sider for  himself  the  teachings  of  that  church  on 
the  subject  of  baptism,  and  he  wrought  out  the 
way  in  which  he  believed  it  his  duty  to  order  his 
religious  walk.  He  early  became  a  convert  to 
the  Baptist  faith,  was  an  expounder  of  its  doc- 
trines in  Connecticut,  and  one  of  its  earliest  pio- 
neers on  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  had 
determined  to  cast  his  fortunes.  Two  years  after- 
he  came  to  live  in  the  Wyoming  country  he  was 
accepted  as  a  preacher  and  minister  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church.  He  had  been  a  farmer  in  earlier 
years,  and  subsequently  continued  in  that  pursuit 
to  a  limited  extent,  devoting  himself  chiefly,  how- 
ever, to  the  "propagation  of  the  gospel"  in  the 
new  and  then  almost  wilderness  region.  He  was 
not  a  pioneer  in  the  valley,  but  he  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  Baptist  ministry  in  northern 
Pennsylvania,  a  devout  and  earnest  worker,  and 
a  useful  man  in  the  communities  where  he  la- 
bored. He  continued  to  preach  until  1824,  when 
the  infirmities  of  advancing  age  admonished  him 
to  lay  aside  the  arduous  work  of  the  ministry. 
Four  years  later  his  life's  work  was  closed.  He 
died  April  9,  1825,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years,, 
and  his  body  was  buried  in  the  family  graveyard 
on  his  home  farm  in  Black  Walnut. 

Rev.  Samuel  Sturdevant  was  thrice  married. 
His  first  wife  was  Ruth  Northrop,  born  in  Dan- 
burv,  Connecticut,  by  whom  he  had  children : 
Samuel,  see  forward :  Phebe.  married  Joshua 
Keeney ;  Sally,  married  Jacob  Gray ;  Anna,  mar- 
ried David  Lake ;  Elizabeth,  married  Josiah  Alills, 
and  died  1841  ;  Jesse ;  Olive,  married  J.  Coon.. 
He  married  (second)  about  1790,  Sarah  Alorris, 
born  1746,  died  1704,  soon  after  which  he  re- 
moved with  all  his  children,  except  one  daughter,, 
to  Pennsylvania.  His  third  wife  was  Airs.  Lucy 
Cooley,  a  widow,  who  then  had  five  children.  She 
was  born  1764,  died  1836.  By  her  Samuel  had 
three  children:  Elijah  and  Elisha  (twins),  and' 
Lucy,  married  Joseph  Smith. 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


535 


Samuel  Sturdevant  (2),  eldest  son  and  child 
of  Rev.  Samuel  Sturdevant  (1)  and  his  wife 
Ruth  Northrop,  was  born  in  Danbury,  Connec- 
ticut, September  16,  1773,  died  at  Skinner's 
Eddy,  Pennsylvania,  March  4,  1847.  He  came 
with  his  father's  family  to  Braintrim  township 
(in  which  Black  Walnut  was  situated)  in  1792. 
Soon  afterward  he  removed  to  Skinner's  Eddy, 
where  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  founding 
the  village  settlement  there.  He  possessed  excel- 
lent business  qualities  and  during  most  of  his 
active  life  was  engaged  in  land  speculations,  lum- 
bering, operating  saw  and  grist  mills,  and  in 
farming.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  ofi 
Ebenezer  and  Eunice  (Culver)  Skinner,  and  by 
this  marriage  brought  together  two  among  the 
most  prominent  families  in  the  valley,  the  Sturde- 
vants  and  the  Skinners.  To  Samuel  and  Eunice 
(Skinner)  Sturdevant  were  born:  John,  see 
sketch  following;  Peter,  born  1798;  Clarissa, 
born  1800;  Liverius  D.,  born  1802,  father  of  Col- 
onel Samuel  H.  Sturdevant;  Eunice,  born  1804, 
married  Nathan  Osborn ;  Ebenezer  Warren,  born 
1806,  was  brigadier  general  Pennsylvania  State 
Militia;  Sarah,  born  1808,  married  Guy  Welles, 
she  died  at  Fort  Madison,  1841 ;  Maria,  born 
1810;  Charles,  born  1812,  died  in  Wilkes-Barre, 
aged  seventy-five  years ;  Elizabeth,  born  1814, 
was  for  many  years  preceptress  in  the  seminary 
at  Goveurneur,  New  York,  died  August  17,  1842, 
The  mother  of  these  children  died  August  23, 
i833- 

COLONEL  SAMUEL  H.  STURDEVANT, 
deceased,  a  well  known  lumber  dealer  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  was  born  March  29,  1832, 
in-  Braintrim  township  (now  Wyoming  county, 
Pennsylvania,),  the  son  of  Laverius  D.  and  Ada 
(Morley)  Sturdevant.  His  great-grandfather, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Sturdevant  (1),  and  Samuel 
Sturdevant  (2),  his  grandfather,  were  both  na- 
tives of  Connecticut,  and  pioneers  of  Black  Wal- 
nut Bottom  in  Braintrim  township,  where  they 
died. 

Samuel  Sturdevant  (2)  was  born  at  Danby, 
Connecticut,  September  16,  1773,  died  March  4, 
1847.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  (Skinner)  Sturde- 
vant, was  born  at  Hebron,  Connecticut,  July  16, 
1773,  died  August  26,  1833.  Rev.  Samuel  Stur- 
devant, father  of  Samuel  Sturdevant,  born  1741, 
took  an  active  part  in  the  struggle  for  American 
independence,  entering  the  army  as  an  orderly 
sergeant  and  being  promoted  to  a  captaincy,  serv- 
•ing  uninterruptedly  from  the  battle  of  Lexington 
to  the  surrender  of  Yorktown.     Subsequently  he 


emigrated  to  Braintrim,  where,  at  the  place 
known  as  Black  Walnut  Bottom,  he  purchased 
a  large  farm  and  resided  there  until  his  death  in 
1828.  Ebenezer  Skinner,  father  of  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth (Skinner)  Sturdevant,  in  1776,  located  at 
the  mouth  of  Tuscarora  creek,  only  two  miles 
distant,  on  lands  adjoining  the  after  purchase  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Sturdevant.  At  the  advance  of  the 
Indians  down  the  valley  in  1778,  he  with  his  fam- 
ily went  by  canoe  down  the  river  to  Forty  Fort, 
the  canoe  being  then  and  for  many  years  after- 
wards the  only  means  of  travel  up  and  down  the 
Susquehanna  river.  One  of  his  sons,  John  N. 
Skinner,  was  in  the  battle  of  Wyoming,  and  Mr. 
Skinner  was  one  of  those  in  charge  of  the  fort  as 
protectors  of  the  women  and  children.  Mrs. 
Sturdevant,  then  a  child  of  seven  years,  was  with 
her  mother  in  the  fort,  and  after  the  massacre 
they  went  on  foot  with  the  women  and  children 
spared  by  the  Indians  through  the  wilderness 
called  the  "shades  of  death"  to  the  Delaware 
river  and  thence  to  Connecticut.  Samuel  (2) 
and  Elizabeth  had  John,  Peter  B.,  Liverius  D., 
Ebenezer  W.  and  Charles. 

Liverius  D.  Sturdevant  (3),  son  of  Samuel 
(2)  and  father  of  Colonel  Samuel  H.  Sturdevant 
(4),  was  born  and  reared  in  Braintrim  township, 
and  there  followed  successively  the  occupations 
of  farmer,  hotel-keeper  and  merchant.  He  mar- 
ried Ada  Morley,  who  was  a  daughter  of  John 
Morley,  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Tuscarora, 
Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  following 
named  children  were  born  of  the  union :  Samuel 
H,  mentioned  hereinafter ;  Ebenezer  W.,  Eliza- 
beth M.,  wife  of  James  M.  Robinson ;  Martha, 
wife  of  Frank  Ames;  H.  Sinton ;  Dunning;  Ella, 
the  wife  of  Jerome  Swartwood ;  and  Harriet 
Morley,  now  Mrs.  W.  F.  Goff.  The  father  of 
these  children  died  in  Braintrim  at  the  advanced . 
age  of  eighty-three  years. 

Samuel  H.  Sturdevant  was  reared  in  Lu- 
zerne county,  and  there  received  his  educational 
training  in  the  common  schools  and  at  Wyoming 
Seminary.  In  185 1  he  entered  his  business  ca- 
reer as  a  merchant  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylva- 
nia, continuing  until  1855,  when  he  embarked  in 
the  lumber  business,  in  which  he  remained  until 
1861.  On  August  3,  1861,  he  was  appointed  by 
President  Abraham  Lincoln,  captain  of  United 
States  Volunteers.  He  later  received  promotions 
to  lieutenant-colonel  and  colonel.  During  his  term 
of  service  Colonel  Sturdevant  distinguished  him- 
self for  his  courage  and  fearlessness  on  the  field 
of  action.  He  was  mustered  out  of  service  Oc- 
tober, 1865. 


536 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


After  his  return  to  civil  life  Colonel  Sturde- 
vant  became  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  having  formed  a  partnership  with 
Warren  F.  Goff,  and  conducting  the  business 
under  the  firm  name  of  Sturdevant  &  Goff.  The 
honest  and  exact  business  methods  employed  by 
these  gentlemen  won  for  them  gratifying  success 
in  their  business.  In  political  relations  Colonel 
Sturdevant  was  an  earnest  worker  in  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  was  interested  in  all  local  affairs, 
and  served  his  city  as  school  director  for  six  years 
and  as  councilman  for  three  years.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Wilkes-Barre.  November  9,  1853,  he  married 
Leah  Urquhart,  of  Lambertville,  New  Jersey, 
daughter  of  John  and  Emily  (Naylor)  Urqu- 
hart. Eight  children  were  born  to  them  as  fol- 
lows :  John  Henry ;  George  Urquhart,  died  aged 
forty ;  Samuel  Henry,  Jr.,  died  aged  forty-two ; 
Winthrop  Ketcham,  Robert,  Ellen  Urquhart, 
Florence  Slocum  and  Ruth.  Winthrop  died 
aged  about  seven;  Florence  died  in  infancy,  and 
Ruth  died  aged  about  sixteen  years.  Mrs.  Sam- 
uel H.  Sturdevant  died  August  17,  1893.  Colo- 
nel Samuel  H.  Sturdevant  died  February  24, 
1898.  (Obituary  of  Wesley  E.  Woodruff,  kind- 
ness of  Historical  Society.) 

In  the  death  of  Colonel  Samuel  Henry  Stur- 
devant, which  occurred  at  his  home  on  North 
Washington  street,  this  city,  February  24,  1898, 
Wilkes-Barre  lost  an  honored  and  useful  citizen. 
These  two  adjectives  are  often  used  in  our  speech 
and  often,  I  must  acknowledge,  misapplied.  But 
justly  used,  as  they  are  in  this  case,  they  convey 
an  epitome  of  remembrance  well  worth  the  while 
of  any  man. 

Colonel  Sturdevant  was  a  native  of  Brain- 
trim  township,  Wyoming  county,  and  he  was 
born  March  29,  1832.  He  came  of  Revolutionary 
stock  and  his  great-grandfather  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier  from  the  first  echoes  of  musketry 
at  Lexington.  Samuel  H.  Sturdevant  remained 
at  the  public  schools  of  his  township  until 
he  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  He  then  entered 
Wyoming  Seminary  and  took  a  thorough  course 
there,  after  which  he  spent  two  years,  or  until 
185 1,  in  the  lumber  business,  chiefly  operating  in 
the  vicinity  of  Harvey's  Lake  and  with  the  firm 
of  Hollenback  &  LTquhart. 

After  a  few  years  in  business  there  came  to 
Samuel  H.  Sturdevant  the  call  of  his  country 
and  he  did  not  fail.  He  was  mustered  into  the 
L'nited  States  army  August  3,  1851,  as  commis- 
sary of  subsistence.  A  year  later  he  was  attached 
to  Slocum's  brigade  of  the  Sixth  Army  Corps, 


and  he  soon  afterward  became  chief  commissary 
of  the  left  grand  division  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  attached  to  General  Slocum's  staff  of 
the  Twelfth  Corps  and  with  the  rank  of  lieu- 
tenant-colonel. In  1864  he  was  chief  commissary 
of  the  Army  of  Georgia,  with  the  rank  of  colonel. 
He  was  mustered  out  in  October,  1865.  He  saw 
a  great  deal  of  the  severest  fighting  and  the  hard- 
est general  service.  He  was  at  the  battles  of 
South  Mountain,  Antietam.  Fredericksburg, 
ChancellorsviHe,  Gettysburg  and  a  number  of 
lesser  engagements.  It  often  fell  to  his  lot  to 
endure  hardships  and  to  pass  through  great  dan- 
gers in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  but  those  who 
knew  him  thoroughly  learned  to  know  that  he 
quailed  before  nothing  that  had  "duty"  marked 
upon  it. 

He  was  not  merely  a  faithful  officer — his  sol- 
dier life,  to  use  the  expression  of  a  veteran  who 
knew,  was  "lustrous  with  many  brilliant  achieve- 
ments." There  are  those  who  do  their  duty  as 
well  as  they  know  how  and  there  are  those  who 
know  how.  Colonel  Sturdevant  both  knew  how 
and  did  it.  This  might  apply  and  did  apply  as 
well  to  his  business  life  as  to  his  life  as  a  soldier. 
After  the  clash  of  arms  had  ceased,  he  returned 
here  to  resume  the  "trivial  round  of  common 
tasks,"  and  his  career  was  destined  to  last  some- 
what longer  than  the  allotted  time  of  one  genera- 
tion, even  after  the  interruption  of  the  war — 
thirty  years  and  more  of  hard  work,  which  he 
always  enjoyed;  thirty  years  and  more  of  success 
justly  won;  thirty  years  of  unsullied  integrity. 
There  was  never  a  stain  upon  his  honor  or  his 
word.  His  was  one  of  those  rare  natures  that 
does  not  reveal  itself  at  once,  nor  to  all  alike. 
To  appreciate  him,  one  had  to  know  him  and  a 
better  knowledge  always  added  to  his  apprecia- 
tion. And  yet  it  could  scarcely  be  said  that  the 
few  had  a  monopoly  of  his  friendship.  He  had 
many  friends  because  he  was  by  nature  a  friendly 
man,  but  the  best  and  rarest  qualities  of  his  na- 
ture lay  deeper.  Few  of  the  atmospheres  of  that 
sweet  word  "home"  have  ever  been  sweeter  than 
the  atmosphere  of  his  home.  The  children,  loved 
and  loving,  went  their  several  ways  into  the 
world,  but  the  old  home  was  always  their  home, 
the  dearer  because  of  their  less  frequent  visits, 
and  sorrow  came  to  it  in  the  death  of  beloved 
children  and  of  the  wife  who  was  always  the 
queen  of  his  heart.  After  that  blow  the  days 
seemed  rather  to  be  endured  than  enjoyed,  and 
yet  he  always  maintained  that  refined  cheerful- 
ness, and  that  sympathy  that  comes  from  suffer- 
ing when  the  spirit  is  strong  to  bear  and  patient. 


THE   WYOMING   AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


537 


And  as  a  Christian  his  life  was  encompassed 
about  with  charity  of  word,  of  deed  and  of 
thought.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Wy- 
oming Historical  and  Geological  Society,  Decem- 
ber, 1896;  was  a  director  of  the  Pennsylvania  & 
Massachusetts  Lumber  Company ;  president  of 
the  Lake  Transit  Company ;  a  member  of  and  for 
a  considerable  time  chaplain  of  Wilkes-Barre 
Lodge  of  Elks,  and  a  Mason ;  president  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Lumbermen's  Association  and  also 
a  member  of  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal 
Legion  of  the  United  States.  His  loss  was  a 
hard  one  to  the  community,  the  church  and  the 
-social  life  to  fill,  and  for  the  home  it  is  irreparable. 

JOHN  STURDEVANT.  The  life  of  the  late 
John  Sturdevant  affords  a  conspicuous  example 
of  a  noble  character  selfmade  and  an  honorable 
and  useful  career  selfwsought.  He  was  the  first 
:son  of  Samuel  Sturdevant,  who  in  turn  was  the 
son  of  Samuel  Sturdevant,  and  his  birth  occurred 
in  Braintrim  township,  then  Luzerne  (now  Wy- 
oming)  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  20,   1796. 

John  Sturdevant  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  township,  and  subsequently 
became  a  civil  engineer.  In  addition  to  that  pro- 
fession he  also  embarked  in  various  business  en- 
terprises, namely :  Merchant,  owner  of  a  store, 
saw  mills,  grist  mills,  identified  with  the  lumber 
business  and  coal  interests,  and  like  his  father  a 
land  agent.  He  also  served  in  the  capacity  of 
postmaster,  discharging  his  duties  with  prompt- 
ness and  fidelity,  and  was  a  prominent  and  influ- 
ential man  of  his  period.  In  1839  ne  was  elected 
to  the  state  legislature,  and  was  re-elected  again 
in  1855,  these  successive  elections  being  an  elo- 
quent testimonial  to  his  sterling  integrity.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  commissioners  of  the  county 
of  Wyoming.  He  was  associated  in  politics  with 
General  Wakeman.  Mr.  Sturdevant  died  1879, 
aged  eighty-three  years  and  six  months,  leaving 
to  his  family  the  priceless  heritage  of  a  spotless 
reputation. 

John     Sturdevant     married     Sarah     Fassett, 
■daughter  of  Josiah  and  Abigail  Stevens  Fassett, 
daughter  of  Lieut.  Asa  Stevens,  and  a  descend- 
;  -ant  of  an  old  and  prominent  Connecticut  family. 
Just  before  the  Wyoming  massacre   Lieut.  Asa 
Stevens  was  with  General  Washington  in  Xew 
Jersey,  and  hearing  of  the  trouble  in  the  Wyo- 
ming Valley  he  obtained  leave  of  absence  from 
W  ashington  to  visit  his   family,   consisting  of  a 
wife,   son   and   daughter,   the   latter   about  three 
or  four  years  of  age,  and  he  arrived  in  Wyoming 
3  few  days  before  the  battle,  in  which  he  partici- 


pated, and  was  killed.  The  children  of  John  and 
Sarah  (Fassett)  Sturdevant  were  : 

Caroline,  born  1820,  died  190 1,  aged  eighty- 
one  years. 

John  Wesley,  born  1822,  was  a  merchant  in 
Braintrim,  died  1846. 

Edward  J.,  born  1823,  died  1900;  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business  in  Wilkes-Barre. 
He  enlisted  in  the  army  in  1862  and  served  three 
years,  after  which  he  returned  to  Wilkes-Barre 
and  entered  the  mercantile  business,  continuing 
until  his  death.  He  married  Elizabeth  M.  Pros- 
ser,  now  deceased,  and  had  three  children:  1. 
John,  a  civil  engineer,  resides  in  Wilkes-Barre ; 
married  Lillian  Bennett  and  had  Virginia.  2. 
Guy,  a  teller  in  the  Anthracite  Bank,  Wilkes- 
Barre  ;  he  married  Dorothea  Barring,  who  bore 
him  one  daughter  Elizabeth.  3.  Frank,  who 
died  in  early  childhood ;  the  family  reside  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania. 

Helen  M.,  born  about  1825,  died  1889. 

Susan  G.,  married  George  W.  Beach,  now 
deceased,  who  was  a  major  in  the  army,  and  they 
had  two  children :  Frederick  J.,  an  engineer,  re- 
sides in  Wilkes-Barre.,  married  Harriet  Gresh, 
and  has  a  large  family ;  and  Mary,  married  John 
Ayres,  now  dead,  and  their  children  are:  Charles 
Sturdevant,  Robert  and  Kathleen ;  the  family  re- 
side in  Philadelphia. 

Samuel  Burton,  born  February  20,  1830,  men- 
tioned hereinafter. 

Byron  D.,  born  1832,  died  in  Savannah, 
Georgia,  1870.  He  was  a  Methodist  clergyman, 
and  was  stationed  as  minister  in  Kingston,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  at  the  Adams  Avenue  Church, 
Scranton,  Pennsylvania.  He  graduated  in  1861 
at  Wesleyan  University,  Middletown,  Connecti- 
cut, and  was  professor  at  Wyoming  Seminary  for 
a  number  of  years.  He  married  Minerva  Mott, 
of  Blakely,  Lackawanna  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  her  death  occurred  in  that  borough. 

William  H.,  born  September  4,  1838,  men- 
tioned hereinafter. 

Dr.  Samuel  Burton  Sturdevant,  sixth  child 
and  third  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Fassett)  Stur- 
devant, was  born  in  Braintrim  township,  Wyo- 
ming county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  place,  also  Wyo- 
ming Seminary  at  Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and 
in  1 85 1,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  removed 
from  his  native  place  to  Tunkhannock,  where  he 
entered  the  office  of  Dr.  B.  A.  Bouton  and  read 
medicine  for  about  two  years.  He  then  removed 
to  Providence,  Pennsylvania,  (now  Scranton) 
where  •  he  remained  for  some  time  and  finished 


538 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


his  studies,  after  which  he  entered  Jefferson  Med- 
ical College,  at  Philadelphia,  and  graduated  from 
that  institution  in  March,  1856.  After  his  grad- 
uation he  located  in  Dunmore,  a  suburb  of  Scran- 
ton,  and  there  practiced  medicine  until  i860, 
achieving  a  certain  degree  of  success.  In  1863 
he  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Thirty-ninth  Pennsylvania  Regi- 
Ment,  Colonel  F.  H.  Collyer,  commanding,  and  in 
July,  1864,  was  promoted  to  surgeon  of  the 
Eighty-fourth  Pennsylvania  Regiment  with  the 
rank  of  major.  Later  he  was  appointed  as  sur- 
geon to  the  Forty-seventh  Pennsylvania  Regi- 
ment, General  J.  P.  S.  Gobin  commanding,  and 
after  the  grand  review  they  were  sent  to  Savan- 
nah, Georgia,  and  remained  there  during  June, 
July  and  August,  after  which  they  were  sent  to 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  was  medi- 
cal director  of  the  state.  They  remained  until 
January  15,  1866,  when  he  was  mustered  out. 
Major  Sturdevant  was  captured  just  before  the 
battle  of  Spottsylvania,  but  shortly  afterward  by 
putting  on  a  Confederate  overcoat  succeeded  in 
escaping  to  the  Union  lines.  He  was  with  the 
soldiers  who  helped  to  repel  Jubal  Early  when 
Washington,  D.  C.,  was  threatened,  and  Abraham 
Lincoln,  then  president  of  the  United  States,  was 
also  present  at  that  time.  There  were  over  three 
hundred  men  lost  in  an  hour  in  that  engagement. 
After  the  war,  during  the  entire  period  of  which 
Major  Sturdevant  displayed  both  courage  and 
loyalty,  he  returned  to  Scranton  and  there  prac- 
ticed medicine  until  1875,  when  he  removed  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  in  which  city  he  has  since  made 
his  home,  now  leading  a  retired  life,  enjoying  to 
the  full  the  consciousness  of  a  life  well  spent  and 
duties  faithfully  performed.  For  a  period  of  al- 
most eighteen  years  he  served  in  the  capacity  of 
assessor  of  Wilkes-Barre,  rendering  efficient  serv- 
ice therein. 

Samuel  Burton  Sturdevant  married,  Septem- 
ber 7,  1858,  Olive  Leach,  born  September  7,  1837, 
died  December,  1893,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and 
Lovina  (Walley)  Leach,  and  their  children  are: 
Lillian,  married  Harry  G.  Shupp,  a  jeweler  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  their  children  are :  Sturde- 
vant Burton  and  Kenneth  Gardner.  Richard 
Matthews,  born  January  30,  1872,  married  Irene 
Phillips,  daughter  of  the  late  Captain  Phillips,  of 
naval  fame,  of  Portland,  Maine.  Richard  Mat- 
thews, educated  at  the  United  States  naval  acad- 
emy at  Annapolis,  served  as  a  lieutenant  in  the 
navy,  resigned  in  1905,  now  in  private  life.  Wil- 
liam H.  Sturdevant,  youngest  child  and  son  of 


John  and  Sarah  (Fassett)  Sturdevant,  was  born 
in  Braintrem  township,  Wyoming  county.  Dur- 
ing his  early  youth  he  acquired  a  practical  educa- 
tion in  common  schools  and  Wyoming  Seminary,, 
and  in  1857  removed  with  his  father  to  Wilkes- 
Barre  and  there  followed  the  occupations  of  en- 
gineer and  land  agent  with  his  father  until  the 
death  of  the  latter  in  1879.  William  H.  Sturde- 
vant has  held  the  office  of  county  surveyor  and 
Wilkes-Barre  city  engineer  for  about  fourteen 
years,  and  has  "served  in  the  capacity  of  engineer 
for  several  railroads.  He  was  a  director  for  a 
number  of  years  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  Water 
Company  and  its  engineer,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  old  borough  council.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Sons  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  Wyoming  His- 
torical and  Geological  Society.  He  is  also  a. 
member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and 
for  many  years  took  an  active  interest  in  the 
order. 

William  H.  Sturdevant  married,  in  1874,. 
Mary  Letitia,  daughter  of  Jesse  Thomas,  and 
granddaughter  of  Charles  Miner  (see  Thomas- 
and  Miner  Families),  and  their  children  are: 
Thomas  Kirkbride,  born  August  27,  1876,  and 
Jessie  Thomas.  Thomas  Kirkbride  Sturdevant 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  at  the  Harry  Hillman 
Academy,  and  is  a  graduate  of  Princeton  Col- 
lege, and  the  architectural  department  of  Colum- 
bia University  of  the  City  of  New  York.  He  is- 
now  ( 1906)  following  the  profession  of  archi- 
tect, being  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Welsh  and' 
Sturdevant,  at  Wilkes-Barre. 

DAVID   SCOTT  STARK,  a  representative- 
of  the  eighth  generation  of  the  Stark  family,  was- 
born  October  24,   1859,  at  Plains,  Pennsylvania, 
a    son    of    James    Frederick    and    Helen    Marr 
(Stocker)    Stark.     His   birthplace  v was   the   old 
Stark  homestead,  which  has   remained   uninter- 
ruptedly in  the  possession  of  the  family  from  the 
time  it  was  granted  to  the  Pennsylvania  claimants- 
April  4,  1799,  the  tract  being  contained  in  the  old 
Connecticut  land  grant.     David  S.  Stark  still  re- 
sides on  a  portion  of  his  ancestral  estate  in  the 
house  built  by  his  father,  James  F.  Stark,  1859,. 
though  of  late  years  much  improved. 

His  line  of  descent  is  as  follows:  1.  Aaron. 
2.  William.  3.  Christopher.  4.  Captain  James. 
5.  Henry.  6.  James.  7.  Frederick.  8.  David 
Scott  Stark. 

Among  the  very  first  of  the  name  in  Connecti- 
cut   was    Aaron    Starke,    who    served    with    and 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


539' 


under  Captain  John  Mason  during  the  Pequot 
war  in  1637,  and  several  years  later  he  was  again 
in  military  service  under  the  same  gallant  com- 
mander. Aaron  Starke  resided  in  Hartford  in 
1639,  in  Windsor  in  1643,  an<l  New  London,  near 
Stonington,  in  1655,  where  he  was  made  free- 
man in  1669,  and  was  influential  in  the  affairs  .of 
the  church  in  Stonington.  Tradition  has  it  that 
he  was  born  between  the  years  1602  and  1608, 
hence  his  birthplace  must  have  been  England,  but 
certain  it  is  that  he  died  in  New  London,  Connec- 
ticut, in  1685,  leaving  sons :  Aaron,  born  about 
1654;  John,  about  1656;  William,  in  1664;  also 
two  daughters :  Margaret,  who  became  the  wife 
of  John  Fish  ;  and  Elizabeth,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Josiah  Haynes. 

William  Stark,  son  of  Aaron,  married  Eliza- 
beth Stark,  who  bore  him  four  children  :  Wil- 
liam, Christopher,  Daniel,  and  Phebe,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Thomas  Walworth.  William  Stark 
was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  although  reared  in  the  Congregational 
faith,  and  served  as  deacon  until  his  death,  in 
1730.  His  wife  was  also  a  devout  Christian. 
They  had : 

Ensign  Christopher  Stark,  second  son  of  W7il- 
liam  and  Elizabeth  Stark,  born  in  Groton,  in 
1698.  He  married,  April  1,  1722,  in  Groton,  Con- 
necticut, Joanna  Walworth,  and  among  their  chil- 
dren were  three  sons :  Aaron,  James  and  Wil- 
liam. Christopher  Stark  died  1776.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  purchasers  of  land  in  the  Wyoming 
A'alley  from  the  Connecticut  Susquehanna  Land 
Company.  He  and  his  sons  and  their  families 
came  to  Wyoming  Valley,  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
early  part  of  1769. 

Two  of  the  family  appear  in  1772,  Aaron  and 
James,  the  former  sold  his  land  claim  to  James 
and  settled  in  another  portion  of  the  valley.  Mem- 
bers of  the  family  participated  in  the  Wyoming 
battle — Daniel,  Aaron  and  James,  sons  of  James 
and  Elizabeth  (Carey)  Stark — the  latter  born 
December  14,  1760,  and  he  barely  escaped  with 
his  life ;  he  was  also  an  active  participant  in  the 
Revolutionarv  war.  Of  the  same  family  stock 
was  General  Stark,  who.  won  immortal  fame  as 
leader  of  the  Green  Mountain  Boys  before  and 
in  the  battle  of  Bennington,  Vermont. 

Christopher  Stark  (3)  and  his  son.  Captain 
James  Stark  (4),  born  May  22,  1734,  died  July 
20,  1777,  were  buried  side  by  side  in  the  old 
Stark  family  burying  ground  at  Plains,  situated 
on  a  hill  about  five  hundred  yards  northwest  of 
the  Methodist  church  and  Hancock  Station,  and 
about  the  same  distance  easterly  of  the  Lehigh 


A'alley  Railroad,  where  their  remains  yet  repose- 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  graves,  once  marked 
and  well  kept,  are  difficult  to  locate.  The  grave- 
stones were  ruthlessly  destroyed  by  foreigners 
when  the  coal  mines  were  first  opened,  and  the 
headstones  were  torn  down  for  various  uses.. 
There  is  evidence  of  real  vandalism  in  the  further 
fact  that  many  stones  were  broken  up  by  foreign- 
ers and  their  fragments  scattered  over  the  hills. - 
Many  of  the  old  settlers  sleep  in  this  old  ceme- 
tery, among  them  Mrs.  Desire  Wilcox,  Joseph. 
Smith,  James  Hickok  and  his  two  brothers,  be- 
sides many  others.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Stark, 
have  made  earnest  effort  to  protect  this  ancient 
burying  ground,  and  in  May,  1903,  were  success- 
ful in  preventing  the  Laurel  Line  electric  railway 
company  from  running  its  tracks  through  this 
hallowed  ground.  The  remains  of  Henry  Stark 
and  his  family  were  removed  from  here  to  Hol- 
lenback  cemetery  at  Wilkes-Barre,  October  25,. 
1881. 

James  Stark,  son  of  Christopher  and  Joanna: 
(Walworth)  Stark,  was  born  May  22,  1734,  died 
July  20,  1777.  He  served  as  captain  under  Gen- 
eral Washington  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  but 
returned  to  his  home  in  the  valley  when  danger 
threatened,  and  in  the  battle  which  preceded  the 
massacre  was  wounded  in  the  leg,  but  managed 
to  make  his  way  to  the  fort.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Carey,  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry  Carey,  of 
Groton,  Connecticut,  and  their  children  were:: 
James,  born  December  14,  1760;  Henry,  born 
April  19,  1762,  died  January  22,  1807;  Esther, 
born  August  29,  1764;  John,  bora  October  16, 
1766 ;  Paul,  born  December  9,  1769  ;  Samuel,  born- 
October  8,  1771  ;  Abigail,  born  January  22,  1773  ; 
Elizabeth,  born  February  24,  1775  ;  and  Joanna, 
born  January  19,  1777. 

Henry  Stark,  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth 
(Carey)  Stark,  was  born  April  19,  1762,  died" 
January  22,  1807 ;  married  Elizabeth  Kennedy,, 
born  April  12,  1773,  died  December  24,  1851. 
They  had,  James,  born  April  24,  1792,  died  Feb- 
ruary 3,  1856;  Sarah,  born  July  20,  1793;  John, 
bom  January  4,  1795  ;  Hiram,  born  August  17, 
1796;  Henry,  born  February  7,  1798,  lived  to  be- 
ninety-three ;  Mary,  born  February  16,  1800; 
Elizabeth,  born  August  28,  1801,  died  at  the  age- 
of  twelve.  Katherine,  born  January  27,  1803  ;• 
Joanna,  born  November  26,  1805. 

James  Stark,  oldest  son  of  Henry  and  Eliza- 
beth (Kennedy)  Stark,  was  born  April  24,  1792, 
and   died  February   3,   1856.     He  was  the  first 
coal  operatpr  at  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  up  to  the- 
time  of  his  decease,  and  in  addition  was  the  pro— 


540 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


prietor  of  a  general  store,  a  thorough  business 
man,  dealing  largely  in  coal  and  farm  lands.  He 
also  served  in  the  capacity  of  justice  of  the  peace. 
See  later.  He  was  of  a  very  patriotic  nature,  and 
served  as  a  private  in  the  war  of  1812,  display- 
ing the  utmost  courage  and  heroism.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Methodist  Church, 
1843,  °f  which  he  was  a  member,  and  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics.  Mr.  Stark  was  married  three 
times.  His  first  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Katherine  Wagner,  born  May  31,  1796,  died  July 
23,  1 817;  they  were  the  parents  of  the  following 
children:  Sally  Ann,  born  May  14,  1814, 
married  September  25.  1831,  John  Benedict, 
still  living.  Henry  W.,  born  November  17, 
1815,  married  (first)  Elizabeth  Stevens,  De- 
cember 9,  1839,  (second)  October  21,  1851, 
Elizabeth  Sackett,  both  dead.  James  Stark, 
married  (second)  April  19,  1818,  Mary  Michael, 
born  August  1,  1793,  died  January  29,  1822,  and 
she  was  the  mother  of  two  children :  John  Mich- 
ael, born  February  23,  1819,  married  October 
16,  1841,  Sarah  Davidson;  he  died  March  14, 
1896.  (Of  whom  mention  is  made  elsewhere). 
Elizabeth,  born  November  29,  1820,  married 
Charles  Shoemaker,  February  7,  1841.  James 
Stark  married  (third)  Mary  Wagner,  born  De- 
cember 24,  1806,  died  August  2,  1866,  a  daughter 
of  Frederick  and  Katherine  Wagner,  the  former 
named  having  been  born  August  4,  1779,  died 
September  24,  1848 ;  and  the  latter  born  Decem- 
ber 24,  1787,  died  September  5,  1862.  Ten  chil- 
dren were  the  issue  of  this  marriage :  James 
Frederick,  father  of  D.  Scott  Stark,  Jr.,  of 
Plains,  born  January  7,  1824,  died  June  6,  1872; 
married  Helen  Stacker,  November  30,  1858. 
George  Hiram,  born  April  9,  1825,  died  Febru- 
ary 3,  1866;  married  Clara  Blanchard,  July  9, 
1849.  Alexander  Hamilton,  born  March  11,  1827, 
died  March  17.  1869,  married  Hannah  Bryant, 
November  5,  1856.  David  Scott,  born  May  22, 
1829,  died  February  23,  1904;  married  Anna 
Jackson.  Katherine  Maria,  born  June  6,  1831, 
died  January  4,  1882,  married  Benjamin  Dor- 
rance  Beyea,  June  17,  1851.  Mary  Jane,  born 
October  31,  1833,  died  January  16,  1837;  Harriet 
M.,  born  October  31,  1836,  married  Thomas  R. 
Coward,  October  11,  1859.  Mary  Jane  (2),  born 
July  30,  1839,  married  October  18,  i860,  Charles 
H.  Flagg,  a  captain  in  the  war,  and  was  killed  by 
the  bursting  of  a  shell  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, July  3,  1863.  Charles  M..  born  January 
20,  1843,  died  June  20,  1846.  William  Sheppard, 
:see  elsewhere. 

James   Frederick   Stark,   father  of   David   S. 
.Stark,  and  eldesl  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Wag- 


ner) Stark,  the  latter  named  being  the  third  wife 
of  James  Stark,  was  born  January  7,  1824,  died 
June  6,  1872.  He  was  a  very  popular  man  and 
at  one  time  refused  the  nomination  to  the  United 
States  congress.  He  was  a  leading  juror  of  his 
day,  and  was  often  official  custodian  of  the  best 
interests  of  the  township  and  townsmen,  faith- 
fully discharging  all  duties  devolving  upon  him. 
Honor  and  integrity  characterized  his  daily  in- 
tercourse with  his  fellowmen.  He  was  a  lover 
of  books,  an  ardent  seeker  after  knowledge,  and 
an  active  friend  of  all  educational  movements. 
He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  attended  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  gave  freely  of 
his  wealth  to  the  support  of  all  churches  in  this 
locality  and  also  to  the  deserving  poor.  His 
death  was  sincerely  lamented  by  the  entire  com- 
munity. He  married,  November  30,  1858,  Helen 
Marr  Stocker,  born  September  12,  1836,  died 
August  28,  1884,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Kath- 
erine (Hartman)  Stocker.  The  ceremony  was 
performed  at  the  home  of  her  father  at  Plains, 
Pennsylvania,  by  the  Rev.  Charles  Dorrance. 
Their  children  were :  David  Scott,  born  October 
24,  1859,  of  whom  later.  Frederic  S.,  born  July 
30,  1861,  married,  April  30,  1881,  Hattie  H. 
Johnson,  of  Binghamton,  New  York,  and  their 
children  were :  Guy  Johnson,  born  January  29, 
1883,  died  in  Binghampton,  April  5,  1904:  Helen 
Marr,  born  at  Plains,  May  12,  1884;  Caroline 
Parker,  born  July  26,  1885:  Otis;  Frederic; 
Edna ;  Henry ;  and  Esther.  William,  born  April 
30,  1867.  James  Frederic,  born  June  23,  1872, 
of  Plains. 

David  Scott  Stark  attended  the  private  and 
public  schools  of  his  'native  place,  then  was  a 
long-time  student  under  the  skillful  teaching  of 
the  'accomplished  Professor  William  R.  King- 
man in  the  old  institute  on  River  and  Franklin 
streets,  Wilkes-Barre,  in  the  early  seventies ;  then 
Hasting  Academy,  West  Philadelphia;  then 
Wyoming  Seminary  and  Business  Colege.  He  is 
a  ruling  elder  in  the  Plains  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  frequently  represented  the  same  in  the  Lack- 
awanna Presbytery.  He  is  clerk  of  the  church 
sessions  and  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Sun- 
day school.  He  is  a  member  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Society  of  Northeastern  Pennsylvania.  Wy- 
oming Commemorative  Association,  and  charter 
member  of  Washington  Camp,  No.  159,  Patriotic 
Order .  Sons  of  America.  He  is  a  Democrat 
in  politics.  David  Scott  Stark  married,  October 
22,  1890,  Georgianna  Shoemaker,  daughter  of 
Charles  and  Elizabeth  (Stark)  Shoemaker.  The 
ceremony  was  performed  at  the  home  of  her 
parents    at     Plains,    Pennsylvania,    by   the   Rev. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


54* 


Henry  E.  Spayde.  Mrs.  Stark  was  educated  in 
the  private  and  public  schools  of  her  native  place, 
Shoemaker,  Pennsylvania,  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  Wyoming  Commemorative 
Association,  and  Wyoming  Valley  Chapter  of  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 

The  paternal  ancestor  of  Mrs.  David  S.  Stark 
was  Aaron  Shoemaker,  who  came  from  Holland 
to  America  at  an  early  date  and  finally  settled  on 
the  Delaware,  now  Monroe  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania.    (See  Shoemaker  family.) 

His  son,  Adam  Shoemaker,  married  Eva 
Weaver,  and  among  their  children  was  a  son, 
Captain  Henry  Shoemaker,  who  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  war  from  1778  to  1783.  He  was 
captured  and  held  prisoner  for  some  time,,  suffer- 
ing great  hardships  before  he  was  set  at  liberty; 
at  one  time  he  was  stationed  at  Fort  Hinshaw, 
near  Bushkill,  Pennsylvania.  He  married  for 
Ijis  first  wife  a  Miss  Raub,  of  hear  Blairstown. 
New  Jersey.  The  children  of  Captain  Henry 
Shoemaker  and  his  first  wife  were :  Andrew ; 
Jacob  of  whom  further  mention  is  made ;  Will- 
iam, Michael,  Sallie,  Henry,  John,  bo.rn  February 

15,  1794,  died  May  22,  1872,  and  one  daughter 
who  married  Rev.  Whitehead.  The  second  wife 
of  Captain  Henry  was  Barbara  Shutter,  of  Ham- 
ilton, Monroe  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  their 
children  were :  George,  Adam,  Thomas,  born  Oc- 
tober, 1814,  died  April  18,  1888.  Captain  Jacob 
Shoemaker,  son  of  Captain  Henry  Shoemaker 
and  his  first  wife,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  March 

16,  1784,  died  at  Shoemaker,  Pennsylvania, 
November  25,  1863,  aged  seventy-nine  years, 
eight  months  and  nine  days.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  war  of  1812.  In  1820  or  1821  he 
came  from  Hamilton,  Pennsylvania,  and  founded 
the  village  of  Shoemaker,  in  Monroe  county, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  captain  in  Pennsylvania 
State  militia.  He  was  attracted  to  the  place  by 
the  superior  water  power  of  Bushkill  creek  and 
smaller  streams  passing  directly  through  the  prop- 
erties ;  he  purchased  many  hundreds  of  acres  of 
these  farm  and  timber  lands,  built  a  large  flour 
and  feed  mill,  clover  and  saw  mills,  and  a  beau- 
tiful and  spacious  home  for  his  family.  He  pur- 
chased another  large  flour  and  feed  mill  at  Flat- 
brookville,  New  Jersey.  He  was  eminently  suc- 
cessful in  all  his  large  affairs,  and  left  a  large  and 
valuable  estate  entirely  free  from  encumbrance. 
The  Delaware  Valley  Railroad  station  is  on  the 
old  homestead  property  and  is  called  Shoemaker, 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  faithful  and  devoted 
Christian,  and  contributed  liberally  to  the  sup- 
port and  extension  of  the  gospel.  He  was  one  of 
the    founders    of    the    Smithfield    Presbvterian 


church,  and  of  the  Sand  Hill  cemetery  at  Shoe- 
maker, which  was  founded  January  16,  1833,  and. 
where  he  and  the  greater  part  of  his  large  family 
are  buried,  and  of  the  Sand  Hill  Methodist  and. 
Presbyterian  churches.  He  was  a  Democrat  in. 
politics. 

Jacob    Shoemaker   married    Hannah     Troch,  _ 
born  October  4,  1799,  in  Hamilton,  Northampton, 
county,    Pennsylvania,    died    March    22,     1876, 
daughter  of  Rudolph  Troch,  of  Hamilton,  Penn- 
sylvania.    Their  children   were :     Charles,   born 
September  17,  1819,  died  September  23,  1865,  of" 
whom  later.  Henry  born  February  23,  1821,  died. 
January  1,  1839.    James,  born  June  9,  1823,  died 
May,   190 1  ;  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
town  of   Mankato,    Minnesota,   and   was   in  the- 
Sioux  Indian  war  August,    1862,  in  that  state. 
His  horse  was  shot  from  under  him  and  killed,, 
he  escaping  serious  wounds.    He  was  in  the  battle 
of  New  Ulm.  Mary  M.,  born  March  2,  1825,  died. 
November   28,    1903 ;   married    Dr.    Mathew    G. 
Grattan,  of  Shoemakers.     Samuel,  born   March 
1,   1827,  died  January  24,   1833.  Elizabeth,  born. 
May  16,  1829,  died  January  16,  1833.  Sally,  born. 
January  23,  1831,  died  April  25,  1897.  William 
S.,  born  January  30,    1835,  died  August,   1883. 
Andrew  Jackson,  born  January  23,  1837,  the  last_ 
survivor  of  this  family,  was  elected  to  the  legis- 
lature of  Pennsylvania  in  1876,  served  two  years. 
Emanuel  G,  born  July  23,  1839,  died  September 
23,  1871.    John  Raub,  born  April  25,  1841,  died 
at  Smethport,   1902 ;  was  treasurer  of   McKean- 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  held  other  important, 
offices.   Helen   C,   born  January    10,    1844,   died 
October  7,  1890. 

Charles   Shoemaker,   eldest  child  of   Captain-,- 
Jacob   and   Hannah    (Troch)    Shoemaker,    born 
September   17,   1819,   died   September  23,    1865. 
He  founded  Shoemaker's  postoffice,  and  was  the- 
postmaster  several  years.     At  the  same  place  he- 
owned  a  large  store  of  general  merchandise,  an 
extensive  lumber  yard,  and  two  large  improved 
farms.     He   attended   the    Presbvterian    Church. 
He  was  a  staunch  Republican  and  a  man  of  fine- 
ability  and  influence.     He  married,  February  7, 
1841,  Elizabeth  Stark,  of  whom  later,  and  their 
children  were :  James  Stark  Shoemaker,  a  prom-- 
inent  citizen  and  influential  business  man  of  Fort- 
Wayne,  died  May   15,   1883;  he  married,  April 
30,  1872,  Lizzie  Webber,  and  their  children  were  : 
Charles,  deceased,  and  Mark,  born  May  2,  1882. 
Jennie,    now    resides    at    Plains,    Pennsylvania. 
Mary   Frances,   married   George   W.    Snyder   oL 
Wilkes-Barre,  and  they  have  one  child,  a  daugh- 
ter,   Margaret    Henry.     Georgianna,    aforemen- 
tioned as  the  wife  of  David  S.  Stark.    Henrietta,, 


"542 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


died  at  Saratoga  Springs,  November  27,  1877. 
Alice  B.,  married  W.  Frank  Ver  Beck,  an  artist 
of  New  York  City,  and  they  had  two.  children : 
Georgiana  Natalie,  born  1887,  died  in  infancy; 
Frank,  born  September  7,  1891.  Charles  Jacob, 
: married,  January,  1879,  Eva  Edinger,  of  Strouds- 
burg,  now  deceased :  they  had  one  child,  Mary, 
born  June,  1881.  Charles  Jacob  married  (second) 
Ruth  Mott,  of  Falls,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had 
four  children:  Ruth  M.,  born  March  30,  1889; 
Helen  Margery,  June  18,  1891  ;  Florence  Eliza- 
beth, November  1,  1895;  Dorothy  Grace,  October 
7,  1897.  David  Scott  Shoemaker  died  August  26, 
1890. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Stark)  Shoemaker,  mother 
of  Mrs.  David  S.  Stark,  was  born  on  the  Stark 
"homestead,  Plains,  Pennsylvania,  November  29, 
1820,  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  (Michael) 
Stark.  She  was  a  member  and  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  Delaware  Water  Gap  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church ;  she  was  noted  for  her  kindness 
and  generositv  to  the  poor ;  she  donated  a  portion 
of  the  ground  upon  which  the  Methodist  church 
at  M00s'c>  Lackawanna  county,  Pennsylvania,  is 
"located.  She  died  January  21,  1906,  at  Plains^' 
Pennsylvania.  James  Stark,  father  of  Mrs.  Shoe- 
maker, born  April  24.  1792,  died  February  3, 
1856.  He  was  a  pioneer  coal  operator  and  mer- 
chant of  Plains,  opened  his  store  of  generall  mer- 
chandise in  1812,  and  at  his  death  left  a  valu- 
able estate  of  vast  tracts  of  coal  lands  in  the 
"Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  Valleys.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  First  Methodist  church  at 
Plains,  April  15,  1843,  and  was  a  devoted  chris- 
tian and  temperance  worker.  He  served  as  mag- 
istrate for  many  years.  He  married,  April  19, 
1818,  on  the  Delaware,  Monroe  county,  Penn-' 
sylvania,  (second)  Mary  Michael,  born  August 
1,  1793,  died  January  29,  1822,  buried  in  Hollen- 
back  cemetery.  James  Stark  was  a  lineal  descen- 
dant of  Christopher,  born  1698.  and  Joanna 
(Walworth)  Stark.  Their  son,  Captain  James 
Stark,  married  Elizabeth  Carey,  born  1734,  died 
July  20,  1777,  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry  Carey,  of 
"New  England.  Their  son,  Henry  Stark,  born 
April  19,  1762,  died  January  22,  1807,  married 
Elizabeth  Kennedy,  born  April  12,  1773,  died  De- 
cember 24,  185 1,  and  their  son  was  James  Stark, 
aforementioned.  Mary  (Michael)  Stark  traces 
her  ancestry  to  George  Michael,  Sr.,  who  was 
among  the  early  settlers  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
moved  from  Forks,  Northampton  county,  to 
Lower  Smithfield  township,  same  county,  in 
1794,  and  settled  on  the  Michael  plantation  along 
the  Delaware  river  on  four  tracts  of  land  con- 
veyed by  deed  from  Isaac  Humphreys  and  his 


wife  Elizabeth  to  George  Michael,  Sr.,  his  heirs 
and  assigns,  on  the  23d  day  of  April,  1794,  con- 
taining eight  hundred  acres.  His  wife,  Anna 
Margaret  Michael,  bore  him  children:  Peter, 
George,  Jr.,  John,  Elizabeth,  Katherine,  Fred- 
erick Wagner,  Margaret  and  Polly.  George 
Michael,  Jr.,  married  and  among  his  children  was 
a  son,  John  Michael,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Schnable,  and  their  children  were:  George  M., 
John,  Jr.,  Mary,  who  became  the  second  wife  of 
James  Stark;  Anna,  Elizabeth,  Sarah,  Katherine, 
Lydia,  Margaret  and  Susan  Michael. 

LEWIS  COMPTON  PAINE  was  a  son  of 
Captain  Jedediah  Paine  and  a  descendant  in  the 
eighth  generation  of  Thomas  Paine,  who  was  in- 
strumental in  forming  one  of  the  first  companies 
of  Pilgrims  who  went  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colony  in  1621.  The  family  can  be  traced  as 
among  those  which  followed  the  Norman  inva- 
sion of  England  bv  William  the  Conqueror  in  the 
eleventh  century. 

Captain  Jedediah  Paine  was  a  seafaring  man, 
as  were  nearly  all  the  male  members  of  the  fam- 
ily for  several  generations ;  he  followed  the  sea 
for  sixty-three  years,  and  was  an  extensive  ship- 
owner and  builder  in  New  York  until  his  death. 
He  married  Phebe  Ann  Compton,  of  Perth  Am- 
boy,  New  Jersey,  daughter  of  Lewis  Compton, 
a  noted  sea  captain.  Jedediah  and  Phebe  Ann 
Paine  had  Lewis  Compton,  Colonel  Jedediah  C, 
United  States  Volunteers,  1861-1865,  and  others. 

Lewis  Compton  Paine,  son  of  Captain  Jede- 
diah and  Phebe  Ann  (Compton)  Paine,  born 
Perth  Amboy,  New  Jersey,  March  26,  1827,  died 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  May  16,  1890.  Mar- 
ried (first),  1848,  Mary  Campbell  Lee,  daughter 
of  James  Stewart  Lee,  the  brother  of  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Washington  Lee.  He  married  (second) 
1857,  Annie  Elizabeth  Lee,  born  Chester  Yallev. 
Pennsylvania,  July  22,  1830,  daughter  of  David 
Cloyd  and  Anna  (Scott)  Lee,  of  Chester  Valley. 
Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  who  died  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  July  6,  1893.  After  his 
first  marriage  Mr.  Paine  moved  to  Perth  Am- 
boy and  settled.  He  visited  friends  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  about  1846,  and  later  came  there  with  his 
uncles,  Frank  Waite  and  the  Compton  brothers, 
and  engaged  in  coal  operations  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  Andrew  Lee,  the  firm  now  being  Lee, 
Paine  &  Company.  Mr.  Paine  retired  from  the 
coal  business  in  18^7  and  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  but  in  i860  he  was  among  the  first  to 
engage  in  the  local  oil  trade.  About  1868  he 
engaged  in  the  mine  store  business  in  Empire, 
Ashley   and    Sugar    Notch,   with    William   Lord 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


543 


Conyngham,  Charles  Miner  Conyngham  and 
Charles  Parrish,  the  style  of  the  firm  being  Co- 
nvngham  &  Paine.  A  few  years  later  the  business 
was  transferred  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where  the  firm, 
Mr.  Parrish  having  withdrawn,  engaged  in  meat 
packing.  Mr.  Paine  became  sole  proprietor  of 
this  establishment  in  1879.  He  originated  in 
"Wilkes-Barre  the  dressed  beef  business  of  Ar- 
mour &  Company,  was  the  pioneer  of  the  inde- 
pendent oil  business  in  that  city,  and  was  at  one 
time  treasurer  of  the  Pennsylvania  Oil  Com- 
pany. But  his  strenuous  life  made  inroads  upon 
his  health,  and  induced  the  merger  of  his  business 
in  the  corporation  of  Paine  &  Company,  limited.  - 
He  was  a  foremost  figure  in  other  industrial 
and  financial  institutions,  being  one  of  the  found- 
ers and  at  one  time  president  of  the  Ashley  Sav- 
ings Bank ;  vice-president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Water  Company ;  and  was  largely  instrumental  in 
securing  f  or  Wilkes-Barre  the  Sheldon  axle 
works.  Mr.  Paine  was  a  communicant,  vestry- 
man and  later,  1874-1890.  rector's  warden  of  St.. 
Stephen's  church ;  a  trustee  of  the  Osterhout 
Z/Free  Library ;  one  of  the  Osterhout  executors ; 
an  active  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade ;  and 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Wrilkes-Barre  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  He  was  made  a 
member  of  Lodge  No.  61,  F.  and  A.  M.,  De- 
cember 16,  1854,  and  served  as  secretary  1861, 
and  W.  M.  1864.  He  was  also  a  member,  1881, 
and  from  1882  to  1884  vice-president  of  the  Wyo- 
ming Historical  and  Geological  Society. 

James  Stewart  Lee,  father  of  Mary  Campbell 
Lee,  was  second  son  of  Captain  Andrew  and 
Priscilla  (Espy)  Lee.  Captain  Andrew  Lee,  born 
East  Hanover,  Dauphin  county,  Pennsylvania, 
1739,  was  one  of  the  famous  "Paxtang  Boys"  of 
1763.  He  was  commissioned  ensign  Second 
Canadian  Regiment  (Congress'  Own),  Moses 
Hazen,  colonel,  November  3,  1776 ;  lieutenant, 
September,  1779,  and  served  as  captain  of  dra- 
gons 1779-1783,  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  He 
was  a  noted  partisan  officer  during  that  contest, 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British  1775  and  1777, 
the  latter  time  confined  in  a  prison  ship  in  New 
York  harbor  for  two,  years,  when  in  1779  he  es- 
caped. His  history  full  of  interest  is  published 
in  Egle's  Notes  and  Queries,  Series  1,  Vol.  1, 
He  returned  after  the  peace  of  1783  to  Lancaster 
county :  married  Priscilla  Espy,  daughter  of 
Josiah  and  Elizabeth  (Crain)  Espy,  and  widow 
of  James  Stewart,  a  brother  of  Captain  and 
Lieutenant-colonel  Lazarus  Stewart.  He  re- 
moved to  Harrisburg,  and  in  1804  to  Hanover. 
Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  resided  on 
the  bank  of  the  Susquehanna,  at  the  mouth  of 


Nanticoke  creek,  half  a  mile  above  Nanticoke 
falls,  where  he  died  June  15,  1821.  He  had  two 
sons:  1.  Lieut. -Col.  Washington  Lee,  born 
1786,  died  1 87 1,  an  officer  in  the  United  States 
army,  serving  through  the  war  of  1812-15,  as 
lieutenant,  and  captain  1813,  and  June,  1813,  as 
deputy.  He  wras  made  lieutenant  colonel  of  Elev- 
enth United  States  Infantry,  January  1,  1815.  He 
married,  June  16.  1817,  Elizabeth  Campbell, 
daughter  of  Rev.  John  Campbell,  D.  D.,  removed 
to  Nanticoke,  1817;  engaged  in  iron  making  on 
the  Newport  branch  of  Nanticoke  creek  before 
the  canal  was  built,  and  afterward  in  coal  min- 
ing for  many  years ;  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre  in 
1869,  and  died  there  without  issue  September  10, 
1871.  2.  James  S.  Lee,  born  Dauphin  county,  Pa., 
January  3,  1789,  died  July  21,  1 85 1  ;  came  with 
his  parents  to  Nanticoke,  1804,  married,  1-804, 
Martha  Campbell,  born  April  2,  1792,  died  in 
Nanticoke,  October  21,  185 1.  He  had  five  chil- 
dren :  Andrew  Lee,  born  1815,  died  1882,  married 
Sarah  Jane  Buckhout ;  Priscilla  Lee,  born  1819, 
married  Ziba  Bennett  (see  Bennett  family)  ; 
Washington  Lee,  born  1821,  died  1883,  married 
Emily  Thomas,  and  had  Charles  W.  Lee,  of 
Wrilkes-Barre ;  Margaret  Lee,  born  1823,  died 
1866,  married  Dr.  James  F.  Doolittle  and  had 
Priscilla  Lee  Doolittle,  who  married  her  cousin, 
Charles  W.  Lee,  above ;  Mary  Lee,  born  1829, 
died  1853,  married  Lewis  Compton  Paine. 

Lewis  C.  and  Mary  C.  (Lee)  Paine  had  two 
children:  1.  William  Lee  Paine,  died  November 
13,  1905,  married  Margaret  Swetland,  and  had 
Lewis  Compton  and  William  Swetland.  2.  Mary 
Paine.  Lewis  C.  and  Annie  E.  (Lee)  Paine  had 
two  children :  Anne  Scott  Paine,  of  whom  later, 
and  Priscilla  Lee  Paine. 

Anne  Scott  Paine,  eldest  daughter  of  Lewis 
Compton  and  Annie  E.  (Lee)  Paine,  married 
Dr.  Thomas  Davis  Worden,  born  Trenton,  New 
New  York,  June  18.  1853.  died  April  19,  1888. 
He  was  educated  at  Fort  Plains,  New  York,  Ca- 
zenovia  Seminary,  Cazenovia,  New  York,  and 
Syracuse  University,  from  which  he  graduated  ' 
Ph.  B.,  1877.  He  entered  the  Albany  Medical 
College,  1877,  securing  at  the  same  time  a  very 
advantageous  position  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Van 
Der  Veer,  Albany's  famous  surgeon.  Here  Dr. 
Worden  remained  for  three  years,  attending  lec- 
tures at  the  college;  graduating  M.  D.,  1880.  At 
Syracuse  University  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  Fraternity.  He  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Albany,  1880,  but 
severe  illness  from  overstudy  prostrated  him.  On 
his  recovery  he  sailed  for  Europe  with  General 
Martindale    in    June,     1881,    as    his    attending 


544 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


physician.  After  General  Martindale's  death 
he  returned  home  and  became  a  member 
of  the  medical  staff  of  the  Sanitarium  at 
Saratoga,  New  York.  His  health  being  again 
threatened  in  1880,  he  resigned  his  position  at 
Saratoga,  and  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  where 
for  a  time  he  entered  upon  business  relations  with 
his  father-in-law,  Lewis  C.  Paine,  but  it  was 
never  Dr.  Warden's  intention  to  give  up  his  pro- 
fession permanently.  During  the  last  two  years 
at  Saratoga  he  had  nearly  completed  for  publi- 
cation a  translation  of  the  medical  work  of  Beni 
Borde,  an  eminent  French  physician.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1887,  his  health  necessitated  an  immedi- 
ate change  of  climate.  He  therefore  went  at  once 
with  his  wife  and  child  to  Colorado  Springs, 
where  he  remained  until  shortly  before  his  death. 
Dr  Worden  was  an  earnest  Christian  and  a  com- 
municant of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  Wilkes-Barre. 
He  had  one  child,  Anne  Lee  Worden. 

H.  E.  H. 

CHARLES  P.  HUNT,  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  traces  his  ancestry  to  Thomas 
Hunt,  of  the  city  of  York,  England,  barrister, 
who  was  born  in  1770,  died  in  1822.  He  married 
Rachel  Bell,  who  was  a  Quakeress,  and  whose 
death  occurred  in  Canada.  They  had  six  chil- 
dren :  Dr.  Ellwood,  a  surgeon  in  the  Royal 
army,  died  in  Australia ;  Dr.  Frederick  Bell,  a 
physician  in  the  city  of  York,  England,  and  a 
fellow  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  of 
Edinburg,  Scotland ;  Lawrence,  Anna,  Harriet, 
Rachel,  Francis  William,  of  whom  later. 

Francis  William  Hunt,  fourth  soai  of  Thomas 
and  Rachel  (Bell)  Hunt,  was  born  in  the  city  of 
York,  England,  May  17,  1806,  died  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  November  6,  1871.  He  em- 
igrated to  America  in  1835.  He  lived  for  a  time 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  removed  thence  to  Mes- 
hoppen,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  served  as  post- 
master in  connection  with  his  other  avocations  in 
life,  merchandising  and  the  lumber  business.  In 
1845  ne  removed  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  there 
a  farmer  and  general  store-keeper  as  long  as  he 
was  actively  engaged  in  business  pursuits.  He 
also  engaged  in  the  coal  business,  owned,  sold 
and  handled  a  large  amount  of  real  estate,  and 
was  one  of  the  well  known  representative  busi- 
ness men  of  Wilkes-Barre.  He  was  a  director 
of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  a 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Eellows. 

He  married,  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
May  6,  1840,  Sarah  Althea  Parrish,  born  May 
10,   1817,  died  October  24,   1893,  aged  seventy- 


six  years,  daughter  of  Archippus  Parrish  and  his 
wife  Phebe  Miller,  and  sister  of  the  late  Charles 
Parrish,  of  Wilkes-Barre.  (See  Parrish  Family). 
They  had :  Ellwood  Herring,  born  Meshoppen, 
Pennsylvania,  February  14,  1841,  now  a  prom- 
inent screen  manufacturer ;  Charles  Parrish,  born 
Meshoppen,  July  31,  1843,  of  whom  later;  Fran- 
cis William,  died  in  infancy;  Anna  Mercy,  of 
Wilkes-Barre. 

Charles  Parrish  Hunt,  second  child  of  Francis 
William  and  Sarah  Althea  (Parrish J  Hunt,  was 
born  in  Meshoppen,  Pennsylvania,  July  31,  1843. 
Married,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  April  6,  1875, 
Grace  Staunton  Lea,  daughter  of  Judge  James 
Neilson  and  Hetty  H.  (  McNair)  Lea.  He  was 
educated  in  the  Wilkes-Barre  public  schools  and 
at  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
but  he  early  entered  into  business  employment. 
He  became  clerk  in  the  store  of  Rutter  &  Reading, 
hardware  merchants  in  Wilkes-Barre,  in  1859, 
and  in  1866  a  partner  in  the  business  under  the 
firm  of  Rutter  &  Reading.  He  became  partner 
with  Mr.  Reading  in  the  firm  of  Reading  &  Hunt, 
general  hardware  merchants,  in  1869,  and  so  con~ 
tinued  until  1876,  when  Mr.  Hunt  succeeded  to 
the  sole  proprietorship  of  the  business  and  con- 
ducted it  alone  until  1880,  when  his  brother,  Ell- 
wood Herring  Hunt,  acquired  an  interest  in  the 
business.  The  firm  then  became  Charles  P.  Hunt 
&  Brother,  and  was  so  until  1893,  when  the  senior 
partner  retired  from  the  concern  to  engage  in 
other  pursuits. 

Mr.  Hunt  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Hillman   Vein   Coal   Company   at  Wilkes-Barre, 
1882,  and  was  its  treasurer  and  manager  until 
1902,  when  it  was  sold. '  He  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers in  1889  °f  the  Langcliffe  Coal  Company  at 
Avoca,  Pennsylvania,  and  treasurer  of  the  com- 
pany until  it  was  sold  in  1892.    He  is  now  treas- 
urer of  the  Parrish  Coal  Company,  and  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Parrish,  Phillips  &  Company,  coal 
sales  agents,  of  No.  1  Broadway,  New  York.   He 
is  president  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Iron  Manufact- 
uring Company,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  director  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Wilkes-Barre,  the  Parrish 
Coal  Company,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  the  Vulcan  Iron 
Works,    the    Hazard    Manufacturing    Company, 
and    the    Wilkes-Barre    City    Hospital.     He    is 
also     a     member     of     the     board     of     trustees 
of    the    Wilkes-Barre    Institute    and    the    Home 
for  Friendless   Children.     For  many  years   Mr. 
Hunt  has  been  a  member  and  trustee  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  formerly  a  trustee 
of  the  Memorial  Church  of  Wilkes-Barre.     He 
is  a  member  of  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical  Society,  Westmoreland  Club  of  Wilkes- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


545 


Barre,  Wyoming  Valley  Country  Club  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  a  non-resident  member  of  Scranton 
Club  of  Scranton,  Pennsylvania. 

Mrs.   Charles   P.    Hunt   descends   from  Rev. 
Luke  Lea,  Mecklenburg  county,  North  Carolina, 
who   married   Mary   Wilson,    daughter   of    Zac- 
cheus  Wilson,  senior,  Esq.,  a  signer  of  the  Meck- 
lenburg Declaration  of  Independence,  May,  1775  ; 
member    of    the    provincial    congress    of    North 
Carolina,    1776,   and   of  the  convention  of   1788 
which    deliberated    on    the    Constitution    of    the 
United  States.     Rev.   Luke  and  Mary  Lea  had 
three  sons:     1.    Rev.   Major  Lea,  who  married 
Lavinia  Jarnagin,  and  had  Luke  Lea,  member  of 
the    Lhited    States    congress    from    Tennessee, 
1833-37 1  Judge  Pryor  Lea,  member  of   United 
States   congress    from   Tennessee,    1827-31  ;   Dr. 
Wilson  Lea;  and  Albert  M.  Lea,  United  States 
army,     1831-36,    lieutenant-colonel,    Confederate 
American    army,    1861-65,    whose    son,    Edward 
Lea,    United    States    navy,    was    lieutenant-com- 
mander of  the  United  States  gunboat  "Harriet\ 
-^Xane,"   1862,  killed  in  battle,   Galveston,  Texas, 
January^  1,  1863.     2.     Colonel  Luke  Lea,  senior, 
married    Susan    Wells    McCormick,    and    had : 
Judge  John    McCormick   Lea,    president   of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Tennessee.     3.    James  Lea, 
married  Eliza  Roddy,  and  had :   Mrs.  Judge  Sam- 
uel H.  Harper,  and  Major  Squire  Lea,  M.  D., 
major  and  surgeon  in  the  United  States  army, 
Forty-fourth  Infantry,  1813  ;  post  surgeon  United 
States    army,     1818;    assistant    surgeon,     1821  ; 
Major      Squire      Lea      married,      1S14,      Eliza 
Neilson,     of    Virginia ;     their     children :      Hon. 
James     Neilson     Lea,     LL.     D.,     born     Baton 
Rouge,    Louisiana,    November    26,     1815,    died 
Wilkes-Barre,    Pennsylvania,    October   26,    1884. 
Married,  March  16,  1841,  Hetty  McNair.     Stu- 
died   law    with    his    uncle,    Judge    Harper,    su- 
preme court,  Louisiana,  and  became  judge  of  the 
second     district     court     New     Orleans,      1847, 
and   associate   judge   of   the   Louisiana   supreme 
court,  1855.     He  received  the  degree  of  LL.  D. 
in    1877  from  Washington  and  Lee  University, 
Virginia.     He  had  four  children  besides   Grace 
Staunton  Lea,   who   married   Charles   P.    Hunt : 
Wilson  Lea ;  Walter  Lonsdale  Lea,  M.  D.,  grad- 
uated  Bachelor   of   Arts,    Washington   and    Lee 
University,     1877,    and    practiced    medicine    in 
Wilkes-Barre ;    Rosa   Lea ;   Helen   Lea,   married 
(first)   Henry  HoUeway  Lonsdale,  of  New  Or- 
leans;    (second)     Robert     Charles     Shoemaker, 
Forty  Fort,  Pennsylvania,  and  had :   Hetty  Lons- 
dale,   married    Colonel    Asher    Miner,    Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania ;  Grace  Shoemaker,  married 
35 


Dr.    Charles    H.    Miner,    of   Wilkes-Barre;    and 
Stella  Shoemaker. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  P.  Hunt  have  had  three 
children:  1.  Francis  William,  born  December, 
1875,  died  in  infancy.  2.  Lea,  born  September 
19,  1878,  educated  at  the  Harry  Hillman  Acad- 
emy, Horace  D.  Taft's  Preparatory  School, 
Watertown,  Connecticut,  and  Yale  College.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club,  the  Wyo- 
ming Valley  Country  Club,  the  Yale  Club  of  New 
York  City,  and  the  Wyoming  Historical  and  Geo- 
logical Society.  He  is  now  in  business  with  his 
father.  3.  Carl,  born  1880,  died  January  28, 
1883.  H.  E.  H. 


LIEUTENANT  JOSEPH  WRIGHT 
GRAEME,  U.  S.  N.,  was  born  August  14,  1875, 
son  of  Thomas  and  Ellen  Hendrick  (Wright). 
Graeme.  (See  Wright  family.)  He  graduated 
at  Hillman  Academy,  1893 ;  was  appointed  cadet 
to  United  States  Naval  Academy,  Annapolis, 
September  9,  1893,  and  graduated  1898.  He 
served  on  the  "Iowa"  in  the  Spanish-American 
war,  in  command  of  the  forward  port  turret  in 
battle  with  Cervera's  fleet.  He  was  commis- 
sioned ensign  July  1,  1899,  and  served  in  the 
Philippines  for  three  years.  He  was  promoted 
lieutenant  1902,  attached  to  the  "Maryland,"  in 
Cuban  waters,  where  he  was  killed  by  an  explo- 
sion on  the  "Kearsarge,"  while  on  duty,  April 
14,  1906.  His  was  a  noble  character,  and  he 
was  of  unusual  promise  as  a  man  and  an  officer, 
and  deservedly  popular  in  every  sphere  of  his 
young  life.  He  married,  January  15,  1903,  Ethel, 
daughter  of  James  A.  Robinson,  of  New  York. 
They  had  Alice,  born  1904.  H.  E.  H. 

WILLIAM  N.  JENNINGS,  formerly  a  lum- 
ber dealer  of  Wyoming  Valley,  traces  his  descent 
to  an  old  family  in  England.  His  present  home 
is  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  and  he  is  con- 
siderably interested  in  real  estate. 

Paul  Bishop  Jennings,  father  of  William  N. 
Jennings,  was  born  at  Holt,  Wiltshire,  England, 
July,  1795.  By  his  own  efforts,  he  earned  and 
saved  sufficient  money  to  pay  his  passage  to 
America,  landed  at  Baltimore  in  '1815,  and  then 
went  near  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  an  uncle 
living.  Not  being  able  to  make  satisfactory  ar- 
rangements for  his  services,  he  went  to  the  Le- 
high river,  near  Mauch  Chunk,  and  there  en- 
gaged in  the  lumbering  business,  putting  logs  and 
timber  into  the  Lehigh  for  White  &  Hazard.  He 
soon  became  foreman  of  a  gang  of  men,  and 
after  a  time  took  jobs  delivering  timber  to  the- 


546 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Lehigh  river.  During  his  operations  there  he 
visited  the  Wyoming  Valley  to  buy  supplies  for 
men  and  teams.  At  that  time  Wyoming  Valley 
was  a  cheap  place  to  buy  agricultural  products, 
as  there  were  no  means  of  transportation  but  by 
the  old  wagon  road  over  the  mountain  to  Easton. 
During  these  visits  he  became  acquainted  with 
one  Joseph  Tuttle,  father  of  Elizabeth  Tuttle, 
whom  he  afterwards  married.  Finishing  his 
lumbering  operations  on  the  Lehigh  in  1829,  he 
moved  to  Grist  Flats,  in  Windham  township,  Lu- 
zerne county.  In  the  spring  of  1851,  after  living 
there  two  years,  he  bought  of  Dr.  Carney  a  farm, 
grist  and  saw  mill  at  what  is  now  North  Mehoop- 
any, Wyoming  county.  At  that  time  the  country 
was  wild  and  mostly  covered  with  woods.  He 
cleared  a  large  farm  and  besides  other  business 
had  a  country  store,  and  was  very  energetic  and 
accumulated  for  that  section  and  times  a  consid- 
erable fortune.  He  was  originally  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  but  in  i860  he  left  the  old  party  and 
voted  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  was  a  highly 
valued  citizen  of  the  town  in  which  he  lived, 
being  public-spirited  in  a  marked  degree.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
as  was  also  his  wife.  His  death  occurred  in  De- 
cember, 1864.  He  married  at  Kingston,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1826,  Elizabeth  Tuttle,  who  was  born  in 
1796  and  died  in  1893,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Mary  Lee  Tuttle,  of  Wyoming  Valley.  Mr.  Tut- 
tle was  a  farmer  and  a  business  man.  The  chil- 
dren of  Paul  B.  and  Elizabeth  (Tuttle)  Jennings 
were : 

1.  Joseph  T.,  born  near  Rockport,  Carbon 
county,  1827.  When  about  four  years  old,  his 
parents  moved  to  Mehoopany  and  there  he  lived 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  acting  in  the  capacity 
of  clerk  in  the  store  of  his  father,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-four,  together  with  his  brother,  William 
N.,  purchased  about  two  thousand  acres  of  tim- 
ber land  in  what  is  known  as  Jenningsville.  Here 
they  erected  saw-mills.  The  firm's  name  was 
Jennings  Brothers.  His  death  occurred  in  Me- 
hoopany in  October,  1901.  Joseph  T.  Jennings 
married,  October  25,  1849.  Sally  Ann  Fassett, 
daughter  of  Major  John  Fassett,  of  Windham 
township,  Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania.  The 
children  of  Joseph  T.  and  Sally  A.  (Fassett) 
Jennings  are  Harry  S.  and  John  B.  Both  were 
lumbermen  and  succeeded  to  the  business  of  their 
father,  and  at  the  present  time  both  are  living. 

2.  William  N.,  see  forward. 

3.  Worthy,  died  in  early  life. 

4.  Maria,  died  in  early  life. 

5.  Charles,  drowned  in  the  Susquehanna 
river  while  bathing,  at  the  age  of  eight  years. 


6.  Caroline,  born  at  Mehoopany,  1835,  mar- 
ried E.  W.  Sturdevant,  have  two  sons  and  three 
daughters,  all  living  at  this  time,  and  they  and  all 
their  children  with  the  exception  of  one  reside 
at  Danville,  Vermont. 

7.  Mary  Ann,  born  at  Mehoopany,  1837, 
married  J.  C.  Kintner,  had  two  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  living  at  the  present  time  ( 1906  j  ; 
Mary  Ann  Kintner  died  at  the  age  of  fifty. 

William  N.  Jennings,  second  son  and  child 
of  Paul  Bishop  and  Elizabeth  (Tuttle)  Jennings, 
was  born  at  Tuttletown,  Kingston,  Pennsylvania, 
now  Forty  Fort  borough,  March  3,  1829.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  at  the  Wyoming  Seminary,  Kingston, 
Pennsylvania.  He  remained  under  the  parental 
roof  at  Mehoopany  until  he  was  twentv-one  vears 
of  age,  and  then  concluded  to  see  something  of 
the  world.  In  the  spring  of  1850  he  went  down 
the  Susquehanna  river  on  a  flotilla  of  lumber  to 
Marietta,  Pennsylvania.  There  he  took  cars  on 
the  Pennsylvania  railroad  to  Lewistown,  on  the 
Juniata,  which  was  the  terminal  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railroad  at  that  time.  From  there  he  took 
packet  boats  to  Pittsburg,  and  went  over  the  Al- 
leghany Mountains  from  Hollidaysburg  to  Johns- 
town by  portage  railroads.  At  Pittsburg  he 
took  steamer  for  St.  Louis,  via  the  Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi rivers.  At  St.  Louis  he  took  steamer  up 
the  Missouri  river  to  the  town  of  Weston,  Mis- 
souri, near  Fort  Leavenworth.  At  that  place  he 
bought,  with  his  partner,  a  Mr.  Ray,  three  yokes 
of  young  oxen,  and  from  there  started  for  Cali- 
fornia across  the  plains,  across  the  states  of  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska,  before  there  was  a  farm  or 
farm-house  in  either  state.  They  struck  the  Platte 
river  at  Fort  Kearny,  followed  up  the  Platte  to 
the  junction  of  the  North  and  South  Platte  rivers, 
forded  the  South  Platte  and  followed  up  the 
north  until  he  reached  the  Sweet  Water  river 
where  it  emptied  into  the  North  Platte ;  went  up 
the  Sweet  Water  to  its  head,  and  then  through 
the  south  pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from 
there  across  the  Big  and  Little  Sandy  rivers, 
across  the  Green  River  desert,  and  struck  the 
Bear  river  at  Soda  Springs.  From  there  they 
struck  the  headwaters  of  the  Humboldt  river, 
followed  it  down  to  the  sink,  and  then  across  the 
sixty  mile  desert,  and  struck  Truckee  river  and 
followed  up  the  Truckee  to  its  source,  across  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  and  arrived  in  Nevada  City,  Cal- 
ifornia, September  15,  being  just  four  months  on 
the  passage.  Here  he  cast  his  first  vote,  and 
voted  for  the  California  state  officers  and  for 
location  of  capitol.  California  was  admitted  as 
a  state  in  1850  and  this  was  the  first  state  elec- 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


547 


tion.  He  stayed  in  California  some  four  months, 
prospecting  and  investigating  the  opportunities 
for  making  money,  but  finally  concluding  that  he 
preferred  Pennsylvania  to  live  in  and  for  busi- 
ness, returning  took  sailing  vessel  at  San  Fran- 
cisco for  Panama,  and  after  being  out  forty-one 
days  they  put  into  a  port  in  Central  America 
called  Realejo.  By  that  time  he  was  sick  of  sea- 
going, and  with  a  few  others  traveled  from  that 
place  to  Grenada,  on  Lake  Nicaragua,  on  horse- 
back, took  a  small  steamer  from  there  to  San 
Carlos,  came  down  the  San  Juan  river  to  Grey- 
town  in  a  big  dugout,  came  from  Greytown  to 
New  York  by  steamer  "Crescent  City,"  calling  at 
Kingston,  Jamaica.     He  was  gone  nearly  a  year. 

In  August,  1852,  Mr.  Jennings  commenced 
the  construction  of  a  sawmill  in  what  is  now 
Jenningsville,  for  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  an 
occupation  he  followed  for  years.  The  market 
for  lumber  at  that  time  was  the  lower  Susque- 
hanna river.  Those  engaged  in  this  business 
were  called  Susquehanna  raftmen.  The  prices 
of  lumber  at  that  time  were  very  low  compared 
with  what  they  are  now.  To  avoid  expense  and 
risk  of  running  the  river,  he  came  to  West  Pitts- 
ton  to  dispose  of  his  product  to  avoid  the  river. 
People  living  on  the  upper  Susquehanna  are  not 
aware  of  the  difficulties  of  navigation  of  the  lower 
portion  of  the  stream.  After  living  eight  years 
in  West  Pittston,  in  the  fall  of  1865  he  moved  to 
Wilkes-Barre,  where  he  continued  in  the  same 
business.  For  some  three  years  he  had  as  a  part- 
ner Samuel  H.  Sturdevant.  In  the  spring  of  1871 
he  moved  to  Mehoopany  to  repair  damage 
caused  by  a  cloudburst,  which  carried  away  sev- 
eral mill  dams,  causing  a  big  loss.  In  the  fall  of 
1873  he  moved  back  to  Wilkes-Barre,  and  con- 
tinued the  sale  of  lumber  with  a  partner,  John 
Welles.  In  the  spring  of  1877  ne  moved  to 
Tunkhannock,  Wyoming  county,  where  he 
stayed  one  year,  and  in  the  spring  of  1878  went  to 
Bradford,  McKean  county,  which  was  at  that 
time  the  greatest  oil  region  that  had  ever  been 
-discovered,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  lumber  some  three  years,  being  there 
when  Bradford  became  a  city.  He  left  Brad- 
ford and  came  back  to  Wilkes-Barre  in  1882, 
and  located  at  West  Lnion  street,  and  has  re- 
sided there  ever  since  except  when  at  his  cottage 
-on  the  Jersey  shore,  or  when  traveling.  He  has 
visited  the  Bermuda  Islands  and  a  number  of 
islands  of  the  West  Indies,  and  has  been  in 
nearly  every  state  in  the  Union,  besides  visiting 
England,  France,  Belgium,  Holland,  Germany, 
Switzerland  and  Italy. 

Mr.  Jennings  has  been  reasonably  successful 


in  business  and  the  accumulation  of  property, 
and  has  at  different  times  held  real  estate  in  five 
different  states  Pennsvlvania,  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  North  Carolina  and  Minnesota.  At  the 
present  time  he  has  no  small  interest  in  three 
states  and  two  counties  of  this  state,  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Luzerne  county,  and  Jenningsville,  Wy- 
oming county.  He  married,  September  13,  1853, 
Sarah  A.  Hicks,  born  June  16,  1830,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Eleanor  Sultphin  Hicks.  She  was 
one  of  ten  children.  Her  parents  died  when  she 
was  quite  young  and  she  was  left  to  take  care 
of  herself.  Mrs.  Jennings  is  a  devoted  wife  and 
mother,  and  is  loved  and  respected  by  a  host  of 
friends.  Their  home  is  an  ideal  one,  elegant  and 
refined  and  located  most  beautifully.  The  chil- 
dren of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  N.  Jennings  are: 

1.  Cortz  Hicks,  born  at  Jenningsville,  Penn- 
sylvania, December  1,  1855,  educated  in  public 
schools  and  Wyoming  Seminary  and  then  at 
West  Point  for  over  three  years.  He  is  now  in 
the  lumber  business  at  Jennings,  Garrett  county, 
Maryland.  He  is  a  successful  lumberman  and 
president  of  Grantsville  National  Bank.  His 
second  wife  was  Mary  Bowman.  They  have  had 
three  children :  Donald  Hicks,  died  in  infancy ; 
Sarah  Hicks  and  Paul  Bishop. 

2.  Bishop  Worth,  born  at  West  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  May  4,  1862,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  at  Wilkes-Barre  and  at  Wyoming 
Seminary,  and  also  at  Randolph,  New  York.  He 
then  commenced  lumbering  in  wilds  of  Sullivan 
county,  in  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  with  his 
brother,  Cortz  Hicks,  1882.  He  married  in  1883, 
Eleanor  Castle,  of  Jamestown,  New  York.  They 
have  two  children:  William  Worth  and  Ethel 
May.  They  have  also  an  adopted  daughter, 
Helen.  Ethel  May  died  when  some  eight  years 
old.  Bishop  Worth  Jennings  at  the  present  time 
is  engaged  in  lumbering  in  Jenningston,  Tucker 
county,  West  Virginia.  They  have  very  large 
holdings  of  timber  land  in  that  vicinity.  Jen- 
ningston is  built  and  owned  exclusively  by  him- 
self and  his  brother.  He  is  president  of  the 
Hendricks  National  Bank  at  Hendricks,  West 
Virginia.  He  was  a  member  from  Sullivan 
county  of  the  state  legislature  for  two  terms, 
from  1895  tm  l&99'  refusing  then  to  take  the 
nomination  for  another  election. 

3.  William  L,  born  October  18,  1865,  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  and  Wyoming  Seminary  and 
also  at  Randolph,  New  York,  and  is  now  in  the 
lumber  business  with  his  brother  at  Jenningston, 
West  Virginia.  He  married  Fidelia  Myers,  of 
Mehoopany,   Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  three 


543 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


children :    William    Hicks,    Victoria    Myers    and 
Cortz  Hicks  Jennings. 

Eleanor  Hicks,  adopted  daughter  of  William 
N.  and  Sarah  A.  (Hicks)  Jennings,  married, 
March  8,  1872,  Dr.  N.  A.  Rinebolt,  of  Sullivan 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  now  resides  at  Athens, 
Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania.  They  have  three 
children :     William  J.,  Lewis  and  Eleanor. 

L.  HORACE  GROSS,  a  late  resident  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  bore  a  full 
share  in  the  promotion  of  community  affairs,  and 
was  a  foremost  agent  in  forwarding  every  mate- 
rial and  moral  interest,  was  a  native  of  Macun- 
gie,  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania,  born  May  10, 
1828.  He  'was  a  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Deshler)  Gross,  and  grandson  of  Peter  Gross, 
who  was  an  active  participant  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  John  Gross  (father)  was  born  De- 
cember 31,  1798,  in  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  there  spent  the  active  years  of  his  career 
engaged  in  the  quiet  but  useful  calling  of  agri- 
culture. He  lived  an  exemplary  life,  and  was 
highly  respected  and  esteemed  and  his  influence 
for  good  was  felt  throughout  the  community. 
His  wife  was  a  representative  of  the  old  and 
honored  Deshler  family  of  Bethlehem,  Pennsyl- 
vania, many  members  of  which  are  among  the 
best  citizens  of  that  city  at  the  present  time. 

L.  Horace  Gross  was  reared  and  educated  in 
Allentown,  Pennsylvania.  After  attaining  man- 
hood he  was  for  a  number  of  years  superintend- 
ent of  the  charcoal  furnaces  at  Beaver  Meadow, 
and  later  served  for  a  long  period  of  years  in  the 
same  capacity  in  the  Allentown  rolling  mill.  Sub- 
sequently he  accepted  the  position  of  manager  of 
the  Atlantis  Refining  Company,  at  Allentown,  it 
being  designated  this  way  by  the  Standard  Oil 
Company,  of  which  it  was  a  branch,  and  for  two 
decades  his  labors  and  responsibilities  were  dis- 
charged with  the  greatest  efficiency,  testifying 
to  his  splendid  capabilities  as  a  man  of  affairs. 
During  the  greater  part  of  this  time  he  resided  in 
the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre  in  order  that  his  wife 
might  be  with  her  mother.  Mr.  Gross  was 
known  as  an  earnest  Christian,  a  helpful  worker, 
taking  an  active  interest  in  the  cause  of  the  poor 
and  needy,  and  a  genial,  companionable  gentle- 
man. He  was  a  prominent  member  of  Grace 
Episcopal  Church  at  Allentown,  in  which  he  was 
a  vestryman  and  warden,  also  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school  connected  therewith,  for  a 
number  of  years. 

Mr.  Gross  married,  October  26,  1871,  Mary 
Chahoon  Lewis,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Arabella 
D.  Lewis,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsvlvania.     Mr. 


Gross  died  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Arabella  D. 
Lewis  on  North  street,  Wilkes-Barre,  August  16, 
1899,  aged  seventy-one  years.  The  interment 
was  in  Hollenback  cemetery,  Wilkes-Barre.  He 
was  survived  by  his  wife,  Mary  Chahoon 
(Lewis)  Gross,  and  two  children — John  Lewis 
Gross,  who  took  the  full  course  in  mechanical 
engineering  in  Lehigh  University,  for  three  years 
thereafter  was  employed  in  Cramps'  shipyards  in 
Philadelphia,  and  since  then  has  been  connected 
with  the  New  York  Ship  Building  Company  in 
the  capacity  of  mechanical  engineer ;  he  resides 
in  Philadelphia,  and  Arabella  Lewis  Gross,  a 
graduate  of  the  Nurses'  Training  School  at  the 
Wilkes-Barre  City  Hospital,  who  nursed  her 
father  through  his  long  sickness.  Mr.  Gross 
left  to  his  family  an  unsullied  and  exceptional 
record  for  strictest  integrity  and  uprightness. 

S.  WARREN  REICHARD,  a  practicing 
physician  of  Wilkes-Barre,  was  born  June  8, 
1878,  in  Mauch  Chunk,  son  of  William  H.  and 
Annie  E.  (Williams)  Reichard.  He  received  his 
early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Wilkes- 
Barre,  later  attended  the  Harry  Hillman  Acad- 
emy, and  in  1897  entered  the  Chirurgical  Col- 
lege at  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1901.  From  1901  to  1902  Dr.  Reichard 
served  in  the  Mercy  Hospital  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  and  then  engaged  in  the  general 
practice  of  his  profession,  opening  his  office  at 
No.  282  South  Washington  street,  Wilkes-Barre, 
and  has  established  for  himself  an  excellent  prac- 
tice. He  is  a  member  of  the  Luzerne  County 
Medical  Society,  and  since  1902  has  been  physi- 
cian to  the  poor  board  of  the  Central  Poor  Dis- 
trict, and  is  surgeon  to  the  Firemen's  Relief  As- 
sociation of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  examiner  for  the 
Wyoming  Valley  Traction  Company.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  Lodge  442,  F. 
A.  and  A.  M.,  Wilkes-Barre.  Dr.  Reichard  is  a 
regular  attendant  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

In  1900  Dr.  Reichard  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Marie  Bossert,  daughter  of  Jacob- 
and  Henrietta  (Schaffart)  Bossert,  both  natives 
of  Germany.  One  child,  a  son,  William  Henry, 
was  born  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Reichard. 

LIDDON  FLICK,  late  president  and  editor 
of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Evening  Times,  was  a  rep- 
resentative of  an  old  and  honored  German  line- 
age, tracing  his  ancestry  to  Gerlach  Paul  Flick,, 
who  landed  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  Sep- 
tember 23,   1 75 1,  from  Germany. 

Gerlach   Paul   Flick  settled  in  Northampton; 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


549 


count}r,  and  followed  his  occupation  as  a  miller. 
Notwithstanding  the  hardships  incidental  to  the 
lives  of  the  early  settlers,  combined  with  the 
struggles  for  American  independence,  the  founder 
of  the  American  branch  of  the  family  lived  to  be 
ninety-nine  years  of  age.  Indeed,  this  longevity 
has  been  a  characteristic  of  the  family,  and  there- 
fore, a  matter  of  pride.  He  was  the  father  of 
three  sons — Paul,  Martin,  and  Casper — all  born 
in  Monroe  township,  Pennsylvania.  Casper 
Flick,  the  youngest  of  the  above  named  family, 
served  through  the  entire  period  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  afterward  followed  the  same 
occupation  as  that  of  his  father,  that  of  miller. 
He  was  the  father  of  twelve  children,  all  but  one 
of  whom  lived  to  be  more  than  eighty  years  of 
age.     He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years. 

John  Flick,  eldest  son  of  Casper  Flick,  born 
January  i,  1783,  also  followed  the  occupation  of 
miller.  He  was  a  patriot,  serving  all  through  the 
war  of  1812,  being  mustered  out  when  peace  was 
declared.  He  became  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Northampton  county,  and  was  several  times 
elected  to  public  office.  He  served  as  county  com- 
missioner when  Northampton,  Monroe,  Carbon, 
and  Lehigh  were  one  county,  and  was  twice 
elected  to  the  state  legislature.  He  was  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics.  He  married  Eva  B.  Caster, 
daughter  of  Philip  Caster,  who  was  a  revolution- 
ary soldier,  and  at  one  time  a  resident  of  the 
Wyoming  Valley.  John  Flick  died  January  1, 
1869,  aged  eighty-six  years. 

Reuben  Jay  Flick,  eldest  son  of  John  and  Eva 
B.  (Caster)  Flick,  was  born  at  Flicksville,  North- 
ampton county,  Pennsylvania,  July  10,  1816.  In 
1838  he  came  to  the  Wyoming  Valley  and  at  once 
engaged  in  mercantile  business,  later  engaging 
in  banking,  was  the  first  president  of  the  People's 
Bank,  and  held  this  position  twelve  years,  ending 
January  22,  1884,  when  he  resigned.  By  patient 
industry  and  sterling  integrity  he  became  one  of 
the  most  respected  and  influential  citizens  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  being  closely  identified  with  every 
movement  that  tended  to  its  advancement,  com- 
mercially, religiously  and  charitably.  Among  the 
many  positions  of  honor  to  which  he  was  elected 
were  trusteeships  of  Lincoln  University,  Ox- 
ford, Pennsylvania,  the  Harry  Hillman  Academy, 
Female  Institute,  City  Hospital,  and  Home  for 
Friendless  Children.  His  benevolences  were  not 
bounded  by  the  city  nor  restricted  by  creed  or 
color.  He  was  a  generous  benefactor  to  the  col- 
ored race.  He  was  averse  to  filling  a  public 
office,  but  once  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of 
friends  and  became  a  candidate  for  congress,  poll- 
ing a  large  vote,  far  ahead  of  any  one  on  the  same 


ticket.  In  January,  1858,  he  married  Margaret 
Jane,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Margaret  Arnold, 
of  Hamilton,  Monroe  county,  Pennsylvania.  His 
death  occurred  December  18,  1890. 

Liddon  Flick,  eldest  son  of  Reuben  Jay  and 
Margaret  Jane  (Arnold)  Flick,  was  born  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  Oc- 
tober 29,  1858.  He  received  his  early  education 
at  the  public  schools  in  the  city  of  his  birth,  and 
after  a  short  preparatory  training  entered  Prince- 
ton University,  graduating  therefrom  as  a  Bach- 
elor of  Arts  in  June,  1882.  He  then  entered  the 
law  school  of  Columbia  College,  New  York  city, 
graduating  in  June,  1884,  with  the  degree  of 
LL.  B.,  cum  laude.  After  spending  a  year  in  the 
office  of  ex-Judge  Lucien  Birdseye,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  in  all  the  courts  of  New  York 
in  January,  1885.  Later  he  returned  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  and  after  six  months  in  the  office  of  Alex- 
ander Farnham,  Esq.,  he  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  courts  of  Luzerne  county.  He  at  once 
commenced  to  look  after  his  father's  many  invest- 
ments, and  developed  an  active  interest  in  com- 
mercial affairs,  especially  banking,  and  subse- 
quently successfully  promoted  and  assisted  in  the 
development  of  numerous  enterprises,  both  finan- 
cial and  industrial. 

While  a  student  at  Princeton  he  displayed  a 
penchant  for  journalism,  and  was  an  active  pro- 
moter of  the  illustrated  weekly  called  The  Tiger. 
Later,  with  a  few  associates,  he  purchased  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Evening  Times,  making  it  a  stock 
company,  he  being  president  and  editor,  and  in 
spite  of  predictions  to  the  contrary  he  placed  this 
enterprise  on  a  successful  basis.  From  a  little 
weakling  with  a  small  circulation,  it  has  become 
the  leading  afternoon  paper  of  interior  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  a  circulation  exceeding  the  combined 
issues  of  all  the  afternoon  papers  of  Luzerne 
county.  The  paper  is  located  in  a  handsome  and 
commodious  building,  three  stories  high,  fitted 
with  modern  machinery,  including  Mergenthaler 
type-setting  machines,  a  three-deck  Goss  press 
operated  by  electricity,  and  with  a  telegraphic 
service  unequalled.  In  politics  Mr.  Flick  was  an 
ardent  Republican,  a  great  admirer  of  McKinley 
and  Roosevelt,  and  often  filled  important  posi- 
tions during  campaigns,  thus  rendering  effec- 
tive aid  to  his  party,  but  in  the  columns  of  the 
Times,  he  was  thoroughly  independent  in  his 
support  of  men  and  measures.  Mr.  Flick's  sud- 
den death  was  a  severe  shock  to  his  business  as- 
sociates who  had  net  known  that  he  was  seriously 
ill.  He  was  loved  and  respected  not  only  for  his 
sterling  qualities,  but  because  he  was  a  consid- 
erate employer  and  a  wise  friend  and  counsellor. 


55° 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


Though  but  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  he  had 
already  attained  an  independence,  and  looked  fox- 
ward  to  spending  many  years  of  useful  work  in 
congenial  journalistic  labors,  and  in  the  midst  of 
a  happy  family  and  social  life.  Notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  he  was  but  a  young  man,  compara- 
tively, he  had  striven  hard  to  build  up  many  en- 
terprises, and  had  succeeded  in  planning  many 
others  which  have  benefited  the  community 
greatly,  both  commercially  and  industrially.  He 
was  of  a  bright  and  hopeful  temperament,  and 
never  admitted  that  there  could  be  a  possibility 
of  failure  in  any  of  his  undertakings.  Of  ex- 
ceedingly quick  perception,  it  was  this  faculty, 
more  than  anything  else,  that  tended  to  make  a 
success  of  any  enterprise  with  which  he  was  con- 
nected. Idleness  was  an  unknown  quality  to.  him, 
and  it  was  probably  the  intensity  with  which  he 
devoted  himself  to  all  he  undertook  that  helped 
shorten  his  life.  As  a  journalist  he  was  liberal- 
minded,  being  an  American  of  the  best  type,  and 
his  paper  was  used  for  the  promotion  of  any 
cause  that  had  for  its  object  the  betterment  of 
humanity.  His  paper  was  never  made  the  ve- 
hicle to  crush  a  personal  opponent  or  for  ill-na- 
tured criticism.  All  churches  and  educational 
movements  had  his  earnest  support  without  dis- 
tinction, provided  their  purposes  were  honest  and 
beneficent.  He  was  an  earnest  student,  possess- 
ing a  well  selected  library,  and  especially  inter- 
ested in  the  fine  art«.  being  the  owner  of  very 
fine  paintings,  and  etchings,  also  some  beautiful 
bronzes  by  celebrated  artists.  Mr.  Flick  was  a 
member  of  the  Westmoreland  and  Country  Clubs 
of  YYilkes-Barre ;  the  University  Club  of  New 
York  City  :  and  several  others  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  He  had  traveled  extensively  in 
America  and  abroad,  and  was  an  excellent  ra- 
conteur. 

Of  the  enterprises  with  which  Mr.  Flick  was 
connected  officially  the  following  may  be  men- 
tioned :  Wee-president  of  the  Wyoming  Valley 
'trust  Company;  vice-president  of  the  Muskegon 
(Mich.)  Traction  and  Lighting  Company;  pres- 
ident of  the  Bethlehem  Consolidated  Gas  Com- 
pany. Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania  ;  president  of  the 
People's  Light  Company.  Pittston.  Pennsylvania; 
president  of  the  Wneland  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany. Yineland,  New  Jersey ;  director  in  the 
Weatherly  and  Benton  National  Banks,  and  in  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Lace  Manufacturing  Company. 
He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Grand 
Opera  House  Company. 

June  2.  1903,  Mr.  Flick  married  Henrietta  M. 
Ridgely,  of  Benton,  near  Baltimore.  Maryland, 
daughter  of  Dr.  N.  G  Ridgely,  and  granddaugh- 


ter of  Commodore  D.  B.  Ridgely,  and  one  daugh- 
ter was  born  to  them — Margaret,  May  31,  1905. 
Besides  leaving  a  widow  and  child,  Mr.  Flick  is 
survived  by  one  sister,  Mrs.  Charles  O.  Perkins, 
of  Glen  Summit,  and  three  brothers,  Harry  and 
R.  Jay,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  Warren  J.,  of  Beth- 
lehem. 

JOHN  L.  BATTERTON,  M.  D.,  medical 
practitioner  of  Wilkes-Barre,  is  a  native  of  that 
city,  born  December,  1869,  son  of  John  H.  and 
Elizabeth  (McDonald)  Batterton,  and  grandson 
of  Lawrence  Batterton,  who  was  born  and  died 
in  Ireland,  and  who  was  a  mahogany  worker  Dy 
trade. 

John  H.  Batterton  (father)  was  bom  in  Ban- 
non,  county  Wexford,  Ireland,  was  reared  and 
educated  in  his  native  land,  and  worked  in  the  sil-  ' 
ver  mines  in  Bowestown.  He  then  went  to  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  where  he  followed  the 
same  vocation,  then  to  England,  and  in  1858 
emigrated  to  the  United  States.  Here  he  fol- 
lowed mercantile  pursuits  up  to  1897,  conducting 
the  same  in  Forty  Fort,  Pennsylvania,  for  many 
years,  after  which  he  led  a  retired  life,  enjoying 
to  the  full  the  consciousness  of  duties  faithfully 
performed.  On  April  19,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  the 
first  call  for  volunteers  under  the  immortal  Lin- 
coln, three  months  men,  and  was  assigned  to 
Company  D,  Eighth  Infantry,  as  musician.  After 
his  discharge  he  re-enlisted  in  the  Ninth  Penn- 
sylvania Cavalry,  but  was  transferred  to  the 
Ninth  Kentucky  Cavalry  and  served  one  year. 
During  this  time  he  had  some  very  narrow  es- 
capes from  death;  although  not  compelled  to  do 
so  he  always  accompanied  the  regiment  on  all  its 
marches.  One  night  they  were  surrounded  and 
ordered  to  surrender ;  he  refused  and  ordered  h'is 
men  to  ride  as  fast  as  possible ;  a  fight  took  place 
in  which  his  head  was  badly  cut  by  a  sabre.  He 
served  the  remainder  of  his  time  (after  one 
vear  with  the  Fifty-third  Infantry,  and  was  dis- 
charged June  20,  186=;.  He  was  connected  with 
the  Second  Army  Corps,  formerly  under  General 
Brooks,  and  later  under  General  Miles,  and  par- 
ticipated in  many  skirmishes.  He  served  as  post- 
master of  Forty  Fort  for  four  years,  and  for  a 
similar  period  of  time  at  Loflin.  He  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic. 

John  H.  Batterton  married,  June  25.  1868, 
Elizabeth  McDonald,  born  in  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  one  child  was  the  issue.  John 
L..  whose  name  heads  this  sketch.  Mrs.  Batter- 
ton is  one  of  thirteen  children  born  to  Patrick 
McDonald  and  his  wife,  the  latter  a  daughter  ot 


^^o^e^r 


>. 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


551 


Daniel  L.  Hart,  the  playwright,  a  sketch  of  whom 
appears  elsewhere,  and  the  former  died  in  1894. 
Among  the  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McDonald 
were  the  following:  Joseph,  resides  in  Ireland; 

Charles,  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  Mrs.  Patrick  , 

of  Wilkes-Barre;  Mrs.  Patrick  Lynch;  Mrs.  P. 
H.  Campbell -NjMrs.  D.  L.  Hart,  who  is  men- 
tioned elsewhere ;  Mrs.  M.  H.  Cannon.  John  H. 
Batterton  died  at  his  late  residence,  corner  of 
North  Main  and  Beaumont  streets,  after  a  short 
illness  of  pneumonia,  aged  sixty-nine  years.  Be- 
sides his  wife  he  is  survived  by  the  following- 
children :  Dr.  J.  L.  Batterton;  a  stepson,  James 
P.  McNally,  and  stepdaughter,  Mrs.  James 
Canouse. 

John  L.  Batterton  attended  the  schools  of 
Wilkes-Barre,  St.  Mary's  School,  and  Wyoming 
Seminary,  from  which  he  was  graduated.  He  be- 
gan his  medical  studies  in  the  Baltimore  Medical 
College,  graduating  in  1893,  and  pursued  a  post- 
graduate course  at  Jefferson  Medical  College, 
1894.  Since  that  year  he  has  practiced  his  pro- 
fession in  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  and  now  en- 
joys an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice..  He  is 
a  member  of  the  staff  of  Mercy  Plospital,  Wilkes- 
Barre.  Dr.  Batterton  has  a  natural  talent  as  an 
architect,  and  he  drew  the  plans  for  the  fine  house 
erected  by  his  father  in  1903  on  North  Main 
street,  Wilkes-Barre,  in  which  the  family  now 
reside. 

In  1895  Dr.  Batterton  married  Catherine  Cas- 
sidy,  born  in  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  (Ouinlan)  Cassidy,  natives 
of  Pottsville,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ireland,  respec- 
tively, and  the  parents  of  eleven  children.  John 
Cassidy  followed  railroad  business  for  forty 
years,  was  superintendent  of  the  Central  railroad 
of  New  Jersey,  and  is  now  a  resident  of  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania. 

THE  HANCOCK  FAMILY,  one  of  the  old 
pioneer  families  of  this  country,  have,  for  many 
generations,  been  justly  proud  of  the  fact  that 
the  various  members  have  been  enabled  to  render 
signal  service  to  their  country,  in  military,  pro- 
fessional and  commercial  life. 

(I)  Jonathan  Hancock  was  a  native  of  Snow 
Hill,  Maryland,  and  came  to  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania,  shortly  after  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  there  died  in  1829,  at  the  age  of  sixty 
years.  He  married  Katherine  Young,  of  Dau- 
phin county,  Pennsylvania,  and  their  children 
were :  James,  see  forward :  Katherine,  married 
Judge  David  Scott,  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  Caroline, 
married  James  Denton  Haff ;  William.     He  mar- 


ried (second)  a  Miss  Wright,  and  their  children 
were  Frederick,  Charles,  George,  Jonathan, 
Mary  and  Martha ;  the  last  named  daughter  mar- 
ried James  P.  Atherton. 

(II)  James  Hancock,  son  of  Jonathan  Han- 
cock (1),  was  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, July  16,  1792.  His  father  pur- 
chased for  him  (about  1825)  a  farm  in 
Plains,  one  of  the  best  in  that  section,  and 
was  occupied  with  its  cultivation  until  1854,  when 
he  leased  his  land  for  the  coal  rights,  and  removed 
to  Wilkes-Barre,  living  there  in  retirement  for 
some  years.  Later  he  removed  to  Wyoming, 
where  he  purchased  another  property,  on  which 
he  lived  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1880. 
At  the  age  of  sixty  years  he  became  totally  blind 
and  badly  crippled  as  the  result  of  gout,  and  al- 
though he  was  a  constant  sufferer  for  twenty- 
eight  years,  he  retained  complete  possession  of  all 
his  faculties.  He  was  a  man  of  indomitable  will 
and  courage,  of  fine  mind,  and  highly  respected. 
He  was  a  strong  Democrat,  fearless  of  opinion, 
and  thoroughly  versed  in  the  topics  of  the  day. 
He  married  (first),  December  25,  1828,  Mary 
Perkins,  whose  father,  John  Perkins,  was  one  of 
the  early  Connecticut  settlers,  a  member  of  one 
of  the  companies  formed  in  Wyoming  Vallev  for 
the  Continental  army,  and  was  killed  on  Plym- 
outh Flats  by  Indians  shortly  before  the  battle 
of  Wyoming.  Both  David  Perkins  and  his 
father,  John  Perkins,  were  large  landholders, 
owning  at  one  time  nearly  all  the  land  from  Exe- 
ter to  and  including  the  Monument  at  Wyoming, 
and  from  the  river  to  the  mountains,  in  length 
about  six  miles,  and  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
in  width.  David  Perkins  married  Sarah  Ferrier, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Hester  (Lucky)  Fer- 
rier, who  came  from  Holland  to  Orange  county. 
New  York.  Thomas  Ferrier  was  born  1705.  and 
died  1792;  Hester  died  1796,  and  must  have  been 
about  one  hundred  years  old.  Mary  (Perkins) 
Hancock  died  1842,  and  James  Hancock  married 
(second),  1844,  Elizabeth  Hibler,  of  Milton, 
who  died  1872.  Their  children:  1.  Jonathan, 
see  forward.  2.  William,  of  whom  sketch  on 
another  page.  3.  David  P.,  died  1880;  he  was 
a  graduate  of  West  Point,  a  classmate  of  Gen- 
erals Sheridan,  J.  E.  B.  Stewart  and  Gregg; 
served  as  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  Civil  war,  and 
commanded  the  Seventh  United  States  Infantry, 
and  was  a  brilliant  officer.  His  children :  Mrs. 
D.  L.  Hunt,  of  Boston:  Mrs.  Harlow,  of  Mil- 
waukee ;  David  J.  and  Catherine.  4.  Sarah  P., 
married  Dr.  B.  F.  Miles,  a  physician  of  Peoria, 
Illinois,    died  in   1881.     Her  children:  John  B., 


552 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


of  Philadelphia;  James  H.,  of  Chicago;  Elizabeth 
H.  5.  James  Denton,  see  forward.  6.  Elisha 
Atherton,  see  forward. 

(Ill)  Jonathan  Hancock,  eldest  child  of  James 
(2)  and  Mary  (Perkins)  Hancock,  was  born  in 
Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  August  13,  1829, 
died  in  Philadelphia,  April  9,  1891.  His  boy- 
hood days  were  spent  on  the  farm,  and  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two  years  he  went  to  California,  where 
he  remained  for  about  two  years,  returning  then 
to  Wilkes-Barre.  He  went  to  Peoria,  Illinois,  in 
the  same  year,  to  visit  his  aunt,  Mrs.  John  C. 
Grier,  nee  Elizabeth  Perkins.  While  he  was 
in  Peoria  he  entered  into  a  business  association 
with  Mr.  Culbertson,  and  with  him  opened  a 
lumber  office  in  Peoria.  In  addition  to  this  he 
entered  into  a'  partnership  with  Grier  &  Com- 
pany, in  the  grain  business,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Hancock,  Grier  &  Company,  which  later  be- 
came Hancock  &  Company,  having  a  western 
office  in  Peoria,  and  an  eastern  one  in  Philadel- 
phia. Mr.  Hancock  was  actively  connected  with 
both  these  enterprises  until  his  death.  He  was 
president  of  the  Peoria  Board  of  Trade,  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Merchants'  National  Bank  and  of  the 
Peoria  National  Bank,  and  president  of  the  Peoria 
Club.  Though  suffering  greatly  from  ill  health 
during  the  last  eight  years  of  his  life,  he  still  re- 
tained an  active  interest  in  all  his  business  af- 
fairs, more  particularly  those  in  Peoria  and  the 
west.  He  was  connected  with  the  leading  Pres- 
byterian church  in  Peoria,  and  a  liberal  contrib- 
utor to  its  charities  and  its  building  fund.  He 
was  a  man  of  distinguished  appearance  and  of 
courtly  manners.  He  married,  January  15,  1863, 
Elizabeth  Reynolds,  daughter  of  John  Reynolds, 
of  Peoria,  Illinois,  a  well-known  and  prominent 
man  of  that  town,  and  they  had  one  child :  Eliza- 
beth R.,  who  married  June  8,  1886,  William 
Woodward  Arnett,  a  stockbroker  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  has  three  children:  Willliam  J.,  Jona- 
than Hancock,  and  Eleanor. 

(Ill)  James  Denton  Hancock,  son  of  James 
(2)  and  Alary  (Perkins)  Hancock,  born  June 
9,  1837,  in  Wilkes-Barre  (afterward  Plains 
township),  Luzerne  county.  He  received  his  early 
education  at  the  common  schools  and  at  Wyo- 
ming Seminary.  In  1855  he  entered  the  fresh- 
man class  at  Kenyon  College,  Gambier,  Ohio,  and 
graduated  in  1859.  As  an  alumnus  of  that  institu- 
tion he  delivered  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address 
in  1872,  and  in  1899  ne  delivered  the  alumni  ad- 
dress. He  has  received  the  degrees  of  A.  B., 
A.  M.,  and  LL.  D.  from  that  institution.  After 
graduating  he  became  first  tutor  and  then  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics  in  the  Western  University 


of  Pennsylvania,  retaining  that  position  until 
1862.  In  the  meantime  he  studied  law  with  Wil- 
liam Bakewell,  of  Pittsburg.  After  practicing 
about  three  years  in  Pittsburg,  he  removed  to 
Franklin,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  has  had  a  suc- 
cessful practice  at  the  bar.  He  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Hoyt  one  -of  the  trustees  of  the  State 
Hospital  for  the  Insane  at  Warren,  Pennsylva- 
nia, which  trust  he  held  for  thirteen  years.  He 
was  for  ten  years  solicitor  for  the  Allegheny 
Valley  Railroad  Company,  and  for  six  years  gen- 
eral solicitor  for  the  Western  New  York  & 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company,  which  position 
he  resigned  in  December,  1891.  In  1892  he  was 
nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  of  his  dis- 
trict for  congress.  In  1894  he  was  nominated 
for  congressman-at-large  in  the  state  by  the  same 
party.  In  1896  Mr.  Hancock  was  nominated  for 
elector-at-large  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  but  de- 
clined to  be  a  candidate  on  account  of  his  oppo- 
sition to  the  position  of  the  party  on  the  silver 
issue.  He  .afterwards  went  as  a  delegate  to  the 
convention  which  nominated  Palmer  and  Buck- 
ner.  In  1883  he  wrote  a  paper  entitled  "Petro- 
leum Against  Protection,"  which  received  a  sil- 
ver medal  from  the  Cobden  Club,  and  he  was 
subsequently  elected  an  honorary  member  of  that 
club.  In  1893  ne  wrote  a  paper  entitled  "The 
Evolution  of  Money,"  which  was  adopted  and 
published  under  the  auspices  of  the  National 
Board  of  Trade  of  the  United  States.  Since 
1896  Mr.  Hancock  has  not  been  in  active  busi- 
ness, but  has  filled  the  position  of  bank  director, 
and  is  still  a  director  of  the  Pittsburg,  Youngs- 
town  &  Ashtabula  Railway  Company.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  was  been  an  active  member 
of  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Rev- 
olution, and  was  its  president-general  during  the 
year  1904-05. 

Mr.  Hancock  married,  in  1865,  Ella  C.  Hitch- 
cock, of  Pittsburg,  by  whom  he  had  one  son, 
Lawrence  P.  Hancock,  now  a  lawyer  in  Buffalo. 
He  was  married  (second)  in  1873  to  Mary 
Kate  Hitchcock,  sister  of  his  first  wife,  by  whom 
he  had  four  children :  Ella  C,  Mary  E.,  James 
Denton  and  Philip  Gaylord,  the  last  two  of  whom 
died  in  early  childhood.  Ella  C.  married  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1903,  Frederick  L.  Williamson,  cashier  of 
the  Lamberton  National  Bank  of  Oil  City.  They 
have  one  child,  Katherine  Hancock  Williamson. 

(Ill)  Colonel  Elisha  Atherton  Hancock, 
youngest  child  of  James  (2)  and  Mary  (Per- 
kins) Hancock,  was  born  in  what  was  then 
Wilkes-Barre,  now  Plains  township,  a  few  miles 
from  the  city  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania, 
June    12,    1839;    died   in   Philadelphia,   May    18, 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


553 


1906,  buried  in  Wilkes-Barre.  His  boyhood  days 
were  spent  upon  the  farm  and  in  farm  occupa- 
tions, and  he  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  Wyoming  Seminar}'.  When  he  was  fifteen 
years  of  age  his  family  removed  to  Wilkes- 
Barre,  where  after  two  years  spent  in  school  he 
entered  a  machine  shop  as  an  apprentice.  Upon 
attaining  his  majority  he  commenced  work  as 
a  journeyman,  but  his  career  as  a  machin- 
ist was  abruptly  terminated  in  1861,  when 
he  enlisted  in  a  military  company  at  Wilkes- 
Barre.  When  this  organization  arrived  at 
Harrisburg  his  services  were  declined  because 
the  state's  quota  of  troops  had  been  filled, 
but  after  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  issued  a  call  for  additional  troops, 
and  Mr.  Hancock  again  entered  the  service  of 
the  country  as  first  lieutenant  of  Company 
H,  Ninth  Pennsylvania  (Lochiel)  Volunteer 
Cavalry.  During  his  almost  four  years  of  ser- 
vice in  the  army  he  was  many  times  commended 
by  his  superior  officers,  both  for  personal  gallan- 
try and  for  able  and  efficient  discharge  of  duties, 
was  promoted  through  the  various  grades  until 
he  held  the  rank  of  major,  and  his  name  was  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  the  dispatches  to  the  War 
Department.  He  participated  in  more  than  fifty 
battles,  principally  while  in  the  Department  of 
the  Cumberland,  serving  on  the  staffs  of  Generals 
R.  B.  Mitchell  and  E.  M.  McCook.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  operations  against  the  forces 
of  Morgan  in  his  several  raids,  and  in  the  battles 
of  Perryville  and  Chickamauga.  He  was  with  the 
Federal  army  in  its  victorious  march  to  the  sea 
under  Sherman,  and  was  wounded  while  in  com- 
mand of  the  Third  Battalion  at  Avery sborough, 
North  Carolina,  March  16,  1865,  the  wound 
-necessitating  the  amputation  of  his  left  leg.  He 
was  mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the  war,  in  July, 
1865,  with  a  record  equalled  by  few  of  the  many 
who  willingly  sacrificed  their  all  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Union. 

After  a  year  spent  at  his  home  in  Plains, 
Pennsylvania,  recovering  from  the  effects  of  his 
wound,  Major  Hancock  opened  a  mining  supply 
store  in  that  place,  and  for  nine  years  continued  in 
this  business.  He  removed  to'  Wilkes-Barre  in 
1875  and  associated  himself  in  partnership  with 
his  brother,  a  resident  of  Peoria,  Illinois,  and  to- 
gether they  entered  upon  the  grain  shipping  trade 
on  a  small  scale,  under  the  firm  name  of  Hancock 
&  Company.  Three  years  later  the  firm  of  Han- 
cock &  Companv  was  merged  into  that  of  Han- 
cock, Grier  &  Company.  The  demands  of  the 
firm  requiring-  a  seaport,  the  business  was  re- 
moved to  Philadelphia,   in   1880.     It  was  again 


established  as  Hancock  &  Company,  with  only 
the  original  partners,  J.  and  E.  A.  Hancock,  in 
1884,  and  continued  till  the  death  of  J.  Hancock, 
when  Colonel  Elisha  A.  Hancock  admitted  his 
son  James.  While  a  resident  of  Wilkes-Barre  he 
assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  People's  Bank, 
and  served  as  a  director  of  the  same  until  his  re- 
moval from  the  city.  After  a  residence  of  four 
years  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  Major  Hancock 
was  unanimously  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the 
Commercial  Exchange.  Upon  assuming  the  gu- 
bernatorial office,  Governor  Hoyt  appointed  Ma- 
jor Hancock  as  quartermaster-general  of  the  state 
of  Pennsylvania,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  during  the  term  of  office 
of  that  governor.  He  was  one  of  the  founders, 
and  a  director  of  the  Fourth  Street  National  Bank 
of  Philadelphia,  the  largest  financial  institu- 
tion in  Pennsylvania ;  was  for  many  years 
a  director  in  the  Merchants'  Beneficial  Associa- 
tion, and  was  re-elected  in  1905  ;  for  several  years 
was  a  director  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York  Canal  &  Railroad  Company,  a  part  of  the 
Lehigh  Valley  system,  and  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Hastings  as  a  representative  of  Penn- 
sylvania on  the  staff  of  Major-General  Dodge  at 
the  inauguration  of  President  McKinley,  March 
4,  1897.  Major  Hancock  had  also  filled  the 
offices  of  director  and  vice-president  of  the  Union 
League  of  Philadelphia.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Loyal  Legion,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic, and  of  the  Rittenhouse  and  Country  Clubs. 
He  had  traveled  extensively  in  Europe,  visiting 
places  of  note  and  interest. 

He  married  (first),  in  1866,  Julia  A.  Reich- 
ard,  daughter  of  Hon.  John  Reichard.  They 
had  two  children,  of  whom  one  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  other,  James,  is  now  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Hancock  &  Company.  He 
married  Matilda  Bowman  McKennan,  and  has 
three  children:  Katherine,  Matilda  and  James. 
Elisha  Atherton  married  (second)  Lydia  Chap- 
man Woodward,  daughter  of  Hon.  George  W. 
Woodward.  (See  Woodward  family).  She  died 
in  1887,  and  he  married  (third)  Rose  Grier  Si- 
monton, daughter  of  Rev.  William  Simonton, 
and  niece  of  Judge  Simonton,  deceased,  of  Har- 
risburg. 

j 

AMOS  YORK  SMITH  was  born  at  New 
Troy  (now  Wyoming),  Luzerne  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he 
removed  to  the  neighboring  township  of 
Exeter,  where  West  Pittston  is  now  lo- 
cated, and  engaged  in  business.  During  the 
"open  season"  in  1844,  and  probably  in  1845  also» 


554 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


he  was  captain  of  the  packet-boat  "John  Morton," 
plying;  between  Pittston  and  Northumberland,  on 
the  North  Branch  Canal.  In  1853,  when  Wyo- 
ming Seminary  was  burned  down,  he  contributed 
$500  to  the  fund  for  the  erection  of  new  build- 
ings. He  was  active  in  helping  to  organize  the 
Lackawanna  &  Bloomsburg  Company,  and  was  a 
member  of  its  first  board  of  directors.  The  con- 
struction of  this  road  was  begun  in  1854,  and 
the  running  of  trains  between  Kingston  and 
Scranton  was  begun  early  in  the  summer  of  1856. 
The  borough  of  West  Pittston  was  organized  and 
incorporated  in  Exeter  township  in  1857.  A.  Y. 
Smith  owned  a  considerable  quantity  of  land  in 
the  northeast  quarter  of  the  new  borough,  and 
this  he  laid  out  in  streets  and  lots.  'York 
avenue,"  in  this  part  of  the  town,  was  so  named 
by  him  in  honor  of  his  paternal  grandmother's 
family.  For  several  years  prior  to  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion,  Mr.  Smith  resided  with  his  family 
in  Texas,  where  |he  was  engaged  in  railroad 
building.  In  1861,  in  consequence  of  his  decided 
and  unswerving  devotion  to  the  Union,  he  and  his 
family  were  compelled  to  make  a  hasty  departure 
for  the  north,  leaving  behind  them  nearly  every- 
thing they  possessed  to  be  confiscated  by  the  Con- 
federates. The  family "  thereafter  resided  in 
Wilkes-Barre  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1867 
Mr.  Smith  returned  to  Texas  as  an  agent  for  the 
federal  government,  and  was  employed  there  until 
1870.  After  that,  for  some  years,  he  was  engaged 
in  various  enterprises,  residing  with  his  family  in 
West  Pittston,  near  the  corner  of  York  avenue 
and  Washington  street.  In  1874  and  1875  he 
built  and  equipped  a  railroad  in  the  state  of  Dela- 
ware. 

Amos  Y.  Smith  was  married,  in  Exeter  town- 
ship, October  17,  1839,  by  the  Rev.  E.  H.  Snow- 
don  to  Lucinda  (born  August  26,  1817),  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Sharpe)  (see  Sharpe 
Family)  Carpenter.  (See  Carpenter  Family). 
She  died  in  Wilkes-Barre,  January  28,  1862,  and 
her  remains  were  buried  in  Forty  Fort  cemetery. 
Her  tombstone  bears  this  inscription :  "The 
recollection  of  her  virtues  is  treasured  in  the  heart 
of  her  husband,  and  her  maternal  care  and  affec- 
tion cherished  by  her  surviving  children." 

Amos  Y.  Smith  died  December  20,  1881,  at 
the  home  of  his  son-in-law,  Dr.  Harvey,  on  West 
Union  street,  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  buried  in 
Forty  Fort  cemetery.  Amos  York  and  Lucinda 
(Carpenter)  Smith  were  the  parents  of  six 
daughters  and  six  sons,  the  third  daughter  being 
Sophia  J.  Smith,  who  in  1873  became  the  wife  of 
Dr.  Olin  F.  Harvey. 


JOHN  WILLIAM  DENISON,  M.  D.,  a 
prominent  physician  of  Parsons,  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  was  born  July  2,  1858,  in  Mehoop- 
any,  Wyoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  a  son  of 
Frederick  Cushman  and  Mary  A.  (Armstrong) 
Denison.  He  is  a  direct  lineal  descendant  of 
Colonel  Nathan  and  Elizabeth  (Sill)  Denison,. 
mention  of  whom  is  made  elsewhere  in  this  work. 
Frederick  Cushman  Denison  was  born  in  Dimock, 
Susquehanna  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  learned 
the  printer's  'trade,  and  also  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  book  agent  for  some  time,  travelling 
through  the  southern  states.  He  saved  enough 
money  to  go  to  Michigan,  where  he  entered  the 
university  and  studied  for  the  medical  profession. 
He  graduated  in  1856,  and  immediately  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Mehoopany. 
He  served  for  three  years  in  the  Civil  war  as  sur- 
geon of  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-first  Regi- 
ment, Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  After  his  re- 
turn home  Dr.  Denison  was  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  for  thirty-five  years,  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  June  6,  1890. 

John  William  Denison  obtained  his  early  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  place, 
and  later  attended  high  school.  He  passed  a- 
teacher's  examination,  and  was  for  two  years  en- 
gaged in  teaching  in  the  public  schools.  In  1882- 
he  entered  the  University  of  Michigan,  where  he- 
pursued  a  course  of  study  in  medicine.  He  grad- 
uated in  1885,  and  located  at  Tunkhannock,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  was  engaged  in  the  continuous 
practice  of  his  profession  for  fourteen  years.  Irr 
1899  he  removed  to  Parsons.  Luzerne  county, 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  established  an  excellent 
practice.  From  the  very  outset  Dr.  Denison's 
career  as  a  physician  has  been  an  eminently  suc- 
cessful one,  and  he  enjovs  an  extensive  and  lucra- 
tive practice.  Politically  Dr.  Denison  strongly 
advocates  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 
During  his  stay  in  Tunkhannock  he  served  two 
terms  as  coroner  and  served  on  the  council  for 
three  years,  being  the  first  Republican  elected  in 
that  ward  to  that  office ;  also  United  States  pen- 
sion examiner  under  Harrison  three  years. 

Dr.  Denison  married,  October  5,  1885,  Mary 
Sharpe,  daughter  of  Walter  and  Mary  (De  Voe) 
Sharpe,  and  granddaughter  of  James  and  Janet 
(Fuller)  Sharpe.  To  Dr.  Denison  and  his  wife 
a  daughter  was  born  in  September,  1886,  who  died' 
in  1895.  Mrs.  Denison's  father,  Walter  Sharpe, 
was  a  soldier  in  the  English  army.  Scottish  Regi- 
ment, during  the  Sepoy  Rebellion,  Calcutta, 
India.  He  was  presented  with  two  valuable 
medals  by  the  Oueen  of  England  for  an  act  o£" 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


55> 


bravery  during  the  massacre  of  the  women  and 
children.  His  brother,  James  Sharpe,  who  was 
a  professor  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  Scot- 
land, was  killed  in  this  war.  Walter  Sharpe  emi- 
grated to  this  country  from  Melbourne,  Australia, 
locating  in  Camden.  He  then  removed  to  Ann 
Arbor,  Michigan,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
milling  and  in  the  wholesale  flour  and  feed  busi- 
ness up  to  his  death,  1895. 

PATRICK  JOSEPH  RAMSEY  was  born 
in  county  Donegal,  Ireland,  March  20,  1870,  son 
of  Michael  and  Anne  (Meehan)  Ramsey.  He 
was  brought  to  America  by  his  parents,  who  em- 
igrated here  in  1S73.  They  settled  in  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  where  the  family  has  since 
resided. 

Patrick  J.  Ramsey  was  educated  in  the 
Wilkes-Barre  public  schools,  which  he  left  at  an 
early  age,  and  then  spent  some  years  employed 
in  the  coal  breakers  and  axle  works.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1 89 1,  he  entered  the  business  office  of  the 
Wilkes-Barre  Times,  shortly  after  that  paper  was 
established,  and  after  a  course  in  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Business  College,  became  a  reporter  on  the 
Times.  In  October,  1893,  ne  wli^  the  late  H.  B. 
Thomas  secured  control  of  the  Plymouth  Weekly 
Tribune  and  started  the  Plymouth  Daily  Tribune, 
the  first  daily  newspaper  published  in  Plymouth. 
After  successfully  conducting  it  for  several 
months,  with  all  the  interesting  experiences  of  a 
youthful  editor  and  publisher  of  a  village  daily 
newspaper,  he  sold  out  his  interest  and  returned 
to  the  Wilkes-Barre  Times,  with  which  publi- 
cation he  has  been  connected  almost  continu- 
ously since,  a  period  of  fourteen  years,  as  solici- 
tor, circulation  and  advertising  manager,  re- 
porter and  city  editor.  In  1894  when  the  Times 
Publishing  Company  was  reorganized  with  the 
late  Liddon  Flick  as  president,  Mr.  Ramsey  was 
made  assistant  city  editor  and  remained  in  that 
capacity  until  February,  1903,  when  he  accepted 
a  position  on  the  news  staff  of  the  Wilkes-Barre 
Record.  During  his  reportorial  career  on  the 
Times,  he  covered  the  Lattimer  shooting  and 
trial,  and  other  important  happenings  and  court 
cases,  and  in  April,  1898,  was  sent  out  with  the 
Ninth  Regiment  (See  history  of  Ninth  Regi- 
ment elsewhere)  as  war  correspondent  for  the 
Times  during  the  war  with  Spain.  He  also  re- 
ported the  big  coal  strikes  and  labor  conventions 
for  the  Times  in  1900-02,  and  was  in  close  touch 
with  John  Mitchell,  labor  leaders  and  coal  com- 
pany officials,  during  the  local  industrial  wars. 
After  eight  months  on  the  Record,  he  returned  to 
the  Times,  January  1,  1904,  to  take  the  position 


of  city  editor  of  the  latter  newspaper,  which  po- 
sition he  still  occupies.  He  organized  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Press  Club  in  1895,  and  is  at  this  time  its 
president.  He  is  also  a  charter  member  of 
Wilkes-Barre  Council,  No.  302,  Knights  of 
Columbus. 

JACOB    ROBERTS,   JR.     There   is    some- 
times to  be  found  in  a  community  a  man  who  by 
virtue  of  long  and  varied  experiences  in  one  par- 
ticular line  of  business  is  entitled  to  be  called  a 
specialist   and    whose   opinions    are    accepted   as- 
those  of  an  expert.    Such  is  the  gentleman  whose- 
name  opens  this  article.    He  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, December  19,  1840,  and  is  the  son  of  Jacob- 
Roberts,  who  was  born  in  England,   December 
27,  1819.    John  Roberts,  father  of  Jacob  Roberts, 
was    born    in    the    town    of    Breage,    Cornwall 
county,   and   represented  an  old  and  'highly   re- 
spected family  of  that  section.     He  was  known' 
as  a  mineral  miner  and  there  spent  his  entire  life.. 
Jacob  Roberts,  Sr.,  also  followed  the  occupation 
of  mineral  mining  in  that  locality  until  coming  to- 
America  in   1848,  when  he  settled  in  Schuylkill 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  began  the  operation  of 
coal  mining  which  he  followed  up  to  1868,  when 
he  came  to  the  Wyoming  valley  and  located  in 
Plymouth,  where  he  opened  and  operated  what 
was  known  as  the  Old  Chauncey  mine  in  con- 
junction with  Thomas  Broderick  and  Thomas  D. 
Conyngham.     He  remained  in  this  position  until' 
retiring,  when  he  returned  to  Schuylkill  county- 
and  there  died  at  eighty-two  years  of  age.     His- 
wife,  Amelia  Harris,  was  born  in  the  same  sec- 
tion of  England  as  himself  and  represented  an 
old  and  honored  ancestry  on  both  sides.    She  was- 
the  mother  of  five  children,   four  of  whom  are 
still  living,  the  subject  of  this  review  being  the- 
eldest.     The  others  are :    Amelia,   living  in  the- 
western  part  of  Pennsylvania.     Belinda,  now  de- 
ceased.   John,  of  Tamaqua,  Pennsylvania.   Mary, 
who  married  William  R.  Jones  and  also  resides 
in  Tamaqua.     The  mother  of  these  children  died' 
at  sixty-seven  years  of  age.     Both  parents  were- 
members  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

Jacob  Roberts,  Jr.,  remained  in  England  up  to- 
eight  years  of  age,  when  he  set  sail  for  the  new 
world  and  landed  at  New  York,  going  thence  to- 
Tamaqua,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained  until' 
eighteen.  He  received  his  education  in  public 
and  private  schools,  and  then  went  to  Philadel- 
phia to  receive  a  thoroughly  practical  business- 
education,  remaining  there  until  the  war  broke 
out.  During  those  stirring  times  in  1862  he  was- 
among  the  first  to  enlist  in  Company  E,  One- 
Hundred    and    Twenty-ninth    Pennsylvania    In- 


556 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


fantry,  Third  Brigade,  Fifth  Army  Corps,  serv- 
ing under  that  famous  general  Joseph  Hooker, 
and  with  his  company  and  regiment  was  engaged 
in  many  of  the  awful  battles  of  that  corps,  in- 
cluding the  second  Bull  Run,  South  Mountain, 
Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville  and 
all  of  the  other  famous  battles  down  to  May  i, 
1864.  During  this  time  he  was  promoted  through 
the  various  ranks  of  corporal,  sergeant,  lieuten- 
ant, captain,  and  up  to  major,  with  which  honor- 
able title  he  was  discharged  and  which  he  has 
since  borne.  After  his  discharge  he  returned  to 
Tamaqua  and  with  his  father  engaged  in  the 
■operating  of  what  was  known  as  the  Newkirk 
colliery,  where  he  remained  for  a  time,  and  then 
in  conjunction  with  his  father  operated  a  col- 
liery for  the  Lehigh  Coal  &  Navigation  Company 
in  Carbon  county,  Pennsylvania,  later  in  Ma- 
Tanoy  City  in  the  early  history  of  coal  operations 
there,  being  among  the  pioneers  to  sink  the  first 
shaft.  After  remaining  there  for  a  time  they 
-came  to  Plymouth  and  opened  the  Chauncey 
mine,  as  spoken  of  above.  After  a  short  time 
Trere  Major  Roberts  became  the  general  sales 
agent  for  J.  H.  Swoyer  in  Wilkes-Barre,  having 
charge  of  his  entire  sales  department  and  re- 
maining in  this  capacity  for  eight  years,  when  he 
resigned  and  went  to  Pittston  and  opened  up  the 
Fairmount  colliery,  organizing  a  company  of 
which  he  became  president 'and  conducting  an 
extensive  business  for  some  time.  Then  selling 
his  interest  he  went  to  Hanover  township,  where 
he  opened  the  Moffett  colliery  of  the  Hanover 
Coal  Company,  becoming  president  and  general 
manager  of  this.  Later  he  disposed  of  his  in- 
terest and  entered  the  political  field,  being  elected 
to  the  legislature  in  1897,  serving  one  term,  dur- 
ing which  he  was  on  the  military,  mines  and  min- 
ing, and  railroad  committees.  At  the  expiration 
of  his  term  of  office  he  again  entered  the  business 
arena  and  formed  what  is  known  as  the  Wilkes- 
Barre  Knitting  Mills  Company,  erecting  a  large 
building  and  putting  in  machinery,  and  was 
treasurer  and  general  manager  of  this  concern, 
doing  an  extensive  business  and  employing  some 
two  hundred  and  sixty  hands.  In  February, 
1905,  he  resigned  his  position  to  engage  in  his 
present  business  of  coal  specialist  with  offices  in 
Wilkes-Barre.  In  addition  to  this  he  is  also  in- 
terested in  the  Flat  Branch  Coal  &  Coke  Com- 
pany, of  Tracy,  Tennessee,  in  which  he  is  a  direc- 
tor. In  his  position  as  coal  specialist  he  gives 
opinions  in  regard  to  the  value  of  this  mineral 
found  in  different  parts  of  the  country  and,  in 
fact,  anything  pertaining  to  the  mining  of  coal. 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  common  council  for 


some  years,  having  been  re-elected  three  times, 
the  third  in  1905  being  without  opposition.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Westmoreland  Club ;  the  F.  and 

A.  M.,  of  Plymouth,  No.  336,  also  the  council 
and  chapter  of  Wilkes-Barre ;  was  a  charter 
member  of  the  Dieu  Le  Vieut  commandery,  which 
was  organized  in  1872,  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 
for  some  years ;  of  the  B.  P.  O.  E.,  also  K.  of  P. 
A  director  of  the  Wilkes-Barre  Deposit  &  Sav- 
ings Bank.  He  married,  September  17,  1863, 
Emma  A.  Simpson,  who  was  born  in  Mauch 
Chunk,  Pennsylvania.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain George  W.  Simpson,  who  was  born  in  Phil- 
adelphia, Pennsylvania,  and  was  a  builder  there. 
He  was  in  the  Civil  war  and  was  a  prisoner  and 
confined  in  the  prison  pens  at  Libby  prison,  where 
he  remained  eighteen  months,  and  others,  includ- 
ing Macon,  Georgia,  and  was  also  under  fire  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  at  the  time  the 
prisoners  were  brought  out  in  front  of  the  fort 
to  prevent  the  northern  forces  from  firing  upon 
it.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  Mauch  Chunk, 
and  later  to  Nanticoke,  where  he  died  at  eighty- 
two  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Roberts  was  one  of  ten 
children,  eight  of  whom  are  living,  she  being  the 
eldest.  Among  them  were  the  following:  Wil- 
liam, in  Scranton;  Annine,  who  married  Frank 
Detweller,  also  resides  in  Scranton ;  Robert,  de- 
ceased ;  Mahala,  married  William  Davenport,  in 
Scranton;  John  and  George  in  Nanticoke.  The 
mother  of  these  children  died  at  seventy-six  years 
of  age.  Three  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Roberts :  Lizzie  G.,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-three  years ;  she  was  the  wife  of  Walter 

B.  Posten.  William,  who  was  educated  in  pub- 
lic and  private  schools 'and  Wyoming  Seminary, 
and  is  now  engaged  in  the  hardware  business  in 
Wilkes-Barre.  Fred,  who  died  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen years.  They  attend  the  Presbyterian  church, 
in  which  Mr.  Roberts  has  held  some  offices. 

H.  E.  H. 

JOSEPH  ANSLEY,  deceased,  was  a  man 
of  great  business  activity,  in  which  he  displayed 
extraordinary  ability,  while  his  nobility  of  char- 
acter held  him  high  in  the  estimation  of  all  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact,  in  whatever  rela- 
tion, commercial  or  social.  His  ancestry  was 
probably  Scottish.  His  grandfather,  Joseph 
Ansley,  came  from  Connecticut  to  Pennsvlva- 
nie,  locating  at  Paupack,  Wayne  county.  Brin- 
son  Ansley,  father  of  Joseph  Ansley,  lived  there 
as  a  farmer ;  he  married  Elizabeth  Le  Barr, 
daughter  of  Leonard  Le  Barr,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  four  children — Leonard,  Joseph, 
William  and  Amelia. 


JOSEPH    ANSLEY 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


557 


Joseph  Ansley,  second  child  of  Brinson  and 
Elizabeth  (Le  Barr)  Ansley,  was  born  October 
26,  1825,  in  Paupack,  Wayne  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  there  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools,  and  learned  carpentry  with  a 
Mr.  La  Farge.  After  completing  his  appren- 
ticeship he  worked  in  the  vicinity  as  a  journey- 
man for  several  years.  He  then  removed  to 
Hawley,  and  this  was  the  real  beginning  of 
his  active  career.  For  a  time  he  worked  at  his 
trade,  conducting  an  undertaking  business  in 
connection  with  it.  He  soon  afterward,  how- 
ever, entered  upon  larger  concerns  as  a  contract- 
ing builder,  and  erected  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant houses,  both  business  and  residential,  in 
the  village,  many  of  them  upon  land  of  his  own, 
his  holdings  including  the  present  site  of  the 
Hawley  silk  mills  and  other  buildings.  He 
erected  the  first  grist  mill 'and  the  First  Bap- 
tist and  first  Catholic  churches  in  Hawley.  In 
connection  with  his  other  interests  he  also  kept 
a  lumber  yard  and  operated  a  planing  mill.  Suc- 
cess attended  his  effort,  and  in  1866  he  located 
in  Hyde  Park,  where  he  established  a  lumber 
yard  on  Bromley  avenue,  the  first  in  the  place, 
and  with  which  he  was  identified  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  also  established  a 
large  manufacturing  establishment  and  contin- 
ued a  contracting  business,  thus,  through  the 
agency  of  these  enterprises  contributing  to  the 
upbuilding  of  the  city  in  as  large,  perhaps  larger 
degree  than  any  other  one  man.  He  erected  many 
of  the  largest  and  most  valuable  public  and  pri- 
vate buildings,  factories,  residences,  etc.,  and 
the  product  of  his  shops  entered  into  the  con- 
struction of  hundreds  of  others  under  the  man- 
agement of  other  builders.  Soon  after  his  com- 
ing to  Hyde  Park  Mr.  Ansley  admitted  to  part- 
nership with  himself  Nicolas  Washburn  and 
Samuel  Heller.  In  1868  he  bought  out  the  inter- 
est ofMr.  Heller,  and  that  of  Mr.  Washburn  in 
the  spring  of  1871.  It  was  during  his  partnership 
with  Mr.  Washburn  that  planing-mill  and  sash 
and  blind  manufactory  were  established,  but 
these  had  hardly  gone  into  operation  when  Mr. 
Ansley  purchased  the  Washburn  interest,  and  the 
installation  of  this  business  is  due  almost  en- 
tirely to  Mr.  Ansley.  The  building  known  as 
the  Herman's  shop  was  occupied  for  factory 
purposes  until  early  in  1879,  when  the  present 
substantial  stone  and  wood  shops  were  com- 
pleted, after  having  been  in  course  of  construc- 
tion for  about  three  years.  This  business  Mr. 
Ansley  developed  into  large  proportions,  em- 
ploying about  one  hundred  operatives.  He 
reaped  a  well  deserved  reward  for  his  industry 


and    enterprise,   and   accumulated   a    handsome 
property  in  Scranton  and  Dunmore. 

Mr.  Ansley  was  a  man  of  great  earnestness, 
of  character,  and  conscientious  in  every  thought 
and  act.  Of  a  marked  religious  temperament, 
he  was  not  a  communicant  of  any  church,  but 
inclined  to  the  Presbyterian  faith  and  attended 
the  services  of  that  denomination.  His  first 
vote  was  cast  for  the  candidate  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  but  in  the  next  presidential  cam- 
paign he  acted  with  the  Whigs.  His  humani- 
tarianism  would  not  permit  him  to  act  with  any. 
political  organization  favorable  to  the  main- 
tenance of  a  system  of  human  bondage,  and 
when  the  Republican  party  was  organized  in. 
1856  he  affiliated  with  it,  voted  for  John  C.  Fre- 
mont, its  first  presidential  candidate,  and  was- 
ever  afterward  among  its  most  steadfast  sup- 
porters. 

Mr.  Ansley  married,  September  9,  1850,  at 
Wilsonville,  Pennsylvania,  a  daughter  of  Will- 
iam and  Elizabeth  (Shouse)  Mason;  her  fath- 
er resided  in  Savannah,  Georgia.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ansley  were  born  eleven  children,  of  whom 
five  are  living :  Elizabeth,  deceased ;  Matilda,  de- 
ceased; Sarah,  who  became  the  wife  of  Henry 
T.  Porter  (deceased),  and  to  them  were  born 
three  children :  Ethel,  wife  of  Paul  Johanning ; 
Pearl,  and  Leila.  John,  deceased.  Lincoln,  re- 
siding in  Colorado,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the- 
lumber  business.  Hamlin,  died  in  twenty-first 
year.  (Lincoln  and  Hamlin  were  twins,  born 
during  the  political  campaign  of  i860,  and  were- 
named  for  the  Republican  presidential  and  vice- 
presidential  candidates).  Joseph,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  business ;  he  married  Mar- 
garet Shiffer,  and  they  have  three  children — ■ 
Sarah,  Joseph  and  James.  James,  deceased. 
Edward,  engaged  in  the  lumber  business ;  he 
married  Matilda  Thompson,  and  they  have  three 
children — Ruth,  deceased;  Mary  and  Allen. 
Frank,  deceased.     Anna,  at  home. 

Mr.  Ansley  died  March  23,  1891,  and  his. 
demise  was  deeply  mourned  throughout  the 
community  which  had  been  so  greatly  advan- 
taged by  his  presence  and  labors.  During  his 
later  years,  while  withdrawn  in  some  degree 
from  active  concerns,  he  was  yet  a  familiar  figure 
on  the  streets  of  the  city,  commanding  attention 
by  his  fine  personal  appearance — his  well-built 
frame,  intellectual  face,  and  long  flowing  beard 
which  gave  him  an  air  of  marked  dignity.  Affa- 
ble to  all,  and  of  wide  information,  he  enjoyed 
the  sincere  regard  of  all  the  older  citizens,  and 
of  those  of  the  younger  generation  who  were 
privileged   to   know    him    familiarly.     He    was 


.553 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


very  domestic  in  his  tastes,  and  greatly  attached 
to  his  home.  Between  himself  and  his  wife  ex- 
isted tenderness  of  affection  and  closeness  of 
sympathy  to  a  degree  far  surpassing  that  which 
is  ordinarily  found  even  in  homes  which  are 
regarded  as  models  of  marital  serenity  and  hap- 
piness. Mrs.  Ansley,  who  survives  her  honored 
husband,  comes  from  a  family  noted  for  long- 
evity, and  is  exceptionally  well  preserved,  be- 
ing in  appearance  many  years  younger  than  she 
really  is.  While  deeply  attached  to  those  left 
to  her — her  children  and  theirs — she  dwells  in 
much  of  her  thought  with  the  loved  ones  beyond 
the  veil,  whose  hearts  are  bound  to  her  own  by 
memory's  golden  chain  until  they  meet  to  touch 
again. 

FREDERICK  SCHWARZ.  A  recognized 
leader  among  the  German-American  citizens 
of  Scranton  is  Frederick  Schwarz.  He  is 
a  son  of  William  Schwartz,  who  was  born  in 
Germany,  and  followed  the  calling  of  a  miner. 
In  1852  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and 
settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Scranton,  where, 
being  a  thrifty,  honest  and  industrious  man,  he 
soon  accumulated  a  property  consisting  of  a 
house  and  three  lots.  He  was  recognized  by 
his  fellow  citizens  as  a  reliable  man  and  was 
chosen  to  fill  the  office  of  constable.  His  wife 
was  Mary  Butterman,  also  a  native  of  Germany, 
-and  of  their  eight  children  four  are  living: :  Fred- 


erick,  mentioned   hereafter;  Joseph,   Lizzie   and 
Kate. 

Frederick  Schwarz,  son  of  William  and 
Mary  (Butterman)  Schwarz,  was  born  in  1855 
in  Petersburg,  now  part  of  the  city  of  Scranton, 
and  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  town,  from  which  he  was  honorably 
graduated.  During  his  youth  and  early  man- 
hood he  was  engaged  in  the  coal  industry  and 
later  became  a  general  teamster.  For  six  years 
he  was  connected  with  W.  S.  Pearson  in  the 
wholesale  green  truck  business,  and  is  now  with 
H.  Burgerhoff  in  the  same  line.  Mr.  Schwarz 
is  a  man  of  means  and  influence,  owning  three 
houses  and  eleven  lots  in  Petersburg.  For  four 
years  he  held  the  office  of  councilman.  He  is  a 
member  of  St.  Peter's  Society. 

Mr.  Schwarz  married,  January  20.  1881 
Louise  D.  Apple,  and  of  their  eight  children 
five  are  living:  Mary,  William  J.,  Gertrude, 
Frederick,  Jr.,  and  Helena.  Mrs.  Schwarz  is 
a  daughter  of  Adam  and  Catherine  Apple,  both 
natives  of  Germany,  who  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try in  1852.  Mr.  Apple  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade  and  was  respected  by  all  as  a  man  of  genu- 
ine worth.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of 
two  children :  Louise  D.,  born  January  21,  1856, 
in  Petersburg,  wife  of  Frederick  Schwarz,  as 
mentioned  above,  and  Louis,  who  died  June  10, 
1903. 


i 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  PATTERSON  FAMILY 


COMPILED  FROM  MANUSCRIPT  LEFT  BY  D.  WILLIAMS  PATTERSON, 
WITH  A  FEW  ADDITIONS  BY  ANNA  PATTERSON. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


James  Patterson  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  was  born  about  1633.  He 
was  one  of  the  prisoners  of  war  taken  by  Cromwell,  probably  at  the  battle  of 
Worcester,  3  September,  165 1.  These  prisoners  were  sold  as  bond-servants 
by  the  English  government  and  a  large  number  of  them  were  sent  to  New 
England  in  the  ship  "John  and  Sarah,"  of  London,  Captain  John  Green,  mas- 
ter; they  embarked  6  November,  165 1,  probably  sailed  about  14  November, 
165 1,  and  arrived  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  probably  early  in  the  following 
May,  as  on  13  May,  1652,  the  list  of  servants  sent  on  board  the  ship  was  re- 
corded in  Boston.  (See  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register, 
vol.  i,  pp.  377-380).  In  1658  he  was  a  resident  of  Billerica,  as  he  then  received 
a  grant  of  land  from  that  town.  Between  1658  and  1685  he  received  sixteen 
different  grants  of  land  from  the  town  of  Billerica.  In  1661  his  name  ap- 
pears upon  the  town  records  in  a  vote  of  the  proprietors.  He  married,  29 
May,  1662,  Rebecca  Stevenson,  before  "Thomas  Danforth,  Esq."  She  was 
daughter  of  Andrew  Stevenson  of  Cambridge,  and  was  born  about   1642. 

"At  a  meeting  of  Selectmen  &  Committee  of  Militia  held  October  8,  1675, 
In  persuance  of  an  order  from  the  Hon.  Councill  sent  unto  them,"  twelve 
garrisons  were  formed  in  Billerica.  "6.  They  appoint  James  Patersons 
house  for  garrison  and  to  entertain  John  Baldwin,  Edward  &  Thomas 
Farmer,  Henery  &  John  Jeffts  &  two  soldiers.  8  soldiers  &  4  families."1 
(Billerica  town  records,  p.  121).  He  was  admitted  freeman  18  April,  1690. 
His  will  was  dated  12  May,  1701,  and  he  died  in  Billerica  14  July,  1701,  aged 
about  sixty-eight  years,  according  to  the  town  records,  but  his  inventory 
states  that  he  died  14  June,  1701. 

Children  of  James1  and  Rebecca  (Stevenson)  Patterson: 

I.  MARY  PATTERSON,2  born  in  Billerica,  22  August,  1666;  mar- 
ried 30  January,  1688-9,  Peter  Proctor,  of  Chelmsford. 

II.  JAMES  PATTERSON,2  born  in  Billerica,  28  February,  1668-9; 
died  3  October,  1677. 


III. 


ried 


ANDREW  PATTERSON2,  born  in  Billerica,  4  April,  1672 ;  mar- 
—  1697,  Elizabeth  Kebbe,  of  Charlestown.    He  was  a  mariner,  and 

tradition  says  "was  lost  at  sea."    He  was  alive  at  as  late  a  date  as  27  March, 

1707,  as  appears  by  deeds  recorded  in  Cambridge. 

Elizabeth   Patterson   of   Reading,    Massachusetts,    (probably   widow   of 


I.     James    Patterson's  house   used    for   garrison 
Hazen's  "History  of  Billerica,"  pp.  110-117;  N.  E.  H. 


in     King     Philip's     War.     Reff. 
&  G.  R.  vol.  xxxvii,  p.  148. 


EXPLANATORY    NOTES 

The  first  number  within  marginal  lines  on  left  of  page  is  the  number  the  person  bears  in  the  Genealogy. 

The  next  number  on  the  left  in  Roman  numerals,  is  the  number  the  person  bears  in  the  family. 

The  small  number  just  above  the  name  shows  to  which  generation  that  person  belongs. 

The  number  within  the  marginal  lines  at  the  right  is  the  number  the  person  bears  in  this  book,  and  by  it  may  be 

found  either  a  previous  or  later  mention  of  that  person. 
Quotations  from  ancient  manuscripts  preserve  their  original  forms  of  spelling  and  so  differ  from  the  present  forms 


IO 


;6o 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


Andrew),  bought  8  September,  1725,  of  Thomas  Hodgeman,  of  Reading, 
part  of  his  homestead  in  Reading,  containing  four  acres.  She  died  in  Read- 
ing, June,  1738. 

IV.  JOHN  PATTERSON,2  born  in  Billerica  8  April,  1675,  married 
Concord,  29  December,  1702,  Joanna  Hall,  of  Billerica.  He  had,  1  March, 
1707,  a  grant  from  the  town  of  Billerica  of  twenty  acres  of  upland  and 
swamp  for  £20  money. 

A".  JOSEPH  PATTERSON,2  born  in  Billerica  1  January,  1677-8.  He 
was  a  tailor,  and  settled  in  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  as  early  as  the  be- 
ginning of  1701.  He  bought  of  Edward  Harrington,  19  March,  1701,  "one 
mansion  house  with  twelve  acres  of  orchyard,  meadow,  and  arable  land,  sit- 
uate, lying  and  being  in  Watertown  aforesaid."  He  married  first  in  Sud- 
bury, 22  September,  1701,  Mercy  Goodenow,  born  in  Sudbury,  1680,  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  Jchn  Gcodenow  of  Sudbury.  She  died  in  childbed,  1  Sep- 
tember. 1710,  and  he  married  (second)  Mary .  She  died  and  he  mar- 
ried (third),  19  November,  1724,  Rebecca,  widow  of  James  Livermore,  and 
daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Trowbridge)  Myrick  of  Newton.  She  was 
born  20  April,  1687,  and  married  5  October,  1718,  James  Livermore.  of 
Weston,  who  died  20  August,  1720.  (Bond's  "History  of  Watertown,"  pp. 
374  and  392.)  In  1714  he  was  constable  or  collector  of  Watertown.  He 
had,  by  small  purchases  at  different  times,  acquired  a  good  farm,  which  is 
said  to  have  included  the  top  of  Prospect  Hill,  about  half  a  mile  west  of 
Waltham  Plain.  The  date  of  his  death  is  not  now  known,  but  his  will  was 
executed  15  November,  1736,  and  offered  for  probate  14  February,  1736-7. 

VI.  REBECCA  PATTERSON,2  born  in  Billerica,  18  July,  16S0 ;  died 
1683. 

VII.  JAMES  PATTERSON,2  born  in  Billerica.  13  April.  1683  ;  mar- 
ried Mary  .     He  was  probably  a  resident  of  Billerica  till  1707.     In 

171 1  he  was  a  resident  of  Dunstable,  and  remained  there  till  1716,  when  he 
moved  to  Groton,  where  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  drew  lot 
No.  44  in  "Narragansett  No.  6"  (now  Templeton)  as  the  representative  of 
his  father,  for  his  services  in  "King  Philip's  war,"  in  1675  or  1676.  The 
time  of  his  death  is  not  known,  but  he  was  alive  on  the  6th  day  of  November, 
1735,  and  mortgaged  his  Narragansett  lot  to  Samuel  Belknap,  of  Woburn : 
and  on  the  20th  of  March,  1738,  Belknap  executed  a  deed  of  release 
of  the  same  lot  to  Joseph  Patterson,  of  Watertown,  in  which  deed  he 
mentions  James  Patterson  as  "late  of  Groton  deceased."  But  a  small  por- 
tion of  this  mortgage  is  now  in  existence.  The  date,  signature,  and  de- 
scription are  gone,  but  on  the  back  of  what  remains  is  an  indorsement  of 
the  date  when  recorded,  10  January,  1737-8.  His  wife  survived  him,  as  27 
August,  1739,  she  and  her  children  are  named  in  a  deed  of  the  same  prop- 
erty to  Joseph  Patterson,  of  Watertown,  in  which  the  grantors  were  de- 
scribed as  "Alary  Patterson,  widow :  James  Patterson,  Jonathan  Patterson 
and  Hezekiah  Patterson,  labourers,  all  of  the  town  of  Groton  in  the  County 
of  Middlesex  in  New  England,  and  Mary  Patterson  of  Watertown  in  ye 
County  aforesaid,  spinster."  These  I  have  supposed  to  be  the  widow  and 
children  of  James  Patterson  who  drew  the  lot.    The  deed  was  signed  bv  but 


11 


16 


THE  WYOMING  AND   LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


56i 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


10 


one  Mary,  and  by  James  and  Hezekiah;  seals  are  attached  for  the  other 
names,  but  there  is  no  sign  of  the  names.  I  think  the  James  Patterson  who 
signed  the  deed  to  be  identical  with  James  Patterson  mentioned  by  Butler 
in  his  history  of  Groton. 

VIII.  JONATHAN  PATTERSON,2  born  in  Billerica  30  January, 
1685-6.  In  a  deed  dated  27  February,  1706-7,  he  describes  himself  as  a 
"tailor  of  Watertawn."  He  then  deeded  to  Enoch  Kidder  of  Billerica  fifty- 
one  acres  of  land  which  he  received  from  his  father's  estate  in  Billerica. 
He  was  a  resident  of  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  as  early  as  1713.  He  mar- 
ried,  in   Deerfield,    1713,    Mary   Hawks,   born    1695,    daughter   of   Deacon 

Eliezer  and  Hawks,  of  Deerfield.     He  resided  in  Deerfield  till  after 

the  birth  of  his  second  child,  1  September,  1716,  after  which  he  moved  to 
Northfield,  Massachusetts,  where  he  died  1718.  Mrs.  Mary  Patterson  died 
in  Northfield,  1757,  "aged  61  years." 

Children  of  Andrew2  and  Elizabeth  (Kebbe)  Patterson: 
I.  JAMES  PATTERSON,3  born  in  Medford,  Massachusetts.  5  October. 
1707;  married  14  October,  1730,  Lydia  Fisk,  born  in  Lexington,  daughter 
of  Deacon  Jonathan  and  Abigail  (Reed)  Fisk.  (See  Bond,  p.  209;  and 
Barry's  "History  of  Framingham,"  p.  356).  He  was  a  blacksmith,  and  17 
February,  1729-30,  he  purchased  a  homestead  in  Sudbury,  where  he  resided 
till  1763.  He  died  in  Princeton,  Massachusetts,  4  May,  1766.  Mrs.  Lydia 
Patterson  died  in  Princeton,  September,  1776,  aged  sixty-six  years.  Barry 
in  his  "History  of  Framingham,  Massachusetts,"  says  his  "father  is  said  to 
have  been  'James,'  pr0D-  g.  s_  0f  James  (1),"  but  that  is  the  only  evidence 
which  I  find  to  prove  that  he  was  the  son  of  James,  while,  on  the  contrary, 
much  can  be  found  to  show  that  he  was  not  the  son  of  James,  but  was  the 
son  of  Andrew.  James2  (8)  had  a  son  James,3  but  in  1739  he  is  described  as 
a  "laborer  of  Groton,"  while  James3  (10)  was  a  blacksmith  of  Sudbury. 
James3  (10)  of  Sudbury,  deeded  to  Joseph3  of  Watertown,  6  February, 
I734"S.  "all  the  right  he  might  have  in  his  grandfather's'  right  in  the  lands 
granted  to  the  Narragansett  soldiers,  his  grandfather  being  one  of  the 
grantees." _  Now,  as  his  grandfather  did  not  will  any  such  right  to  him,  the 
only  way  in  which  he  could  become  possessed  of  it  was  through  his  father, 
and  he  could  have  no  such  right  until  after  the  decease  of  his  father,  and 
James2  (8)  of  Groton  was  certainly  living  till  after  6  November,  1735,  nine 
months  after  the  date  of  the  deed  made  by  James3  (10),  and  he  probably  did 
not  die  till  the  latter  part  of  1737,  which  facts  led  me  to  believe  that  James3 
(10)  could  not  have  been  the  son  of  James2  (8),  while  in  proof  that  he  was 
son  of  Andrew2  (4)  I  find  the  following  facts: 

His  descendants  have  a  tradition  that  Andrew2  (4)  died,  or  was  lost  at 
sea,  while  no  other  branch  of  the  family  has  any  traditionary  knowledge  of 
Andrew  at  all,  and  the  descendants  of  James3  (10)  have  no  traditionary 
knowledge  of  James2  (8).  Now,  each  family  would  naturally  be  much  more 
likely  to  retain  such  traditionary  knowledge  of  their  own  ancestor  than  of  a 
brother  of  their  ancestor.  Again,  there  is  no  record  to  show  that  Elizabeth 
Patterson,  of  Reading,  did,  in  any  way,  during  her  lifetime,  convey  the  title 
to  the  property  which,  in  1725,  she  bought  of  Thomas  Hodgeman;  but  7 
April,  1757,  James3  (10)  of  Sudbury,  sold  a  part  of  this  same  property,  and 
z\  July,  1758,  the  remainder  of  it,  while  there  is  no  record  of  any  convey- 


3° 


4 
32 


562 


THE  WYOMING  AND  LACKAWANNA  VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


11 
12 
13 
14 
15 

16 


17 


19 


ance  to  him  in  any  way  of  the  property,  so  that  he  must  have  inherited  it 
from  Elizabeth  Patterson  of  Reading ;  and  the  fact  that  he  disposed  of  it 
without  reference  to  any  other  heir  would  show  that  he  was  sole  heir,  and 
that,  if  he  had  ever  had  any  brothers  or  sisters,  neither  they  nor  their  rep- 
resentatives were  living  in  1757. 

Children  of  John2  and  Joanna  (Hall)  Patterson: 

I.  KEZIA  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Billerica,  5  February,  1703-4. 

II.  REBECCA  PATTERSON,3  born  in  Billerica,  15  January,  1705-6. 

III.  HANNAH  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Billerica,  9  July,  1710. 

IV.  MARY  PATTERSON,3  born  in  Billerica,  19  March,  1713-14. 

V.  ELIZABETH  PATTERSON,3  born  in  Billerica,  24  February, 
1722-3. 

Children  of  Joseph2  and  Mercy  (Goodenow)  Patterson: 

I.  MERCY  PATTERSON,3  born  in  Watertown,  1  September,  1702; 
married,  1721,  Samuel  Brown,  a  tailor  of  the  East  Precinct  (Watertown). 
She  was  admitted  to  full  connection  in  Waltham  Church,  9  April,  1724,  and 
he  21  March,  1724-5.  They  were  both  dismissed  from  Waltham  to  Leicester 
Church,  18  February,  1738-9  (Bond,  p.  727),  about  which  time  they  removed 
to  Leicester,  where  they  resided  in  May,  1742.    They  removed  from  there  to 

Stockbridge,  where,   in   1749,  at  the  death  of  Rev.  they,  and  the 

families  of  their  son,  Samuel  Brown,  Jr.,  and  son-in-law,  Deacon  John 
Chamberlain,  were  three  of  the  only  twelve  English  families  in  town.  He 
was  a  deacon  of  the  church,  and  had  a  large  share  of  the  municipal  offices 
and  business  of  Stockbridge  while  it  was  a  precinct  and  after  it  was  in- 
corporated as  a  town.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  in 
1775  (Bond,  p.  122).  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  His  will, 
dated  1782,  making  son  Samuel  sole  executor,  was  proved  2  March,  1784. 
He  willed  all  his  estate,  real  and  personal,  to  his  grandsons,  John,  Isaac, 
Abram,  Joseph,  and  Lemuel,  sons  of  Captain  Abraham  Brown.  She  died  in 
Stockbridge,  6  March,  1774,  and  he  died  7  February,  1784. 

II.  MARY  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Watertown,  16  August,  1704; 
married  14  February,  1733-4,  Jeremiah  Hewes,  of  Needham. 

III.-  LYDIA  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Watertown,  9  October,  1706; 
died  young. 

IV.  EUNICE  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Watertown,  19  April,  1708; 
married  28  December,  1726,  Jonathan  Flagg,  of  Watertown,  born  1  May, 
17041.  They  removed  to  Framingham  about  173 1,  after  the  birth  of  their 
second  child. 


1.  Son  of  Allen  and  Sarah  (Ball)  Flagg,  grandson  of  John,  Jr..  and  Sarah  (Billi- 
ard) Ball,  and  cousin  of  David  Ball,  who  married  Sybilla3  (22)  Patterson.  (Bond, 
p.  12). 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


563 


20 


21 


22 


24 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


V.  JOSEPH  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Watertown,  27  August,  1710, 
married  1737,  Lydia  Marean,  of  Newton,  born  in  Roxbury,  1711,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Clark)  Marean2.  He  was  a  farmer  and  lived 
in  Watertown  till  1767,  when  he  moved  to  Richmond.  He  was  a  member  of 
Captain  Eleazer  Melvin's  company  in  Governor  Shirley's  expedition  to  the 
Norridgewock  country  in  1754.  (Ref.,  N.  E.  Hist.  &  Gen.  Reg.,  vol. 
xxxvii,  p.  148,  Society  of  Colonial  Wars,  Illinois  1897).  They  were  dismissed 
24  May,  1767,  from  Waltham  Church  "to  the  Christian  brethren  in  Rich- 
mond, Massachusetts,  soon  to  be  embodied  into  a  church."  (Bond,  p.  392). 
He  was  "constable  and  collector''  of  Watertown  in  1747.  He  died  in  Rich- 
mond, 8  September,  1780.  She  died  in  Richmond,  8  February,  1785,  "in  ye 
74th  year  of  her  age."3 

Children  of  Toseph2  and  Mary  ( )   Patterson: 

VI.  HEPZlBAH  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Watertown,  7  December, 
I7I3- 

VII.  SIBILLA  PATTERSON,  born  in  Watertown ;  baptized  in  Wa- 
tertown, 27  November,  1715  ;  married,  10  July,  1735,  David  Ball,  of  Water- 
town,  born  17  January,  1716-174. 

VIII.  LYDIA  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Watertown,  12  October,  1718. 

Children  o,f  Joseph2  and  Rebecca  (Mvrick)  Patterson: 

IX.  ELIZABETH  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Watertown,  27  September, 
1727 ;  married,  6  July,  1749,  Abijah  Bond,  of  Watertown,  born  28  Novem- 
ber, 1727.  Thev  settled  in  Concord,  Massachusetts.  (See  Bond,  pp.  50  and 
164-5O 


Children  of  James2  and  Mary  ( 

I.     JAMES  PATTERSON3',  born 


)  Patterson : 

;  married  in  Groton,  Massa- 
chusetts, 17  January,  1744-5,  widow  Elizabeth  Bartlett.  She  was  born  20 
March,  1718.  They  lived  in  that  part  of  Groton  which  was  set  off  in  1753 
to  form  the  district  (afterwards  town)  of  Shirley,  for  which  he  was  one  of 
the  petitioners,  1  March,  1747.  He  was  a  witness,  20  March,  1738,  to  the 
deed  from  Samuel  Belknap  to  Joseph  Patterson  (20)  of  Watertown,  and  27 
August,  1739,  he  signed  a  deed  to  Joseph  (20)  of  Watertown,  of  the  same 
"lot  No.  44  in  Narragansett  No.  6"  (Templeton,  Massachusetts)  which  his 
father  mortgaged  to  Belknap,  and  Belknap  deeded  to  Joseph  (20)  of  Water- 
town.  He  died  in  Shirley,  Massachusetts,  4  May,  1759.  His  estate  was  ad- 
ministered by  his  widow,  who  married  (third)  27  January,  1763,  Samuel 
Nichols.    She  died  28  July,  1813,  aged  ninety-six. 


2.  "William  Marean  and  Elizabeth  Clark  were  married  in  Roxbury,  7  January, 
1702,  and  had  (in  Roxbury),  PHILIP,  1703;  WILLIAM,  1707:  THOMAS,  1712 ; 
removed  to  Newton  and  lived  near  Kenrick's  bridge.  He  died  1761,  age  83 ;  she  died 
I747-"   (Jackson's  "History  of  Newton,"  p.  362). 

3.  A  small  copper  tea-kettle  which  belonged  to  Lydia  Marean  at  the  time  of  her 
marriage  to  Joseph  Patterson  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  compiler. 

4.  He  was  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Parkhurst)  Ball,  grandson  of  John  and 
c-arah  (Bullard)  Ball,  and  cousin  to  Jonathan  Flagg,  who  married  Eunice  Patter- 
son3   (tq).    (Bond,  page  13.) 


35 


8 
44 


564 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


26 


2/ 


28 


29 


30 
3i 

33 
34 


35 


II.     JONATHAN  PATTERSON3,  born 


He  was  mentioned  in 


a  deed,  27  August,  1739,  as  "labourer  of  Groton."  He  died  in  Groton  about 
1752.  James  Patterson,  his  brother,  was  appointed  administrator  of  his 
estate,  16  March,  1752. 

III.  JOHN  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Dunstable,  10  April,  1711.  (See 
Fox's  "History  of  Dunstable,  Massachusetts.")  I  have  thus  far  found  no 
other  record  of  him,  and  presume  that  he  died  young. 


IV.     HEZEKIAH  PATTERSON3,  born 


-.  He  was  a  signer  of 


the  deed  to  Joseph  (20)  of  Watertown,  27  August,  1739,  in  which  he  was 
called  "labourer  of  Groton." 


V.     MARY  PATTERSON3,  born 


In  the  deed  of  27  August, 


1739.  to  Joseph  (20)   of  Watertown,  she  was  called  "of  Watertown,  spin 
ster."     Mary   Patterson    (probably   this   mfl    was    married   in    Groton,    2 
April,   1745,  to  Nathan  Hubbard.    (Butler's  "History  of  Groton,"  pp.  409 

and  455). 

Children  of  Jonathan2  and  Mary  (Hawks)  Patterson: 

I.  JONATHAN  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  18 
December,  1714;  died  1721. 

II.  ELIEZER  PATTERSON3,  barn  in  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  1 
September,  1716;  married  Lydia ;  resided  in  Northfield. 

Children  of  James3  and  Lydia  (Fisk)   Patterson: 

I.  JONATHAN  PATTERSON4,  bom  in  Sudbury,  Massachusetts,  30 
November,  1735 :  unmarried ;  killed  in  the  French  war  bv  the  Indians,  20 
July,   1758. 

II.  DAVID  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Sudbury,  17  May,  1739;  married 
Beulah  Clark,  born  in  Framingham,  23  July,  1740,  daughter  of  Isaac  and 
Mary  (Stone)  Clark.  (See  Barry's  "Framingham,"  pp.  208-9).  He  and 
his  wife  covenanted  with  the  church  in  Framingham,  16  November,  1759. 

III.  ANDREW  PATTERSON4,  bom  in  Sudbury,  14  April,  1742: 
married  in  Worcester,  21  October,  1761,  Elizabeth  Band,  of  Worcester, 
daughter  of  John  and  Ruth  (Whitney)  Bond.  She  died  in  Sudbury,  13 
September,  1772,  aged  thirty-six  years.  He  married  (second)  Mrs.  Anne 
Russel,  widow.  They  moved  to  Princeton,  and  probably  afterwards  farther 
west. 

Children  of  Toseph3  and  Lydia  (Marean)  Patterson: 

I.  JOSEPH  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertown  15  (or  26)  August, 
1738.  In  1761  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Mount  Eohraim  (now 
Richmond),  Massachusetts.  (See  Barber's  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.)  He  married,  in 
Richmond,  15  Tune,  1774.  Jerusha  Phelps,  born  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  4 
April,  1745-  He  settled  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town,  near  the  State 
line*.     He  died  in  Richmond,  17  January,   1821,  of  paralysis.  She  died  in 


*  On  the  25th  of  May,  1764,  at  a  town  meeting  (of  Yokun  Town  and  Mount 
Ephraim)  a  committee  was  aopointed  to  build  a  meeting  house  in  Yokun  Town  (Rich- 
mond). (Yokun  Town  was  Lenox,  but  that  house  might  have  been  built  in  Richmond). 
And  on  the  9th  of  October,  1 764,  a  committee  (Samuel  Brown,  Jr.,  Joseph  Patterson, 


50 


IO 


54 


20 

57 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


S^ 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


37 


Columbia    county.    New    York,     13    December,    1827,    of 


New    Lebanon, 
typhus  fever. 

II.  ELIZABETH  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertcwn,  2  April,  1740; 
married,  9  December,  1760,  William  Saltmarsh,  born  in  Watertown,  20  Jan- 
uary, 1734-5,  son  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Hazen)  Saltmarsh,  of  Watertown. 
He  was  a  farmer,  and  a  lieutenant  under  Captain  Jonathan  Brown  at  Lake 
George,  in  1758.  They  resided  in  Watertown  till  1765  or  1766,  about  which 
time  the_\-  removed  to  Canaan,  Columbia  county,  New  York.  They  lived  near 
the  Massachusetts  line,  and  belonged  to  the  church  in  Richmond.  About 
l795  or  l79&  they  moved  to  Union,  Broome  county.  New  York,  where  they 
lived  about  two  years  on  the  farm  since  owned  bv  their  son-in-law,  Manna 
Newell,  when  they  settled  in  Tioga  Point  (since  Athens),  Bradford  county, 
Pennsylvania.  Lieutenant  William  Saltmarsh  died  in  Athens,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 13  January,  181 1,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Saltmarsh  died  in  Owego, 
New  York,  1  April,  1816.    She  was  buried  at  Athens  by  her  husband's  side. 

III.  BEULAH  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertown,  20  January, 
1741-2;  married  her  cousin,  Abraham  Brown,  of  Stockbridge.  He  was  a 
captain  in  the  militia,  and  was  repeatedly  out  on  military  duty  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  He  died  8  January,  1777,  of  natural  smallpox,  communicated 
to  him  by  a  letter  (see  Bond,  p.  130).  Their  residence*  was  in  the  first  house 


^ElijcLh  'Brown 

u 


□  Stephen 


Asi 


;a.     pi 


ES- 


tn    Q_ 
(IP 


■i 


and  John  Benton)  was  appointed  "to  allot  the  pews  ground  in  the  meeting  house 
to  those  proprietors  that  they  think  in  justice  out  to  have  it" — twenty-six  pews  and 
the  rest  of  the  space  to  be  laid  out  in  long  seats.  The  first  pew  was  assigned  to  the 
minister,  the  second  to  John  Coggswell,  the  third  to  Joseph  Patterson,  and  the  seventh 
was  assigned  to  Benedict  Dewey  and  Joseph  Patterson.  At  the  same  time  a  seat  was 
assigned  to  William  Saltmarsh  and  his  wife.     (Manuscript  letter  of  Dr.  Bond). 


566 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


38 


39 


north  of  the  old  meeting-house  in  Stockbridge,  where  his  widow  remained 
tih  1775,  when  she  moved  to  Brown's  Settlement  (now  Berkshire)  Tioga 
county,  New  York,  where  she  died,  6  July,  1820.  Her  five  sons  left  Stock- 
bridge  and  settled  on  different  parts  of  the  "Boston  Purchase"  about  the 
same  time  that  she  did. 

IV.  ABIGAIL  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertown,  7  January,  1743-4- 
After  the  death  of  her  mother,  who  willed  her  all  of  her  property,  she 
resided  with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Pixley.  She  died  at  Owego,  New  York,  un- 
married, 9  February,  1808,  "aged  64  years."  She  was  buried  in  the  ground 
now  occupied  by  the  public  square  and  buildings  at  Owego,  but  was  soon 
after  removed  to  the  burial  ground  in  the  rear  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
at  Owego. 

V.  LYDIA  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertown,  16  December,  1745; 
married  David  Pixley,  son  of  David  and  Abigail  Pixley,  of  Stockbridge*. 
She  was  his  second  wife.  (He  had  by  his  first  wife  one  son  named  David, 
who  married  Drusilla  Bond).  Mr.  Pixley  was  one  of  the  first  men  (Cap- 
tain Joseph  Raymond  and  Amos  Patterson  being  his  only  companions)  who 
went  to  explore  the  tract  of  land  afterwards  purchased  of  the  government  of 
Massachusetts  by  the  "Boston  Purchase  Company."  He  was  one  of  the 
commissioners  sent  out  by  the  company  to  treat  with  the  Indians  for  the 
purchase  of  the  right  to  the  soil.  The  tract  included  that  part  of  the  counties 
of  Broome  and  Tioga,  New  York,  which  lies  between  the  Chenango  river 
on  the  east  and  the  Oweg-o  creek  on  the  west,  and  extending  northward 
from  the  Susquehanna  river  about  twenty-five  miles.  It  contains  about 
230,000  acres.  Wilkinson,  in  his  "Annals  of  Binghamton,"  says  "Col.  D. 
Pixley  settled  in  a  very  early  day  about  one  mile  west  of  Owego  on  a  beau- 
tiful and  level  area  of  about  3,000  acres.  Col.  Pixley  acquainted  himself 
with  the  Indian  language,  and  became  thereby  the  more  popular  with 
them."  He  entered  the  service  of  his  country  at  the  first  alarm.  He  was  a 
member  of  Colonel  John  Patterson's  regiment ;  they  received  the  news  of 
the  battle  of  Lexington  at  noon,  two  days  after  it  occurred,  and  the  next 
morning  were  on  their  way  to  Boston,  completely  armed  and  equipped,  and 
mostly  in  uniform.  (Holland's  "History  of  Western  Massachusetts,"  vol.  i. 
p.  222).  His  first  commission,  dated  May  19,  177^,  just  one  month  after  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  was  as  "Lieut,  in  the Foot  Company,  in  the  Reg- 
iment of  Foot,  whereof  John  Patterson,  Esq.,  is  Colonel."  It  was  signed 
"Joseph  Warren,  President  P.  T.  of  the  Congress  of  the  Colony  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay."  After  his  removal  to  the  State  of  New  York  he  was 
honored  by  Governor  George  Clinton  with  a  commission  as  major,  7  March, 
1792,  and  28  March,  1797,  he  received  from  Governor  John  Jay  a  commis- 
sion as  lieutenant-colonel.  "Mrs.  Pixley  was  eminently  pious,  and 
made  her  house  a  home  for  strangers,  and  especially  for  the  missionaries  and 
ministers  of  that  early  day."  ("Annals  of  Binghamton,"  III).  She  died  at 
Owego,  New  York,  2  February,  1808,  of  pleurisy,  and  was  first  buried  in  the 
ground  now  occupied  as  the  public  square  of  that  village,  but  was  shortly 
afterwards  removed  to  the  burial  ground  in  the  rear  of  the  Presbyterian 


,    *  The  estate   of  David   Pixley,   the  elder,   was   administered,   3   October,    1786,  by 
Henry  Van  Schraack,  of  Pittsfield.   (See  Bond,  p.  392). 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA     VALLEYS. 


562 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


JO 


church  at  Owego.  In  a  funeral  discourse  and  obituary  notice  of  her,  by 
Rev.  Seth  Williston,  published  in  the  "Connecticut  Evangelical  Magazine" 
for  1808,  pages  366-374,  it  is  stated  that  "she  moved  in  to  Owego  in  Febru- 
ary, 1791,"  and  that  "she  never  had  but  three  children  of  her  own,  one  only 
of  whom  survived  her."  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  inscription  upon 
her  gravestone : 

"In  memory   of   Lydia,    Consort  of   Col   David 
Pixley,  who  departed  this  life   Feb.   2nd,    1808, 
in  the  63rd  year  of  her  age. 
A  pattern  she  through  every  scene  of  life, 
A  pious  Christian  and  a  faithful  wife, 
A  neighbor  kind,  a  sweet  and  pleasant  friend, 
'Twas  thus  she  lived  and  peaceful  was  her  end." 
Colonel  Pixley  died  of  dropsy,  25  August,  1807,  and  was  first  buried  on 
or  near  the  public  square  of  that  village,  but  was  soon  afterward  removed  to 
the  burial  ground  in  rear  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  where  the  following 
inscription  may  be  seen  on  his  gravestone : 

"In  memory  of  Colonel  David  Pixley,  who  de- 
parted this  life  August  25,  1807,  in  the  67th  year 
of  his  age.  He  was  an  officer  of  the  Revolution 
at  the  siege  of  Quebec  in  1775  under  Gen.  Mont- 
gomery;  was  the  first  settler  of  Owego  in  1790, 
and  continued  its  father  and  friend  until  his 
death." 

VI.  AMOS  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertown,  18  February,  1747- 
8,  according  to  the  town  records,  while  the  family  account  says  24  January, 
1749.  Possibly  there  were  two  of  the  name,  the  first  born  at  the  date  given 
by  the  town  record,  and  dying  soon,  and  the  second  born  at  the  date  given 
by  the  family  account,  and  not  mentioned  in  the  town  record,  though  it  is 
more  likely  that  the  family  account  is  an  error,  and  the  town  record  correct. 
When  about  sixteen  years  of  age  he  was  riding  on  horseback  from  Boston 
to  Watertown,  when  his  horse  fell  with  him,  and  crushed  his  left  leg  upon 
the  frozen  ground,  breaking  the  bones  in  several  places.  He  managed,  how- 
ever, to  remount  his  horse  without  assistance,  and  rode  to  his  father's  house. 
On  his  arrival  there  were  icicles  of  blood  hanging  to  his  shoe.  His  leg  was 
shortened  one  inch  and  a  half  by  the  accident.  He  moved  with  his  father  to 
Mount  Ephraim  (now  Richmond),  Massachusetts,  in  1766  or  1767.  He 
married,  30  March,  1775,  Anne  Williams,  born  in  Colchester  (Westchester 
Society),  Connecticut,  22  March,  1753,  daughter  of  John  and  Abigail 
(Crocker)  Williams.  He  was  out  with  the  militia  three  times  during  the 
Revolution,  once  in  1775,  once  in  1776,  and  again  in  1777,  at  the  time  when 
his  eldest  son  was  born.  He  was  at  White  Plains  in  October,  1776,  when 
the  armies  were  encamped  in  sight  of  each  other.  He,  in  company  with 
Thomas  Marean  and  another  soldier,  managed  to  pass  the  British  sentries 
one  night,  went  to  the  meadow  in  which  the  British  horses  were  pastured, 
took  each  of  them  a  fine  horse,  with  which  they  returned  in  safety  to  their 
own  camp.  When  the  American  army  left  White  Plains  he  was  one  who  was 
left  to  assist  in  loading  and  carrying  off  the  stores  of  the  army,  and  he  gave 
an  amusing  description  of  the  distribution  of  a  hogshead  of  molasses,  which 
they  could  not  remove  for  lack  of  teams.  They  broke  in  the  head,  and  gave 
liberty  for  any  to  take  what  they  wished  of  it,  and  said  that  everything  that 


568 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


would  hold  molasses  was  brought  into  requisition,  from  pails,  canteens,  bot- 
tles, and  tin  cups,  down  to  hats,  boots  and  shoes.  He  would  have  been  in  the 
regular  army  but  for  the  crippled  condition  of  his  leg.  He  was  one  of  the 
originators  of  the  company  which  bought  what  is  known  as  the  "Boston 
Purchase,"  or  "Boston  Ten  Townships"  in  the  counties  of  Broome  and 
Tioga,  New  York.  He  in  company  with  Colonel  David  Pixley  and  Captain 
Joseph  Raymond,  of  Richmond,  went  into  that  part  of  the  country  to  view 
the  land,  about  the  year  1785  or  1786.  They  were  the  first  men  who  went 
from  the  east  for  that  purpose ;  they  explored  the  country,  and  made  the  lo- 
cation before  any  other  persons  had  anything  to  do  with  it,  or  knew  any- 
thing about  the  enterprise.  They  at  first  intended  to  form  a  company  of 
eleven  proprietors,  but  the  number  was  afterwards  increased  to  sixty.  Amos 
Patterson  spent  the  most  of  his  time,  except  winters,  in  that  country  from 
1786  till  1791,  when  he  began  to  clear  land  for  a  farm  and  built  the  house  of 
hewn  logs,  which  stood  till  1855  on  the  farm  owned,  in  1856,  by  Lawrence 
Allen,  in  Union,  New  York,  about  three  miles  west  of  Binghamton.  He  con- 
tinued to  work  on  his  farm  till  1793,  when  he  took  his  family  from  Rich- 
mond to  share  his  life  in  the  wilderness;  they  reached  there  3  March,  1793, 
having  been  thirteen  days  on  the  road.  Mrs.  Lucy  Day  (66)  says,  (26  Sep- 
tember, 1857)  that  "Amos  Patterson's  family  started  for  the  Boston  Pur- 
chase 18  February,  went  the  first  day  to  McCowan's  tavern,  about  nineteen 
miles  from  their  starting  place,  where  they  laid  by  one  day  on  account  of 
rain.  On  the  20th  they  all  went  on,  except  Mrs.  Patterson,  who  was  so 
unwell  that  she  went  back  to  Richmond  with  her  brother,  David  Williams,  at 
whose  house  she  staid  till  after  her  son  Amos  was  born.  Her  husband  went 
back  after  her  in  June,  and  they  arrived  at  their  new  home  in  Union  early 
(about  3rd  or  4th  day)  in  July,  and  within  an  hour  of  their  arrival  began 
the  shower  which  caused  such  a  severe  freshet  in  1793."  During  that  season 
he  built  on  the  Choconut  creek  the  first  saw-mill  ever  built  in  the  present  town 
of  Union,  New  York.  On  the  5th  day  of  May,  1797,  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  the  farm  about  three  miles  below,  on  the  Susquehanna  river,  where 
he  resided  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  first  lived  in  a  small  plank  house 
about  thirty  rods  from  the  river,  but  the  12th  of  October,  1800,  he  moved 
into  the  large  house  which  he  had  built  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  This  house 
is  still  standing  (1906)  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation.  He  was  a  prom- 
inent man  among  the  inhabitants  of  that  region,  and  on  the  formation  of 
Broome  county,  in  1806,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  judges  for  the  county, 
which  office  he  held  till  1813,  having  been  twice  reappointed.  He  took  great 
interest  in  the  culture  of  fruit,  and  in  1803  made  the  first  cider  ever  made  in 
what  was  later  Broome  county.  He  planted  his  apple  seeds  in  the  fall  of 
1792,  and  in  1803  made  forty-five  barrels  of  cider,  which  found  a  quick 
market  at  the  press,  at  eight  dollars  a  barrel.  His  wife  died  at  Union,  25 
December,  1815,  of  bilious  colic.  The  following  obituary  notice  appeared 
in  the  "Owego  Gazette"  of  January  2,  1816: 

"Died  at  Union,  December  25,  Mrs.  Amos  Patterson,  consort  of  the 
'Hon.  Amos  Patterson.  Her  funeral  was  attended,  and  a  sermon  preached 
'on  the  occasion  by  the  Rev.  Hezekiah  May  on  the  Wednesday  following. 
'A  numerous  concourse  from  this  and  the  neighboring  towns  testified  the 
'loss  which  society  has  sustained  by  the  death  of  this  estimable  lady,  as 
'also  the  sympathy  with  the  afflicted  relatives.  She  was  charitable  to  the 
'poor,  and  assiduous  and  affectionate  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  her 
'station,  and  of  her  family,  and  her  memory  will  be  ever  dear  to  her  sur- 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


569 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


4i 


42 


43 


"viving  consort  and  children,  and  to  numerous  relatives  and  acquaintances." 
Anne  (Williams)  Patterson  had  three,  and  probably  five,  ancestors  in  the 
"Mayflower :"  John  Tilley ;  Elizabeth  Tilley,  his  daughter ;  and  John  How- 
land,  who  afterwards  married  Elizabeth  Tilley ;  Governor  Carver  and 
his  wife,  who  were,  according  to  family  tradition,  grandparents  of  Elizabeth 
Tilley.  In  support  of  this  family  tradition  is  the  record  in  the  old  Hartford 
Bible,  which  gives  John  Howland's  marriage  to  "John  Tilley's  daughter 
Elizabeth,  granddaughter  of  Gov.  Carver."  Mrs.  Annie  Arnoux  Haxton, 
in  her  "Signers  of  the  Mayflower  Compact,"  1897,  says  that  she  is  satisfied 
that  Elizabeth  Tilley  was  the  grand-daughter  of  Governor  Carver,  and  that 
John  Tilley  probably  married  Carver's  daughter  in  England  before  going 
to  Holland.  The  Leyden  record  says  that  in  "Feb.  1615"  he  "married  Brid- 
get Van  der  Velde."  As  the  marriage  of  Howland  and  Elizabeth  Tilley 
was  one  of  the  earliest  celebrated  in  the  colony,  taking  place,  according  to  the 
official  account  of  the  "Society  of  the  Mayflower  Descendants"  in  1621, 
Bridget  Van  der  Velde  could  not  have  been  the  mother  of  Elizabeth.  Mrs. 
Haxton  says  that  Elizabeth  was  born  in  1607,  married  14  August,  1623  (?), 
and  died  21  December,  1687.  For  connection  between  Anne  (Williams) 
Patterson  and  John  Howland,  see  "The  Whitney  Family  of  Connecticut," 
vol.  ii,  p.  1582,  chart  showing  ancestry  of  David  Williams  Patterson.  Amos 
Patterson  died  at  Union,  5  March,  1817,  of  gravel.  He  and  his  wife  were 
buried  in  the  family  burial  ground  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  farm.  A 
family  monument  of  Pittsfield  marble  was  erected  by  the  family  in  1853. 
The  intention  was  to  place  it  directly  over  the  graves  of  Amos  Patterson  and 
his  wife,  but  through  the  carelessness  of  the  workmen  it  was  set  somewhat 
too  far  south,  so  as  to  bring  it  more  over  his  grave  than  hers.  Upon  that 
monument  are  several  errors  in  dates,  which  will  be  given  correctly  in  this 
genealogy  in  their  proper  connection. 

VII.  MARTHA  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertown,  26  May,  1750; 
married ,  William  Woodbridge,  born ,  Springfield,  Massachu- 
setts. He  was  a  farmer,  and  resided  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  in  Stock- 
bridge,  but  afterwards  removed  to  Ferrisburg,  Vermont,  where  Mrs.  Wood- 
bridge  died  of  pleurisy,  31  August,  1801.  They  had  a  daughter,  Lucy,  who 
lived  for  several  years  in  Owego  with  her  aunt,  Mrs.  Pixley.  Mr.  Wood- 
bridge  died  at  Madrid,  St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York,  16  July,  1814,  of 
paralysis. 

VIII.  SARAH  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertown,  30  June,  1753; 
married  —  October,  1775,  Phineas  Brown,  Esq.,  of  Stockbridge,  born 
in  Waltham,  Massachusetts,  30  May,  1747,  son  of  Captain  John  and 
Hannah  (Bemis)  Brown,  of  Waltham.  (See  Bond,  pp.  124,  140).  She  died 
in  Waltham,  Vermont,  August  10,  1800,  and  he  married  (second)  May  6, 
1802,  Elizabeth,  widow  of  Timothy  Rosseter,  and  daughter  of  Sylvanus  and 
Elizabeth  (Gamble)  Backus,  of  Windham,  Connecticut,  a  descendant  of 
William  Backus,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Norwich,  Connecticut,  and  of 
Governor  William  Bradford,  of  the  "Mayflower."  She  was  born  24  Novem- 
ber, 1766,  and  died  at  Salisbury,  Vermont,  20  July,  1828.  Phineas  Brown, 
Esq.,  died  at  Waltham,  Vermont,  6  July,  1818.'  (For  continuation,  see 
Bond,  p.  140) . 

IX.  ESTHER  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Watertown,  10  January,  1756; 
married ,  her  cousin  Thomas  Marean,  born  in  Newtown,  Massachu- 


570 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


44 


45 


46 


47 


48 


49 


50 


5i 


setts,  17  October,  1753,  son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Hammond)  Marean. 
(See  Jackson's  "History  of  Newtown.")  They  settled  in  Canaan,  Columbia 
county,  New  York,  near  the.  Massachusetts  line,  where  they  resided  till  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1791,  when  they  removed  to  the  Boston  Purchase,  in 
company  with  her  brother  Amos. 

Children  of  James3  and  Elizabeth  ( )   Patterson: 

I.  SYBIL  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Groton  (now  Shirley),  22  July, 
1747.  She  chose  James  Prescott,  Esq.,  of  Groton,  as  her  guardian,  12  De- 
cember,  1764;  was  called  eighteen  years  old;  married  Brown;  she 

died  —  September,  1811. 

II.  NICHOLAS  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Groton  (now  Shirley),  22 
March,  1749.  12  December,  1764,  he  chose  James  Prescott,  Esq.,  to  be  his 
guardian ;  he  was  called  sixteen  years  old.  He  was  a  merchant  of  Shirley. 
Is  said  by  Deacon  James  Patterson  of  Clinton,  to  have  had  daughters  but  no 
sons. 

III.  JOSEPH  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Groton  (now  Shirley),  25  De- 
cember, 175 1.  12  September,  1766,  James  Prescott,  Esq.,  was  appointed  his 
guardian ;  he  was  called  fifteen  years  old.  He  was  a  carpenter,  lived  in 
Shirley,  and  is  said  by  Deacon  James  Patterson  to  have  left  daughters,  but 
no,  sons. 

IV.  JAMES  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Shirley,  8  May,  1754.  James 
Prescott  Esq.,  was  appointed  his  guardian,  12  September,  1766;  he  was 
called  thirteen  years  of  age;  married   19  October,   1778,   Mirriam  Hovey, 

daughter  of  .    He  died  —  November,  1787,  aged  thirty-three  years. 

Mrs.  Mirriam  Patterson  died  —  May,  1805. 

V.  JANE  PATTERSON4,  bom  in  Shirley,  23  June,  1756.  James  Pres- 
cott, Esq.,  was  appointed  her  guardian,  2   September,   1766;  called  eleven 

years  old  ;  married ,  Oliver  Scripture,  born  —  9  December,  1750.  They 

resided  in  New  Ipswich,  New  Hampshire,  and  both  joined  the  New  Ipswich 
church  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  October,  1786.  He  died  29  July,  1821 ;  she 
died  22  April,  1837. 

VI.  THOMAS  PATTERSON4,  born  in  Shirley,  25  March.  1759. 
James  Prescott,  Esq.,  was  appointed  his  guardian,  2  September,  1766;  called 
eight  years  old.  No  other  word  of  him. 


Children  of  Jonathan3  and 
(—     — )  Patterson  : 


(- 


-)  Patterson  or  Hezekiah  and 


I.  ESTHER  PATTERSON4,  born  1731 ;  married  in  Groton,  20  No- 
vember, 1751,  Jonas  Longley.  He  was  perhaps  a  brother  of  John  Longley, 
who  married  her  sister  Elizabeth.  Both  Jonas  and  John  were  bondsmen  in 
1752  for  James  Patterson,  administrator  of  the.  estate  of  Jonathan  Patter- 
son, who  was  most  likely  the  father  of  their  wives.  They  resided  in  Shirley, 
where  she  died,  5  June,  1767,  aged  thirty-six  years. 

II.  ELIZABETH  PATTERSON4,  married  in  Pepperell.  16  July, 
I75I»  Jonn  Longley.  They  resided  in  Shirley,  where  he  died,  17  March,  1792. 


25 


26 

28 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


57i 


52 


54 

55 

56 

57 
58 
59 


60 


61 


62 


63 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


III.  JOHN  PATTERSON4,  married  in  Groton,  4  January,  1758,  Jane 
Parker.  He  was  then  called  of  Shirley,  in  which  town  they  settled.  For  his 
children,  see  Butler,  p.  494. 

IV.  HEZEKIAH  PATTERSON4,  married  in  Groton,  18  November, 
1762,  Mary  Pierce,  (she  was  perhaps  daughter  of  Simon  and  Susanna 
(Parker)  Pierce,  and  born  in  Groton,  29  March,  1743.  Butler's  "History  of 
Groton,"  p.  427).  They  resided  in  Shirley.  For  their  children,  see  Butler, 
p.  494.      ■ 

Children  of  Andrew4  and  Elizabeth   (Bond)   Patterson: 

I.  Sarah  Patterson5,  born  in  Sudbury,  13  May  (15  May,  according  to 
Barry),  1764;  died  in  Sudbury,  8  April,  1771,  "aged  8  years." 

II.  JAMES  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Sudbury,  22  February,  1768; 
died  in  Sudbury,  13  April,  1771,  "aged  4  years." 

Child  of  Andrew4  and  Anna  (Russell)  Patterson: 

III.  DAVID  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Sudbury,  31  August,  1778. 

It  is  not  certain  that  the  above  three  were  all  the  children  that  Andrew 
had,  but  they  are  all  of  whom  I  have  found  any  record. 

Children  of  Joseph4  and  Jerusha  (Phelps)   Patterson: 

I.  LUCINDA  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  10  April,  1775; 
died  in  Richmond,  12  August,  1777. 

II.  ELIJAH  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  28  December,  1776; 
died  in  Richmond,  13  August,  1777. 

III.  EUNICE  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  14  July,  1779 ;  mar- 
ried, 16  November,  1814,  Zalmon  Skinner,  of  New  Lebanon,  Columbia 
county,  New  York,  in  which  town  they  settled  and  spent  the  remainder  of 
their  lives.  She  was  his.  second  wife ;  he  died  in  New  Lebanon,  22  Novem- 
ber, 1849.     She  died  there,  14  December,  1855,  of  typhoid  fever. 

IV  LYDIA  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  27  November,  1780; 
married,  February,  1802,  Elisha  Hatch,  born  in  Richmond,  25  January,  1778. 
They  settled  in  Canaan,  Columbia  county,  New  York,  where  she  died,  30 
November,  1827,  of  typhoid  fever,  and  where  he  died,'  1  January,  1844,  of 
consumption. 

V.  JERUSHA  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  8  October,  1782: 
unmarried;  resided  in  1856  at  Warsaw,  Wyoming  county,  New  York.  I 
am  indebted  to  her  for  much  valuable  information  respecting  her  father's 
descendants. 

VI.  JOSEPH  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  2  February,  1786; 
died  in  Richmond,  —  June,  1786. 

Children  of  Amos  and  Anne  (Williams)   Patterson : 

I.     LUCY  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  3  January,  1776:  died  in 


74 


80 


34 


34 


35 


40 


572 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


64 


65 


66 


67 


68 


Richmond,  6  January,  17/9-  Her  death  was  caused  by  scalds  from  falling 
into  a  kettle  of  hot  tallow.  She  was  buried  in  the  old  burial  place  in  the 
south  part  of  Richmond,  near  West  Stockbridge. 

II.  CHESTER  PATTERSON0,  bom  in  Richmond,  24  September,. 
1777.  He  left  Richmond,  14  February,  1793,  for  Union,  Broome  county, 
New  York,  where  he  arrived  on  the  23d  of  the  same  month.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  lumberman,  and  was  connected  in  business  with  his  father  as 
long  as  his  father  lived.  He  was  town  clerk  of  Union  for  many  years, 
sheriff  of  Broome  county  from  1809  to  1812,  inclusive;  represented  the 
county  in  the  state  legislature  in  1819,  1820  and  1821 ;  was  one  of  the  pres- 
idential electors  for  the  state  of  New  York  in  1824,  giving  his  vote  for  John 
Quincy  Adams.  He  married,  26  March,  1823,  Mary  Ann  Elliott,  born  in  Kill- 
ing-worth (now  Clinton),  Connecticut,  5  May,  1804,  daughter  of  William 
and  Lovisa  (Lane)  Elliott.  They  continued  to  reside  in  Union,  on  the  farm 
where  his  father  died,  till  April,  1839,  when  he  removed  with  his  family  to  the 
village  of  Newark  Valley,  Tioga  county,  New  York,  where  he  died,  22  Sep- 
tember, 1857,  two  days  less  than  eighty  years  of  age.  He  is  buried  in  Hope 
cemetery,  in  Newark  Valley.  She  died  in  Newark  Valley,  23  July,  1873, 
and  is  buried  in  Hope  cemetery. 

III.  NANCY  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  10  March,  1780; 
married,  17  November,  1803,  Dr.  Erastus  Robinson.  They  settled  in  LTnion, 
where  she  died  in  childbed,  28  August,  1804.  She  was  buried  in  the  family 
burial  ground  with  her  infant  daughter.  Dr.  Robinson,  after  her  death,  re- 
moved to  Brooklyn,  Connecticut. 

IV.  LUCY  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  18  September,  1781 ; 
married,  4  October,  1802,  Jonathan  Day,  born  in  Richmond,  23  March, 
1779,  son  of  Thomas  and  Jerusha  (Miller)  Day.  (Thomas  Day  was  born  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  Jerusha  Miller  was  born  on  Long  Island).  They 
settled  in  Union,  where  they  resided  till  1849,  "when  they  moved  to  the  east 
part  of  Owego,  where  he  died,  14  December,  1849,  and  was  buried  near  the 
Presbyterian  church.  She  resided  in  Union  with  her  son  Darwin  till  her 
death,  6  or  12  November,  1864. 

V.  LYMAN  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  28  June,  1783 ;  mar- 
ried 30  August,  1817,  Mehitabel  Seymour,  daughter  of  Colonel  Samuel  Sey- 
mour. He  was  a  very  expert  hunter,  and  the  woods  were  full  of  game  at  that 
time,  so  that  he  found  an  abundance  of  his  favorite  exercise.  He  was,  in 
the  latter  part  of  his  life,  a  merchant  of  Binghamton,  New  York,  where  he 
died,  22  November,  1824 ;  he  was  buried  in  the  family  burial  place  at 
Union,  sixteen  feet  nine  inches  north  of  the  base  of  the  monument.  His 
widow  married,  26  August,  1826,  Solon  Stocking,  of  Binghamton,  New 
York. 

VI.  SALLY  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  27  May,  1785;  mar- 
ried,   ,  1808,  Dr.  Charles  Con-ell,  of  Nichols,  New  York.  He  abused 


and  deserted  her,  and  she  obtained  a  divorce  from  him.    She  died  in  Union. 
New  York,  3  March,  1826,  of  measles;  was  buried  in  the  family  burial  place. 


84 


90 


1 


f~2^J> 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


573 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


69 


70 


7i 


72 


VII.  ANN  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  19  October,  1787; 
married  7  March,  181 1,  Anson  Higbe,  farmer,  of  Berkshire  (now  Newark 
Valley)  New  York.  He  died  27  August,  1854,  in  Newark  Valley.  She  died 
8  November,  1862.     Both  buried  in  Hope  Cemetery. 

VIII.  SOPHIA  PATTERSON3,  born  in  Richmond,  31  December, 
1789 ;  unmarried ;  died  at  Union,  New  York,  at  the  home  of  her  niece,  Mrs. 
Ralyea,  21  November,  1854,  of  typhus  fever;  was  buried  in  the  family  burial 
ground,  fifteen  feet  south  of  the  monument. 

IX.  AMOS  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Richmond,  22  April,  1793,  after 
his  father  had  moved  to  the  Boston  Purchase.  He  was  drowned  in  the 
Susquehanna  river  at  Union,  8  July,  1800,  and  was  buried  in  the  family 
burial  place,  twelve  feet  six  inches  north  of  the  base  of  the  monument. 

X.  JOSEPH  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Union,  New  York,  22  Febru- 
ary, 1795;  he  graduated  at  Union  College,  1815  (or  1816)  with  the  highest 
honors.  He  married  (first)  20  March,  1820,  Eliza  Seymour,  daughter  of 
John  and  Sarah  (Stoddard)  Seymour,  of  Lisle,  New  York.  Rev.  Niles,  of 
Binghamton  performed  the  marriage  ceremony.  He  was  sheriff  of  Broome 
county  in  1820  and  1821.  He  removed  with  his  family  to  Ontario,  Wayne 
county,  New  York,  28  February,  1824.  His  wife  died  3  November,  1828; 
and  he  married  (second)  24  October,  1831,  Hannah  Maria,  widow  of  Dr. 
Greenwood,  of  Ontario,  and  daughter  of  Noah  and  Lois  (Spooner)  Fuller, 
of  Williamson,  New  York.  In  December,  1836,  he  moved  to  Penfield,  New 
York,  where  he  resided  till  December,  1839,  when  he  returned  to  Ontario, 
New  York.  He  was  supervisor  of  Penfield  during  his  residence  there,  and 
was  always  a  prominent  man  in  Ontario,  serving  the  people  of  the  town  in 
some  capacity  his  full  share  of  the  time.  For  many  years  he  was  a  country 
merchant  in  Ontario,  but  in  January,  1854,  his  dwelling-house  and  store, 
with  all  their  contents,  were  destroyed  by  fire,  reducing  him  at  once  to  com- 
plete poverty.  On  the  death  of  his  sister  Sophia3  (70)  he  received  from  her 
a  small  legacy  which  enabled  him  to  live  comfortably  on  a  farm.  At  the  time 
of  his  second  marriage  he  had  three  children,  and  his  wife  had  one,  William 
Eugene  Greenwood1,  and,  although  they  afterwards  had  several  children,  yet 
no  difference  was  ever  known  between  the  three  kinds  of  children.  The 
writer  of  this,  during  a  residence  of  several  months  in  the  family,  never  saw 
a  single  expression  of  jealous  feeling  or  envy  on  the  part  of  any  one  of  the 
tamily  toward  another,  theirs  being  one  of  the  few  cases  in  which  step- 
fathers and'  stepmothers  have  given  entire  satisfaction  to.  all  concerned.  In 
April,  1857,  he  went  to  Emporia,  Kansas  Territory,  with  the  idea  of  found- 
ing^ a  new  home  in  the  west.  He  died  at  Emporia,  of  congestion  of  the 
brain,  12  August,  1857,  just  four  months  after  leaving  Ontario.     She  mar- 


I.  Dr.  William  Greenwood  was  born  in  Rutland,  Vermont,  in  October,  I7g2.  He 
studied  medicine  in  Manlius,  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  and  was  licensed  to  practice 
in  1822  by  the  Onondaga  County  Medical  Society.  He  settled  in  Ontario  in  1824, 
after  having  previously  resided  a  year  at  Penfield.  Monroe  county,  New  York.  He 
married,  22  April,  1829,  Hannah  Maria  Fuller.  He  died  in  Ontario,  12  February, 
1831,  of  congestion  of  the  lungs,  leaving  one  son,  William  Eugene  Fuller,  born  in 
Ontario,  31  January,  1830;  married  (Rev.  N.  T.  Allen,  officiating)  Julia  Cornelia 
Sophia  Tophff,  born  Wilhngton,  19  November,  1832,  daughter  of  Jerome  and  Lucina 
(Leonard)  Tcpliff.  cf  Willington. 


94 


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PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


73 


74 

75 

76 

77 

78 
79 

80 

81 
82 
83 

84 


ried  (third)  19  December,  1861,  Archibald  Huston.     She  died  10  January, 
1866. 

XL  MARTHA  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Union,  12  December,  1796; 
married  7  March,  1820,  Philander  Hooper,  a  farmer  of  Union,  New  York, 
born  in  West  Stockbridge,  18  November,  1795,  son  of  Captain  Elisha  and 
Ruth  (Newell)  Hooper.  He  died  18  February,  1869;  she  died  9  December, 
1885  ;  both  are  buried  in  the  Patterson  family  burial  ground  at  Hooper 
(town  of  Union),  New  York. 

Children  of  John4  and  Jane  (Parker)  Patterson: 

I.  LEMUEL  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  8  January,  1759. 

II.  SARAH  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  19  March,  1761 ;  died 
21  November,  1764. 

III.  JOHN  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  8  December,  1762;  is 
said  by  Deacon  James  Patterson  to  have  gone  to  Troy,  New  York. 

IV.  SAMUEL  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  3  October,  1764; 
he  is  said  to,  have  gone  to  Troy,  New  York. 

V     SARAH  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  3  February,  1767. 

VI.     JAMES  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  26  July,  1769. 

Children  of  Hezekiah4  and  Mary  ( Pierce)  Patterson : 

I.  JONATHAN  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  9  May,  1763 ;  died 
16  September,  1765. 

II.  HEZEKIAH  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  26  August,  1765. 

III.  JOANNA  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  26  February,  1768. 

IV.  MARY  PATTERSON5,  born  in  Shirley,  7  September,  1770. 

Children  of  Chester5  and  Mary  (Elliott)  Patterson: 

I.  DAVID  WILLIAMS  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Union,  Broome 
county,  New  York,  15  July,  1824.  He  removed  with  his  parents  in  1839 
to  Newark  Valley,  New  York,  where  he  married,  8  June,  1853,  Helen  Maria 
Lincoln,  born  in  Newark  Valley,  8  June,  1832,  daughter  of  Otis  and 
Sarah  (Slosson)  Lincoln.  He  died  at  Newark  Valley,  18  November,  1892. 
She  lives  (1906)  at  Newark  Valley. 

After  obtaining  a  good  common  school  education,  D.  Williams  Patterson 
studied  dentistry  at  Rochester,  New  York,  and  entered  the  dental  profession 
in  1844.  He  went  to  West  Winsted,  Connecticut,  24  December,  1846,  where 
he  resided  until  May,  1865. 

The  subject  of  genealogy,  especially  in  the  case  of  his  own  and  other 
families  which  had  their  sources  in  New  England,  had  interested  him  from 
an  early  age,  and  he  gave  much  time  during  his  residence  at  West  Winsted 


52 


53 


64 
104 


^Z)'  1/vL^tiQ-  i^-S 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


575 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


to  its  study,  seeking  information  in  town  and  church  records,  and  upon 
tombstones,  and  putting  in  order  the  facts  he  obtained.  In  May,  1865,  he 
abandoned  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  returned  with  his  family  to 
Newark  Valley.  From  that  time  until  his  death  he  lived  on  the  old  family 
farm,  and  carried  on  his  study  of  genealogy.  He  became  an  authority  on 
American  genealogy,  and  devoted  the  latter  years  of  his  life  to  its  study, 
compiling  and  editing  a  number  of  books  on  the  subject.  The  present 
work,  as  well  as  several  other  compilations,  were  left  in  manuscript  by  him. 
The  most  extensive  published  production  on  which  he  was  engaged  was 
the  "The  Whitney  Family  of  Connecticut,"  comprising  three  quarto  vol- 
umes of  916,  898,  and  826  pages  respectively.  He  was  employed  in  this 
work  continuously  for  seven  years.  The  book  was  privately  printed  in 
1878  for  the  late  S.  Whitney  Phoenix,  of  New  York,  who  wrote  as  follows 
in  the  preface : 

"I  wish  to  acknowledge,  to  the  fullest  extent,  my 
'obligation   to    Mr.    D.   Williams    Patterson,   of   Newark 
'Valley,  New  York,  who  has  been  my  assistant  since  1873. 
'Not  only  has  he  acted  as  my  amanuensis  in  preparing  for  the 
'printer  the  vast  mass  of  crude  material  gathered  by  my- 
self since  1867,  but  he  has  added  largely  to  the  bulk  and 
value  of  the  book  by  his  own  researches,     *     *     *     * 
'acting  at  all  times  with  intelligence,  rare  conscientious- 
'ness   and  indefatigable  industry.     Much  of  such  merit 
'as  the  work  may  be  adjudged  to  possess  should  justly  be 
'ascribed  to.  the  labors  of  this  accomplished  genealogist." 
Following  is  a  list  of  the  works  which  Dr.  Patterson  published  and  those 
which  he  left  in  manuscript : 

"A  Letter  of  Directions  to  His  Father's  Birthplace,  by  John  Holmes, 
with  Notes  and  a  Genealogy  by  D.  Williams  Patterson,"  1865,  8vo,  pp.  76. 
"John  Watson  o,f  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  His  Descendants,"  com- 
piled for  Thomas  Watson,  1865,  8vo,  pp.  47. 

These  two  works  were  respectively  Nos.  1  and  3  of  the  issues  of  a 
private  club  of  three  members  (D.  Williams  Patterson,  then  of  West  Win- 
sted,  Connecticut ;  Francis  S.  Hoffman,  Esq.,  of  New  York ;  and  Dr.  Henry 
S.  Stiles,  of  New  York)  styling  itself  the  "U.  O.  Club"— a  name  humorously 
suggested  by  Dr.  Patterson  with  reference  to  the  "unknown  quantity"  which 
so  often,_  in  genealogy,  as  in  mathematics,  puzzles  the  student — as  well  as  to 
the  non-identification  of  the  membership  of  the  club,  given  to  the  public  for 
the  first  time  in  the  obituary  notice  of  Dr.  Patterson  in  the  "New  England 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,"  April.  1893. 

"Memorables  of  the  Montgomeries,  New  York,  Printed  for  the  King  of 
Clubs,"  1866  (edition  forty  copies  in  4to,  and  sixty  in  8vo),  Bradstreet 
Press.  This,  which  included  a  Montgomery  Pedigree,  was  prepared  for  and 
privately  printed  by  Thomas  H.  Montgomery,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia;  the  de- 
viceused  on  its  title,  a  "King  of  Clubs,"  was  a  suggestion  of  Dr.  Patterson's. 
'Slosson  Genealogy,"   1872,  8vo,  pp.  20. 

"John  Stoddard,  of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  and  his  Descendants, 
1642-1872,"  8vo,  pp.  96;  1873. 

"The  Isbell  and  Kingman  Families,"  compiled  for  Lerov  W.  King-man ; 
4to,(pp.  30;  Owego,  1889. 

"Brockway  Family,"  compiled  for  Francis  E.  Brockway;  4to,  pp.  167: 
Owego,  1890.  F        ' 


576 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


Hi.  O  Cux^Liry-ti. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


"The  Grant  Genealogy — Descendants  of  Matthew  of  Windsor,  Connec- 
ticut." (Reprinted  from  "Stiles'  Revised  History  and  Genealogy  of  Wind- 
sor, Connecticut ;"  edition  one  hundred  copies  ;  8vo,  pp.  42  ;  1893.) 

"The  Whitney  Family  of  Connecticut,"  mentioned  above. 

To  Mr.  John  Boyd's  "Annals  of  Winchester,  Connecticut,"  Dr.  Pat- 
terson contributed  a  large  amount  of  genealogical  matter  and  labor,  which 
received  due  acknowledgment. 

"Susquehannah  Association — Historical  Notes ;"  8vo,  pp.  8 ;  Boston, 
1874. 

In  manuscript  form  he  left  many  valuable  works,  among  the  principal 
ones  being: 

"The  Holy  Ones  of  Lisle,  or  Fifteen-score  and  One  who  Sought  to 
Serve  the  Lord."  Compiled  from  authentic  records.  (A  History  of  the 
First  Church  of  Lisle,  New  York). 

"Folk-lore  of  East  Haddam,  Connecticut,"  eight  large  4to  volumes. 

"Robert  Lane  and  His  Descendants." 

"Sergeant  John  Matthias,  of  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  and  some,  of  his 
Descendants,  1S69-1884." 

"Spencer  Genealogy — Jared  and  Hannah  ;  married  1665." 

"Cone  Genealogy — Daniel  of  Haddam,  Connecticut,  1626. 

"Rockwells,  of  Stamford,  Connecticut." 

"Smith  Family,  of  Milford,  Connecticut;  1671." 

"Isaac  Willey  and  Descendants,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  1640." 

"Some  Records  of  Thomas  Lee,  of  Lyme,  Connecticut." 

"Hungerford  Family,  of  East  Haddam,  Connecticut,  Thomas,  1639." 

"Genealogies  of  the  Christopher,  Crocker,  and  Marean  Families." 

"Mersereau  Genealogy — Jean  Mersereau,  of  France;  1685-1888." 

"Proprietors  of  Haddam,  Connecticut." 

"Willard  Family — Richard,  of  Kent,  England ;  will  dated  1616." 

"Seymours  of  New  Canaan,  Connecticut,  from  Andrew,  1734 ;  also 
Greenwich,  Connecticut,  and  Newburgh,  New  York,  Seymours." 

"Study  of  the  Moores  of  Simsbury,  Connecticut,  1755." 

"Alvord  Records." 

"Fragments  of  Lyme,  Connecticut,  Genealogies." 

"Patterson  Family." 

"Holmes  Genealogy."  A  very  large  manuscript  compiled  for  Rufus  E. 
Holmes,  of  West  Winsted,  Connecticut,  and  unfinished  at  the  time  of  Dr.. 
Patterson's  death.     His  last  work  was  done  upon  this. 

"Descendants  of  Robert  Coe,  1634." 

"Genealogies  of  Norwalk  and  Ridgefield,  Connecticut." 

"Ralph  Keeler  and  Descendants,  1613." 

"Miscellaneous  Genealogies,"  fifteen  large  volumes,  A  to  L  ;  some  fam- 
ilies very  fully  written  up. 

"History  of  the  Families  of  the  Boston  Purchase ;"  a  very  large  manu- 
script, a  few  sketches  from  which,  relative  to  the  families 'of  Berkshire, 
Newark  Valley,  and  Richford,  were  published  in  Gav's  Historical  Gazetteer 
of:  Tioga  county,  New  York,"  1881. 

"Some  Records  of  the  Widow  Ford,  1621-1880." 

^Records  of  the  Willey  Family,  of  East  Haddam,  Connecticut." 

'Whitney  Records ;"  three  large  manuscripts,  apparently  readv  for  pub- 
lication, viz. :  (a)  "Joshua  Whitney  and  his  Descendants :"  compiled  1884- 
1888;   (b)   "Whitney  Family  of  Massachusetts— from  Tohn  and  Elinor    of 


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THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


577 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


85 


86 


87 


Watertown,"  parents  of  Joshua,  above  referred  to;  (c)  "Massachusetts 
Whitneys,  Cortland  County,  and  Tioga  County,  New  York,  branch;  De- 
scandants  of  Jonathan." 

II.  NANCY  ANN  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Union,  21  June,  1826; 
died  Newark  Valley,  15  October,  1841,  of  scarlet  fever. 

III.  MARY  LUCINDA  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Union,  19  August, 
1828;  married  in  Newark  Valley,  19  May,  1852,  Seymour  E.  Walworth,  of 
Newark  Valley,  a  preacher  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  They  resided 
at  Little  Meadows,  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania,,  in  1854;  in  Campville, 
Tioga  county,  New  York,  in  1855.  She  died  at  the  house  of  her  father  in 
Newark  Valley,  26  October,  1855. 

IV.  CHESTER  RANSOM  PATTERSON6,  bom  in  Union,  21  July, 
1833 ;  married  in  South  Owego,  New  York,  3  November,  1855,  Sarah  An- 
geline  Bancroft,  born  in  Plymouth,  Chenango  county,  New  York,  n  June, 
1832,  daughter  of  Osee  and  Rachel  (Pixley)  Bancroft.  He  died  in  Pittston, 
Pennsylvania,  18  July,  1897,  and  w*s  buried  21  July,  on  the  anniversary  of 
his  birth,  in  Hope  Cemetery,  Newark  Valley,  New  York.  She  died  in 
Brooklyn,  New  York,  8  September,  1903,  buried  in  Hope  Cemetery,  Newark 
Valley,  New  York,  10  September,  1903. 

V.  JOSEPH  EMMETT  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Union,  22  August, 
1838;  married  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania,  20  November,  i86>7,  Julia 
Frances  Burnet,  born  in  Coxsackie,  New  "York,  30  October,  1841,  daughter 
of  Theron  and  Harriet  (Parker)  Burnet.  He  lives  (1906)  at  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania. 

Joseph  E.  Patterson  (88)  was  reared  on  a  farm  in  Newark  Valley,  New 
York,  and  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  assumed  the  duties  of  life  on  his  own  account,  rented  and 
operated  one  farm  and  later  added  others,  until  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
had  nine  farms  under  his  supervision,  in  addition  to  a  lumber  business  of 
considerable  proportion.  It  now  became  apparent  to  him  that  he  must  have 
a  better  education  in  order  to  conduct  the  business  satisfactorily  to  himself, 
and  for  two  years  he  was  under  private  instructions  to  fit  him  for  entering 
college.  In  order  that  his  mind  should  not  be  distracted  in  any  way  by  bus- 
iness cares,  he  closed  out  all  his  interests  and  entered  the  Eastman  Business 
College,  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  so  industriously  did  he  apply  him- 
self to  his  studies,  that  in  eight  weeks  he  obtained  his  diploma. 

Upon  leaving  college  he  went  to  Pittston,  Pennsylvania,  and  accepted  a 
position  with  the  late  John  Loveland,  an  extensive  lumber  dealer  in  Pittston. 
Before  he  had  been  with  him  three  months,  greatly  to  Mr.  Patterson's  sur- 
prise, he  was  asked  to  become  a  partner  of  Mr.  Loveland  in  the  business  of 
manufacturing  lumber,  but  declined  on  the  ground  that  he  had  not  sufficient 
capital.  Mr.  Loveland  was,  however,  so  favorably  impressed  with  the 
methods,  business  ability  and  perseverance  displayed  by  the  young  man,  that 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  him  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  E.  Patterson 
&  Company,  and  loaned  to  him  the  amount  of  money  that  he  lacked  of  hav- 
ing enough  to  pay  for  one-third  interest  in  the  business.  This  arrangement 
continued  for  some  time  and  then  they  opened  a  lumber  yard  in  Wilkes- 


108 


109 


57S 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


Barre,  Air.  Patterson  having  from  that  time  on  a  half  interest  in  that,  and  trie 
manufacturing  business.  Later  they  moved  their  saw  mill  to  the  Redout 
Common,  on  North  River  street,  where  the  court  house  now  stands,  and  man- 
ufactured lumber  there  for  a  number  of  years ;  the  logs  being  brought  down 
the  river  and  canal.  Soon  after  this  Mr.  Loveland's  health  failed,  and  he 
requested  Mr.  Patterson  to  take  a  half  interest  in  his  Pittston  lumber  yard 
and  to  conduct  the  entire  business  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  E.  Patterson  & 
Co.  About  this  time  the  firm  built  a  large  planing  mill  and  factory  in 
Pittston.  At  Mr.  Loveland's  death  his  will  stipulated  that  his  executors 
should  continue  the  business,  which  they  did  for  seventeen  years,  when  Mr. 
Patterson  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Loveland's  estate,  which  had  grown 
much  larger,  and  is  now  probably  the  largest  and  most  extensive  in  this  line 
of  any  firm  in  the  Wyoming  Valley. 

Mr.  Patterson  is  largely  interested  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business,  the 
firm  now  being  known  as  the  Crocker  Grocery  Company.  They  have  a 
large  and  constantly  increasing  trade,  which  having  outgrown  their  former 
quarters,  they  have  erected  and  are  now  conducting  their  business  in  the 
most  substantial  and  the  most  finely  equipped  six-story  wholesale  grocery 
store  in  Pennsylvania.  In  addition  to  these  enterprises  Mr.  Patterson  was 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Easton  Lime  Company  of  Easton,  Pennsylvania, 
one  of  the  large  concerns  of  that  city  engaged  in  quarrying  and  kalsomining 
lime.  He  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  of  and  is  a  partner  in  the  Mason's 
Supply  Company  of  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  which  deals  extensively  in  all 
kinds  of  supplies  used  by  masons,  the  two  firms  employing  a  large  number  of 
men. 

Mr.  Patterson  was  the  founder  of  the  beautiful  summer  resort  on  the  top 
of  Nescopec  Mountain  known  as  Glen  Summit  Springs.  The  pure  spring 
water  and  dry,  pure  air,  together  with  the  vision  of  what  it  might  be  made, 
led  him  to  decide  on  this  location.  He  also  discovered  the  Glen  Summit 
Spring,  and  introduced  the  pure  Glen  Summit  spring  water  which  has 
become  so  popular. 

Perhaps  the  enterprise  which  gives  promise  of  being  the  most  extensive 
of  any  in  which  Mr.  Patterson  has  yet  become  engaged,  is  known  as  the  Col- 
orado Yule  Marble  Company,  which  is  developing  enormous  quarries  at 
Marble,  Colorado,  whereby  great  quantities  of  a  very  fine  quality  of  white 
marble  have  been  discovered.  This  company  is  capitalized  at  $3,000,000,  and 
he  is  one  of«its  directors.  He  also  has  some  interest  in  coal.  He  is  just  en- 
gaging in  business  with  his  son-in-law,  R.  H.  Cabell  in  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Patterson  has  strong  convictions  regarding  his  duty  as  an  Ameri- 
can citizen,  and  believes  that  the  present  generation  has  inherited  from  their 
forefathers  a  rich  legacy  in  the  present  republican  form  of  government  that 
guarantees  to  every  true  citizen  the  perfect  freedom  for  which  in  the  days  of 
the  revolutionary  period  so  many  brave  men  gave  up  their  lives.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Employers'  Association,  who  recognize  no  Union  which  is 
not  conducted  on  legal  lines,  but  employs  men  purely  on  their  merit.  Living, 
as  he  does,  in  a  section  of  country  infested  by  labor  leaders  with  only  selfish 
purposes  in  view,  it  has  cost  Mr.  Patterson  many  thousands  of  dollars  to 
conduct  his  large  transactions,  in  which  he  employs  scores  of  men,  on  a 
purely  independent  basis.  So  strong  and  defiant  did  the  attitude  of  the 
Unions  become  in  their  attempt  to  enforce  unjust  claims  against  their  em- 
ployers, that  Mr.  Patterson  at  length  took  a  decided  stand  against  them. 
After  exhaustine  every  other  means  he  finallv  took  recourse  in  law,  and  a 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


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90 


91 
92 


93 


94 


95 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


bitter  fight  was  begun  which  cost  thousands  of  dollars,  but  he  finally  won  a 
gieat  victory,  and  succeeded  in  having  some  of  the  leaders  of  that  form  of 
oppression  convicted  and  fined,  and  in  teaching  a  salutary  lesson  to  all  who 
may  follow.  No  brief  sketch  can  convey  an  accurate  or  adequate  idea  of 
this  man.  He  is  selfmade  in  all  that  the  word  implies,  and  has  clearly  dem- 
onstrated what  it  is  possible  to  accomplish  by  careful,  conservative,  upright 
business  methods.  In  all  his  business  transactions  he  strives  to  follow  the 
Golden  Rule,  "Do.  unto  others  as  you  would  have  them  do  unto  you,"  and 
thereby  has  reached  a  place  where  he  is  admired  for  all  the  best  qualities 
which  go  to  make  a  true  American  citizen,  and  his  career  affords  a  con- 
spicuous example  of  a  noble  character,  selfmade  and  well  worthy  of  emu- 
lation. 

VI.  ANN  AMELIA  PATTERSON6,  born  in  the  Patterson  home- 
stead, Newark  Valley,  26  June,  1840;  married  in  Newark  Valley,  8  August, 
1864,  Edward  Gaynor  Nowlan,  born  14  October,  1842,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Sophia  (Ender)  Nowlan.     They  live  (1906)  at  Newark  Valley. 

Children  of  Lyman5  and  Mehitabel   (Sevmour)   Patterson: 

I.  AMOS  PATTERSON6,  born  30  July,  1818 ;  was  educated  for  the 
legal  profession,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Binghamton,  New  York ;  married 
19  December,  1844,  Hester  Hyatt,  of  Nichols,  New  York.  He  lived  apart 
from  his  wife  after  1846,  he  in  Maryland,  and  his  wife  and  daughter  in  the 
family  of  Judge  Clark  Hyatt,  of  Nichols,  New  York.  He  died  187 — .  Mrs. 
Patterson  was  the  adopted  daughter  of  Judge  Hyatt.  Her  own  name  was 
Hester  Caroline  Ransom,  born  in  Tioga,  New  York,  daughter  of  Ira  and 
Sarah  (Forman)  Ransom. 

II.  SEYMOUR  PATTERSON6,  born  16  September,  1820;  died  16 
June,  1821.     Buried  in  the  family  ground  at  Union,  New  York. 

III.  ANNE  PATTERSON6,  born  28  February,  1822;  married  19 
March,  1842,  Isaac  Watts  Overhiser,  a  stove  and  tinware  dealer  of  Bing- 
hamton, born  in  Pleasant  Valley,  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  24  July,  1809, 
son  of  Caspar  and  Elizabeth  (Hoffman)  Overhiser.  She  died  in  Bingham- 
ton, 19  February,  1851.  She  was  one  of  the  most  perfect  of  characters,  her 
whole  aim  being  to  make  others  happy.  Mr.  Overhiser  married  (second) 
28  December,  1854,  Caroline  Hagemon  of  Poughkeepsie. 

IV.  JANE  PATTERSON6,  born  30  July,  1823 ;  died  in  Binghamton, 
4  September,  1832. 

Children  of  Joseph3  and  Eliza  (Seymour)  Patterson: 

I.  SARAH  ANN  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Union,  6  June,  1823 ;  mar- 
ried, 17  February,  1847,  Dr.  Edson  J.  Whitcomb,  of  Ontario,  New  York; 
died  in  Ontario,  30  May,  1849 ;  was  buried  in  the  family  burial  ground  on  her 
father's  farm  in  that  place. 

II.  NANCY  SEYMOUR  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Ontario,  New 
York,  18  August,  1826;  married  in  Ontario,  26  June,  1845,  Dr.  Samuel 
Brown,  born  1  May,  1819,  in  Ireland,  son  of  Henry  and  Martha  ( ) 


112 

67 
118 


72 


38o 


THE    WYOMIXG    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


96 


97 


98 


99 


100 


101 


102 


103 


104 


Brown;  graduated  from  Geneva  Medical  College  in  January,  1845.  They 
settled  at  Meridian.  New  York,  where  he  practiced  his  profession.  He  died 
in  Meridian,  3  October,  1901 ;  she  is  living  with  her  daughter  Sarah,  at 
Omaha,  Nebraska  (1906). 

III.  JOSEPH  SEYMOUR  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Ontario,  25  Oc- 
tober, 1827;  married,  7  April,  1853,  Anna  Elizabeth  Squire,  born  in  Lisle, 
New  York,  23  October,  1832,  daughter  of  Harvey  and  Abigail  (Manning) 
Squire,  of  Lisle,  New  York.  He  was  a  merchant  of  Whitney's  Point,  Xew 
York.  She  died  3  November,  1875.  He  married  (second),  8  November, 
1876,  Diantha  L.  Stanley.    He  died  8  November,  1903. 

Children  of  Joseph3  2nd  Hannah  Maria  (Fuller)  Patterson: 

IV.  ELIZA  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Ontario,  24  May,  1833 ;  married 
in  Ontario,  24  October,  1855,  Palmer  Levi  Cone,  born  in  Lenox,  Madison 
county,  New  York,  20  August,  1828,  son  of  Deacon  Walter  and  Caroline 
(Curtis)  Cone,  of  Ontario;  he  was  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  a  merchant 
of  Oswego,  New  York.  In  April,  1857,  they  removed  to  Davenport,  Iowa. 
About  1874  they  removed  to  Chicago,  Illinois,  where  she  died  8  April,  1896, 
and  he  died  24  November,  1898. 

V.  SOPHIA  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Ontario,  16  December,  1834; 
died  18  December,  1834. 

VI.  MARTHA  SOPHIA  PATTERSON6,  twin  with  Sophia ;  born  in 
Ontario,  16  December,  1834.  She  was  first  called  Martha,  and  on  the  death 
of  her  sister  the  name  Sophia  was  added.  She  married,  8  October,  1856, 
Francis  Abner  Hill,  born  in  Ontario,  13  August,  1834,  son  of  Ira  and 
Elvira  (Gilbert)  Hill,  of  Ontario.  He  had  a  farm  and  grist  mill  in  Ontario, 
and  lived  on  the  ridge  road  in  the  west  part  of  the  town ;  she  died  23  June, 
1890.     He  died  7  March,  1903. 

VII.  CHARLES  PHILANDER  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Ontario,  17 
August,  1836;  he  went  in  1857  to  Emporia,  Kansas  Territory,  with  his 
father.  After  the  death  of  his  father  he  returned  to  Ontario.  He  married, 
26  April,  i860,  Mary  M.  Potter,  born  13  September,  1834.  He  has  lived 
for  several  years  in  California. 

VIII.  FRANCES  AURELIA  PATTERSON6,  born  in  Ontario,  30 
October,  1841 ;  died  in  Ontario,  13  February,  1844,  of  scarlet  fever. 

IX.  A  daughter,  born  in  Ontario,  25  August,  1849;  died  26  August, 
1849. 

X.  ELLA  PATTERSOX6,  born  in  Ontario,  8  May,  185 1  ;  married,  4 
June,  1873,  Albert  Hill  Middleton,  born  10  May,  1852.  They  are  living  at 
Ontario  in  1906. 

Children  of  David  Williams6  and  Helen  (Lincoln)  Patterson: 

I.     AXXA   PATTERSOX7,   born    in  West   Winsted,   Connecticut,   24 

April,  1854.    Living  in  1906  on  the  old  homestead  in  Xewark  Yallev,  Xew 

York. 


119 


72 


84 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


58r 


105 


106 


107 


108 


109 


110 


in 


112 


"3 


114 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 


II.  LINCOLN  ELLIOTT  PATTERSON7,  born  in  West  Winsted, 
Connecticut,  13  December,  1855;  married  in  Ithaca,  New  York,  21  August, 
1890;  Clara  Atwater,  born  in  Ithaca,  29  November,  1856,  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Sally  (Phillips)  Atwater,  of  Ithaca.  He  is  an  insurance  agent,  liv- 
ing- at  Ithaca  in  1 


III.  STIRLING  WOODFORD  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Newark 
Valley,  New  York,  6  October,  1870.  Telegraph  editor  of  the  New  York 
Evening  Sun. 

IV.  RALPH  THACHER  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Newark  Valley, 
New  York,  30  January,  1871.  Farmer,  living,  in  1906,  on  the  old  homestead, 
in  Newark  Valley,  New  York. 

Child  of  Chester  Ransom6  and  Sarah  (Bancroft)  Patterson: 
I.  EDMOND  BROWN  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Plymouth,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 21  January,  1868;  married,  30  January,  1895,  Nella  May  Moon, 
daughter  of  Philander  and  Sarah  (Benjamin)  Moon;  she  was  born  in  Pitts- 
ton,  Pennsylvania,  29  December,  1867 ;  he  died  in  Scranton,  Pennsylvania, 
7  October,  1902;  buried  in  Hope  Cemetery,  Newark  Valley,  New  York. 

Children  of  Joseph  Emmett6  and  Julia  (Burnet)  Patterson: 

I.  HELEN  HARRIET  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania, 6  September,  1869;  married  30  August,  1904,  Benjamin  Franklin 
Myers,  born  in  Sylvis,  Clearfield  county,  Pennsylvania,  26  April,  1863,  son 
of  John  Henry  and  Jane  (Westover)  Myers. 

II.  EVA  MARY  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  9  March, 
1872 ;  married  in  Wilkes-Barre,  12  October,  1897,  Robert  Herbert  Cabell, 
Jr.,  born  1  December,  1866,  in  Brunswick,  Missouri,  son  of  Dr.  Robert  Her- 
bert Cabell  and  Alice  (Oliver)  Cabell.  They  are  living  in  New  York  city  in 
1906. 

III.  BRUCE  LOVELAND  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Wilkes-Barre,  13 
January,  1875;  died  30  April,  1881. 

Children  of  Edward  Gavnor  and  Amelia  (Patterson6)  Nowlan : 

I.  FRANK  EMMETT  NOWLAN7,  born  in  Newark  Valley,  11  June, 
1865  !  married  in  Whitney's  Point,  17  July,  1895,  Evalina  Stone,  born  30 
April,  1874,  in  Whitney's  Point,  daughter  of  S.  N.  and  Elizabeth  (New- 
man) Stone.  He  died  5  March,  1904,  in  Whitney's  Point,  New  York; 
buried  at  Newark  Valley,  New  York. 

II.  MARY  PATTERSON  NOWLAN7,  born  in  Newark  Valley,  1 
September,  1867;  married,  14  July,  1897,  m  Newark  Valley,  Edward  Jacob 
Wittwer,  of  Adelphi,  Ohio,  born  in  Adelphi,  Ohio,  11  January,  1868,  son  of 
John  and  Marie  (Loertscher)  Wittwer. 

III.  HARRY  THACHER  NOWLAN7,  born  in  Newark  Valley,  19 
February,  1870;  married  in  Newark  Valley,  25  May,  1892,  Edith  Alberta 
Pinney,  born  21  February,  1875,  in  Virgil,  Cortland  county,  New  York, 
daughter  of  Egbert  B.  and  Diantha  (Hover)  Pinney. 


87 


88 


J2I 


89 


124 


122 


582 


THE    WYOMING    AND    LACKAWANNA    VALLEYS. 


PATTERSON  FAMILY. 

"5 

IV.     JOSEPH  EDWARD  NOWLAN7,  born  in  Newark  Valley,  6  July, 
1872 ;  married  23  December,  1897,  Margaret  Graham,  born  in  Newark  Val- 
ley, 13  April,  1873,  daughter  of  A.  J.  and  Charity  (Russell)  Graham. 

116 

V.     EDITH  GRACE  NOWLAN7,  born  in  Newark  Valley,  26  March, 
1876;  died  30  March,  1897. 

117 

VI.     BERTHA    JULIA    NOWLAN7,    born    in    Newark    Valley,    30 
March,  1879. 

118 

Child  of  Amos6  and  Hester  (Hyatt)  Patterson: 

I.     ANNA  HYATT  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Vestal,  New  York,   18 
January,  1846;  died  in  Owego,  New  York,  14  June,  1856. 

90 

119 

Children  of  Joseph  Sevmour6  and  Anna  E.  (Squire)  Patterson: 

I.     ELIZA  ABIGAIL  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Whitney's  Point,  New 

York,  25  March,  1855;  married  Rev.  Benjamin  F.  Sargent,  16  May,  1878; 

he  was  born  21  March,  1853. 

96 

120 

II.     JOHN  SQUIRE  PATTERSON7,  born  in  Whitney's  Point,  23  No- 
vember, 1866;  married  7  February,  1887,  Myrtie  Pease. 

121 

Children  of  Robert  H.  and  Eva  (Patterson7)  Cabell: 
I.     HELEN  PATTERSON  CABELL8,  born  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  19 
February,  1899. 

no 

122 

II.     JOSEPH  PATTERSON  CABELL8,  born  in  Evanston,  Illinois,  8 
May,  1901. 

123 

Children  of  Harrv  T.7  and  Edith   (Pinney)   Nowlan: 
I.     HANFORD  'THACHER   NOWLAN8,   born   in   Newark  Valley, 
New  York,  9  February,  1893. 

114 

124 

II.     MARJORIE  AMELIA  NOWLAN8,  born  in  Newark  Valley,   3 
May,  1899. 

125 

Child  of  Edward  J.  and  Marv  (Nowlan7)  Wittwer: 
I.     GRACE  MARIE  WITTWER8,  born  in  Adelphi,  Ohio,  28  July, 
1898. 

"3 

BE1^  ODDlEt.51  5 


a 


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^ 


I 


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f 


157 

.W9 

v.l 

HAYDEN 


Genealogical  and  family  history  of 
the  Wyoming  and  Lackawanna  valleys 


Si*   V**N  ,V 


■It